Family photography inside or out?

 Family Photo Shoots inside or out?

Experience counts

For a family photographer London is a fantastic place to have a studio.  Not only the large numbers of discerning clients but the great locations that it has on offer.  The parklands are many and beautiful and spread evenly throughout the city allowing for amazing places to meet for an outdoor family photoshoots.  

outside photography

Young children are definitely best suited to outdoor family photography and the best in the business is Susan porter-thomas who has been one of the Best London family photographer since 2005 and has a ton of experience with young children and taking beautiful photos of your family.

Outdoor family photography

Studio photography

Studio photography is a different matter and is great for older kids when playing in the woods has got a bit old!!  A natural studio is best so as to put people at ease quickly and with out fuss.  Allowing for bad weather days and giving lots of different backdrop options this is a great option for the winter time.

Studio photographers have a lot more equipment and so the training is longer but you can get truly stunning effects if you know what you're doing.

Susan Porter-Thomas

London Pregnancy Photographer in Studio

 Pregnancy Photographer advice

So you're pregnant, you're very happy, you're excited and you're glowing.  But every photo your partner takes of you results in you wondering if you're actually coming down with something!!  As a London pregnancy photographer I have photographed thousands of expectant couples and know exactly what you mean.  The trick is to not use flat light if possible.  i use all sorts of expensive kit to get the most beautiful look out of the wonderful shape that is a pregnant body.  Maternity photo shoots are a great way to spend a bit of me time before the baby arrives and to get some flattering images of you that you maybe wouldn't have otherwise.  

Susan Porter-Thomas is a Master photographer based in London, UK and has over 17 years experience in maternity photography so you would be in very good hands.  The Zoom backdrops used are canvass and from Serbia, stunning hand painted backdrops that give your portraits a real fine art look.  The materials are from the most exclusive fabrics store in London and are 100% silk.  You will feel a million dollars and look stunning.  

Pregnancy shoots should be taken around 6 month gestation if possible but this is not the only time you can take them so do get in touch.  

Photo Shoots for my family

Why should I have a professional?

So a family photo shoot in London is expensive, is it really worth while?  If you're like most parents, ie exhausted, overloaded with jobs, madly trying to keep on top of things, then absolutely yes.  Firstly not everyone is supposed to be good at taking photos...it's not a god given right.  Secondly you NEED to have images of your children as they grow up and good ones will be soo much nicer to look back on.  Thirdly you are aloud to outsource!!  

You're proud of your children, and you want to show them off, but you really can't share that awful image on facebook of the too dark slightly blurry image you took last night.  Get them done properly and you can have something to look back on in years to come to remember how cute they were, if exhausting.  If you're anything like me, you are too exhausted right now to appreciate how cute they are, it's only now we're out of the tiny years that I can look back on my photos and realise they were really gorgeous.  Not that I want to return to those years but boy am I glad I had those images.  The kids also love to look back on photographs of themselves as babies and toddlers.  

You don't have to drag your kids to a studio, you can do it outside where they can run wild and basically enjoy an outing at the same time as having their photos taken.  It's the most enjoyable way to do things, and frankly gets the most out of the kids.  

Have a look at this family photographer in London as she takes gorgeous images even on freezing cold days in December.

 

It's a no brainer, go and do it and do it before your children get too big!!

Sx

Fun with a wind machine

OK so I've never really thought to use a wind machine (aka fan!) but hey, I wanted to have some fun with long hair and this summer, although not the hottest on record, had it's moments, so it came in rather handy.  I am a Kensington professional photographer covering London and the surrounding areas with my West London studio and split my time equally between Maternity photography and family photo shoots in London.

I am aiming for a fine art appearance to my maternity shoots without being too inaccessible, as I feel they are going to stand the test of time and they do truly look stunning on the wall.  The inclusion of the fan does add a certain movement to the images as you can see, so I do like using it.  It's rather more powerful than I was expecting though which leads to rather amusing images of women drowning in their own hair!!

I have a fantastic studio in my home in West London, where I have all the props I need but in a relaxed and homely environment.  All my clients have said they instantly feel at home and at ease having their images taken and I inevitably form a lasting relationship with them seeing their children grow up which is immensely satisfying.

Susan Porter-Thomas Photography - Fine Art Pregnancy Photographer

Why fine art pregnancy photography

Fine Art Portraits

My inclination has always to do more poignant/pensive maternity portraits rather than 'yippee we're pregnant' type images.  It's such an emotional time, most notably for the mother to be and some quiet reflective images are exactly what you will want to look back on.

Beautiful lighting and gentle posing, nothing garish or in your face, I love backlit images that outline the gorgeous curves, the drapery are secondary for me, I would rather the image is about the woman not the props and that goes for any type of portrait.  I don't like the trend in newborn imagery of prop heavy set ups with silly things to pose a baby in type photos, and likewise if a pregnant lady has a massive sheet draping her and the wind machine blowing her hair, to me that is just over the top.

For a pregnancy photographer London is the perfect place to be as there is a huge mix of nationalities and cultures, the majority of my maternity shoots are from foreign nationals living and working the capitol.  I think the British are still slightly shy of the camera although they are coming around...especially as families are smaller now so the time a woman is pregnant is such a small amount of time, people want to remember it...

Susan Porter-Thomas LSWPP - Maternity Photography London

To drape or not to drape

So I've been photographing Pregnancies now for over 10 years and I'm very aware that London pregnancy photographers can get it very wrong as my clients tell me they've had a difficult time finding a photographer that doesn't create cheesy in your face bump photos.

The artistic maternity portraits that I prefer to do are far harder to find and as a result my clients come from very far afield, some from Cambridge, some fro Kent, quite a few from the other side of London to where my studio is in Ealing.  This is very gratifying but why is it that there are not enough photographers out there that know how to both light and pose a pregnant body.

I have to say that I didn't learn the art of maternity posing and lighting from a course, as there were only the in-yer-face american photographers to learn from and frankly, they were not for me!.  So I've really learnt from scratch.  It's a fine line between artistic and contrived, between beautiful drape and cheesy loin cloth.  Of course everyone has a different point at which art becomes cheese but I hope I've got it in the right place for enough people to book me.

I generally use a combination of normal but flattering clothing that I've collected over the years and think work really well, and drapes that can flatter the body and create almost a frame to the bump and just enough modesty to be politically correct.  I'm very happy to do nude maternity images if the client are happy to go that far, and I think they look stunning with gentle backlighting and the best poses, but it's really not necessary to get the effect.

If you're looking for sympathetic maternity images that you will be proud to show off to even your parents in law then come and give it a go.  If you've got any interested scarves or drapes you want to try out I'm very keen to try new things.

Book a session now

Susan Porter-Thomas LSWPP

New branding..it's time

Photographer Branding

I have been in the process of creating a new brand for my family photography business for a few months now, it's slow progress, but I think it's going to be really gorgeous when it's all done and dusted.  I have employed a fantastic designer who has created a really great look for me, a soft elegant and stylish look that I think befits my type of client very well.

The design of the boxes is taking quite a while, they have to look beautiful but also be quite sturdy so that they do thier primary job of protecting the images inside.  Once I get them done I will then be able to take photos of them with some albums and prints around them to put into my marketing material...all very exiting.

I feel that after 10 years in business I have finally honed what I want the business to look like.  I want to concentrate on Pregnancy Photography, Natural newborn photography and location London Family photography.  I get a fantastic variety of challenges from these main three session types, and it really is the genre I love the most.  No more weddings, no more office jobs, I get to be artistic and have fun at the same time, perfect.

I will let you know when I have all of the designs in place so you can have a look..

In the mean time, enjoy the spring

Susan Porter-Thomas Pregnancy Photography London