The Experience
CHILDREN / FAMILY
Family shoots are always good fun. I love children to play, run, sing, and do whatever makes them happy. My style is very laid back and I avoid posed expressions and forced smiles at all costs! I usually just follow the children around and capture what they give me. Capturing images of the children and your family in your natural environment always results in more informal photos that truly reflect your personalities.
The Shoot
When taking shots of the whole family I will gently direct you to ensure I first get the right framing but then I want you to just be yourselves and interact normally as though the camera wasn’t there! Then we will capture beautiful images of your family just being yourselves in your natural environment. It’s very natural for adults (especially the Dads!) to be a bit apprehensive about the shoot and I don’t know many grown ups that say they love having their photo taken! I promise I will make it as pain-free as possible and you never know, you may even find yourself enjoying it!
The shoot will normally last between 60-90 minutes depending on the amount of children and whether we have clothing/location changes. Also, it's natural for parents to worry about the children being 'on form' for the shoot, but being a Mum myself I understand and know that things don't always go to plan! I am happy to work around any feed times (and the occasional tantrum!) and quite often a quick drink and snack is just what is needed to get the children back on track!
Location
Often I meet clients at their homes, where the children are most comfortable. Once I have captured some good shots indoors, we sometimes then go outside to the garden or to a local park (weather permitting).
It's very popular to do the whole session in an outdoor location where you usually spend time as a family, such as a park or woods. There the kids can run around to their hearts content and I can chase them around with the camera! Also we can get some lovely natural family shots too. Why use a boring white studio backdrop when there are so many interesting backdrops in our natural world!
Clothing
Now onto the question of what to wear...... The photo shoot won’t be a success if the children are dressed up in their “Sunday Best” and can’t be themselves! I’m definitely a fan of a more casual look and it suits my style of photography. And if your little boy wants to wear his Spiderman outfit or your little girl wants to dress up as a princess for a part of the shoot then great!
Please try and avoid logos or wording on clothes – it dates an image quickly and detracts from the face. Also for the same reason please avoid big bright patterns - bold strong colours work best. And please make sure you don’t clash with one another! For this reason neutral colours such as greys, browns and blacks usually work very well. Although if all of you are in shades of the same colour, such as blue, that can create very strong images too.
If you want one person to wear a white top then it's best that you all wear white as it will stand out in the images more than the other colours.
I suggest that the grown ups wear long sleeves....exposed arms can detract from the face and also if you're anything like me then you won't like to see your arms in the photos afterwards anyway! And please bear in mind that you will be moving around and potentially lying down for some of the shots so think about possible bra straps/labels that may show!
It’s a great idea to have a change of clothes during the shoot to give variety to the images. Often we have one set of clothes for the indoor shots, and then change before going outside. Also, hats, coats and scarves look fantastic in photos so don’t worry about wrapping up in the cold weather!
If you have any other question at all, however silly you may think it is, please don't hesitate to contact me and I'll be happy to help you.