Catherine and Andy visited the studio with their children today. It was lovely to shoot some nice images of them and the kids were great. Much as I like shooting outside and on location, sometimes the studio is the answer – particularly with the grim weather we are having at the moment. This pre-Christmas period is always busy with family portraits and always a race against time to get our prints, canvases and framed wall portraits ready in time. We also sell family portrait gift vouchers which make a really nice Christmas present. Please see my portrait photography website for more pictures.

We have a few dates left for our annual pre-Christmas portrait offer. Book a family portrait session and a 10″ x 8″ hand made print for only £49 (normally £120). Please head on over to our portrait photography site for further details. A even more special offer for you – lovely blog reader – quote this post when booking and receive the same goodness for only £25! We also have portrait photography vouchers which make ideal gifts for friends and family Please email or call 0118 9885088 now to reserve your preferred session time.

Family portraits are often much more meaningful I think when shot at home rather than the anonymity of the studio. It was a pleasure to photograph Andy and Tanja and the kids at home in nearby Swallowfield. There was some great corners of their garden to photograph in and I must admit it  was nice to take advantage of the fact that it was dry and not too cold. The last of the fine weather this year(?)

I think pictures of kids don’t necessarily need big cheesy smiles i.e.

A nice relaxed family portrait (L) and little Leah on the right, isn’t she a sweetie?

The fuse ran out – too much standing still, something had to give :)

Thanks again Tanja and Andy!

Viv and Andy got married a couple of years ago and I was lucky enough to photograph their wedding.

Today they asked me to photograph their new arrival, little Charlotte! Isn’t she lovely? It is of course great to see my brides and grooms at the next chapter in their life together. Portraits at home are especially nice as it’s a chance to include the surroundings – so much more meaningful with pictures of young children as in a funny way, the portraits are really for them when they grow up and reach their parents age.

Here’s a few I particularly liked.

The armchair is where Charlotte gets to hear a lot of stories so it was nice to use this spot for some images.

Ickle feet.

My favourite!

Looking for the remote and the bag of popcorn.

Here’s a little slideshow of Chris, Sarah and family. I photographed their wedding about six years ago and have photographed the children before. It was lovely to see them all today and take some pictures in and around the house. The beautiful weather helps of course but the kids were great too.

I always think that family photography at home has totally different feel to studio portraiture. It’s always much more personal and I think that somehow the images will have more value in years to come when the children are older because there is so much of their childhood in the pictures. Not only the favourite toys but the background, the garden and the world from their point of view.

I photographed Angela and Martin’s wedding in 2004 and today it was a pleasure to see them again and shoot some pictures of little Zara. It’s always lovely to see ex-brides and grooms, especially when they have beautiful babies :) Here’s some favourites from the session.

In celebration of Valentines Day we have a special portrait offer on at the moment. Your session is photographed free of charge and the first five bookings will also get a beautiful 8″ x 6″ hand made print absolutely free :)

Call me on 0118 9885088 or clickez-vous ici to register your interest.

This handsome young man is the son of Kate and Martyn whose wedding I photographed a couple of years ago. It’s always a pleasure to see my brides and grooms again with their new family.

He’s got a great smile hasn’t he?

Today my old friend Stuart asked me to shoot some pictures of his family. Stuart and Anita live in Goring and have three boys. It was a beautiful afternoon so we took some nice relaxed pictures in the garden. Stuart’s oldest, Nick, is about to fly the nest for a year in New Zealand so it was a great time to shoot some pictures of them all together. Here are a few of my favourites.