Filtering by Category: Family photography

Forever Autumn

I was very fortunate in November to photograph these lovely sisters and their families. I had photographed one of the families before and I always have the most fun with them. This shoot was to be the same jolly, happy, easy going and, as always, with fabulous outfit changes.

The photographs took place at the local Priory ruins in Lewes, (my favourite place). The seasons really change the place. There are so many colours the orange, red and yellow leaves contrasting against the gorgeous greys and whites of the flint and stones and so many textures in the ruined buildings. It is particularly beautiful in Autumn, there are so many different colour leaves, it is just stunning. We were fortunate to have had dry weather, so the children could sit on leaves without any fear of getting wet. A couple of days after the weather turned very windy so most of the leaves had blown off the branches.

I constantly wonder if I did the right thing by leaving my secure office job to follow this path, being self employed is difficult, especially if you’re like me a, ‘Cautious Carol’ that never that never leaves my comfort zone, but when I have experiences like this shoot and I create such beautiful photographs, that my clients love, it makes me very happy and pleased I made the scary move.

Santa's little helper

As I don’t have a studio I am unable to offer those kind of photographs, but I really wanted to take some Christmassy photographs of Hudson, my great-nephew. So thanks to a white bed sheet and some fairy lights on my bed we managed to take these. Hudson was an absolute star, He had an occasional moan but could be calmed with dummy breaks. My niece had bought his little outfits from local shops and I got some of my Christmas decorations out the loft. We hadn’t planned to put him in the Santa sack, we tried to put him in a Christmas stocking but he was too big, so we got him in the sack and filled it with Christmas toys. It was just magical, as he then fell asleep in there. It was a truly fun afternoon and I can’t help but laugh and smile at the photographs that we got. One of my favourites is him with my niece and he looks like he’s just about had enough of having his photo taken…enough Auntie Becky.

Mabel & Elijah

The part of my job that I enjoy the most is photographing children. I find them so much fun and you never quite know what kind of photographs you will get, as it all depends on what mood the children are in. I’ve been very lucky with all the children I have photographed, as they have reacted well to me and my camera. They have enjoyed it. It’s the reason I like location shooting more than a studio as it is more of a fun adventure day out than a pressurised environment of a studio. This time though as Mabel was only a couple of weeks old, location shooting does not work, so I have a temporary studio I put up in my home. As it is a home environment it is still a relaxed atmosphere for the children, so they still enjoy it. The last thing you want to do is make the children feel the pressure of your one hour to perform and you get unhappy, sad children.

Mabel and Elijah were fantastic, Mabel slept the whole time (I got to give her cuddles to settle her for her photographs) and Elijah was a very attentive big brother. We had lots of fun and plenty of beautiful photographs of them. I even discovered that Elijah is fond of saying “Norman Price” in a bad Welsh accent, the same as my husband, so the two of them got on very well, talking about Fireman Sam.

The Fantastic Foxes

We recently had a photo competition, where you could win an one hour portrait session. The family who won were, the Foxes.

We were going to have the photographs at Priory Ruins but the rain was torrential, luckily enough there is a tunnel in the same area, so we had some photographs in there, it was quite serendipitous, as the look of the graffiti in the tunnel really suited the family. The children of the family were adults so a more mature background was better.

They were great sports and happy to venture out in to the rain, I had my many different umbrellas with me, so no one was going to get wet, of course the rainbow umbrellas are always the favourite.

It was unusual to photograph such a mature family, I am so used to doing little children’s portraits. The family said that they felt awkward at first, because it’s not every day you have a professional photographer taking your picture, but they very quickly got used to me and my camera and they actually quite enjoyed it.

The most important part of being a photographer to me is to make your clients feel comfortable and happy. If the clients are relaxed then the photographs will turn out so much better, as everyone will act more like themselves and the end result will represent how the family and the individuals really are.

Heralds of Spring

I did a wonderful photoshoot at Southover Grange Gardens in Lewes, in the Easter holidays. I was very lucky, as I think it was one of the only two sunny days of the two week break.

Due to the cold and snowy weather recently all the flowers have been blooming a bit later than usual. So instead of the usual April tulips, we had a 'host of golden daffodils'. 

Thomas and Eleanor enjoyed running around the Grange and playing in the gardens with bubbles, climbing trees and admiring the beautiful daffodils. I had a marvellous time, as Thomas and Eleanor were great little models. I have photographed them before and they never fail to amaze me. 

 I've begun to realise that doing the children/family portrait sessions really are a favourite thing for me to do. The most difficult thing is trying to decide which photograph is my favourite.