Natural School Photos

Hi and welcome to Caroline Jenkins Photography. I am Caroline Jenkins and I am outdoor photographer in Chandlers Ford. I started offering natural school photos in 2020 when I was approached by a Mum who asked if there was any way I could take some photos of her daughter after school one day, seeing as the school photographer wasn’t allowed in due to Covid!

It has taken off since then, whether it’s because the proper school photos aren’t great or because parents want sibling photos (which might not be available if the children are in two different schools)!

Because I am outdoor-based, I have always taken the photos in a local field or woods near school and tend to do a few posed ones and a few more active ones whether that’s sitting in a tree or jumping off a hay bale! This has worked so well for so many families who just want some lovely natural pictures of their children where the smiles extend to their eyes!

How Will They Work?

Each slot equates to a 10 minute slot, so if you have multiple children then you may want to consider booking consecutive slots to give us a fighting chance of getting reasonable photos of all the kids separately and together.

It might be worth arriving 5 minutes before your alloted time so that we can hit the ground running. This year I am running the Natual School Photos shoots during a weekend rather than after school, which always becomes complicated due to dodgy weather, after-school clubs and the fading light.

I will take several ‘sensible’ ones of individual children, some of siblings together and then any fun ones if we have time. Please note – there will not be time for parents or grandparents as well as this is just for children!

Normally I provide chocolate buttons or jelly snakes for bribery / encouragement purposes so please let me know of this is not suitable for your child(ren). I will also ask for consent to use your child’s image for future marketing and portfolio purposes. It’s absolutely fine to say no of course, but if you agree, please allow time to sign my consent form!

7-10 days after the shoot I will deliver your gallery and you will be able to choose your favourite 3 image to download in high resolution. There will be the oppportunity to buy the complete gallery if you are struggling to choose!

What Should My Children Wear?

Clothing is completely up to you! If you want to replace the traditional school photos with these and capture the children through their school years, then you will probably want them to wear their uniform. If, however, you just want to capture the children as themselves then any of their favourite clothes would also be good. I will not be advising colours or styles as I would do with my family shoots, as this is such a short and focussed shoot that we just want them to look and feel fabulous! I would just dress them in whatever makes them happy and what they’re into at that time (if it were my son for example, it would be his favourite football kit at that time!)

Obviously I appreciate that in this country, who knows if it may be cold, so I advise wrapping the kid(s) up in layers and then we’ll try and shoot without bulky coats. If you know they’ll get too cold though, then I would definitely advise lovely knitwear – scarves and jumpers rather than bulky coats. It’s absolutely not a problem if they do wear coats, of course – it just can be difficult to see faces sometimes when they’re so wrapped up!

I really hope that is all helpful and you understand how my natural school photos will run. If you do have any questions though, please do not hesitate to contact me.