I met Reign (she/they) and Leigh (she/her) when they were guests at the amazing Bridport wedding of Lauren & Ben last summer (click here to see more from that epic day!)

I adored how colourful and vibrant they both were and after spending the day with them and learning more about their beautiful story I knew I had to work with them in some capacity. When I began building my 2026 mentoring cohort and thinking about including a shoot day they immediately sprang to mind and I was so grateful when they agreed to be my guinea pig couple!

LGBTQIA+ Disability Representation

I asked R&L where they would like to shoot and they suggested the lakes by their house were they regularly spend time and is easily accessible from them. My mentees and I rocked up an hour before the session to do a reccy of the area and were blown away by the beauty of this total hidden gem. Full of baby geese, gorgeous cows and my favourite sound in the world - birdsong and leaves harmonising in the wind. The nature walk was the best way to ease our nerves and excitement about the session ahead and ground ourselves into what was important: capturing the genuine, authentic love between two gorgeous souls.

QUEER JOY IN NATURE

The shoot itself was a joy. We were all prepared for a lot of rain but the unbridled JOY of Reign and Leigh was too strong for the clouds and we ended the session painting in glorious sunshine (followed by cake and coffee of course).

My goals for this session were to introduce the magic of this pair to as many people as I could, and to alleviate the fears that a lot of photographers have around working with disabled folk. Proof that there is never need for any posing at all, and that we truly can create magic through popping our subjects into beautiful spaces where they feel comfortable and letting them be. Gentle direction such as ‘if you feel comfortable to, have a little nuzzle in with each other’ is about as ‘posed’ as I ever get. Creating a safe space, chatting about Disney and Danger Swans and learning what Labubu’s aren’t is all we ever need to achieve beautiful photos that tell real stories.

Reign and Leigh’s story is one that can remind us all what is important. Go give them a follow. Perhaps we can all help make their dream of a ten year vow renewal in Disneyland a realty <3