I hope your January is going well. It’s been freezing here so I’ve been catching up on all of those jobs that I struggle to get done in my busy shooting months, like blogging!

This session took place in October in the family’s home and garden. I’d photographed this family a few years ago so it was lovely to see them again and see how much the kids had grown up! I always suggest doing family photo shoots at home when you have a baby, but normally with older children we get outside to a park or the woods. However there is something very special about shooting at home as the family are at their most relaxed and we don’t need to worry about avoiding the crowds!

Lots of parents get nervous about having a photo shoot as they worry about how their children will behave, and whether they’ll get bored and start moaning! I understand completely, I have an 8 and 6 year old so I worry about the same things whenever we’ve had a family photo shoot!

With toddlers I can just run around chasing after them making silly noises, but with older children like this it’s really important that I engage with them and ensure the session is lots of fun for them. I turned up to this session with lots of games that I’d planned which this brother and sister threw themselves into! It meant that they had a giggle and really enjoyed the session and meant that I got happy natural photos like this. At the end of the session parents always say to me that the shoot has been so much more fun and relaxed than they expected, which is always my aim!

Then at the end of the shoot we went indoors and they loved having a play around on Mum & Dad’s bed!

Hope these happy photos has brightened up a gloomy Tuesday!

If one of your New Year’s resolutions was to get up to date with your own family photos, check out my blog post with my tips for creating family digital photo albums. I’m still finishing off my 2014 album so I’m quite behind, but I’m determined to catch up!

Take care