You. Just as you are.
Natural and emotive family photography East London.
The word that comes up most often when I ask people to describe my family photography style is 'natural'. Time and again, it pops up in client questionnaires, in Google reviews and in Instagram story feedback. Natural. Which is perfect, because that is what I am aiming for! Capturing you and yours, just as you are, whatever stage of life you are at. Perhaps it is my preference for working outdoors that evokes a ‘real life’ feeling in my images, or maybe it is that I focus on the connections between the people in front on me… either way, achieving photographs like this usually happens because everyone involved is relaxed.
It might be difficult to imagine feeling relaxed at a photoshoot, but it IS possible! There is nothing worse than being sat down and being told to smile for the camera - so I don’t do it. No ‘cheeeeese!’ here (unless your children do it automatically - my youngest says it every time I take my phone out for a snap, and I have no idea where he has got it from!). I want you to play, to just be yourselves, and let me capture all those natural moments and expressions as they happen. People often ask 'what do you want me to do?' and the truth is, families rarely need much direction - you are always quite naturally doing the things I want to capture - cuddles, playing peekaboo, stroking a cheek, laughing at something silly, or sneaking strawberries!
Let's get to know each other...
I truly believe our mindset and how we approach things has a direct impact on the results of everything we do. And so when it comes to family photography, I ask people to meet me with open hearts and minds, and to think of our photoshoot as an experience rather than something to be endured for the sake of nice pictures for the wall! All of the people pictured in this blog post were strangers to me until we met at their first shoot - a few emails to organise dates and time, maybe a few texts or a brief phone call - but otherwise completely unknown to me. Don’t be surprised if we spend a while chatting and playing and drinking tea before the camera comes out - we all need to get to know each other and feel comfortable together before I start snapping away.
I have two young children of my own, 8 nephews and nieces, and spent 15 years working as a teacher across primary and secondary level - I KNOW how things go! You do not have to worry about things going ‘wrong’; we simply go gently and let our time together unravel, hopefully with lots of fun and laughter, but sometimes with a few tears too! And anyway, in years to come you will think back with a wry smile about how your little one cried because the ducks didn’t come over or hid under the bed when we were trying to capture a family moment!
These are the days and these are the moments.
