This year I have decided to solely focus on photographing families. If you don’t know my work I used to photograph pets and families, but kind of separately. Now I wish to focus mostly on families, but incorporate their pets in the photos.
The reason is that I like to focus on one thing at a time and give all my attention to one activity. So in this blog post, I thought I would invite give you the top three things I love about photographing families.
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I get to create valuable content which has a meaning to my clients
Before photographing families, I used to do fashion photography. I had my work published in magazines, such as Vogue Italia and Schön!.
At the time, I loved it, it was really creative and I got to work with a wide range of interesting people; makeup and hair artists, art directors, fashion stylists and many more. We would work together towards a concept, I was mostly interested in London’s gentrification. But working in the Fashion industry is really tough; you constantly have to create new content for brands, and your work is very disposable, within a week or two your work is already at the bottom of the grid.
In 2020, the pandemic hit and I had to take a break from photography to work on another job. This time off made me realise that the Fashion industry wasn’t for me. I wanted to create more meaningful content for people. In between quarantines, I got to photograph my first family in Hackney. When I visited their home, they had photos of their children in almost every room.
We took photos outside and inside their home. It was really fun and I got some beautiful, candid photos. My client was really happy with the result and printed the photos to add to their walls.
This made me realise that this was the right path for me. I am 27 years old now, I don’t have children yet but I wish to in the next few years, and being a Family Photographer would work so well with a family lifestyle.
I am now creating content that my clients will cherish for the rest of their life, and show to their children and their grandchildren as they get older, this has so much more worth than disposable photographing fashion.
2. I love human contact
I am a very touchy person and always like to hug and kiss my friends and family. And as my client, you should know that I would always direct you during the session, this includes, with your permission, readjusting your position by gently touching your shoulder or hands. Toddlers often end up on my hip, with me trotting to the next photo spot.
I am famously known for imitating animals, and your kiddos have such a great time that they will ask about me once you get back home.
3. I get to play with the little one
A child’s laughter is the most beautiful music to my ears. Although I am the last one of my siblings and haven’t been in contact with young children until I started family photography, I have a magic touch with kids, they love me. I like being silly and playing games with them. Not only does this make the experience fun but it also helps me get candid smiles from your children. Some will need some time to warm up so I judge the mood at the start with more moody photos with cuddles and more relaxed facial expressions, then when they get used to the camera, I will initiate the playing or we will go hunt for bugs.
Here are only 3 things I love the most about family photography but I have many more! I truly love being an artist and creating photographic content, I love being my own boss, I love working indoors and outdoor, etc…
I hope you will love sharing this with me when we meet for your family photos too.
Alba
