One Bigg Magical Party

We were thrilled to take part in the wonderful One Bigg Magical Party at Kensington Roof Gardens yesterday, which was a fantastic event that wowed families with its imagination and creativity! The space was transformed into a magical wonderland with the Mad Hater, Alice and the Queen of Hearts, and a host of magicians, beautiful fairies and enchanting creatures. The Roof Gardens on Kensington High Street provided a breath-taking setting, with its resident family of flamingos and spectacular views across the city. We were amazed by the brilliant children's entertainers who took part in the event, especially Toadstool Parties who created a perfect enchanted fairy themed-display (we wanted to drink the magic potions and have own our glitter tattoo). We also loved the incredible balloon artists, creative sandwich art (I wish all my lunches were in the shape of an octopus!), and Spanish and Latin dance classes for little people.

Tom and I had a wonderful time at the event and enjoyed meeting lots of families, showcasing Helen's work as a children's and family photographer working in Kensington, Chelsea and across London, and also as a photographer of children's birthday parties. We're hoping to take part in another One Bigg Party event very soon, and will let you know the details via the blog.

Kate, Studio Manager

Children's and family photo shoot in Cambridge

Today's blog post harks back to a time of sunshine and will, I hope, herald a break in the wet weather!

I was thrilled to visit Ali and her family in Cambridge for our second family portrait shoot - it’s always lovely visiting families again and seeing how the family have all grown.

We had beautiful weather for our family photo shoot and so taking the kids out into the garden seemed the best plan. Ali has the most amazing garden, with lots of different areas that make for a wonderful backdrop for children's and family portrait photographs.

We started off with some informal family portraits before playing some games – the boys were very into football and cricket and in a set of pictures which will forshadow what I imagine will be a very sport-filled summer, we photographed them engaged in these favorite activities.

We then moved on to badminton, putting up the net for the first time this year. I was also lucky enough to be stunned by some wonderful magic tricks (I’ve never worked out how the bank robber trick works - my brother baffled me with it when I was young, and Sam baffled me with it now) and also some wonderful musical recitals. Alec’s clarinet playing was a particular favorite as it was the instrument I played when I was younger, and Alec’s clear love for it and (so I am told, regular practice) really shone through.

It was a wonderfully varied morning and I’m so thrilled with the photographs. I hope you will enjoy this selection of pictures from our fun and relaxed children's and family portrait photography session in Cambridge.

Helen Bartlett Photography at the One Bigg Magical Party

We're really excited to be taking part in the One Bigg Magical Party on Monday 7th May, which is an event guaranteed to entertain your family on what might be a wet bank holiday! It's taking place at the beautiful Roof Gardens on Kensington High Street and the playbill for the day looks really exciting - magicians, fairies, wizards, elves and other enchanting and whimsical creatures will create a day filled with educational fun. The event is designed for 2-10 year olds and their lucky grown-ups, but older and younger children are also welcome and all the information is on the One Bigg Magical Party website here.

We took part in the halloween-themed One Bigg Spooky Party back in October (see our blog post for some pictures from the day), and we had the most fabulous time catching-up with clients who were enjoying the day and also meeting new families. We can't wait to see what entertainment awaits on Monday, and hope to see you there!

Children and Family photography in Battersea Park in London

I was so pleased to visit Clare and Sebastian to photograph their lovely family in Battersea Park in London. I first met Clare and Sebastian almost nine years ago when I had just started my portrait photography business and I photographed Harry when he was about four months old, golly how he has grown (as has the family)!

We were lucky to have a beautiful day for our family photo shoot in Battersea park in London, and we headed out early to avoid the rush. Arriving at Battersea Park bright and early meant that we started the day with the playground to ourselves, always a bonus for children’s photography and great fun for the kids as there are no queues for the swings.

We spend some time sailing the pirate ship and driving the train before heading out into the rest of Battersea Park in London for some family photographs and portraits of the children in a less ‘concrete’ setting (while I love a good playground shot as much as the next photographer you don’t want to spend all morning there).

We found the garden in the centre of Battersea Park to be perfect – enclosed so you can’t loose the children in a game of hide and seek while big enough for some serious running around (and some sneaky places to hide of course). I did wonder what passers by must have thought as I stood, cameras hanging by my side, hands over my face shouting ’38, 39, 40. Coming ready or not…’. We had such a good time and it made for beautiful portrait photographs of the children, both on their own and together as we took it in turns to hide and seek.

After that we found some open space – one of the things that makes Battersea Park in London such a great location for children and family photography is the different areas within the park – for a game of football and a few final photographs before home for lunch and a nap.

A wonderful time was had by all and I am thrilled with the results. I hope you like these children and family portrait photographs from Battersea Park in London as much as I do.

Children's and family portrait photography in Wimbledon, London

This Spring-time children’s photo shoot took place on Wimbledon Common, one of my all-time favourite locations for portrait photography.

Caroline, Lottie and I spent a wonderful morning at the Common exploring some of the different areas to see what we could find. Mostly we concentrated on log-walking and den-sitting, before an extended game of Humpty Dumpty complete with new verses I had never heard before - ‘all the King's horses and all the King's men, couldn’t put Humpty together again… Because. He was. An Egg.’ All very deadpan and absolutely hilarious! Apparently Lottie had picked it up from a CD and I loved these new additions to the classic nursery rhyme.

As well as having its famous Womble inhabitants, Wimbledon Common is a fantastic location in London for children’s portrait photography as it is so large and so varied. Also, because it is used so much by lots of families, each time I visit I know that things will be completely different – dens will have been built and dismantled, and tree trunks seem to appear and disappear, which makes Wimbledon ideal for lovely, and unique, children’s portrait photographs.

I hope you will enjoy looking at these family photos from our day on Wimbledon Common in London.