It’s been fantastic getting back to my work as a lifestyle family photographer after the latest lockdown. I’ve already photographed so many lovely families and it’s looking like being the busiest summer ever! I’m not sure which part of being a London family photographer I like the best. From getting to know new families… then watching the images come to life during the editing process… to delivering the final gallery to the happy parents. It’s all enjoyable and I appreciate every aspect of my job even more now.

But my favourite element of all is having fun with the children during the sessions. Although I always try and get a few relaxed portraits of the whole family together at the beginning of the photoshoot, the majority of the session is spent just playing. Kids do the funniest things, and photographing them naturally produces wonderful images. No forced smiles, just a chance for everyone’s unique personality to shine through in the photos.

Spring lifestyle family photographer

The photos below were taken during one of my Spring lifestyle family photography sessions. I spent a lovely morning with the family, running around and exploring their local park. The two sisters were brilliantly energetic (and quite hard to keep up with at times!) and just loved being together. One of my favourite images is the one of the older girl giving her younger sister a huge hug. She wrapped her arms so tightly around her sibling you can only just see the little one’s eyes peeking over her big sister’s arm. Such a lovely moment!

After capturing lots more candid moments in this beautiful park it was time to make our way back to the family home. The girls sat with their parents and read a book together, which produced some fun and some more reflective images of this lovely family together.

I hope you enjoy seeing these photos from one of my London family photography sessions. If you’re interested, you can see more of my work here London Family Photographer

I absolutely love doing natural outdoor photography sessions for so many reasons. Firstly, nature really does provide the most beautiful backdrops for family portraits, which I’d much rather use than a plain white wall. And more importantly children are just so happy when they’re free to run around in an open space. This is wonderful to photograph and results in completely natural images. No false smiles or awkward poses – just real family life as it happens.

Natural outdoor photography sessions in your local park

Some of my London family photography sessions do take place in the family home. This is ideal for a newborn baby and can also work well with older children, as they are so comfortable in their own home. But for most of my family photoshoots we spend some or all of the time outdoors, usually in the family’s favourite park. This works brilliantly as the children are free to let off steam in a place they know so well. While I try and keep up and capture the action as it happens!

My favourite fun portrait

The image below is from a recent London family photoshoot and I just love the energy of it. These two lovely and lively sisters were having so much fun in their local park. They tried to fly their kite, which didn’t work brilliantly as there wasn’t enough wind, but was great to photograph! They chased bubbles and played with the blossom on the ground. But this image of them running towards each other for a huge hug turned out to be one of my favourites. Although you can’t see the look on the older sister’s face, the younger one’s expression makes up for both of them! Just pure, excited happiness to be running into her sister’s arms.

If you’d like some genuine moments of your children captured in beautiful images, please do get in touch to book your own natural outdoor photography session. Details on how I work can be found here London Family Photographer

My family photo sessions are all about having fun. Of course, my ultimate aim is to produce a set of fantastic images for you to treasure forever, but I also want the shoot itself to be enjoyable. And for the session to be enjoyable you and your children need to feel comfortable. So I make sure my photoshoots are really relaxed. You can just enjoy spending time together, while I capture the spontaneous moments between family members.

Often younger children like to bring their favourite toy along to the session. This is something I love for so many reasons. Not only will it help your child feel happy, but also their beloved toy will feature in many of the photos. How precious will these images be in years to come, when you and your children look back and remember their childhood and their favourite toy in the whole world?

Tower Bridge family photo sessions

In the photograph below the beloved toy in question was a little white bunny. During the session the sweet little boy played with it, cuddled it and laughed with it. It was adorable! Whether or not the rabbit helped (I like to think it did!) the little boy smiled and laughed for the whole hour we were together. He and his parents were such a pleasure to photograph in their Tower Bridge family photoshoot.

I particularly like this image. The boy was being swung by his parents and even though he was holding both his mum and dad’s hands there was no way he was letting go of bunny! I took some photos of them all together and then I zoomed in on the little boy with his toy. I love the boy’s huge smile as he enjoys a fun morning with his parents.

If you’d like any details on my London family photo sessions please do get in touch. More of my work can be found here London Family Photographer

Although I don’t work as a pet photographer, I love to include pets in family photography sessions. Anyone who has a pet knows they are a huge part of family life. And it can be important to have them in special family portraits.

Whenever I photograph a family in their local park I’m delighted when they bring along a pet. In most cases it’s their dog but any pets are welcome! As my photoshoots are all about having fun, there’s no need for the dog to sit still and pose. (If my dog’s anything to go by the chances of that are slim anyway!) The family can just enjoy quality time together with their beloved pet, while I capture a series of natural images.

London Pet Photographer in the Park

The image below was one of my favourites taken during a London family photography session last year. The lovely family I was photographing all sat down on a huge tree trunk, which made a perfect setting for some family portraits. At the time their pet dog was sniffing around, so we left him to enjoy himself and took some photographs. Suddenly the dog decided he wanted in on the action, leapt up onto the tree trunk and pushed his way to the centre of the group. It was so funny and had the family giggling with laughter. As I clicked away, I got this photo of them which I love. The way the dog’s face is pushing against the youngest daughter and the whole family is laughing just makes me smile every time I look at the image.

So if you’re thinking of booking a family photography session with me this year and are wondering if you can bring along the family dog, or other pet, then please do. I would love to photograph you all having fun together. Details of my London family photoshoots can be found here London Family Photographer

This digital age we now live in is amazing in so many ways, but I really feel it’s important to still actually print your family photographs. In my home I have photos of my family all over the place. Some of them large and framed on the wall, others smaller on shelves. And I honestly appreciate them each and every day. They give me huge joy, particularly at the moment, as we are all spending so much time at home. It’s so easy to leave our photos, whether they’re taken on our iPhones or by a professional photographer, on our computers and forget to look at them, which seems such a shame. Of course, we can’t frame all our photos, but it’s wonderful to have our favourites on display.

Beautiful frames for your family photographs

After each family photoshoot I do, there is the option to purchase from a wide range of beautiful products. The most popular items are the large framed prints. I use a specialist company that offer stylish, modern frames to present your family photos. You can choose to have one favourite image in a large frame, or up to nine images in a storyboard frame. There really are options to suit everyone.

Albums to tell your family story

I can also design an album for you, which is a wonderful way to tell the story of your family. I use one of the UK’s top suppliers, who make luxurious albums with thick lay-flat paper. Not only will you love your stunning album now, but it will be enjoyed by your family for generations to come.

Mounted prints and contemporary aluminium!

Another alternative is a print box, which contains ten 9×6” prints in white mounts. It comes with an elegant stand, so you can change which image you show as often as you like. Or if you prefer you can display them on the wall in your own frames. And if you want a really contemporary look, I offer gorgeous metal prints. Using the latest technology your image is mounted on polished aluminium. Not only do they look amazing, but they are also robust and waterproof. Not a bad idea if you have young children!

Printing your own family photos

If you’d prefer to print your own photos you can always choose one of my digital collections, and I’ll be happy to recommend a company where you can get your images printed beautifully. Whatever you decide to do I hope some of your images will end up on the walls around your home, to be loved and cherished every day.

I am often asked what clothing works best for a family photoshoot, so I thought I’d share my views. The first thing I always advise is to wear clothes that you’re comfortable in. There’s nothing worse than feeling awkward and uncomfortable during your session. And to help the images look as natural as possible, you want to be happy in what you’re wearing, and to look and feel like yourself.

Simple clothing for a fun family photoshoot!

I do have some tips though when choosing clothes to wear on your family photoshoot. As a guide simple clothes tend to work best. Avoiding logos is a good idea as they can really date the photos. And very busy patterns and stripes can be a little distracting, so perhaps give those a miss. Having said that I photographed three sisters a while back who all loved wearing brightly coloured stripy tops. And their mum was keen for them to wear them for the photoshoot. The photos turned out to be such good fun and really captured the girls’ lively personalities. So sometimes rules are made to be broken!

Adding a pop of colour to family portraits

And rather than all wearing exactly the same colour clothing, why not go for different but complementary colours? For example, different shades of blue and grey can look great together. And sometimes if one person has a pop of bright colour on them, that can bring a fun element to the photographs. As in the first image below, where the blue, grey and purple all blend together perfectly, but adding the splash of red in the boy’s trousers works brilliantly.

Sometimes what the family wear can actually influence where I take the photos. For example, in the second image below I knew the blue flowers would work well behind the family’s blue/grey clothing. And in the third photo, as soon as I saw the fantastic decorations of this shop in Covent Garden I just had to photograph the family in front of it. The festive reds of the background look wonderful with the matching colour of the boy’s top and the girl’s bobble hat.

Fun London family photography sessions!

I’m always happy to help with clothing ideas before your London family photography session. If we’re meeting at your home, you can lay out different options for me to look at when I arrive. Or if we’re meeting outside in a park you can always send photos of the outfits beforehand, so I can give my opinion. But the most important thing to remember is that whatever you wear, your session will be relaxed and fun, and that’s what will shine through in the photos.

I love this sibling portrait, taken a few years ago. The sweet smile on the little boy’s face is delightful and the way his older sister is looking at him equally wonderful. And the story behind this image will show a little about the way I work when I’m on a London family photography session.

I met up with the family at their home just before Christmas. The mum, who I had met at a school fair (where I had a stand promoting my family photography) was keen to have some natural portraits of her two children together. We started the session in their home, capturing lots of relaxed shots using the Christmas tree as a festive backdrop.

London family photography sessions in your local park

We then wandered up the road to the family’s local park. This always works well, as the children feel comfortable in familiar surroundings, making the photos look completely natural. After having lots of fun running around and playing hide and seek, I was really happy with the variety of images we had from our family photoshoot. So it was time to make our way back to the family home, collect my gear and say goodbye.

A natural sibling portrait

However, I never feel like the session is over until I’m actually driving away in my car. I’m always ready to capture any last-minute action! And on this morning, I was so happy I had my camera to hand when we arrived back at the family home. As in the street there was some building work going on and a large digger had arrived. The little boy was overjoyed to see it at work. His sister lifted him up so he could get a better view and I captured the image below. The boy was so happy to watch the machinery, and his older sister was just happy to see his joy.

I hope you enjoy this image as much as I do. It’s lovely to be able to share some of my favourite photos while we’re in lockdown. To see more of my work please follow this link London Family Photographer