What were you looking to achieve from your shoot with us?
I love photographs, I always have. It’s a way of capturing memories and something to treasure once the time has passed. I wanted something that would show the dynamics of our family at this point in time.
We had been on our first holiday without Caitlyn, which made me think that we had reached the point in which time together as a family was more and more difficult to organise. Family life is hectic, Chris works Monday to Friday and I work shifts meaning that time off together doesn’t happen very often. Caitlyn and Andrew tend to want to spend time with their friends rather than with us (the joys of growing up). The time we do spend together is precious and the range of photos taken capture just that.
Tell us about your family
Jack enjoys playing with his toys and loves people spending time with him. He’s a very affectionate little boy but is also very strong willed as Chris your photographer discovered quite quickly. Andrew is the most outgoing of them. He enjoys school but only for the social life. Given the choice of spending time with us or his mates his mates will always win. Caitlyn can be quite quiet and struggles with confidence at times although once she gets to know you another side of her shines through. She enjoys rugby and is an avid fan of Warrington Wolves. She’s just finished year one at college and is looking forward to year 2.
Had you ever done anything like this before?
We’ve had a session at a different studio 4 years ago and were pleased with the photos but things have moved on and it was time to update. The kids have said for a while that they thought it was time for a change as they were getting a bit embarrassed with how young they look on them. The new frame will replace the one in the lounge and the old ones will be moved upstairs.
Why did you think that Bartley Portrait Studios would be right for you?
I researched the website and was impressed by the images. I thought the style would be perfect for what I wanted, which was something natural not forced poses.
What personal did you bring and why?
We brought along a change of clothes and some toys for Jack… Oh and not forgetting the iron man outfit. That was his idea not ours. Chris your photographer told us what he thought would work best and we went along with it. He suggested ‘poses’ and snapped us along the way creating some fabulous images. More importantly he got Jack back on side as at the start he was refusing to take part. Our family story wouldn’t have been complete with one of the family missing!
Were you worried about any parts of the session beforehand and if so what?
In the beginning I was worried about the shots looking staged. As I’ve mentioned Jack wasn’t the most cooperative and the others weren’t too happy about getting up so early on a Saturday morning but after an initial chat everyone seemed to be more at ease and everything went well.
Tell us about the favourite parts of your experience and why you enjoyed them
We all enjoyed the session. I particularly liked the family shots, rolling around on the floor play fighting was good fun. Chris liked that he was able to have photos taken with Caitlyn and Andrew as they’ve not got any recent ones together and Andrew enjoyed posing on his own!. I loved the way the images were put to music for the viewing.
What advice do you have for other clients coming for a shoot with us?
To anyone thinking of booking a session I’d say trust the photographer, go with it and have fun. The hardest part then is deciding which prints to go with.
What was your favourite image overall?
My favourite image is the one where we all piled on top of each other, all of us are laughing on it but then again there are some really good shots of the kids. I especially like the one of Jack with one of his short legs rolled up and the other one down, his face on that one is him all over, full of mischief and then again there’s the panoramic shot of Chris and I!
We enjoyed the morning and I loved coming in to see the end result. Can’t wait to pick my order up and get it on the wall. We’ll be back again in a few years for our next update. Thank you!!
If you are interested in coming along for a photoshoot yourselves, then please take a look at the following pages…