Going beyond holiday snapshots… my 5 top tips for summer holidays photography with your children

It’s officially Summer Holidays time…. I can’t wait to relax the routine a little, spend some time with my girls and eat copious ice-cream!

We may only be going to Norfolk… and it may well be the third year running we have gone there, but the girls are so excited about going back to all their favourite little places that we have discovered. And I can’t wait to photograph those gorgeous big skies and flat landscapes again either.

As parents, we all really crank the camera out on holidays, don’t we? We want to photograph the fun, the freedom and the kids at their most relaxed.

To help you do this, here are my top tips for photographing your children on summer holidays:

1) The bright summer sun at this time of year can make children screw their eyes up and squint. Try and catch them whilst in the shade and you won’t have this problem. Beach umbrellas are ideal for this if you are on the beach or even the shade cast by a windbreak can help.

2) Go with the flow – children are often SO excited on holidays that they just will not want to stop for a photo. Instead, capture them doing what they love to do, whether thats digging, collecting shells or paddling their little toes.

3) Make sure you pack plenty of memory cards for your camera. There is nothing worse than running out and having to find a shop in an area you don’t know.

4) Strike a balance –  quite often memories are not just made up of people, but little details. Capture some of the things you see and these will also hold great memories for your children. For example, the photos of the cows next to the road sign still makes my girls laugh and remember when we hired a boat on the Norfolk Broads!

5) As well as close-up shots of your kids, try and work the landscape of where they are into your photos sometimes. This helps tell a story about your trip.

If you would like to  learn about how to go beyond average holiday snapshots and really capture the spirit of your holidays with beautiful, creative photos, then have a look at my Workshops website, which has Autumn dates now available >

Here’s wishing us all a sunny, relaxing summer break!