Give A Father’s Day Gift With A Difference With A Family Photoshoot
With Father’s Day fast approaching, you’re perhaps pondering what to give to your dad – or, if you’re a mum, maybe your child’s/children’s dad too! Father’s Day presents can be tricky with socks or a bottle of dad’s favourite tipple often being the go-to gifts. If this year you’re looking for something a little different, a family photography session may be just the ticket.
Falling on the third Sunday of June each year, Father’s Day originated in America but was adopted by the UK to become a much-loved annual celebration. Unlike Mother’s Day, which has roots in Mothering Sunday, it has no religious significance, and its inception didn’t come about until after the Second World War. Often coinciding with glorious weather, it’s the perfect opportunity to shoot a family photography session outdoors. This can be in your garden, which is likely to be at its peak, with many flowers in full bloom and the lawn still lush before too many hot days leave it scorched and patchy. I love to snap action shots, so I encourage dads to simply play with their children as if I weren't there – bouncing together on a trampoline; kicking or batting a ball; building sandcastles in the sandpit or, if it’s a particularly hot day and things are getting a little crazy, maybe even having a water fight!
Many people choose to head further afield, often to the family’s favourite park or green space. Again, the sheer abundance of colour and texture bestowed by the wildflowers, herbaceous borders and verdant trees offer up a backdrop showcasing the best of Mother Nature. Who knows, you may even have some unexpected guest stars buzzing or flitting round nearby flowers!
It’s the perfect time for dads to show off their sporting prowess as I capture stills of football and cricket matches, or classic outdoor games, like frisbee. For those with younger children who aren’t yet mobile, the natural environment adds more than enough interest to the family photographs. I’ll also take plenty of close-up shots of hugs and kisses, showing the beauty of family affection in all its glory. Photographs can be a medley of different family members – featuring one child and all children, with one parent and both, etc.
Those of us local to Edinburgh are blessed with living close to the beach and a Father’s Day family photoshoot is an ideal opportunity to pay a visit. Here your seaside snaps can take full advantage of the coastal scenery as you breathe in the salty sea air.
Of course, if home is where your heart is and you’d prefer to have your family photographs taken there, this is absolutely fine. I like to feature possessions which signify family bonds such as family heirlooms that are passed down from one generation to the next – even the house itself may have been in the family for many years.
A Father’s Day family photography session can span a vast breadth of ages such as children, parents, grandparents, perhaps even great-grandparents, making it multi-generational. It’s a celebration of precious family time spent gardening, doing DIY, competing at board games or simply the grownups delighting in watching the children play. Combining the photoshoot with a meal or drinks and a leisurely stroll creates an alternative experience gift – one that’s particularly touching when given by older children.
Not only is a Father’s Day family photoshoot a unique present, it’s also the gift that keeps on giving as the images can be treasured forever as they get passed down through the years. If you like the sound of how I approach family lifestyle photography and you’d like to book a Father’s Day family photography session, please do get in touch.
