FAMILY SESSION AT WOODLANDS ESTATE GORDONTON
Some family sessions are all about calm. This one was all about movement.
Nasim and Ali brought their son Adrian along to Woodlands Estate in Gordonton, and Ali’s parents came too. Three generations, one very energetic toddler, and about an hour of golden afternoon light.
We spent most of the session in the back wooded paddock. The light through the trees was soft and beautiful, there was room for Adrian to run, and it felt private enough for everyone to relax and forget about the camera.
Adrian is young, which means attention spans are short and “stand here and smile” lasts about one second. So we played. Lots of walking, running, swinging, piggybacks, squeeze attacks, and silly games. The kind of stuff they’d do at home, just in better light.
Before the shoot, Nasim sent me reference photos of what she wanted, families being natural, laughing, interacting, not standing still and performing. That helps more than most people realise. When I know what a family actually wants to feel when they look at their photos, I can plan the whole session around it.
Having Ali’s parents there made the session richer. Multi-generation photos matter more as time passes, and most families don’t get them often enough. We did a group shot while everyone was fresh, then smaller combinations one at a time, then back to play so Adrian stayed happy.
This is one of those sessions where nobody had to perform. Everyone just showed up, played together, and the photos happened around them.
— Tony
