Pete Horton
Family Fall Photos on the French Riviera
Stunning Family Photography Session in Nice Old Town
Capturing the fleeting moments of childhood through the lens of a camera is like bottling stardust. Family photography, especially when focused on young children, can have a unique magic that freezes time and preserves the whims and spontaneity of our little ones.
This family photography session, which were taken on vacation in Nice, is among the favourites I've done, full of spontaneous laughter, curious glances, and the tiny hands reaching for the world. The setting was a quiet spot in Nice old town, which with its beautiful streets and reliably easy-to-work-with light, is a wonderful place for photos anytime of year.
Often when photographing young children, the magic is in the candidness, which is why I generally devote less time to traditional formal family poses, and more to spontaneity, where people are free to laugh, smile, and interact. Children's unfiltered expressions and unbridled enthusiasm create frames filled with genuine emotion. It's less about staged poses but about capturing the authenticity of their curiosity, wonder, and sense of fun.
The Problem of Being a Parent and a Photographer
As I parent myself (especially often the one with the camera), I know how frustrating it gets having lots of beautiful images, but hardly any of me. In the digital age where there are so many photos, this is amplified, which is why it's so important for parents to put their own cameras and devices down and allow someone else to take over. It's almost impossible to be in the moment with your child while trying to compose and operate a camera - despite years of practice.
The best family photos are less about where we are and what we were doing as much as the relationships that the images capture. As a photographer I tend to focus less on technical aspects of photography and more on humanistic features - of facial expressions, the nuances of body language, and capturing atmospheres which resonate intuitively.
Why I Love Family Photography
Many of my most favourite memories involve my daughters - of having two amazing friends with whom I laugh, talk, and share so many aspects of my life and who I am. It's hard work bringing up children, but I only have to look through old (or not so old) photos to realise how quickly time passes and how fleeting their features and personalities are at any one moment in time. Their character might not fundamentally change, but their habits, humour, and relationships with grown ups do - which is why photographs can be so magic and nostalgic.
In essence, family photography, especially when focused on the magic of young children, is an art form that celebrates the beauty of the ordinary, the extraordinariness of the everyday. It's a reminder that amidst the chaos of life, there is true joy in the simplicity of shared moments and the love of our families.
