London Ontario Family Photographer | Playful Beach Extended Family Session

Extended Family sessions tend to come with a list of important groupings and must-haves - after all, how often does everyone get together in coordinated outfits with the sole purpose of documenting family memories? We make it count and get every combination that is meaningful, including individual photos of the kiddos and mini family sessions for each individual unit in addition to the large family groupings. The challenge can sometimes be to find those playful, affectionate, candid moments throughout the session as we go down the list of must-have photos (it’s a bit more structured and regimented than an individual family session where we go with the flow more), but this family came to have fun. I absolutely LOVE the playful, hilarious photos we captured as they not only ran in the water together, but pushed each other in. It was a survival of the fittest situation, and it was so.much.fun. Let’s be honest, family sessions can be stressful (outfits, hair, getting there on time, kids arguing, weather uncertainty, all that pressure to get the photos you’ve been planning (and sometimes saving) for), but this session shows how amazing it can be when you let fun memories, too. Scroll to the end for the FUN! :)

London Ontario Family Photographer | Wild Field Family Session

I love seeing this family over the years! Winston is the cutest little dude, and watching him grow is such a joy. Here are a few favourites from their session in a wild overgrown field. Late Summer/Early Fall is such a great time for photos. The warm air combined with the Autumn feel of the wild golden rod make for the best of both worlds!

London Ontario Family Photographer | Fall Foliage Family Session

Fall is such a beautiful time for family photos. This was a chilly one, but the explosion of vibrant Fall colours provided a breathtaking backdrop for this sweet family.

London Ontario Family Photographer | Woodsy Family Session with Jessie, Darcy and Max

I have been working with this sweet family since Max was a young toddler, and getting to catch up with them and document new memories each year is such a pleasure. Here are a few favourites from their 2018 session!

London Ontario Family Photographer | Sunset Port Stanley Beach Family Session

I am so excited to share this beautiful sunset family session today. This shoot took place on a beautifully sunny, incredibly windy late Summer evening. There were actual wind warnings for the area, and the waves were unbelievably high. Nonetheless, after chatting about our options, we decided to go for it. And I am so glad we did. We mostly stayed away from the water’s edge to avoid the worst of the wind, and the beach was completely empty due to the weather conditions. The delicious golden hour light was to.die.for., and this gorgeous family put together the most beautiful outfits for their beach session. So many playful, snuggly candid moments. The whole shoot was a dream. Here are some favourites!

(P.S.: Johanna is a talented photographer herself - check her work out here!)

London Ontario Family Photographer | Woodsy Golden Hour Family Session

Lots of candid family snuggles in tall grasses under a beautiful tree at golden hour - what more could you want? I loved this family session! Here are some favourites.

London Ontario Family Photographer | Port Stanley Beach Family Session

This was such a fun morning family session at Little Beach in Port Stanley. I don’t usually shoot at this beach because I tend to book evening sessions in Port Stanley, but Little Beach was perfect for that beautiful morning light. The beach tends to always bring out that candid playfulness I love to photograph, and this session was no exception. I hadn’t seen this sweet family since baby brother’s newborn lifestyle session, and it was so lovely to see them again. Here are some favourites from their fun beach session!

London Ontario Family Photographer | Saleme's Family Beach Session

So many of my favourite things collided for this fun family beach session. An empty beach? At golden hour? With a friend and her gorgeous family? And so many fun, candid moments to document? YES PLEASE. Saleme is such a beautiful person inside and out. She has assisted me with weddings here and there and is an amazing photographer herself (her brand/product styling photography is perfection). I really loved photographer her family and am sharing some favourites on the blog today!

London Ontario Photographer | 2019 Spring Blossom Minis

Ahhh, Spring Blossoms. The thing we photographers look forward to and dread, fawn over and despise. We love them, they are gorgeous and make for the dreamiest backdrop. They are also fickle, unpredictable, fragile and in high demand (picture 5 photographers huddling around the same Magnolia tree). But at the end of the day, we just can’t get enough of these beautiful blooms.

Today I’m looking back on last year’s Spring Minis, which coincided with the Magnolia blooms. (They don’t always, sometimes our date coincides with crabapple blossoms or redbuds - also gorgeous!)

I’ll be emailing everyone on my Mini Session Advance Notice List this afternoon (to get on the list, email sophie@rawfootagephotos.com, subject line: Mini Session Advance Notice) with info on the upcoming 2020 Spring Minis. Once the advance notice list gets first dibs, any remaining spots will be released over on the booking page until they are sold out.

It might be -15 degrees and snowy outside today, but Spring is right around the corner, pals! :)

London Ontario Family Photographer | Woodsy Family Session

This was such a fun family session. With family sessions involving adult children, it can sometimes be challenging to draw out candid expressions and help clients settle into unfiltered interaction. You’re not going to have dads swinging kids around and moms scooping them up to smother them with kisses. It’s a different type of dynamic, and often the adult kids feel a little uncomfortable, at least at first, posing and emoting with their parents in front of a photographer. It can be tricky to take these sessions from the “stand together, look and smile” starting point into more meaningful territory. Over the years, I’ve learned how to connect with adult families on the fly through conversation, and how to identify their unique dynamic - all of which leads to capturing more natural interactions.

This family in particular was extremely close and comfortable with each other, and as a mama of two girls I was particularly inspired by the connection between sisters. I had a blast getting to know them as we walked through the woods, and they’ve since gone on to print a whole bunch of these images to hang on their walls, which makes me the happiest photographer. :) Here are some favourites from this family session!