Highgate Child Portrait

Some images are all about the expression and this beautiful portrait from a shoot in Highgate in North London is definitely one of them, I love that cheeky grin.

I had the most wonderful time photographing Ciaro and his brother Casey recently.  I love how children are so welcoming, I met the family at the park and Ciaro cycled up to me having never met me before, stopped his bike and we had a great conversation about when he had learnt to ride it and what he was up to for half term before I even met his parents.  That friendliness that children have is such a wonderful thing.

The boys were an absolute blast and we had a brilliant time playing I the leaves, exploring the woods and climbing on trees.  It’s been hard to single out a single image for this sneak preview but I did keep coming back to this one as I love his expression so much.

Ciaro was so adventurous on the shoot, climbing up things and jumping from amazing heights.  If he fell off his bike he picked himself right back up (even after looking around to see if a parent was watching) and cycled on again, it was great to see.

When we came to this fallen tree he climbed it immediately, clinging on like a koala bear and then standing up with incredible balance.

I love the composition of this shot with the curve of the tree trunk and Ciaro’s face at the apex of the triangular composition, our eyes are drawn to his happy smile.

Getting really lovely natural expressions from children is all about communication, the ‘cheese grin’ is often the starting point but with conversation and having fun the children start to forget about the camera and we are rewarded with pictures like this one that really show their personality.

I hope you like this image as much as I do.  Please get in touch if you would like to arrange your own family portrait – you can find out more about how it works on the website or view some images on my portfolio galleries.  In the meantime, have a great weekend!