With a few spare hours on a weekday last week, I set out with my camera to Bearwood high street, local to us. Now, here's a good tip to any budding street-photographer: get your camera out of its bag as soon as you arrive! And get it set up. I spotted two extremely interesting - looking older men leaning against jazz-venue The Bear. By the time I had got the camera out, assembled it and set it up, they'd finished their conversations and gone their separate ways.

Great lesson learned there. You know what though? I'm going back to look for them again! 

Well anyway, I did have a motive when I originally decided to go out, something that I knew I would enjoy a lot - so I didn't mind too much. There's a great little Congolese shop in the town, which Ellie and I have been to before, seeking out interesting and new recipes to try. While we were there we made friends with one of the women who run the place. It was her that I was hoping to photograph. I love meeting people with interesting backgrounds - it makes for great photography. 

It was, then, really lovely that immediately I walked in, she recognised me; "Hey! Long time!". Great! We had a catch-up then I asked if I could take her photo, in her shop. At first, she was a little apprehensive because she thought she was un-photogenic. I said to her that i could just take a few shots while she carried on with what she was doing - and as soon as she saw the first test-shot she changed remarkably. "So, that's what I look like! Oh my God!" she said. 

That kind of reaction is of course highly satisfying for any photographer. After that, she had totally changed her mind. She wanted more photographs. My favourite is the one you see here: I think it captures a lot of her personality: Open, friendly and inquisitive, with an intense gaze. I'm really pleased with the photo because of that, and it shows that you don't always have to spend a lot of time planning a good portrait: sometimes just connections with and noticing the person's uniqueness is enough. 

Thanks for reading. We'll update again soon. David 

As two passionate photographers, we have been asked many times over the last few years to photograph couples' weddings. We both enjoy the experience and relish the responsibility of capturing such an important and special event; as a result, we have spent the time honing our skill and passion for the art of wedding photography. For a while now, we have wanted to consolidate all our wedding work and discussed the idea of setting up a place dedicated to creating beautiful wedding photography; as well as photography for couples, families and special occasions. After months of planning, we are extremely pleased to announce that This Little Love of Mine has finally come to life! We are incredibly proud of our brand-new website and we want this diary to sit alongside it as a place to record and document the journey of our new business: thoughts, feelings, inspiration; as well as examples of recent work.

We recently received our very first commission as This Little Love of Mine when we were asked to photograph a special birthday party near our home in West Birmingham. Photographing a special occasion like a milestone birthday party, or someone’s retirement, a barmitzvah; they’re some of the times when we realise what a great job we have. To be amongst so many people who are all there to celebrate a family member or close friend – to be amongst such loving feelings with people dancing together, eating and drinking together, meeting back up sometimes after many months or even years to celebrate their friendship, is a great privilege and we always get a real buzz of excitement and gratitude as soon as we turn up to shoot.

It’s amazing the things you notice between people; the little glances, the squeeze of the hand, the smiles and the laughter when people are all gathered together for no other reason than to have a great time. As an observer, you see the warmth and happiness which exists amongst friends and family in a situation like that, and they can simply relax and enjoy the night together.

Here are a few of our favourite images from the evening. You’ll notice that our photography is rarely face-on, apart from in formal shots or specific requests. Instead, we like to present you with images of what the celebration looked and felt like; the atmosphere and the genuine kisses, hugs and laughter. We blend in so that we can capture the actual moments when old friends meet.