How do on location shoots work?

We meet at a location of your choice. This may be your home (recommended with very young babies) or we can meet at a favourite location of yours.  I generally spend 40mins to an hour, sometimes up to 1.5 hours if needed (a possibility with young babies).  In this time I aim to capture a variety of shots in a very natural manner. I will pose and direct when needed but I am also looking to provide a comfortable enough setting that you all feel relax and be yourself. Sometimes with young kids that can mean chaos but hey that can often lead to the best shots!

Some of my favourite locations:

Turlough House, Lough Lanagh, Mount falcon, Westport House, Breaffy House, Old head beach, Mulrany Beach

There can often be a lot of trends when it comes to what to wear in photo shoots. Gone are the days of plain white or black t-shirts and now we have a lot of neutral or pastel clothing. Check out this page for some super recommendations on how to coordinate a whole families clothing for a photo shoot:

https://www.instagram.com/thearteofdressing_/

If neutral or the pastel boho look isn’t for you, that is fine (it’s not for a lot of people).

My Key Advice:

Avoid text or logos. They can be super distracting and tend to draw your attention away from expressions or faces –and they should always be the key focus.

Think about patterns and textures. Again a lot of busy patterns can distract and seem very busy, especially if everyone is wearing them. It often works well to break up patterns with solid blocks of colour or texture (think knits, cashmere, denim etc) .

If colour is your thing, this can be amazing but just requires a little thought. Do spend a little time making sure the colours you pick are somewhat coordinated and complimentary. You could decide on warm colours (reds, oranges, yellows) or cool colours (blue, green or purple). They don’t all need to be strong colours, a few lighter tones mixed with darker tones can avoid a very ‘samey’ feel. 

If possible simply lay out your planned outfits on a bed and see how they look together.  Is anything really grabbing your attention? Do you want it to? Sometimes parents do want the baby to stand out more and they might opt for something simple and keep the attention focused on the baby.

Ultimately if you are happy with the outfit it will work!  This is your family, your photoshoot and your images that will hopefully spend the rest of your life proudly displayed on your wall.

Lots of people love the newborn stage.  Rightly so, this time is so fleeting and passes in the blink of an eye.  These are best done in the first 2-3 weeks and it is best to book these while still pregnant. We will organise it a couple of weeks after your due date or induction date if you are having one.  There is obviously plenty of flexibility to change dates because well, not all babies come exactly when they are supposed to!

However often this just doesn’t work for a lot of people (myself included).  If this is you don’t worry, I promise your baby is just going to get cuter and cuter and you will adore photos of them that are taken at any time!

There are a few milestones though that can present beautiful photo opportunities:

Once they start smiling, from 6 weeks(ish). Though fleeting this is always a gem to capture.

When they can lift their head comfortably for a few moments at a time while lying on their belly.  From 4 months (ish).

Sitting independently, often a small cushion support will be needed. But this is one of my personal favourites. For added cuteness, wait for when they are first attempting to crawl. Anytime from 6months (with support)  - 12months.

First Birthday Photoshoot: This can be as elaborate or as simple as you like. Some people love balloons, cake smash & decorations. Others love just marking the occasion surrounded by family and loved ones.

First wobbly steps:  Again a super cute milestone to have captured. When this can happen varies widely from kid to kid. I would say anytime from 12 months though 18 -24 months is probably more realistic.

Wobblers & Toddlers photos are so much fun. Toddlers are bursting with personality and energy which is always a joy to capture.  Expect chaos!

School age right up to teenage years. Let face it as they grow and lose their baby features and turn into ‘proper people’ in their own right its worth having photos of them. I love seeing clients come back and updating their family shots. 

I don’t overly pose newborns or infants. I really like to keep things simple and natural. As such I don’t typically wrap them in a styled fashion. A few cushions and a simple blanket is as much as we need to pose them by themselves. However I loooove having mum and dad involved in these shots so I will be asking you to hold them in whatever way is possible & comfortable depending on the stage they are at and what milestones they have reached (can lift their heads, sit up etc).

At any stage consider who you want in the photos. This can simply be parents or maybe you would like siblings included. Including grandparents can be particularly special. Everyone doesn’t need to be in every shot but it is an amazing opportunity to get a few generational shots.

The main thing to consider is what is your priority and that can be the main focus of the shoot. We will pay attention to babies ques. We do not want them getting overwhelmed and cranky so we go at their pace. Sometimes this might mean grandparents take a back seat for a ikle while but we will always get them in.

Absolutely! I love these. There is nothing like a big family get together. They never happen as often as we would all like so having an extended family shoot is a great way to capture all of your nearest and dearest together.

I currently don’t offer studio sessions. I do love the studio and if there are enough enquiries I can and will organise this.  However since having my own kids, I have grown fonder and fonder of on location shoots. I appreciate how hard it can be to get out of the house with young’s ones, especially in the first few months. I do find there is a confidence in kids when they are in their own space, a level of excitement in showing off their favourite toys and well for new parents, you have everything you need at home – there is definitely less stress involved. When we meet at a favourite location, well kids just love being outside so have a heap of fun and the shoot feels like a playtime to them. Personally I am just really loving this kind of shoot at the moment and believe you will too.

For weddings no, there is more than enough to do as a photographer, that to split my attention to do videography too, just wouldn’t work. I am 100% focused on delivering you the best wedding photography I can offer and I do not want to compromise that. However I absolutely love working alongside videographers. They offer another really unique viewpoint of your wedding and any professional videographer will be well used to working alongside a professional photographer. We will always work together as a team to make sure we are making the most of your time while achieving amazing results.

However in regards to my portrait sessions, videography is something I am increasingly interested in experimenting with. If you are interested in adding some videography to your portrait session please do ask. I will require a little bit more time so if you and your little ones can accomadate this, lets do it!