Generation Group Family Portraits in Oxfordshire

With families increasingly spread out across the country (and even the globe!) it’s so rare to get everyone together. When this family were meeting up to celebrate a birthday, they made the most of the opportunity by capturing it with professional family photography.

There was just one problem: on the morning of our (outdoor) shoot, the weather turned cold. Really cold. Frost-on-the-grass cold. It was a Saturday morning, and the various branches of the family tree were heading toward Chris and Helen’s house to celebrate Nanny Jean’s 70th birthday (she’s the fab lady rocking the red coat in these images).

There would be ten people in the family photos in total, with the youngest just three years’ old. With temperatures this low, how could I ensure everyone looked not just great in the images, but also looked (and felt) happy to be there?

My solution was three-fold.

Firstly, I suggested we get the biggest group portraits of everyone done first, while people were still insulated by residual warmth from the drive to our shoot location. As a bonus, I found a spot with a little shelter from the elements as well as great, flattering lighting:

Secondly, and once the big groups were done, I sent sub-sections of the family into the cafe in shifts. This gave them a chance to warm up when they weren’t needed for the various combinations that my client, Chris, asked for.

Thirdly, and perhaps most important of all, I used games. Every time I had someone in front of my camera, I focused on getting them into place as quickly as possible, and then distracting them from the elements with a whole bundle of age-appropriate mini-games.

After all, multi-tasking is a myth. Humans can only concentrate on one thing at a time, so when people are focused on an interaction, a prompt or some other type of mini-game, they (briefly) forget how cold they’re feeling.

Hopefully you can see from the images here that it worked – everyone looks amazing and the big smiles are genuine.

We even got the chance to sneak off to a sun-lit wood a short walk away to capture groupings of each family, the siblings and individuals of the children.

So not only will Nanny Jean have a fantastic image of her descendants and their families, but each family have their own pictures to treasure, too.

Afterwards, Chris said:

“Thank you for your patience and cold weather resilience! I think everyone was a little apprehensive but you were excellent at putting everyone at ease. We are really pleased with [the photos], you’ve done an excellent job. Thanks again.”

If you’re interested in family portrait photography, please get in contact by emailing [email protected] or submitting the form below:

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

(c) Sarah Plater Photography