A lot of people approach me looking for St Albans family photo shoots and one of the first questions they ask about is rescheduling if the weather isn’t in their favour. I understand that we’ve been conditioned to think that family photography has to be outdoors surrounded by pretty scenery with everyone looking into the camera saying cheese to a photographer, but by now I hope you also know that I think there is so much more to capturing your family than that.
The magic of capturing your family lies in having photos of real life, of the interaction between you all and of the little moments of wonderful that happen in your everyday. And yes of course, it’s nice to have a mantlepiece shot for grandparents too but it shouldn’t be the main goal of a shoot.
I’m Tori, a Hertfordshire family photographer based in St Albans capturing happy, natural family photos dripping with your family’s personality.
1. Consider going ahead with your photo shoot no matter the weather
While it’s lovely to be inside if it’s cold, it’s equally great to be outdoors if it’s dry in winter. Throw on some colourful bobble hats and embrace the weather. I think we’ve become very averse to the seasons (and I totally put myself in that category!) so remember that light drizzle doesn’t show in photos and if you’re wrapped up warm you can have some photos outside!
If you’re feeling brave about embracing the seasons, then be bold and go ahead with your shoot no matter the weather. We’ll roll with the punches and capture some amazing photos of your family whatever -and wherever- the adventure! See more Hertfordshire family photos from other family shoots.
2. Embrace the great outdoors whatever the weather
Why not just enjoy the fact that it’s getting colder and make the weather a fun experience? Toast marshmallows or drink hot chocolate snuggled up on a bench. If it’s snowing build a snowman together or have a snowman fight. Consider taking umbrellas and go puddle jumping in wet weather suits? These could end up being the most incredible non-traditional family portraits from your session.
3. Have a split photo session and gamble on the weather
During any photoshoot, I often recommend that families split their session between in-home and outdoor anyway and winter is the perfect opportunity for that. You can start at home and tell you family stories with some pictures at home – after all, isn’t it the place we spend the most time (especially after the pandemic years?!). This is a great way to capture your little ones being themselves, playing with the things that they are really into at the stage they’re at right now.
Then we can nip out and take some photos outside and get some photos outdoors as well. This is exactly what Tom & Tash did. The weather forecast was set to be poor so we banked on an indoor shoot, but it ended up being dry so we wandered to the nearby park.
As winter rolls round, don’t let it put your off booking your photos until next summer again. Your children will be that much older and summer brings with it all the distractions of holidays, meet ups with friends, parties and more. As we all snuggle down for colder weather, isn’t this the perfect time to get some snuggly photos of you all together? Mel and Heidi here went ahead and were so pleased they did because a rainy day won’t ruin your family photos!
If you’d like to chat about how we can make any season, even the chilly one, the perfect time for your family to capture your family memories then I’d love to talk to you about it. Get in touch and let’s start planning how you’d like to update your family photos ASAP!
