Family Photography Shoot with Kathy, Mark & Jacob

A warm and sunny spring morning, a beautiful patch of woodland and the loveliest family you could hope to meet… Kathy, Mark & Jacob.

Kathy had seen my newborn portraits of her friend’s baby, Finley, and got in contact to book a family photography session with me.

Kathy and Mark own a stunning new-build home with acres of smooth, cream-coloured walls that are ready and waiting to be filled with beautiful artwork.

We met to discuss what they were hoping for from their portraits, while young Jacob, 2 years old, peeked around the doorway. He had the cutest grin each time he appeared, and the cheekiest giggle as he disappeared. I could see exactly why his parents were so besotted with him, and just knew he’d be a lot of fun to photograph.

We met a few days later at a little-known beauty spot not far from Bicester. In the days leading up to the shoot, the forecast had been threatening cloud cover, but the sun was bright and warm throughout our shoot.

We started off with a few portraits of each parent with Jacob, then brought everyone together for this family photograph:

I love how the lines of the wooden bridge draw your eye towards the family, and the loving, protective cocoon shape Kathy and Mark create around their son.

Next we headed into the wooded area to capture images of each parent with Jacob in a different setting:

In our pre-shoot meeting, Kathy mentioned that she and Mark had very few portraits together, not even any from their wedding. I wanted to rectify this, so we parked Jacob up on a nearby blanket with the digital babysitter (Peppa Pig, of course) and focused on his parents for a couple of minutes:

This is my second favourite image from the session. Wide shots like this are great for large wall portraits, as the subject isn’t too overwhelming in the frame. In addition, we get to see the beautiful setting and the sun filtering through the tree canopy overhead. Most of all, though, I just love the shared glance between Kathy and Mark: they are the happiest, loveliest and most loving of couples, and that really shows through here.

To give maximum choice later on, I also wanted to include a portrait-orientation photograph of Kathy and Mark together; this time looking towards the camera. Their pose, proximity and big smiles all combine to show you how happy they are together.

Then, we teased away Peppa Pig and interacted with Jacob, running back and forth along a patch of path. All of a sudden, Jacob became very still and quiet – intrigued by the camera lens perhaps – giving me a chance to capture his beautiful eyes at their biggest:

Close-ups like these work best as smaller images, so I still needed to capture the perfect photograph of Jacob to go on the wall. We carried on playing and within a few minutes I had exactly what I was hoping for:

I love the path leading your eye towards Jacob, the trees framing the edge of the image and his lifted hands and foot that give the portrait a sense of movement. Best of all, though, is his big cheeky grin: the one I’d seen and wanted to capture as he peeked around the door during our pre-shoot meeting!

As well as the posed family portraits I had already taken, I wanted some of the family interacting naturally. Again, we played a few games and were rewarded with this massive grin on Jacob’s face:

This meant we now had the perfect family portrait collection to go on Kathy and Mark’s wall:

Afterwards, Kathy said:

“The photos are amazing and the shoot was fun. We are over the moon with how you’ve captured all of us and the great choice of location. Grateful for the discussion beforehand about what we wanted, and for your advice on how to get the best from the shoot. I wish we had known you when we were looking for a wedding photographer! We will definitely be in touch again next time we want family photos, we’ve loved the experience.”

Would you like to find out more about family portrait photography? Please get in contact:

Sarah Plater LMPA is a qualified professional portrait photographer based in Bicester, Oxfordshire.

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