The days of popping down to your local high street for a family portrait photography shoot in a studio are, in my opinion, over! The reasons for this are many and range from spiralling cost of owning the high street retail space to evolving styles of photography and taste of clients. I for one, am pleased about this as I’ve never been a fan of the rather sterile, forced posed/ smiles that are generally generated in this type of environment. Family portrait photography can be especially difficult as kids are rarely comfortable being told where to stand, not to move, smile on command and generally avoid their natural (and loveable) behaviours. Therefore, its best to embrace the chaos, connections/ relationships between the family members, and most importantly, the fun of family life.

The details are king

For me, family portrait photography really comes alive when you capture the little moments of intimacy between a father and son or when a child is completely focused on an actively they love. It says so much more about the family than simply putting them in front of a white background with studio lights and expecting to recreate something real that will offer the subjects something memorable and that’s captured a magical moment in time!