Creative Family Photography in Holland Park
Helen Bartlett is an award winning London-based family photographer and Canon Ambassador with over 20 years’ experience, specialising in natural black and white documentary photography for families across London and the UK. This page is for families in and around Holland Park, Notting Hill, and Kensington W11 who are thinking about a family photography session – it showcases images from a particular session to show the style and variety across a morning and the fun we can have together.
Helen Bartlett photographs families in Holland Park W11 and Kensington in natural black and white: in the park, in the woodland, in the playground, and at home.
Relaxed and fun family photography in Holland Park W11
My fourth portrait session with this lovely family might be my favourite yet, I’m so pleased with this set of family photographs in Kensington and Holland Park.
I first met the family back in 2020 when I did some newborn pictures of their first born. It’s still one of my favourite newborn sessions ever and we had a great time taking pictures in their Notting Hill home and out in Kensington gardens. Fast-forward four years and four family photo shoots, the family had grown and we spent another wonderful morning together taking portrait photographs in west London.
Today I’m thrilled to be sharing some of my favourite images from the day as a preview for my lovely clients before their viewing session.
Session at a Glance
Holland Park W11, Kensington – the park, the playground, the woodland paths, and your home in West London
Natural family photography both outdoors in the park, indoors at home, or a relaxed combination of the two.
All ages: babies, toddlers, school-age children, teenagers, and extended family groups
Natural, black and white, lifestyle, documentary with real moments as they happen
A full morning together; one session per day to keep things relaxed
Helen Bartlett – Award Winning, Canon Ambassador, professional since 2003, 20+ years’ experience
Family photos in Holland Park
We started our day with a trip to Holland Park which has always been one of my favourite locations for family photos in West London. While it isn’t a very big park there’s a huge amount of variety and lots of lovely pockets where you can avoid the London crowds and find beautiful light.
Taking photographs on a weekday morning after the start of term meant the park was quiet when we arrived there at 9am, perfect for a family portrait session.
We started off playing around the giant turtles which are so fun. A sundial which I’ve never used to tell the time, it’s a great spot for the kids to play and they had such fun riding on the sculptures.
Light and Nature on the Holland Park Paths
I love the paths in Holland Park, lined with foliage they have beautiful light and work so well as a setting for a group shot especially an active one like this stunning shot of the family. I like a picture where everyone is interacting, the action keeps the kids entertained.
As always games are where the best photos are and searching for squirrels and being thrown in the air made for glorious pictures.
Family photos in the Holland Park playground
Of course, take the kids to the park and they will gravitate to the playground. I’m always happy to take pictures in playgrounds as there are so many creative opportunities for images such as the one that opens this blog post, a real favourite of the year so far.
Letting the kids play, climb, swing, everyone has fun and the pictures really capture the energy and excitement of the day.
Home for quiet games
Of course, exciting mornings means tired children and so we headed home for the little one to have a nap and then a few more pictures indoors. I love indoor images, the quiet moments that are so much part of life but are often neglected in family photography. A puzzle or a game of cars, these are such a big part of life and it’s lovely to include them in the pictures.
Water fun in the garden
We finished the shoot with a short burst of the hose pipe in the garden, it was still warm enough and the kids had a brilliant time spraying their mum and drinking from the hose. It was a great way to finish a great shoot.
As always, I’d had such a lovely time with this wonderful family and I can’t wait to share the full set of images and see which are their favourites. In the meantime, I hope you have enjoyed this sneak preview from this family photography session in Holland Park W11.
About Helen Bartlett
- Professional family photographer since 2003. Over twenty years experience.
- Canon Ambassador since 2017, the only family photographer in the EMEA region to hold this title
- Over 20 years’ experience photographing families across London and the UK, exclusively in black and white
- Winner of LuxLife Best Family Photographer UK 2025, and multi-award-winning across 20+ years
- Work published nationally and internationally
- Over 400 blog posts demonstrating the quality and consistency of the work across more than two decade.
- Countless reviews from happy clients over two decades.
Holland Park Family Photographer – Frequently Asked Questions
I have been asked this question many times and I have a very honest answer to it – black and white is the best medium for family photos because it is timeless. Not one single client has come back to me and said they wished their pictures were in colour. Not one. Here is why I think that is: colour dates. The particular palette of a photo that was taken in 2015 looks very dated now. The colours of the clothes, the editing tones, the fashions of interior design – all of it ties the image to a moment in taste rather than a moment in your family’s life. Black and white removes all of that. The eye goes straight to the people, the expressions, the connections. A photograph I took in Holland Park in my first year as a professional photographer looks as wonderful and as contemporary today as it did then. That is what black and white does: it takes the image outside of time, they will look just as good when your children are adults as they do now and I feel that is a wonderful thing.
It is one of my absolute favourites in West London, and I have been photographing there for years. What I love about it is the variety packed into a relatively small space: the formal gardens, the woodland paths lined with the most beautiful foliage, the giant turtle sculptures that children climb on with so much joy, the playground, the quieter corners where the light comes through the trees in a way I never get tired of. An early start means you can have the park largely to yourself, which makes everything easier – especially when you are trying to photograph a toddler who has strong opinions about which direction to walk in.
This is my favourite kind of session, and I would always recommend it if your home is nearby. Starting in the park gives us energy, open space, and fun active games. Coming home brings an entirely different set of images: quieter light, the specific details of your family’s life, the games and toys and corners that belong only to you. The contrast between the two settings gives the final gallery a range and depth that a single-location session cannot. I put aside the whole morning for you and I never take more than one session in a day, so there is always time to do both properly.
The opposite, actually. My whole approach is built around children who are doing things. A child at full sprint between the trees in Holland Park makes a far better photograph than a child standing still with an awkward ‘photo smile’. The squirrel-hunting, the throwing in the air, the climbing on the turtles, the hosepipe in the garden – these are the pictures that end up on the wall. Give me an energetic child and I will give you photographs that genuinely look like their childhood.
I photograph regularly across the whole of the W11 area and the surrounding West London postcode corridor. This includes Notting Hill, Kensington, Ladbroke Grove, Portobello Road, Westbourne Grove, and into W2, W8, and W14. If you are based anywhere in that area and wondering whether your home or your local park would work, do get in touch. I love finding locations I have not used before and I am always happy to talk through the options.
Weekday mornings are generally more available than weekend slots, and if you have flexibility in the week then you can often book relatively quickly. Weekend mornings – especially in summer and early autumn, which are my most popular seasons – tend to go three to four months in advance but it’s always worth getting in touch in case there is late space. My best general advice is to think about when you would love the photographs to be taken – a particular season, a particular age – and get in touch as early as you can. I am always happy to have an initial conversation even if you are not quite ready to commit to a date.
Who This Session Is For
This page will resonate most with families who live in or near Holland Park, Notting Hill, Kensington, or the wider W11, W8, and W14 postcode area, and who are looking for photographs that will look as beautiful in 20 years’ time as they do today. It is particularly well suited to families who want images that feel alive and specific to their family – not a generic set of smiling portraits, but pictures that actually look like the people in them and the morning they spent together.
If you are ready to talk about a session, or you just have a few questions first, do get in touch. I would love to photograph your family in Holland Park.
