Family Sessions with Laura Bradford Photography


Family photography is not just for parents right now, but for the entire family as the years go by. These sessions are an opportunity to spend time together being playful and present away from technology and capture lasting memories. There is something so heartfelt about seeing the love within a family printed in an image, captured forevermore. These are the images that children get to look back on in years to come to illustrate a chapter in the story of their childhood.


Little people grow and change before our eyes without us even realising it. And, while I know that as parents we all snap a million photos of our incredible little beings I bet that you are not in many of those images and if you are, they aren't the kind of images you print for your wall. I think it is also safe to say most of us have other halves that aren't great at remembering to take photos for us either. The thing is, as your kids get older the photos they will cherish the most aren't the millions of photos we have taken of them. It will be the ones that have you in them!


Sure little people are often challenging, but you won't receive anything from me but patience and understanding. There are also plenty of things I do as a photographer to make the process easier and less stressful. This always starts with me getting to know your family, and what will work for your kids. My biggest advice is always to make sure they aren't hungry or tired (and it is absolutely encouraged to bring a reasonably mess free snack just in case). So if you've been held back because you're worried about the kids, let me tell you those images will still be worth it and your little ones might surprise you!


The final days of Autumn

Autumn has got to be one of the nicest seasons to schedule a family session! The weather is perfect (not too hot and not too cold), all the colours are gorgeous and the sun starts to set that bit earlier so its a bit easier to achieve golden hour with the little ones. We managed to squeeze this session in just before the season was over, and lucky we did because Winter has started out very chilly this year!


This was my third session with this beautiful family! Last year I had the pleasure of photographing them as a family of three, and then again after they welcomed their sweet little girl into the world. I really love getting to catch up with past clients, and see how much their little ones have grown and changed over the years.

Location, location, location!

This is one of the most important choices when it comes to preparing for your session. The shoot location sets the tone and background for your portraits, so it's important to select a backdrop that you love and that conveys the desired mood. My favourite locations to shoot at always offer a number of backdrop options so I can provide my clients with variety within their galleries. When it comes to family sessions, this is particularly important because I find that moving around a location is helpful for keeping busy kids engaged.


The family and I went back and forth over a few weeks in the lead up to this session to narrow down the best location for their shoot and we decided on Old Petrie Town. Old Petrie Town is a quaint location with it's heritage buildings and packlands spanning 48 acres. There are SO many things about this location which make it ideal for families!

  • There is plenty of backdrop options so you receive a wonderful variety across your gallery. This locations boasts a cute old railway, old fire station building, bushland, an abundance of multi-coloured flowers, wise old trees and wide open fields.
  • There are lots of opportunities for kids to play and interact with the location, keeping the session fun and helping little ones to stay engaged
  • The Old Petrie Town village is usually nice and quiet of an afternoon, so there is plenty of privacy and space to let kids just be kids
  • This is a fantastic spot for afternoon sessions, with loads of spots that provide shade if the session is done before golden hour when the sun is higher and brighter
  • Plenty of parking and easy to access from the highway; located conveniently about a 30 minute drive North of Brisbane
  • Toilet facilities on site

12 month Milestone

This session was also special because it commemorated their littlest turning ONE! Baby R was an absolute delight, and I think she enjoyed the session just as much as her older brother.


ONE is such a fun age to photograph! They find simple things amusing, and being playful together as a family can result in some particularly special images. Capturing their adorable expressions, contagious sense of joy and playfulness is such a highlight. And what is cuter than those toothless gummy smiles? Family sessions around this milestone also provide a great opportunity to capture the last of the crawling stage and the start of them taking wobbly steps before they start running. Those stages change so very fast, and it is beautiful getting to document them for families to reminisce as the years go by.