Helen Bartlett / Family Portraiture

A Fun Summer Swimming Pool Photo Shoot

29Oct

Underwater Portrait Photography

A catch-up blog post from the summer today which I hope you will enjoy.

Everyone loves a pool session and this year, even more than ever, I was delighted to have the opportunity to photograph underwater.

I love swimming and am yet to be back to my local pool so summer sessions where I have been able to enjoy time in the water have been particularly memorable. It’s always such fun to play in the water.  A few years ago I bought an underwater housing for my camera, unsure if it would be something I would use a lot or not, but, as it turned out it’s been a great purchase and one that has bought me, and my clients, a lot of joy.

It’s tricky to use though, in effect it’s a giant sandwich bag that I seal my expensive camera into with a certain amount of trepidation, but it’s great fun.

There’s a fabulous free-flowing feel to underwater work – Jump, Swim, Smile, Splash. There are bubbles everywhere and so much laughter.  You can’t fail to have fun.  There’s an energy to it that I love and also a wonderful graphic quality.

As always with photography much stands or falls on the quality of the light and so what the sun is doing does make a difference if you are in an outdoor pool but sometimes it comes together and you get shots like this with the bubbles brightly lit from above, the pool itself fading into shadow and these amazing graphic shapes as the boys plunge into the water.

I choose to include the surface of the water to give context and I love how we can see the sunlight on the ripples there too, an indication of the bright world above the water.

Now Autumn is here I’ve packed away my underwater kit for a while but I can’t wait to get it out again next year, it’s such fun and I love being able to experiment and bring something a little different to my family photography sessions.

If you have something you would love to try on your family photo shoot, an activity you all love to do, then get in touch and we can chat about it. I’m always up for a challenge and I love to photograph new things.

I still have a few available spaces this November so do get in touch if you would like to get your family photographed this year, I’d love to meet you.