There’s something particularly special about photographing a family somewhere that already belongs to their story.
This spring session took place in Welton, East Yorkshire, right outside my clients’ home. Their little boy could wander, explore and play somewhere completely familiar to him, with their house appearing quietly in the background of some of the photographs. Nothing staged, nothing elaborate — just the three of them at home, during one very lovely little chapter of their lives.
And this location has a little piece of my own story in it too.
Before we had Alfie, we lived just along here. The stream, the little paths and the blossom trees were quite literally on my doorstep. We eventually had to say goodbye to our little Welton home after Alfie came along and we needed more space, so coming back here to photograph another young family felt incredibly nostalgic.
## Spring under the blossom trees
Welton is beautiful throughout the year, but there’s something about it in spring.
For a few short weeks, the trees burst into blossom and suddenly the most ordinary little corners become ridiculously pretty. Soft spring light, tiny white flowers, greenery beginning to return and the stream running alongside us made the loveliest backdrop for this session.
But what I love most is that the location actually means something to them.
Years from now, these photographs won’t only show them what their little boy looked like at this age. They’ll show him **where he grew up**.
The house he came home to.
The stream outside.
The blossom that appeared every spring.
The places they walked together when he was small.
That’s the sort of detail that becomes more precious with time.
## Photographs that feel like memories
This is always what I want from a family session.
I don’t want every photograph to be three people standing neatly in a row looking at my camera. Of course, we’ll get those lovely photographs of everyone together, but the images I’m always drawn to are the ones in between.
Little hands being held. Being scooped up by Dad. Cuddles with Mum. Wandering underneath the trees. The way your toddler fits into your arms *right now*, before somehow they suddenly don’t anymore.
I want a gallery to feel less like a collection of posed portraits and more like stumbling across a box of beautiful old photographs from a part of your life you wish you could step back into for five minutes.
This session felt exactly like that.
## Your family photographs don’t need a grand location
One of the reasons I loved photographing this session so much is that it’s a reminder that we don’t always need to travel somewhere spectacular to make meaningful photographs.
Sometimes the best location is right outside your front door.
Your garden. Your village. The lane you walk every evening. The field behind your house. The place your children throw stones into the stream or stop to look for ducks.
Beautiful light matters. A lovely setting helps. But **meaning** will outlast both.
And when your surroundings are already part of your family’s everyday life, they become another character in the photographs.
## Family photography in Welton & East Yorkshire
Although I no longer live in Welton, it will always have a very soft spot in my heart — and I absolutely love coming back to photograph families here.
My family photography sessions take place outdoors across Welton, Hessle, Beverley and the surrounding East Yorkshire villages, usually during the softer light towards the end of the day.
Sessions are relaxed, child-led and centred around connection rather than perfect behaviour or stiff posing. You don’t need children who will sit still and smile on command — in fact, I’d much rather let them explore.
Because one day, the house might change.
You might move.
Those tiny hands definitely won’t stay tiny.
But you’ll have photographs that take you straight back to how home felt when they were little.
