With bronze and gold leaves spinning down to the ground, it must be time for some Autumn-themed family portrait sessions.
First up is the Joiner family from Bicester, with mum Zoe and dad Andrew at the helm followed by an entourage of three: Madison (6), Charlie (4) and Archie (15 months).
I headed to a secret patch of green space, just outside of Bicester, and greeted the family as they arrived on a bright and sunny Friday evening.
“Do you know why we’re here?” I asked Madison and Charlie.
“To take photos?” they responded, a little warily.
“How about we just play some games instead?”
Madison and Charlie cheered, full of sudden enthusiasm. We headed up the path through a patch of wood and towards an open area. Just before we started our first game, Charlie spotted and plucked a dandelion, giving me about 1.5 seconds to take this shot before he blew the seeds away:
This is one of the best things about working with children – they notice things that we adults walk straight past, and they interact with them and examine them with wonder in their eyes. I love Charlie’s outstretched hand here, and his complete concentration on his discovery. A second and a half later, the seeds were sent sailing into the sky.
We started playing our first family game and in amongst the fun and laughter was this gem, with young Archie gleefully flying through the air:
Next, we headed to a different part of the location, to get shots with a really autumnal feel, including this one of just the children together:
The three Joiner siblings stand out perfectly in their blue/green clothes against the browns of the bench and the leaves, and I love the sunlight peeking through the trees behind them.
Then we walked to a clearing a little further along, and I captured shots of each child with mum and dad. We played games throughout, which helps create adorable expressions like this one – I smile just looking at Archie’s huge grin!:
The sun was quickly dipping closer to the horizon, so we finished up with a final game of hide and seek. Look who got caught peeking while he was counting!:
“Sarah captured some absolutely stunning pictures of our family and I fall in love with them more each time I look at them. She created a wonderful sense of fun by engaging our children in some games which made everyone feel at ease and this shines through on the photos. I hope we have the opportunity to do it again in the future and I’d definitely recommend her.”
Zoe Joiner
If you are interested in creating some Autumnal portraits of your family, please get in touch and let’s get you booked in!:
Sarah Plater is a portrait photographer based in Bicester, Oxfordshire.
(c) Sarah Plater Photography
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