Spring photo shoot in Highgate Wood
A beautiful morning for a North London family photo shoot
I’m looking back a few weeks today as it’s been such a busy April, I’ve got behind with my blog. Today I’m sharing a wonderful morning spent at Highgate Wood in North London with a delightful family who I have been photographing since the eldest was a baby.
Photographing families regularly is a real source of joy for me, watching the children grow up and creating a document of their young lives that I know they will treasure as adults.
Over the years I have photographed this family in several great locations in North London from Highgate wood where we went on this session, to Hampstead Heath, Alexandra Palace Park, and Queens Wood. I look forward to seeing where we end up on our next adventure.
Early morning and an empty playground
Starting bright and early – we met in Highgate Woods at 8am – meant we had the place to ourselves and the most incredible spring light. Low sunlight shone through the trees giving an ethereal glow to our pictures and making the world look beautiful.
We started in the playground as it was deserted at 8am and the kids loved being the only people there. We had a great time, and it was a lovely way to start the day as the children got used to the camera and we all had fun playing.
Sunlight and shadows in the woods
From the playground we headed further into the woods. The low winter sun created amazing shadows on the ground which I brought into my compositions for a creative background.
It was a great time to play some games such as hide and seek, and let the kids enjoy being thrown in the air which created such joy and laughter
Finding a den
During our explorations we soon came across the most amazing den which became our camp for a while as we played games, climbed trees and collected woods to enhance the design. This has been one of my favourite things about the past decade or so. When I was a kid, these dens didn’t really exist in the woods, but now they are to be found in so many woods all over London. They always create such a lovely place to play and a brilliant way for children to interact with nature. I’m sure that, by making walks in the woods so much fun, we’re going to have a generation who loves nature and wants to look after it.
Running around for exciting family portraits
After a break for a cup of coffee and a brownie (and an opportunity to warm up as these pictures were taken before the current amazing heat wave) we were back to playing. Running around and chasing their parents the kids had an amazing time, and I was able to create a lovely and varied set of images.
I always find the best images are to be found when everyone is enjoying themselves so whatever your children love to do this is what we can incorporate into our photo shoot to create amazing results like these.
It was a tired and happy bunch of us who headed home for lunch after an amazing morning and a brilliant photo shoot. I’m thrilled with the results, and I hope you will like them as much as I do.
Book your photo shoot now!
If you have liked what you have seen here on the blog today and would be interested in booking your own family photo shoot this spring then do get in touch, I have a few weekend slots available over the coming months and a couple of days in May half-term too. It would be wonderful to meet you and your family, and together we can create memories to treasure.
