The saying never work with animals or children would put me almost instantly out of a job! As a children photographer, I find myself working with both all the time, and thankfully I love it! In fact I find the spontaneity that comes with pets often results in my favourite photographs from the day. This portrait from a children photoshoot near Newbury, Berkshire, is a classic example. The way the girl is rolling her head back exudes pure joy, love and happiness. I also love the dog’s crossed paws and patient expression. No doubt this is a result of years of being smothered with love, poked and prodded.
I often start a shoot with a ‘lightly’ staged group shot of you all together. I find it best to do this first thing when the children are fresh and most co-operative. It also provides a fall back if we don’t succeed in capturing a spontaneous family portrait. But I like to spend the majority of the shoot photographing your children at play, inside and outside. This might include cuddling their pets, climbing a tree, riding a bike, a game of cards, cooking etc. Whatever takes their fancy. These provide wonderful opportunities to capture informal and spontaneous images which best reflect your children’s personalities. They are also wonderful ‘story telling’ images which will remind you of their childhood.
Many of my clients opt for a photo album which includes all the images from the shoot. These are lifetime heirlooms which you will treasure forever. They can be any size, but I usually offer 12″ x 12″ as I find square the best format to display photographs. They can be embossed on the front and spine, and handbound in either pellaq or leather. My printer has the royal warrant, so it goes without saying that the paper is lovely and thick and the end result is top notch.
Please do get in touch if you are are thinking of booking a family or children photoshoot. I’m based in Dorset but happy to travel all over the country – I’m regularly in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Berkshire, London, Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. Do also look at some more examples of my children and family photography to give you a more extensive feel of my style of children and portrait photography.
This portrait is from a children and family photoshoot I did last summer (2020) in Motcombe, Dorset. I can’t wait to get back out and do more children and family shoots again, I really miss them. I’m all the more excited as to try out my new and utterly amazing Canon Mirrorless camera system and lenses.
Every parent loves a portrait of their children together. Whilst many of my favourite images result from spontaneity, a more ‘staged’ approach is sometimes the best way to capture four children and their dogs. I found the father’s landrover to be the perfect rural backdrop for this portrait. I love its informality and the way the door frames the siblings. It also will remind them of their childhood trips. There is something so special about a landrover. Rather like a VW campervan epitomises festivals and young travellers, landrovers are about family country life. I love to incorporate animals in my children and family photoshoots. They not only keep everyone more relaxed, they often also add spontaneity to the portrait.
Children and family bookings are flowing in for this summer so if you are interested in booking a family or children photoshoot, please do get in touch. I’m based in Dorset but happy to travel all over the country. I’m regularly in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Berkshire, London, Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. Do also look at some more examples of my children,teen and family photography to give you a more extensive feel of my style of children and family photography.
This is a candid portrait from a children photoshoot near Burford in Gloucestershire. It also reminds me of the fun we had that day. We bounced on beds, played hide & seek in the laundry basket and cupboards, choo chooed trains along their train track etc. And we did all this before we went outside for more games and a lovely walk. I took this photo during a game of ‘I spy with my little binoculars’. It makes me laugh out loud every time I look at it. Perhaps because of the way the younger brother is holding his binoculars in a closed position. No idea what he saw through them. But that didn’t matter as he was pretending to be as grown up as his big brother!
I also take beautiful and timeless portraits of the children together and apart during the shoot. But these candid portraits capture the essence of their personalities. They also create lasting timeless memories of what they loved to do in the home they grew up in. And they are often the ones I love the most as they are so rich in nostalgia.
Our childhood memories are often the most mundane – lying on a favourite sofa with the dog, playing lego, hiding behind our parents’ bedroom curtains, reading a book with mummy, helping Daddy in the garden. So when I’m taking photos at your home, I love to photograph your children both indoors and outside. I often prefer inside light for portraiture, especially on a sunny day. So don’t worry if it’s raining. We can still capture so many wonderful memories inside and there is almost always a dry spell when we can get outside and splash in puddles!
If you are interested in booking a family or children photoshoot, please do get in touch. I’m based in Dorset but happy to travel all over the country – I’m regularly in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Berkshire, London, Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. Do also look at some more examples of my children and family photography to give you a more extensive feel of my style of portrait photography.
Today I am sharing an example of my children photography with pets. I took this last summer in between lockdowns for a wonderful family, near Newbury, in Hampshire. This was my second shoot for them. We had so much fun and laughter together. And as a consequence we captured some wonderful, informal, natural and fun portraits which really capture their personalities.
Teenagers can be reluctant starters when it comes to a family photoshoot. But with 3 teenagers of my own, and 20 years of experience as a leading family portrait photographer, I’m quick to put them at ease. On arrival, the first thing we do is sit and chat around the kitchen table, so I can hear about what they enjoy doing, what makes them tick. Or not! I love to include their interests in the photo shoot. This could involve playing sport or a musical instrument, or hanging out with the family animals. This results in meaningful portraits which reflect their personalities. It also makes the shoot fun, which ensures the images are full of spirit and character.
On this visit the children wanted to be photographed with all their favourite pets, which included 3 dogs, 2 cats and lots of chickens. I love photographing children with their family animals, as they bring spontaneity. This often results in fun and unpredictable pictures. I love everything about this image: the light, the composition, the chicken’s tilted head and the boy’s expression. It is a natural, candid moment which captures his sense of humour, spirit and love of animals. It’s such a joy to capture those impromptu moments.
If you would like to find out more about my teenager and young children photography, please do take a look at the link. And if you’d like to book a shoot with your family once lockdown has lifted, please do email me at [email protected]
I started out as a wedding and children portrait photographer in 2000, when I was living in London. Most of my children shoots in those days were in my studio in Wandsworth – the rage then was for clean white backdrops. But I quickly found that these were not so appealing for those living in the country, where understandably parents were wanting the photoshoots at home and in their garden. I have therefore spent the last 12 years, traveling all over the south west photography children in their home environment. Although this is more time consuming for me, I can honestly say that I haven’t looked back.
This not only makes each shoot unique and personal, but it’s also where the children are most at ease, enabling me to capture the best images of your children. I capture them at play inside and outside in their garden, in their favourite places, doing what they love most.
This is an old favourite from a lovely family photoshoot in Hampshire. I love the movement in her skirt and hair, the way she is looking down but flying high, in a world of her own. A timeless moment of childhood bliss on a favourite swing in her garden. It’s full of emotion and energy, and makes me smile every time I look at it. I hope you like it too.
If you are interested in booking a family or children photoshoot, please do get in touch. I’m based in Dorset but happy to travel all over the country – I’m regularly in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Berkshire, London, Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. Do also look at some more examples of my children and family photography to give you a more extensive feel of my style of portrait photography.
I’m using these quieter times in the covid pandemic to go through all my children photography and refresh my website and blog. It’s a useful exercise to revisit your old work with fresh eyes. In doing so, I ask what I love about each image, and what I would like to have done better. When I started out as a children photographer, my main aim was simply to capture a beautiful portrait. As I evolved, I strived for perfect lighting and composition. The better I get at taking children portraits, the less photographs I find that tick all the boxes. I gather this is a classic artist and photographer’s flaw. But it is through this process of self criticism that we improve.
This is one of those images that stops me in my tracks. Ironically you can’t even see her face but I still call this a portrait as it’s captured a moment in time which captures her spirit. The moment I took this, I knew I had captured something special that would be treasured forever. I love the graphic shape of the hat with the fingers popping out below, the composition and the light. And I love that itt brings a smile to my face every time I look at it. I hope it brings one to yours too.
If you are interested in booking a family or children photoshoot, please do get in touch. I’m based in Dorset but happy to travel all over the country – I’m regularly in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Berkshire, London, Wiltshire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. Do also look at some more examples of my children and family photography to give you a more extensive feel of my style of portrait photography.
I’ve been photographing these siblings every two to three years since they were just toddlers – it’s been such a joy to witness them grow into wonderful and fascinating teenagers.
On each shoot, I photographed them within surroundings that are part of their childhood which not only makes the portraits so much more special, but rather nostalgic too. This shelter, in the park next to their house, has seen many different stages of their childhood – be it to shelter from the rain, play hide and seek, skate around, hang out with friends etc.
When I first started out as a children photographer, I found photographing young children so much easier – because they are unselfconscious and spontaneous – but as my children themselves grew into teenagers, I have found photographing teenagers every bit as rewarding. And the added bonus is, when I ‘previsualise’ an image they follow directions, as in this portrait here! This shelter engulfed them when they were little, but now they seemed to own it and the memories within. It also provided a wonderfully graphic frame in which to place them.
In celebration of the much anticipated arrival of Meghan and Harry’s baby, I have teamed up with my favourite frame supplier, Addison Ross, to run a prize draw in which you can win £250 of your own choice of Addison Ross frames AND 20% off a weekday children or family portrait shoot with me within 2 hours of my home near Sherborne, in Dorset.
To enter, visit the following link to Addison Ross website.
Fabulous issue of School Notices Magazine – ‘Noticed’; Their best yet. And lovely, as always, to see my images donning their front covers.
School Notices is a new company offering parents, pupils and schools a fabulous way to communicate. Taking the principle of the old-fashioned school noticeboard, they have created a cutting-edge website where parents and alumni can connect with other like-minded members across a network of schools in the UK. Members can buy and sell within a trusted community; businesses can reach out to our members; and schools benefit from the fundraising support from advertising revenue.
How old are we when we stop skipping down the road, or jumping on street walls? Some may say never, but in essence there is definitely a time when we become too self conscious, when we are suddenly too grown up, too rushed, too stressed… One of the many joys of photographing children is that they remind me to stop and enjoy the little things again, hold hands, skip down the street, even try a bit of jumping. And wow, the thrill comes straight back – along with a few strange looks admittedly!
When I moved out of London over 10 years ago, I craved rural backdrops for portraiture, but I fear I was simply unaware of quite how fantastic urban backdrops are for children portraiture – especially in black and white. Every street offers something unique, graphic, dynamic, quirky, but equally, every street invites the imagination of a child by offering games, adventures, magic, fun, play…
This image captures Ben enjoying a little alley way just around the corner from his home – he apparently does this wall jumping each time they walk along there. I hope one day that this image will remind him of a whole chapter of his childhood.
