Informal Family Portraits

Having had the opportunity to do quite a few studio sessions involving children and families, I was really glad when recently I was given the opportunity to try this type of photography in a more informal setting.

Sadia and Nafee had a  wedding to attend, with their adorable young daughters, Aamna and Laaiba, and wanted some photographs of themselves, all dressed up for this special occasion . So, an hour or so before they set off for the wedding, I arrived at their home and set to work with the children.

Thankfully, after the appalling weather so far this Summer, on this day, the sun put in one of its rare appearances and it was actually as nice as July should be !  So, out into the garden I went with the two girls and the camera .

Both  were so easy to work with - outgoing, full of fun, and very relaxed and comfortable with the camera, and we had a great 30 minutes or so, having fun whilst I took photographs.

It was clear that the girls get on very well together and are very close

And, as little girls of that age should be, they were chocked full of energy - which from my point of view was great, because it led to some really natural shots.

Little props - like sunglasses - are great to have when working with young children - introducing them can produce some fun photographs . . .

I also took some individual pictures of the girls . . .

And we also made use of the girls play tent

At one point, Laaiba, who is after all, only 5 years old, was getting a bit fed up - so I told them that I thought that their garden was probably quite magic - two pairs of beautiful big eyes turned to me, full of curiosity .  I explained that if  I was right about there being magic around, then my 'very special camera' could photograph things that we can't see . . . like fairies!  I asked did they want to try and entice any fairies to come out and pose?  Both girls were very sure that they did - so I showed them how to put their hands together and asked them to wish very hard for some magic . . . just a little bit of time and effort in editing, and sure enough, Tinkerbell had put in an appearance !

(In fact, the idea of 'fairies' was so appealing, that I think we ended up with about 15 or so photographs that involved 'fairies! )

Then Nafee and Sadia joined Aamna and Laaiba for some family shots

And I also took some of just Sadia and Nafee  - this was one of several that I later turned black and white .

The whole shoot lasted just over an hour, and I was later able to give the family nearly 200 photographs, which is far more than I expected .  It was great to get this chance to try and informal family session, and I really enjoyed it - big Thanks to Sadia, Nafee and the girls for making me so welcome, and for being such lovely people to work with .