Child led family photographer

I specialise in family sessions with young children. Though I consider myself to be a family photographer I am predominately a child photographer, mostly under 5’s, though I love all ages! When you’re preparing for your session I know you that you’re thinking you’d love “that” shot. Maybe you’ve seen it on a friends Facebook page or on pintrest. It looks great, it’s the shot you might ask me for or perhaps you’ve seen me take that shot before and you’d like it for your own family.

In reality we know that our little people aren’t always so compliant. They don’t want to sit here and there, they don’t want to look this way and they definitely don’t want to kiss their sibling…

This is not to say we won’t get “that” shot because I will try every single trick up my sleeve to get it for you. All I’m saying is, let’s let kids be kids. Let’s not force them to do something they don’t want to do. We’ll take a break, we’ll try something else and go back to it, we might bribe them a little with sweets. I know, I know, not parental tip no.1 but hey a photo shoot isn’t your normal everyday occurrence! This is new territory, I’m a stranger with a camera, with props they’ve never seen before and the location around them is interesting. They want to explore! So let’s let them. Give them time to look around, to touch the grass, to pick a flower or stamp on some leaves… It’s fun! I will happily run after them, capturing their little faces as they discover something new. I love these images and it also allows your child to warm up to me.

We did an Autumn mini shoot with Sarah and she was so patient with our toddler and baby. She seemed to really enjoy the time in the woods doing her work and the photos she took were gorgeous! So pleased we went with Sarah – highly recommended!

Introducing a simple prop

I have a bit of a chair addiction so often bring one of these along, as well as crates and blankets. Sometimes a child won’t want to sit on it (as pretty as said prop may be!) but that’s ok, they don’t have to and I won’t make them. We can make suggestions, we can go back to it or just leave it out completely. Happy images require happy children, they should feel safe and at ease in their surroundings. As a child photographer I really want them to be happy and to enjoy themselves, I think it shows in the photographs too.

We had another fantastic mini session with Sarah this Autumn. Beautiful, natural images of our daughter just in time for all the family Christmas presents! Sarah is great with children and makes them feel happy and excited about having their pictures taken. A lovely relaxed way to create treasured memories for the future.

Remember one photograph is taken so quickly. It only takes a split second to capture a smile or a look that is just them. Sometimes it might feel it’s not going to our adult plan but that’s not to say we won’t capture great moments, the real them. Children are so much more than just a smile in a photograph. They have gorgeous moody faces, they don’t always want to look at us but just look at their beautiful hair as it blows up into the air as they run and the way that they look at you… Do you ever see that? Do you ever see how they look at you with unconditional love in their eyes or how you look right back at them?

So yes, my sessions are for the most part, child led. I have a bit of a plan in my head but the order is most definitely not set in stone. I’m a Mum, I’m pretty realistic in my expectations of young children! Calm, free-flowing fun is what you can expect from a session with me. Let’s enjoy it and remember our session with a smile on our faces each time we look at your photographs.

If you think this would be the style of session you’d like for your family please get in touch. I look forward to hearing from you.

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