Introducing Evan and Alfie, a vibrant young family from Northampton. Mum won a children’s portrait shoot at an NCT event held at Quinton House School, Northamptonshire. So they all popped by our studio for a shoot at the weekend.
For me, this studio shoot perfectly illustrates the underlying theme and ethos of my work; character. One thing that can often frustrate me when looking at contemporary children’s portraits, is the lack of personality the photography exhibits. The photo’s can be beautifully lit, perfectly composed and indeed posed, but somehow say little about the unique nature of the child.
For me, portrait photography should reflect and exude the character of the children I have the privilege of photographing, not just be beautiful but static documents.
Throughout the shoot, Evan and Alfie expressed pretty much the whole spectrum of childhood emotions, from full throttle laughter to defiant stubbornness. This also included those wonderful fleeting and more subtle little glances that I love to photograph.
As the montage illustrates, this variety of expressions and “looks” often lends its self to creating multi aperture artwork. Careful and playful layout also adds an interesting interaction and narrative between siblings that a single piece can lack. Little wonder then that multi aperture artworks are by far the most popular bespoke pieces that I get asked to design for my clients.
Although Alfie was full of cheeky laughter and fun, he had the typical boredom threshold of the average 4 year old. By the time we moved onto capturing the family portraits of the boys together, he’d really had enough. However with a little patience and a touch of good old-fashioned bribery, we managed to get a handful of lovely shots.
I love working with children because they give so much so freely without the awkward self-consciousness that sadly creeps in with age. Okay so they can be tricky little customers to work with. One minute they can be full of smiles and joy, the next throwing a sulky tantrum, but if you give them a little time (and have a shed load of patience) they reward you with so much.
Many thanks Evan, Alfie and of course Mum and Dad for such an enjoyable shoot!
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