I had the time of my life photographing creating these family portraits in Cardiff Bay in the middle of a fairground! I've had the pleasure of shooting the Edwards family many times now, this time around we wanted to do something a little extra special. So we headed into Cardiff aiming for the lush carousel that sits looking over Mermaids Quay, we arrived to discover it was gone! Shock, horror....hang on...there's a whole fair we can shoot in!!??
Cue tokens, rides, games, laughs and a beach(?!).
I LOVED shooting these family portraits in Cardiff Bay, there were so many interesting backdrops to choose from but most importantly there was so much fun stuff to do! Hannah and Dan climbed onto tiny rides with Luna, they played classic fairground games like hook a duck, made their way through the fun house and they didn't stop smiling all say. I snapped away all those candid moments creating family portraits full to the brim with happy memories! Images that they can look at in years to come and be instantly transported back to that crazy sunny day spent happily with their little family.
Luna, as always, was just a little star, taking all the excitement in her stride her cheeky personality shining through. I mean look at those sun glasses! Sass for days, killing it on the table football...even if she couldn't actually see above the table...She honestly just made creating these family portraits in Cardiff a breeze!
We made our way to the hook a duck stall where I captured these two touching images. Here we have the perfect example of little girl with her hero, her Daddy. The concentration on Luna face as she watches her clever Dad rescue a poor lost ducky from the deep depths! Followed by pure delight when she realises her and Daddy's efforts will be rewarded with TOYS! It's these simple little moments of childhood wonder that are worth capturing!
So.. I had an idea. The idea involved getting the whole family to sit in a tiny balloon ride car, I would sit in the one next to it and get a few shots whilst the ride span around...Simple.. I didn't take into account that the cars would spin individually therefore I would have to shoot whilst turning myself round and round trying to point in the right direction. What can I say, I like a challenge! It ended up working well though as Hannah couldn't stop herself laughing at how ridiculous I looked, she told me, "we should be taking pictures of you doing that!" Extra bonus being I got a pretty good core workout from all that turning!!
All in all it was an incredibly fun day out for everyone and we caught some stunning family portraits. I will go on fighting the good fight for engaging family photography full of love and life!
Sarah Haile is a family photographer in South Wales. Creating family photos with a difference!
If you'd like to see some more goodness then please check out my portfolio page