Autumn Family Portraits – Samuel’s Second Birthday
Autumn is my favourite time of year. The colours of the trees and the beautiful warm low light. This family portrait was a very special one as it was their last in a set of 3 for their son B2B club membership.
The Jones family have been coming to me for their photoshoots since 2012 when Lisa and Colin booked me for their wedding. Since then we have had countless photoshoots together, including three to celebrate the development of their daughter Olivia and now three more to commemorate their son’s milestones too. They chose a newborn photoshoot, a first birthday photoshoot and a preschool photoshoot to show the stages of his early years from the five categories offered within their package.
It was a beautiful crisp autumn day, all be it a little chilly, with soft cloud cover producing a lovely even light. The children didn’t mind the cold (and neither did we). We had fun playing in the leaves and splashing in the stream, playing poo sticks and having rides on daddy’s shoulders.
Lisa had put together a beautiful wardrobe for the family which complimented the background perfectly. The photograph above of Samuel captures the grey hews of the sky through his jacket and the mustard trousers echoing the yellow in the beech trees behind him.
Capturing a family with everyone looking at their best is a rewarding job for any photographer. The job is more than just composing a well balanced photograph, but also its being a children’s entertainer, a peace keeper between siblings and it’s being invisible at times when the family are sharing a precious moment that you want to capture naturally.
Children of Samuel’s age love to explore and play games using their imagination. Some photographs can be guided or arranged, but more often than not they are natural and happen organically and I feel this captures a family at their best. We see the relationships between parent and child, and their personalities shine through.
It’s been such an honour to watch this family grow. I’m so lucky that I have so many families that come to me time and time again, each time the photographs reveal a little more about their lives. I’m sure you as my readers have enjoyed watching the Jones family through their journey so far, as much as I have. I’m sure this is not the end of their photographic journey with me, but for now this marks the end of Samuels baby years. Onwards my little buddy, the world is yours for the taking! Go and explore it!