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HELEN BARTLETT / FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHY

Fun and Relaxed Portrait Photographs of Teenagers

One of the things I enjoy most about my job as a family photographer in London is the unpredictability – I never know what we will end up doing and how my mornings will pan out. Family photography is always so exciting. I love visiting families again and again over the years and how, even when I know a family well, we never do the same thing twice. I was so pleased to see Clare and Sebastian again recently for a children and family photography session in Battersea. I first photographed Harry when he was only four months old, and now, a teenager – interesting and articulate and such a brilliant big brother to his younger siblings Thomas and Heather, it was wonderful to see him again. Over the years we have updated the family photographs and it’s so lovely to know that the children can look back on these pictures when they are older and remember all the fun they had together.

Our session in Battersea was so much fun. When I’m photographing teenager, I love to have an activity that we can do together, or to base part of the session around their hobbies and interests. This way, as well as family photos and individual portraits we make sure to get some lovely action shots when the children forget about the camera and just have fun, having fun always makes for the best pictures and its the challenge and the joy of my job to work out how to photograph different things in a visually interesting and artistic way.

When Clare suggested the reclined bikes I was both apprehensive and excited. It’s always fun to photograph something new and always a challenge and I love a challenge! I had so much fun photographing the children on their bikes, almost as much as I think they loved being on them, zooming around the park, racing each other and tearing up and down hills. It was the perfect activity and an inspired idea by Clare.

And so, it is one of the pictures on the reclined bikes that I have chosen for my Just One today. There are so many shots that I love and it’s been so hard to choose but I really like this one of Harry speeding by so fast, the panning making the background blur while Harry remains pin sharp, his smile lighting up the picture as he laughs into the camera lens. I love the fact that he is framed by the foliage at the top, it’s almost as if the shape of the tree had been cut especially for this picture. Looking closely we can see the speed of the wheels, zooming round as Harry flies by, showing his younger siblings just how it should be done.

I’m so pleased with this picture and I look forward to sharing many others from this shoot in the future. If this is the kind of picture you think you would like to have taken, images that show teenagers relaxed and having fun then please do get in touch and we can tailor the perfect photo shoot for your family, maybe you can even find a new activity that I’ve never photographed before, that would be awesome!

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