I’d like to share one image with you from a recent Chiswick House family photoshoot. Sometimes with natural family photography more planning goes into getting one particular shot than you might realise. Although I like all my family photography to look genuine and spontaneous, occasionally capturing an image does take a little thought beforehand. This was the case with this Chiswick House family portrait.
A special family portrait for a special birthday
When I met up with this lovely extended family I knew that they really wanted one image with the whole family in it. This photograph was going to be a present for the grandfather’s birthday. As the family consisted of two grandparents, their three daughters and eight grandchildren I knew this needed some preparation. So I arrived at Chiswick House (a fantastic setting for family photography sessions by the way!) early to have a good look around. By the time the family arrived I had a few ideas in my mind.
We started the photoshoot with getting some portraits of the whole family together by a beautiful tree. These worked really well and I knew the family would love them. We then moved on to capture some photographs of smaller family groups in various settings of the grounds of Chiswick House. After that we let the children play while I captured more candid shots of them having fun together.
Creating a special Chiswick House Family Portrait
Finally we had a go at the image that I’d had in mind when I first arrived at Chiswick House. I really wanted to include the fabulous Chiswick House itself in the image. So I had everyone stand just in front of this stunning building. Then I stood quite a distance away and asked the children to run towards me while the adults stayed still. This was utter chaos!! It turned into a running race, with some children so far ahead and others falling over – you can imagine the scene! So I then asked the children to walk slowly towards me and I clicked away as they approached. It took a few takes, as I really wanted everyone looking happy and the grown-ups visible in the background too, but we got there in the end!
I was so happy with this Chiswick House family portrait – I hope you like it as much as I do! If you’d like to have your very own extended family portrait in your favourite London venue please do get in touch. It doesn’t matter how large the family – I’d love to create something very special for you. Details on my family photography can be found here London Family Photographer
