One part of my job that I will never tire of is meeting families from all across the world who visit London. We may speak different languages or have different traditions, but one thing is a common thread for everyone I meet – we all love our children dearly, and we all want to freeze this moment in time with the help of photography.
This family from Singapore decided to book a full Day in the Life photoshoot with me so they could capture all of their adventures with two little kids without worrying about time limits or coordinating naptimes. I really do find that often – maybe rather counter-intuitively – a longer photoshoot is better for young children as there’s no pressure to perform in a limited time frame. You are free to just get on with your day, and that makes both the children and the parents very relaxed, which in turn results in fantastic photographs.
We started our photoshoot at 7am as the family was getting ready for their day in the Kensington studio apartment they rented for their stay. After a wonderful breakfast in the nearby Cafe Phillies in Phillimore Gardens (we were the first customers there – a lovely perk when you have young jetlagged kids!) we headed to Hyde Park and the Diana Memorial Playground for some playtime. We spent a couple of hours there before some pizza for lunch and then some planet-spotting at the Science Museum, and after that a bit of a tube ride and a walk around St Paul’s and Millenium Bridge before heading back home around 8pm.
I was a full-on day but at the same time, we didn’t really rush. It’s always best to allow for some downtime during any photoshoot so there’s an opportunity for rest, and also it’s often the slower moments that produce my favourite shots, as there’s a chance for you to interact with your children, and for me as a photographer to really find the best way to capture the scene.
Anyway, as you can imagine I’ve taken many, many images during our 12+ hours together, but here’s just a small selection of some of my favourites.
