I first met Claire at a Christmas fair. We instantly got along as she chatted to me about her family and we discussed my photography. I explained to Claire that I love to spend time with families in their homes and capture the connections that tell their story. After browsing through my work on the stand a portrait photography session voucher was purchased and a provisional date set for the summer. When we spoke nearer the day, Claire told me that she wanted to achieve some very natural photographs of them all enjoying their lovely garden and some beautiful portraits that captured her two children perfectly. My heart skipped a beat when I found out that the children adored playing with their mud kitchen, trampolining and pushing each other around the garden in a wheelbarrow – I knew that I was in for a great shoot.
On the morning of the portrait session I couldn’t have wished for better weather. It was wall to wall blue. I started photographing the children in their home, chatting about their certificates, favourite books and teddies, trophies that they’d won for sport – you name it we talked about it. After a while we headed outside to play a few games. Running races, croquet and trampolining were all tackled with enthusiasm and laughter. Mum, Dad & Grandma all joined in too.
Taking portraits that really capture a child’s personality is so important to me. Children quite often play to the camera and I find that working through this crazy ten minutes and taking time to get to know the children, makes them be themselves around me. Trust is so important in my job as a story teller and I always know when the children start to be themselves and relax around me and the camera.
I started with the individual portraits. I’d spotted this area in the garden when I arrived and I knew that the trees would make a great background. I also wanted to capture a really natural smile so we chatted freely about concerts, school, dance, favourite pizzas and friends. A great game that I love playing is guessing the names of their best friends – it invariably ends in laughter as it always takes me ages to get the right answer!
Earlier in the portrait session, I had spotted a lovely red brick old garage at the side of the house. Composition is very important to me in producing timeless images and I knew that by positioning the little boy to the right of the window it’d work well. I love the little boys smile and stance – just perfect. These beautiful framed portraits now hang proudly in their kitchen.
I hope you like the selection of photographs taken at this family portrait photography session in Wakefield. If you’d like me to capture your memories please give me a call to arrange your own portrait shoot on 07947 160185.
