Family Photography in Tadpole Garden Village

I’ve lived in Tadpole Garden Village for around ten years, so it’s probably a little strange that I’m only just writing about it as a location for family photography.

But the truth is, I’ve photographed a lot of families here over the years.

For a while, though, my family photography took me further afield. We had our campervan, which made it incredibly easy to pack up the car, take my own family with me and head off somewhere new. I loved photographing families in different places; beaches, beautiful countryside and locations that felt like a bit of an adventure.

But life changes, doesn’t it?

These days, I’m much more interested in photographing families closer to home. And the funny thing is, having spent years looking for beautiful locations elsewhere, I’ve found myself appreciating what’s been right on my doorstep all along.

Family photography in Tadpole Garden Village

One of the things I’ve come to really love about photographing families here is the space.

There are open fields where children can run, play and explore, and that makes such a difference to the way a family session feels.

I don’t want your children to feel like they’ve been brought somewhere and told to stand still while I take their photograph. I want them to have space to be themselves.

They can run ahead.

They can race you across the field.

They can jump, play, climb, laugh and generally burn off some energy.

And I’ll be there photographing all of it.

Some of my favourite photographs from family sessions aren’t the perfectly posed ones. They’re the photographs that happen in between; a child grabbing their parent’s hand, a big cuddle after a run, siblings laughing together or everyone simply walking along chatting.

Those are the photographs that tend to bring you straight back to that particular stage of family life.

Why the open fields work so well

I think one of the reasons I’ve fallen back in love with photographing here is that it gives families room to breathe.

There’s no pressure to keep everyone standing in one particular spot. We can move around, follow the children and let the session unfold naturally.

It also works brilliantly for families with children who don’t particularly enjoy having their photograph taken.

And let’s be honest, there are plenty of those!

Rather than trying to convince a reluctant child to smile at the camera, I’d much rather give them something to do.

Let’s run.
Let’s play.
Let’s explore.

Let them be themselves, and I’ll be there to capture it.

And then the sun starts to set…

This is probably my favourite part.

When the sun starts to drop over the fields, Tadpole Garden Village becomes so beautiful.

The light gets soft and warm, the grass catches the evening sun and everything feels a little more magical.

It’s exactly the kind of light I used to travel to find.

And now I can photograph it a few minutes from my front door.

For summer family sessions, I love shooting in the evening when possible, particularly around golden hour. Yes, it might mean keeping the children up a little later than usual, but that beautiful warm evening light is absolutely worth it.

A relaxed family photography session

My family sessions aren’t about getting everyone to pose perfectly.

They’re about giving you a little bit of direction, then letting you get on with being a family.

We’ll walk, play, run around, have cuddles and probably have a few moments of chaos along the way.

I’ll photograph the big moments, but I’m just as interested in everything happening in between.

Because these photographs aren’t really about having a nice picture of everyone looking at the camera.

They’re about remembering what this stage of your family actually felt like.

Family photography close to home

After years of travelling for family photography, I’ve realised that I don’t necessarily need to go very far to create beautiful photographs.

Sometimes the best locations are the ones you’re already familiar with.

Tadpole Garden Village is somewhere I’ve lived for the last ten years. I know the fields, I know the light and I know how much space there is for children to simply be children.

And I’m really enjoying photographing families here again.

So if you’re a family in Tadpole Garden Village, or nearby in Swindon, and you’d love some relaxed, natural photographs of this stage of your family’s life, I’d love to hear from you.

Family photography doesn’t have to feel like a photoshoot. Sometimes, it can just feel like an evening out together, with me quietly photographing it as it happens.