Yana Skakun
Journal
Photography Blog
Tips, guides, venue spotlights and behind-the-scenes stories from my photography sessions across England.
Photography Tips
28 March 2026·5 min read
Medical Professional Headshots: NHS & Private Practice
Doctors, nurses, consultants and healthcare professionals increasingly need strong headshots for NHS and private practice websites, publications and speaking engagements. What works for medical professional portraits — approachable, authoritative and trustworthy.
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Photography Tips
28 March 2026·6 min read
Outdoor Headshots: Professional Portraits in Natural Settings
Outdoor headshots offer a relaxed, approachable quality that works especially well for creatives, coaches, consultants and anyone whose brand is built on personality. Finding the right outdoor setting and working with natural light for professional results.
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Photography Tips
28 March 2026·5 min read
Headshot Retouching: How Much Is Too Much?
Retouching a headshot should make you look like the best version of yourself on a good day — not someone unrecognisable from the person who turns up to meetings. The difference between helpful retouching and the kind that undermines your professional credibility.
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Wedding Tips
28 March 2026·7 min read
Best Hotels for Getting Ready on Your Wedding Morning in Cambridge
The best bridal prep photography happens in beautiful, well-lit rooms — and Cambridge has exceptional hotels for wedding morning photography, from The University Arms' elegant Georgian suites to Gonville Hotel's garden-facing rooms and Hotel du Vin's characterful boutique interiors.
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Photography Tips
28 March 2026·7 min read
Cambridge University Botanic Garden: A Hidden Photography Gem
The Cambridge University Botanic Garden is one of the city's most beautiful and under-used photography locations — 40 acres of themed gardens, glasshouses, a lake, rockery, and extraordinary seasonal planting just ten minutes from the city centre. A guide to photography sessions here.
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Venue Spotlights
28 March 2026·7 min read
Punting Wedding Photography in Cambridge: A Unique and Romantic Idea
A punting ceremony or portrait session on the River Cam is one of the most distinctive and romantic wedding photography ideas in England — drifting under the Mathematical Bridge, past the Wren Library, and beneath the willows of The Backs with champagne in hand.
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Venue Spotlights
28 March 2026·7 min read
Weddings in Padstow: Cornwall's Celebrity Foodie Harbour Town
Padstow on the Camel Estuary is one of Cornwall's most charming and photogenic small towns — a working fishing harbour, slate-fronted fishermen's cottages, Rick Stein's restaurants, and the wide sandy estuary with views across to Rock. A guide to Padstow wedding photography.
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Venue Spotlights
28 March 2026·8 min read
Weddings on the Lizard Peninsula: England's Most Southerly Celebrations
The Lizard Peninsula is the most southerly point of mainland Britain — a unique National Nature Reserve of serpentine rock, maritime heath, and coves of extraordinary colour. A guide to wedding photography on the Lizard's unique and rarely-photographed terrain.
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Venue Spotlights
28 March 2026·7 min read
Engagement Photography in St Ives: Harbour, Cobbles & Atlantic Light
St Ives offers some of the finest engagement photography light in England — the extraordinary quality of Atlantic light here attracted the Newlyn School of painters in the 1880s and the Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson circle in the 1930s. A guide to capturing that famous St Ives light in your portraits.
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Venue Spotlights
28 March 2026·7 min read
Devon Beach Engagement Photography: Tunnels Beaches, Saunton & More
Devon has some of England's most spectacular and varied beaches — from the sheltered Victorian bathing pools of Ilfracombe's Tunnels Beaches to the two-mile Atlantic rollers of Saunton Sands and the turquoise shallows of Bantham. A complete guide to beach engagement sessions in Devon.
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Venue Spotlights
28 March 2026·8 min read
North Devon Wedding Venues: Croyde, Lynton & the Exmoor Edge
North Devon is one of England's most dramatic Atlantic coastlines — surf beaches at Croyde and Saunton Sands, the twin cliff villages of Lynton and Lynmouth, and the wild moorland of Exmoor pressing down to the sea. A guide to north Devon wedding venues and photography.
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Venue Spotlights
28 March 2026·8 min read
South Hams Wedding Photography: Salcombe, Kingsbridge & Coastal Villages
The South Hams is Devon's most beautiful coastal district — a protected Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty of deep wooded estuaries, hidden coves, yacht harbours, and rolling farmland that drops gently into the sea. A photographer's guide to South Hams weddings.
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Photography Blog — Tips, Guides & Inspiration
Welcome to the photography blog by Yana Skakun — a professional photographer based in Cambridge, England. This journal covers everything from practical wedding planning guides and engagement session advice to family photoshoot tips, newborn photography guides, portrait session prep, and venue spotlights across Cambridgeshire, London, and East England.
Whether you're a couple planning your wedding, a family getting ready for a seasonal portrait session, or a professional preparing for a headshot shoot — you'll find honest, experience-based advice here. Every article is written from real sessions and years of capturing life's most meaningful moments across England.