This is William and a selection of his friends that came to his session with him to his recent family portrait session (well bears are family too).  He even brought along his mum and dad as well and they were truly fabulous folk but if you know me, you’ll know I can’t resist a teddy bear (or a bunny rabbit) so these were the shots that I have featured from his session.  There is no greater love than a boy for his bear – just ask Christopher Robin!

This particular family came to me for their portrait session via a gift certificate that their friends bought for them and it’s a great present both to give and receive.  Too often life dictates that we don’t get around to doing the things we really would like to do and I fully accept that family portraits definitely come into this category.  Actually today, I fulfilled an order for a gift certificate for a long wanted family portrait for someone’s fiftieth birthday.  They are now fifty three!

So having someone give you a gift certificate for a portrait session is almost like someone giving you permission to set aside some time to capture those precious family memories.  If you have a little person in your family, you’ll know how fast they change and each stage they develop to, inevitably leads to the one before getting consigned to memory. OK, I’m biased because of my profession but I honestly do think it is so important to capture these moments both for your family and as a legacy for those to come.  Imagine how thrilled your great grandchildren will be to see a portrait of their grandfather as a baby.

That said, I am not exactly a shining beacon of practising what I preach.  Last week I hung on my wall our first ever official family portrait – my son is now fourteen. So it’s a bit of a case of ‘don’t do as I do’ and take the opportunity to capture your family in all their glory for posterity.

Click here to find out more about booking your family portrait today.