My Approach to Family Photography
I know you have hundreds of family photographers to choose from when planning your family’s portrait session! I’ve been taking photographs professionally for 15 years and in that time I’ve seen the industry explode.
As the market has become more saturated, parents seeking out a family photographer in their local area are more confused than ever!
It’s our job to communicate as clearly as possible what we’re about. What makes our family photography service different? Why should you choose us over the photographer up the road?
Choosing the right photographer for your family is about more than just liking a style - it’s about trusting someone to see you and tell the story of this chapter in your lives through photographs.
In this article I’m going to try and break down my style and approach for you in simple bullet points. Here we go:
I’ll photograph your family exclusively on film. Remember those rolls of film your Mum used put in the back of the camera and take to Boots to be developed when you got home from holiday? Yep, that stuff!
My style is a blend of fine art portraiture and documentary storytelling. I’ll be sure to nail a beautiful and timeless collection of portraits of each child with each parent, parents together and children together. Once we know we have these in the bag, then we can begin to be more playful. I like to incorporate simple games and take cues from what we have around us, whether it’s outdoors or in your home, to prompt a bit of exploration or interaction.
I’ll offer direction and guide you through the session. I’m not going to tell you to “just be yourself” and then wait for something to happen… I tried that 15 years ago and my clients looked at me like rabbits in the headlights! I will choose locations where the light is best and give you some posing guidance before encouraging you to engage and connect with each other.
My family photography sessions are a well practiced process. In the beginning I’ll be holding your hand (metaphorically, not physically!) at every step. My aim is to help you all relax and grow in confidence, so that as the shoot goes on we can bring more play into the process and capture those un-staged and natural moments of connection.
I’ll almost always start with a traditional mantelpiece portrait. If my 11 years photographing weddings taught me anything, it’s that this shot matters. It may not be top of your priority list, but that photograph of everybody together looking at the camera will matter to your extended family. You might even surprise yourself and find it creeps onto the background of your iPhone screen pretty quickly!
I’m all about connection, not perfection. I believe the most beautiful family photographs are the ones that celebrate you, just as you are. My eye is trained to hunt for honest expressions of joy and love and all that good stuff! All you need to do is surrender to the process and be present with your children… the rest you can leave up to me.
I’ll be in no rush. The process of shooting film is a slower one that we’re used to and I like to lean into that. Having your family portraits taken is not just a tick box exercise, it’s an experience and it deserves proper time. On average my sessions last between an hour and two hours.
Your experience matters to me. I want you to feel relaxed and take this as an opportunity to put your to-do list out of your mind. Being a parent is incredible, but it can also be hard work! Your family portrait session is a chance to detach from all the demands placed on you, unwind for an hour or so and simply be in the moment with the family you’ve built.
It’s not over ‘til the fat lady sings. Your session may have come to an end, but in many ways the best is yet to come! Once your photographs have been developed and hand-finished my professional scanners, I’ll be in touch to arrange a big reveal for you. It’s honestly one of my favourite parts of the process. You’ll see your photographs for the first time and I’ll show you some beautiful examples of printed artwork and fine art albums to give you some inspiration to print and display your favourites.
So there you have it! I hope you find this short and sweet summary of my approach to family photography helpful… a little snapshot of how I work and what you can expect, because your experience matters just as much to me as the final images.
If you’re ready to book your analogue family portrait experience with me this summer, then send me a quick message and we can get the ball rolling!
