Social distancing family photoshoots

We are living in unprecedented times due to coronavirus. Lots of businesses both large and small are struggling. The world as we know it has come to a dramatic standstill and we are all trying our best to adjust to the situations we are all faced with. We’ve been in lockdown 8 weeks now and it’s just been announced that this situation continue with a few changes; being able to go out to exercise more, going out to work if you can’t work from home and seeing people from outside your household as long as social distancing rules are maintained. What a strange world it is without the hugs from friends and family that we’re all so used to.

Initially I found the whole lockdown quite hard, being a mummy of a one and a three year old. I’m used to always feeling tired but this was a whole new level of exhaustion! I’m sure it’s as difficult for the girls as it is for me - their friends are my friends’ children and the regular playdates and meet-ups have been replaced with brief (and mainly manic) video calls. The positives have been slowing down and adjusting to the simple life - we’ve been baking, planting seeds and doing puzzles. Each day we’ve taken a long walk in Chipperfield woods. My one year old’s stamina has improved so much that she no longer needs the buggy. We’ve actually played with all the toys in their play room. We’ve spent so much time in the garden enjoying the fantastic weather. Truly quality time and I’m constantly reminding myself to make the most out of it. This enforced closeness won’t last forever and is truly a silver lining in the pandemic cloud.

I love to take my camera out on our walks and have found so many new locations for future children and family shoots. My daughters are my little models and I have been photographing them from a distance and the results have been lovely. That is one part of my business that I will be able to reopen, family social distancing photoshoots. Once the hairdressers have opened, lol.

So if you would like to book a family photoshoot with me get in touch. We can do the shoot in a lovely woodland environment, common, field or park. We are so lucky living on the Hertfordshire & Buckinghamshire border as there is so much choice. Some of the areas I cover are; Berkhamsted, Chesham, Amersham, Tring, Hemel Hempstead, Watford, Potters Bar, St Albans, Luton, Abbots Langley, Kings Langley, Bourne End, Gerrards Cross, Chandlers Cross, Bushey, Rickmansworth, Pinner, Redbourne, Harrow, Hatfield & Croxley Green.

Bluebell family photoshoot tips

The end of April & the start of May is a very busy time for me! Spring has arrived and now the bluebells are out in their full glory! I absolutely love family bluebell photoshoots but unfortunately this year due to this awful coronavirus pandemic life has temporally been put on hold. I live in Chipperfield, Kings Langley, Hertfordshire and all of my photography sessions take place locally so I’ve still got to enjoy these magical woods with my family. I’d like to share some tips for both budding photographers and future clients.

Finding the right bluebell woods

The National Trust has a number of bluebell woods on their land but these are mainly used for visiting families and not for professional family shoots. Therefore I would begin by scouting for smaller local woods close to the well known larger woods, as bluebells tend to migrate across areas. One of our main stunning bluebell woods is at Asridge, Docky Woods. If you’ve never visited please go as it will take your breath away. Another stunning place to visit is Philipshill wood located between Chorleywood and Chalfont St. Giles, within the Chilterns Area. I started off doing my bluebell shoots in both these places but have since found so many more deserted stunning locations around Chesham, Sarratt & Chipperfield.

What to wear

Clothing choice is very important when shooting in the bluebells. Your base colour pallete in all your images is going to be quite an acidic green and a very vibrant purple/ blue. Ideally  your clothing needs to fit with this colour scheme and I tend to use neutral tones such as cream, grey, light pink etc.

What time of day

Bluebell photography is especially tricky as these flowers tend to grow where the light is dappled and theres so much contrast. The trees can also be quite bare so you are often be faced with very bright patches of light which can create unevenly lit images. Ideally you want to photograph very early in the morning, or late into the evening when the sun is lower. My perfect day is an overcast cloudy day as the lighting is beautifully balanced.

Perspective

I always shoot from low down and use the bluebells as foreground so I can create a beautiful purple blur at the front of my image. I love finding paths, patches or fallen trees to sit my families or children on and then I will shot them from quite far away to create a sea of bluebells.

Props

When I do my mini shoot sessions I used a huge 2 foot round white balloon as a prop. It looks amazing in the photographs and its also a good distraction in so many ways for the children. If they don’t want to be photographed they still always want to hold the balloon so its a good way to build up a relationship and get some amazing natural shots. Its also a great prop for children having a birthday shoot. It also offers a whole other set of photos for the client so they have a bigger variety to choose from after the shoot. Lastly if you want to make the child laugh, you can get the parents to knock you with it, that always gets a giggle. Another good prop is a bunch of artificial bluebells as bluebells are a protected species so you really shoulnt’t pick them.

Be careful

Bluebells are also a protected species so paying attention to where you sit your subjects is very important. Look for patches/areas that have no bluebells or use pathways. If you shoot from very low down it is easy to make a path disappear in camera. Alternatively you can use the pathways to create some lovely leading lines to your family.