Chiswick House and Kew Gardens for Family Photos

A brilliant family portrait session in West London

‘ROAAAARRRR….’

That’s the noise that dragons make, as I discovered on this joyful family photo shoot at Chiswick House and Kew Gardens in West London. That big roar is the noise of a big dragon though, small dragons are quieter, and tiny dragons utter a whispered roar, not to be confused with the miaow of a tiny cat (as I was very seriously informed by my delightful three-year-old subject when my attempts at speaking dragon fell short)

I love photographing children. Imaginative games, family jokes, little rituals, these things make up a day and which I’m invited to witness and record in beautiful photographs, it’s a joy and a privilege every time.

Photographing this family is always a particular joy, the three sessions we have spent together have all been wonderful and this one was a special treat as they now live in Australia so meeting up for one of the days of their holiday back in London felt wonderful.

Spring family photo shoots

This year the weather has been utterly incredible, and I feel so lucky that our April photo shoot saw sunshine rather than showers

We had arranged our family photo shoot to take in some of the family’s old stomping grounds, favourite places that they wanted to visit during their vacation in London. We went to Chiswick house and Kew Gardens, two spectacular locations that work so well for family photos

Meeting early at 8am we were the first people at beautiful Chiswick House and had an amazing time running around and playing in the empty park

It’s amazing how quickly little ones grow up, our last session my tiny subject was just learning to walk, this time, running around and leading the way as we played together

Chiswick House for family photos

Chiswick House, the beautiful neo-Palladian villa, designed by the third Early of Burlington and built between 1726 and 1729 makes for such a stunning backdrop for photos giving them context and a sense of place.

As jet lag began to kick in mid-morning we decided that was the perfect opportunity to head to Kew and so, while the little one slept, we jumped in a cab and then enjoyed an early lunch and an extra coffee. Working with little ones it’s always good to let them sleep when they need a nap, as a well-rested child is a happy child whereas a tired little one can be a challenge for photographs.

When she woke up it was lunch for her too and then at 11am, we headed into our ‘afternoon’. I only ever do one photo shoot a day, so we have this flexibility on time, especially when jet lag is involved, as sometimes a well times nap is the perfect way to energise for the second half of an amazing photo shoot.

Flowers at Kew Gardens

Kew Gardens have been looking absolutely spectacular recently and we had an amazing time looking at the stunning blossoms and playing within the trees as we took our family portraits.

As so often happens finding a stick caught the imagination and I love how she looks like a medieval queen with her staff of power – regal, powerful, intelligent, with bags of personality, I can’t wait to see what she does as she grows up, I know whatever she puts her mind to she will make a huge success. After all, if you can speak dragon at three-years-old, you will be able to do amazing things as an adult.

Hide and seek

Of course, no photo shoot is complete without a game of hide and seek, in fact I feel every day is improved by playing this game which always raises a laugh in children and adults alike

We had an amazing time, and the beautiful setting made it even more picturesque

Games that involve interaction and play always result in the most wonderful pictures and the love and laughter on show in these images. They are testament to the incredible bonds of love within this family

Family love

Every family is so different, every relationship unique but what unites my clients and what makes me feel so incredibly lucky to work with them, is how much they all adore their children. It’s such a privilege for me to see how the laugh together and how they are making the effort to record this time in their lives in pictures to treasure now, and also for their children to look back on in years to come.

Isn’t this an amazing gift to give the children, these moments and memories in pictures that will spark memories and conversations and show them how much they are loved. I’m so grateful to be invited to be part of this.

Den Building

From the wild grasses and spring blossoms we headed to the more wooded area of the badgers set which is one of my favourite bits of Kew. Much quieter than the playground and yet with physical challenge and photogenic opportunities galore. Climbing on the dragons – chatting to them of course ‘roar, roar ROOOAAAARRRR’ we had a lovely time exploring. We even found a wonderful den in the shade which soon became an ice-cream shop for a final game

Repeating themes over multiple family photo shoots

I took one of my favourite shots as we played here, a favourite as it echoes back to previous shoots. I never plan to repeat pictures from one shoot to another, each has such a unique personality, and the location, light energy and activity all change so much over time. But sometimes there’s an echo and it can be lovely to look back to where a similar composition really emphasises change over time. These three images do this for me, and I love them. I hope, over time, we might add more to this collection as we have more adventures together

We were all tired and happy as we finished our photo shoot and headed for the gate. We had all had the most amazing time and I’m thrilled with the pictures

As the family album, designed and perfected, is in print at the lab, I’m so pleased to share this selection from one of my favourite shoots of the year so far. I hope you like them as much as I do

If you would like to book a photo shoot for your family in the coming months then do get in touch, I’d love to meet you and your family