This year I have noticed that my childrens’ portrait photography has naturally developed into more of a Fine Art style.  Fine Art Photography is when the Photographer creates an image based on their own creative vision.   So before the session, I will already have an idea of what I want to create and then I will set the shots up to achieve that.   More time goes into planning wardrobe as colours and style of clothing make a huge difference to the look of these shots and I love to use muted tones and block colours rather than the bright and colourful clothing you see in Lifestyle session.   I also aim to shoot at a time of day to make the most of sunsets or sunrises, placing the children in the perfect location, in the perfect light and then giving them something to do.   I’ve found that most children I’ve worked with really enjoy this type of shoot more as there is no pressure to ‘SMILE!’ for the camera or to behave a certain way.  Things are a lot calmer and as a result, I just love the expressions the children give me and it’s often surprising how well they follow instructions.   Even with young children, simply giving them something to hold, like a piece of fruit, a leaf or a teddy, and then something to do, and they do it beautifully allowing me to get that perfect shot.

In a lot of these images, the children aren’t smiling but don’t worry, I do get smiley shots too, it just turns out that most of my favourites are when the children aren’t smiling as it makes me wonder about what they were thinking at that moment, and where their imagination has taken them.   When you aren’t focusing on a childs smile in a photo, you see other aspects of their personality come forward.  Sometimes you see their vulnerability, other times their strength or confidence, or their curiosity nature.   As a Parent myself, my heart swells when I see photos of my boys like this.

Another aspect of this style of photography is when we introduce the family pet to the session. This year I have worked with some beautiful animals including Hudson the Cocker Spaniel, Frank the dachshund and Charlie, the Connemara pony.   Pets always add a lot of interest to these portrait sessions, and it’s lovely to capture that connection between pets and their owners so do feel free to bring them along to your shoot.   However, it is pretty important that the animals are fairly well behaved, and that you let me know beforehand so I can plan ahead!

I hope to do lots more portrait sessions in this style in 2017 so do get in touch if you would like to book a shoot, and remember, Parents are welcome to join in this type of session too. It doesn’t have to be all about the children!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Please note that the majority of these images have been taken at my home studio in Stoke By Clare, and on our Family Farm or our local park, but we can shoot in other locations if you prefer, so let me know if you have any idea’s.