Updated: Dec 26, 2020
This session holds a special little place in my heart as it was the second year I got to have my part in helping celebrate this wonderful little girls birthday! Last year A's Mum and Dad, Vicky and Tom had to the whole family over for a birthday party to celebrate together. Of course this being 2020 it couldn’t quite be the same this year but Vicky and Tom still found a way to mark A birthday. So I’m very excited to share with you these fun filled natural family portraits with you!
Before we go on. Vicky and Tom prefer not to share pictures showing A’s face online so I won’t be doing that here. But let me just say we did capture plenty of A's lovely face and beaming smile for her family to enjoy.
One of the joys of choosing the natural family portraits route is that we get the chance to really showcase a child’s passions and loves. So please let me introduce you to A’s little bear CooCoo (I hope I’m spelling that right!) A so enjoyed our time together, she delighted in giving me the grand tour of her garden, including the climbing frame, mud kitchen and the best spot to do some bouncing! But most of all she beamed with pride when showing me her little bear friend. It was so sweet and it was clear to me how important it was to A that CooCoo be included in the images. It’s not the first time a child has asked me to photograph their toy and I’m sure it won’t be the last. I love it, I can just imagine their excitement when their parents show them the gallery of images including their best teddy, dinosaur, train, whatever it may be!
After a good play in the garden we headed into the neighbouring fields, full of sheep, mushrooms and plenty of open space to enjoy. You will probably notice a theme in these images, A is quite the green thumbed three year old. One of her favourite shows is Gardeners World, she’s got to be the youngest Monty Don super fan there is. So it made perfect sense that we capture lots of images of A in her natural habitat, outside, searching and identifying the natural world around her.
One of my favourite series from the day was one which told a simple but sweet story.
The first shot was A discovering a flower growing in the grass.
The second, A trying to pull the flower up.
Then A calling Mummy in to help her task.
The forth A enjoying smelling this flower.
And finally A bringing the flower to Vicky to have a smell too.
Natural family portraits are so perfect for telling stories! Leaving a child free to explore their surroundings and whilst they do I can discreetly and unobtrusively capture those moments.
A, Vicky and Tom live in a beautifully converted Chapel and I asked the family to sit together outside their home and enjoy a book. It made for so many sweet natural family portraits, photos of Vicky lovingly kissing her daughters head, images capturing the look of love as A watched her Dad reading to the family. In fact it was such a touching moment to see the three of them sat together immersed in a book I didn’t want to ruin it by snapping my shutter!
Finally I asked Tom and Vicky to sit together by their beautiful blue door and we waited for A to join them. You see when creating your natural family portraits with me there is no pressure. I don’t expect children (or parents) to hold poses, to sit nicely and do what I say. No, these sessions are child led, we follow their lead, fluid and relaxed. I will create your intimate and loving portraits but it’s also my priority that you all enjoy the session itself too!
If you liked seeing how we celebrated A's birthday you might like to see how I helped bring in Noah’s first birthday too! You can read about it in this blog.
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For information on any of my portrait sessions you can drop me an email here.