I shot Jess & Alex's sparkly London wedding back in 2012...fast forward four years they and they have become three, with the arrival of Mali and a first family holiday at the Polurrian Bay Hotel.

It's a lovely way to work – documenting a family as it grows and catching all those intimate moments because you've been there since the beginning.

The Polurrian Bay Hotel, hidden away on the remote Lizard peninsula, is up there with Watergate Bay in the cool family hotel stakes. It's been beautifully redesigned inside so there is an almost 180 degree view of the sea – and the whole place is geared around ensuring a proper holiday for both parents and kids. Less sand on the floors than Watergate, though.

But when it comes to photographing toddlers I'm always a little wary. They're often unwell, invariably with rivers of green snot pouring from their noses. Their mood is disproportionally affected by food and sleep – or lack of both. Or they can just be quite undemonstrative and emotionally quite neutral. None of which bodes well photographically...you see my point.

But Mali was an absolute delight. Complete charmer. So engaged. So smiley. Not a hint of the green stuff. She even had a quick nap at half-time when we went for a walk on the beach.