Family Photo Session

Before I became a mum there was a number of things that I thought I wouldn't ever do;

- Bring the baby into bed
  Wise up, sometimes I just need to sleep.

-Allow my house to become a multicoloured plastic toy fest
*Sigh*

-Get a family photo shoot, spending money on photos when everyone has cameras on their phones      anyways.  And give the photos as 'presents' at christmas time.  And post the photos all over  Facebook, and force everyone with a set of eyes to look at them.
I did all that.  I'm not even sorry, getting a family photo shoot is a brilliant idea, and I'll tell you why..

I discovered Jonathan Ryder Photography through a friend.  Laura is getting married in 2015 and has become an expert in wedding shows.  Jonathan Ryder was an exhibiter at one of these shows and she followed his blog.   He posted calling for families looking for a family photo shoot, he was offering an enticing deal in exchange for the right to use the images in his portfolio.  To be honest I had never considered a family shoot until I read his post.  As I sat in work I read the post on my phone.  I reflected on how much time had passed already.  How did I end up back at work already? Maternity leave was over.  Joel was no longer a wee baby, in fact he had just learnt how to walk all on his own that week.
I responded to his blog and he agreed to come and see us for a family photo shoot.

Jonathan arrived at the house and of course Joel was napping.   What bad timing.  But Jonathan didn't bat an eyelid, he has plenty of experience of the magical routine blips of babies that rear their heads around important plans.  A father himself, he knew the importance of allowing Joel to nap in order to have him in good form for the photo session.  Jonathan relaxed on our sofa and had a cup of tea.  He chatted about his family, why he moved to Belfast and his thoughts about where he would send his child to school.  He was a quiet man but friendly, it was very comfortable to have him in our home.  We were totally at ease with him.  And so was Joel.  He was snoozing on Phil's knee on the sofa.  With the gentle noise of us chatting he openned his eyes.  He sat up on Phil's knee and gave Jonathan a huge grin.  He dropped down off the sofa, toddled over to Jonathan's side, placed a hand on his knee and gave him a giggle.  Brilliant, I knew that this shoot would go well, Joel had already made friends with Jonathan.

Jonathan sprung into action.  He brought in his equipment, assessed the lighting in our flat and rearranged the furniture.
There was no posing, no stiff awkward positioning, no forced smiles.  The afternoon evolved naturally,  Joel playing and practicing his new walking skills.  Jonathan was patient and responsive to Joel's mood and whims.  Joel was facinated by the camara equipment and then when that wore off we used the magic of the noisey rattle to get him to look at the camara direction.
Jonathan spent over 2 hours with us and only made a move to leave when Joel was showing signs of tiredness.  He gave us a jolly goodbye with the promise that the photos would follow soon.

I was stunned by the photos that he produced.
Yes, they are high quality beautiful images, but I don't even care about that (sorry Jonathan).  I am not a person for the tiny details and I am unsure if I would notice the quality of images hanging on peoples walls.  And every photo I own of Joel is beautiful, even the blurry ones on my Iphone.  I do not need a professional to produce a photo of my child for me to find it beautiful.  What is unique about these photos is that it captures beautifully a snap shot of Joel's development, of his wee personality, of our family happiness in images for us to display.  Having Jonathan come to our home rather than to direct us to a studio has added an extra warmness and personal nature to the photos.  They are natural and warm and exactly how I see our family life.  I feel like Jonathan has pinpointed what is important to us in these photo's.   I just adore them, and since some of you aren't within grabbing distance for me to force your head to look at my images let me share some of my (many) favourites here with you.

I've been on the record as saying this many times, who needs toys??  Joel is a natural explorer and this image shows his natural curiosity.

I love this wee snap shot of a natural family moment, in our own kitchen.  

Look at my two men having a wee chat, I love that his moment has been captured. 

Joel ready for a carry on, this was snapped as we were playing peek-a-boo popping up from behind the sofa.  I know my hair is messy but that is everyday motherhood, eh?  For me it just adds to the natural nature of the image, a real family moment captured. 

These images were captured just as Joel had found the confidence to take off by himself.  This photo, taken mid-waddle, just reminds me of his wee awkward amble at this stage.  His wee finger pointing where he wants to go, his face mixed with concentration at what he is trying to achieve and smiling with excitement at his new skill. 

I hope you can see why I love these images.  To me this is no ordinary photo shoot, rather a selection of images captured from a day in the life of our family.  I am so happy that I became one of those people that gets a family photo shoot.  When we pack up and move to our new house next month i am looking forward to finding the perfect place and hanging these memories on the wall, memories of Joel's first year in our first family home.