It really felt as if Spring had arrived when I visited June to photograph her beautiful little girl in Blackheath recently. It was a stunning day with this lovely soft light we have been so lucky with this year and we had an absolutely brilliant time. I have so many beautiful family photographs from this portrait session in Blackheath, it has been very hard to choose a Just One.
My sessions tend to start and finish organically. I don’t wait until everyone is completely ready, dressed and with hair neatly brushed before I get my cameras out of the bag, instead, I’m usually unpacking as I drink a cup of coffee, chatting while the family finishes breakfast so I am ready if something wonderful unfolds.
This session was one of those days where one of my favourite pictures was the first image taken, the first click of the shutter on this beautiful spring day. When Anais had finished eating her breakfast she needed a shower to wash the porridge from her hair (I love how babies can get their food everywhere!) and then, as she was being dried off and we were choosing her outfit I saw the opportunity for this image.
Sitting on her changing mat with the mural of the rainbow on the wall behind her Anais fixed me with this wonderful intense look and I knew I had a really special picture. I’m transfixed by her expression, quizzical yet friendly, a tiny smile beginning to form. I love her wet hair, fresh from the shower giving this image context at the beginning of the day. I imagine it’s a scene well known to her parents, first thing in the morning, and last thing before bed, clean and fresh and so incredibly cute – ready to face the day or snuggly and ready to sleep, sitting on her changing mat and surveying the world.
The light in the room was stunning, in fact the light in the whole flat was stunning, with beautiful high ceilings and lovely big windows, it was a joy to photograph in. I love the very soft sidelight in this image with reflected light bouncing around from the white walls. You can just see the tiny catch-light from the window in Anais’ eye, a perfect sparkle in her beautiful bright eyes.
We had a brilliant morning together photographing indoors and then heading out to Greenwich Park for some more family photographs – one of my favourite places in London for baby and family portraits. I’ll share some more pictures soon but in the meantime I do hope you enjoy this, today’s Just One from our recent family photography session in Blackheath.
