Hampstead Heath Family Photography

I live in Alexandra Palace and I love photographing families in Hampstead Heath. It’s only 15 minutes drive and it offers beautiful locations from parks to forests and pretty ponds.

My favourite of all is Kenwood House for its gorgeous flower trees from March to the End of June.

I wanted to show you my last family photoshoot done at this last one in June along with a few tips.

Pretty Backgrounds

I love using flowers in my background, they will surely be missed until next spring. They bring a pop of colour that makes the photo interesting without drawing too much attention from our subjects. I shoot my session usually with either a 50 or 100 mm lens, opened at F3.2 for a shallow depth of field, which creates a blurry background that helps isolate the subjects and creates beautiful professional photographs.

Photo prompts

Photo prompts really help little ones to focus and have fun during the session. Albert is 3 years old and he loves running around. As a photographer, I believe this is my role to photograph your child’s true personality and not change them for someone else. So during the session, we did spotted the bees, play swinging in daddy’s arms, some running shots, some log climbing, and also benches. It makes the whole experience truly special for the child but also for the parents, who don’t have to worry about their child behaving. I take charge of that with great pleasure.

Shot-list: Mum & Child: A must-have!

During my sessions, I have a shot-list of photos to capture. For me, the photo of a mum with their child is one of the most important. Why? Mums are always busy and most of the time the one holding the camera, taking photos of their child with their partner/husband or holding their phone for a quick selfie with their kids. Not much space for quiet tenderness.

For this reason, I believe it means so much for a mother to have a professional photo of them showing this special connection with their child. This is what I am showing here with Emily and Albert.

PLAY ON/OFF

Having Fun is key for a good family Photoshoot, if everyone is having a good time, then the photos will be happy and joyful. I also love to end the session with a quiet time with snuggles but they are not always possible with every child. Sometimes they don’t feel like it. But it didn’t stop mum from giving Albert a few giggles when she tried to squeeze him for sneaky cuddle!

As a photographer, you learn to adapt yourself to every character, so instead, we did some running shots and hide and seek! Albert is a pro at climbing benches.

Don’t forget the Protagonists

I always like to finish with a bit of Mummy and Daddy love, with whom this family started! I am sure both of you have a super packed schedule and not often the occasion to have candid and professional photos taken. Hence why you booked me! This is super important to document your connection with your partner/husband. As time flies and life plans happen, we change and our relationship evolves too.

After the session, when you have received your photos, I want you to learn to discover yourself again through your portrait; look at how you hold each other’s hands, and how are you looking at each other? What does it make you feel?

Now I want you to bottle this feeling in one side of your mind and access this secret space every time you look at this photo. Print this special portrait and display it in your home.

I hope this blog post around this family session will leave you feeling refreshed and excited about organising your own special session.

I invite you below to click the link below to see my booking page, where you can learn more about my session and see my future availability.