In this recent London family photography session, I was particularly happy with the extended family portraits we got. This was the main thing the family wanted from our session together. A really natural family portrait of them all together. Nothing too posed, just a relaxed photo of them all enjoying each other’s company.
Originally the session was due to take place in a park near the family home. But on the day we decided to stay in the family garden instead. With such a fantastic garden and three little ones involved, it just felt more relaxed to stay there.
Extended family portraits in the garden
When there are large families involved, I usually start the photoshoot with the group portraits. It just works better when everyone is fresh. And younger children seem more likely to stay still for a few minutes when I’ve just arrived! So we set everyone up with the lovely greenery of the garden as the backdrop, and I got a few photos of them all looking at the camera. I then asked them to chat and ignore me, and I captured some really natural photos of them interacting with each other. I really like the first photo below, where some of the family are talking to each other, while the others seem to be chatting with the dog! It’s lovely to include pets in the group portraits, they are family after all.
While the going was good, we did a few different set ups in the same part of the garden, with some of the family kneeling on the grass. This way I knew we’d end up with a good variety of photos for the family to choose from.
Large family groups, pink roses and bubbles!
Right at the end of the garden there was a beautiful stone wall and some pink roses, which worked brilliantly for more family portraits, especially when we added in some bubbles!
As well as all the group shots we got that day, I was also really happy with the fun, candid images of the children running around the garden, having such a great time playing with their family. All in all, it was a fabulous session which I enjoyed from beginning to end. And I was thrilled when the family ordered one of my beautiful framed prints as a present for the grandparents. It gives me such joy to think of the photo they chose being enjoyed by everyone each day.
If you’re interested in having some extended family portraits taken, please do get in touch. And to see more of my work please have a look at my website here London Family Portrait Photographer
