Family Photo Shoot in Canterbury

A fun day filled with history and photography

On the blog today I’m thrilled to be sharing some image from a family photo shoot in Canterbury. This was my twelfth shoot with this lovely family, starting back in 2009 with pictures when the eldest was just four weeks old. Over that time, we’ve had so many adventures, taking family pictures near home in London, on holiday in Denmark, and this family photo shoot in beautiful Canterbury.

I hadn’t been to Canterbury for years and so I was thrilled to jump on an early train to visit somewhere that was so new to me. It’s always such a treat to visit new places on my family photo shoots and its one of the things I’ve really enjoyed over the summer, heading out of London to see families in different places and take photographs to remind them of this time in their lives.

Walking through town

We started off by heading towards the cathedral, finding some opportunities on our way and taking in some of the beautiful architectural elements of the town. From the modern theatre to stunning old buildings, there is so much to see and there were wonderful sculptures too which found their way into pictures.

Catching up with the family was an absolute joy for me, clients who have become friends over the years are the best part of this job and there’s never enough time on a photo shoot to chat about all the things I’d love to hear about. I’ll definitely need another opportunity soon to swap book recommendations, hear more about life at boarding school, the excitement of a transition to senior school, running and selling a business, the role of female characters in children’s books, the history of the city of Canterbury, I could have stayed and chatted for hours and hours.

The Cathedral

Walking and talking and taking pictures we strolled through town. Our destination, of course, was the cathedral – founded by St Augustine in 597AD, I will definitely need to go back another day for a proper look around.

The day we visited the façade was covered in scaffolding, but the cloisters were amazing with lovely light and so many opportunities for pictures. We found different spots, dodging the large numbers of families gathered for graduation ceremonies, and it was lovely to create a variety of different types of images within this beautiful space.

Riverbank and Franciscan Gardens

After a break for lunch, we walked along the river with much discussion on where would be the perfect place to live within the city. It was so peaceful with punts floating past and only a little bit of rain (it wouldn’t be a 2024 photo shoot without a little bit of rain!)

We finished in the stunning Franciscan garden, a tardis of delight behind a small shop front. Heading out through the shop it looked as if there was little to see but down a short path by the river it opened out to a wonderful field of cow parsley and a delightful walled garden.

I love the history of these places, thinking what they must have seen since the time the town was built. You could definitely imagine monks tending the beautiful gardens in medieval times, the river flowing alongside and plants for healing, or for eating, being carefully tended.  There can be a feeling of time travel in a peaceful atmosphere and Canterbury definitely had that.

Book your photo shoot now

We had an amazing time taking pictures in Canterbury. If you would like to book your own photo shoot autumn, then do get in touch. September is almost fully booked already but there currently availability in October and November, so get in touch as soon as you can and we can get your session in the diary. I’d love to meet you and your family and make some memories together.