The September Sadness

“I love the summer where our home is filled with his noise, laughter and chatter. Our very own, special brand of chaos.”

Every year as the light changes, as the warmth on my skin slowly starts to fade with my tan, my heart sinks. The leaves begin to turn from a thousand shades of vivid green to gold and crispy brown, and a heaviness sets in. Back to school. Back to 6am alarms and routine after slow mornings and cuddles on the sofa. Back to shoes after a summer mostly barefoot. Back to waving my small person off at the school gate before a day apart. It doesn’t seem to be the cool thing to say but I love hanging out with my little. My mini muse. I love the summer where our home is filled with his noise, laughter and chatter. Our very own, special brand of chaos.

This year, the heaviness feels more pronounced. A final year of primary school which in itself carries the dual joy and ache of watching your baby grow up. The end of last year was tough as I watched him fly through school and stumble under the weight of unkindness from others. The summer brought peace, and distance, and the chance to place down what he had been carrying. The return of my carefree sunshine child.

So as we step into another September, another autumn, another school year, I will gently mourn the long warm summer days and I will hope for a smoother year. I will soak up these final summer days, before beaches and ice cream step aside to make room for spiced hot chocolate and toasted marshmallows.

I Shouldn't Photograph Your Whole Retreat. Here's Why.

I Shouldn't Photograph Your Whole Retreat - Here’s Why.

I Shouldn't Photograph Your Whole Retreat

As a photographer who photographs wellness retreats, you may think that's a strange perspective. But hear me out.

You've spent weeks, maybe months, dreaming up the perfect retreat experience for your attendees. You curate every element — the perfect venue, the programme of events, the delicious seasonal menu, the rhythm and flow, the way you want your attendees to feel and what you want them to take away. One of my favourite retreats had the most incredible aroma woven through the experience: one part beautiful Japanese incense, one part brisk sea breeze, one part freshly baked pastries. Every detail of your retreat is filled with intentional design.

Naturally, you want to capture all of that — to bottle the feeling of being there. With your business hat on, you also want professional quality images for the practical reason of marketing your next retreat. Great photography is a powerful marketing tool. It helps people picture themselves at your retreat. It helps build trust in what you offer before they've even reached out to you.

All that said, I'm a firm believer that there are parts of a retreat I can and should capture for you — and parts that should belong to you and your people alone.

I move gently and quietly through the space, capturing moments in a way that doesn't disrupt the energy of the group. Being told "I forgot you were there" is the greatest compliment in this context, and one I consider a real marker of success. But that instinct — to capture everything, unobtrusively — doesn't and shouldn't apply to every moment. Some moments aren't mine to capture at all.

This is something we'd discuss ahead of a shoot, but it's also something I feel organically as we go. This is where being an empath as well as a wellness brand photographer is at its most powerful — knowing when to click the shutter, and when to honour the moment silently, shutter free.

If you're planning a retreat and this is the kind of thoughtful, considered approach you're looking for, I'd love to hear from you.

Em x

Emily Dyer is a wellness retreat and brand photographer based in Witney, Oxfordshire, available to travel across the UK and internationally. Get in touch to check availability for your retreat.