One of the things that surprised me, when I started in this business quite a few years ago now, is how fellow professionals were all so welcoming. I had expected that I would, eventually, be seen as competition, but I was welcomed with open arms into this tight knit community. This shoot was a referral from someone I hadn’t even met! I received a lovely email from Tricia at Portrayed Photography in Dulwich, saying how she couldn’t photograph this lovely family because she was away and she wanted to put them in touch with me because she felt we would be a good fit. Tricia and I only “knew” each other through a photography forum for professional photographers, run by the lovely Nina Mace.
After a chat with Katja, who was booking this shoot while they were holidaying here over Christmas, the session was booked in. I was very excited as this was the first time I had photographed a family from so many different countries and actually the first time I had been booked for someone’s vacation!
A beautiful, foggy, sunny, Winter’s day greeted me as I stepped off the tube at Tooting. They had rented an amazing house right on Tooting Common; the location was perfect and the house was absolutely stunning!
Upon my arrival I arrived was given a quick tour. I always like to do this because it means I can see the best location for our shoot. I like to look at living spaces, kitchens, bedrooms and even sometimes, the bathroom! It can be a great back drop, particularly when they have a lot of space and a fabulous roll top bath!
Having had a tour and said hello to all the lovely children whose ages ranged from 4 – 11, we all put on coats and boots and headed over to the Common. Before I had greeted the family, I had done a quick recce, and found a couple of nearby locations for some outside shots.
I started with taking some casual full group shots, before taking the individual families slightly away from the group, to get some casual family shots. I loved these and the shots of the family show how close everyone is. I then took some time to let the children play on a big fallen down tree trunk. We had that amazing back, rim light which is my absolute favourite and I got some great candid shots here.
We headed back into the house and I took some photos of the family just enjoying the various rooms in the home and did a few set up shots on the kitchen counter. I love these! We threw all the children in the bath for some fun shots and then finished in the garden, again capturing full group and individual family shots.
I was so pleased to have met this family and they were delighted with their photos.
If you’re planning a holiday and want to book me to photograph you all while you are here, then please do get in touch. I am often booked to photograph extended families and there are lots more examples of these on my blog!
