A few weeks ago, late one night, I was feeling super inspired after reading a brilliant new photography book. A book focused on family photography. On a whim I put a quick model callout on my Facebook business page for bigger families and was flooded with offers! Because I shoot film, I couldn't photograph all who'd offered, even though I would have adored it.
The Kilby's were the family I ended up working with to practice my new found inspiration on, and from my side of the camera at least, it was a blast!
Mum Monica had warned me that they'd be a rowdy bunch, but they were so lovely, full of personality and super fun! They honestly made my job that afternoon a breeze. Seriously - who said never to work with children or animals?!
While this family were full of fun, there were also plenty of super sweet moments during our afternoon, note everyone's hands throughout these photographs, always connected. Beautiful! And after four children and being together for some time, David was so adoring of his wife as I photographed her individual portrait. It's not that I'm surprised, it's more that I was personally, pleasantly reassured.
When Monica and I were planning this post Valentine's Day session, I asked her a few questions about her family so I, in a way at least, could get to know them and what their family was all about before we met in person. Her words were lovely - she and David are such loving and conscious parents, so focused on making sure these kids are well supported throughout life. I've used Monica's words alongside a few photographs throughout this post, using her words to tell you about her family seemed far more fitting.
These four kids were awesome! It's not often that I work with children of this age so I wasn't too sure on how I'd be received. Would they think this was a daggy way to spend their Sunday afternoon? (If they did, they didn't let me know ;) Would they let me have a little peak inside their personalities - past the smile-for-the-camera smiles? (Absolutely they did, I was thrilled!) Could I manage to keep the time of the session long enough to get 'all the shots' but short enough so they didn't lose interest? (From my perspective, yes!)
All four of these kids were great to work with - in the interests of keeping it real, sure, we had a few moments that weren't smooth sailing, but you know what? that made up only a few minutes of our time. We let them take a minute to chill out and moved onto some other shot until they wanted to rejoin us. The results show that letting kids be kids is always the easiest approach.
I'll let Monica tell you about her cherubs ...
We had a lot of fun, everyone was so kind and so funny, Monica and I chatted parenting throughout the session and David suggested Monica and I meet for a coffee to talk about how they'll display their family photographs in their home for a bit of a girls afternoon as well.
This wonderful family has kept me inspired to photograph more families in this stage of life, rather than only those starting their family. I'm so looking forward to doing more family sessions just like this x
