Ellie McCallum Photography

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Ellie McCallum Photography

Creating story led, lifestyle photos for business, product as well as families.
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15/09/2026

“ I’ve lived near Keevil since 2014. Before that I was in Cornwall for a decade and before that Sussex. I’m definitely a country mouse at heart.

I spend time every day walking the dogs in the local fields and along bridal paths close to home. I need to escape four walls. The dogs force you to get out whatever the weather, but I also need that time away from being a carer, a mum, a wife and a small business owner. I’m at home out in the countryside.

The local paths and fields have seen the best and worst of me over the last few years. I’ve trudged, stormed along, stopped to take photos and notice endlessly. I’ve cried, felt free, been in knots with anxiety, resented the walking, adored the walking, been utterly bereft. I’ve listened to brilliant music, disappeared down podcast rabbit holes, soaked in birdsong, rescued a deer from a hedge, tripped over dog leads and watched the seasons unfold. I have no choice in coming along these ways, but more often than not, it does me good.

Growing up in a Sussex village, l had plenty of opportunity to wander in open countryside and l think it must be in my DNA. I prefer to be a lone ranger out wandering because it’s my down time, my headspace.

I like that the countryside is untamed in places. There’s an unruliness that maybe resonates with me. I also love more cultivated spaces but l feel something different here.

I’m particularly drawn to the edges of places literally and metaphorically. Edges of fields, edges of rivers. I think that is what l miss about the North Cornwall coast. It’s not the coast as such, but the feeling of being on the edge. Being landlocked made me realise I’m drawn to edges of places”.

“ The phrase A Woman’s Place initially got my heckles up because it sounded like all the old clichés associated with making home. Maybe it was meant to be provocative or maybe l was just on the defensive.

I am so done with all the patriarchal systems that have dictated things for centuries. Some days it feels completely insurmountable, but l hope women will continue to rewrite our narrative going forward and give hope to the women growing up in our care.”

07/09/2026

Local artist Phil Batty / Artist and Alexander technique teacher has a lovely exhibition on at The Corsham Gallery at the moment. Belonging is full of expressive, colourful work and well worth a look. Do pop in if you’re in the area.

28/08/2026

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Hands in photos. Probably the thing most people suddenly become very aware of the minute a camera appears.

My top tip is simple. Give them something to do.

If your work involves using your hands, brilliant, we’ll start there. If you’ve got a dog, bring them along. Not only are they an excellent distraction, they also give you something to hold onto.

Glasses, a mug, a glass, a pocket, the edge of a chair, whatever feels natural.

You really don’t need to know what to do with your hands before a shoot. That bit is my job.

And don’t worry, I have plenty of hand ideas.

25/08/2026

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So many lovely photos from Jane and Peter’s wedding, just wandering around Bath.

I don’t think couples always factor in time to simply go for a wander together, but I really recommend it, especially somewhere like Bath. We had an hour to walk, take photos of the two of them and then meet up with family along the way. Nothing too posed or formal, just a bit of time away from the reception to make some really lovely photographs.

And an extra reason to celebrate, it was a significant birthday for Peter too. A very special day all round.

24/08/2026

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Photographing a qigong practitioner outdoors made so much sense.

Her work is very connected to movement, calm and the natural world, so rather than putting her in a blank room we used the landscape she actually works in.

I always like business photographs to show a little more than just the person. The setting, atmosphere and what surrounds someone are part of the story too.

I’d love to photograph a few more interesting businesses like this over the autumn.

20/08/2026

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A day late for World Photography Day but never mind.

I wanted a photo of me and Fergus, the two employees of Ellie McCallum Photography as it were, which sounded simple enough until I was trying to get the angle right, look at the screen, fit us both in and not completely squash a very unimpressed dog at the same time.

I actually really like the photo and that is exactly what phone photos are brilliant for, quick, funny, in the moment and good enough to make you smile.

But if it is something important, or something you really want to have a lovely photo of, get someone else to take it. Preferably someone with a blinking good camera like me!

17/08/2026

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I seem to photograph quite a few women working in the more holistic corners of life, and I always really enjoy it.

There’s something about the mix of strength and softness in these businesses that suits the way I like to photograph. Hands at work, concentration, touch, movement, quiet moments, lovely spaces and a bit of atmosphere.

It’s feminine without being sugary, nurturing without feeling passive, and often much more powerful than it first appears.

Acupuncture, massage, movement, meditation, therapies of all sorts… I love finding the character in what someone actually does, rather than just taking a polished business portrait and calling it branding.

Probably one of my favourite kinds of work.

15/08/2026

Natasha and Ann-Marie share a birthday just before Christmas, which is lovely in theory but probably not ideal when it comes to having a proper party. So this year they moved the whole thing to August instead.

Much better.

A big gathering at The Barge Inn in Seend Cleeve with family, friends, food, drinks and all the bits in between that make these things worth remembering.

I love photographing occasions like this because they’re really about people being together. Lots of mingling, catching up and little moments happening all over the place, which is exactly the sort of thing I like to keep an eye on.

12/08/2026

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I think the couples who find me tend to be the ones who are quite happy doing things their own way.

Not because they’re trying to be different, or because they’re too cool for the whole wedding thing. They usually care about it a lot. They just know what feels like them, and they’re confident enough to keep the bits they love and leave the bits they don’t.

That suits me very well.

I’m much more interested in the people, the connection, the atmosphere, the place and all those little details that make one wedding completely different from another than following a formula of what a wedding is supposed to look like.

11/08/2026

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A Woman’s Place — Kate Morris-Double

It’s been a little while since I shared the first of these, so a small reminder about A Woman’s Place.

It’s an ongoing photography project about women and the places they feel connected to. Not necessarily the grand or obvious places, but somewhere that says something about who they are. Somewhere they feel comfortable, rooted, free, inspired or simply themselves.

For Kate, that isn’t one specific location at all. It’s a feeling.

Kate is a marketing mentor for small businesses, and grew up on the east coast in rural Suffolk before moving to Bath for university and eventually making her home in the West.

When I asked her to choose her place, she chose a wildflower meadow in summer. Somewhere full of sunshine, long grasses and flowers moving in the breeze. “Simple, calm and quietly alive.”

Fields like these take Kate straight back to childhood. Carefree summer days lying in the grass, eating picnics (still one of her favourite things), picking strawberries, walking barefoot and feeling the sun on her skin. She remembers the scent of chamomile mixed with coconut sunscreen, hazy blue skies and that feeling that summer stretched on forever.

As she’s got older, she’s realised that place is rarely just about geography. It’s smell, light, texture, temperature and sound. Those sensory memories that have a way of bringing us home to ourselves.

And the phrase A Woman’s Place?

Kate says it feels loaded because historically it’s been used to tell women where they should belong, “and I absolutely hate being told to stay in my lane!”

For her, a woman’s place is wherever she chooses it to be.

“My place isn’t confined by expectation or even geography, it’s shaped by freedom, curiosity and connection.”

Address

Home Mead
Corsham

Website

http://www.elliemccallum.photography/

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