“Daft about daffs”
If you are looking for a family portrait you may not necessary consider the time of the year as part of your decision, but it can play a significant part if you are looking for an outdoor photoshoot. Although there probably isn’t an ideal month to have your family portrait captured there are some considerations around the overall season that should be taken into account.
Spring brings with it lots of flora into an often leafless scene before the trees start to develop their wonderful canopies with their many tones of green. The first floral signs of spring are the daffodils, closely followed by cherry blossom and then bluebells all usually occurring in April and early May here in the UK. All of these provide an interesting and photogenic background for a variety of portraits from the whole family, your children or the family pet. Engaged couples also often choose this time for their engagement pictures and I have many great examples of these in my various photography galleries.
“Into the blue”
Summer brings with it lots of other flowers and amazingly lush tree canopies of a vast variety of greens and often a dreamy look with late evening sun light and the extended day to be able to capture some great natural portraits. It is a time for summer wear the option of sun glasses and generally good fun times.
“Lifes a beech”
Autumn is a wonderful time for the family to have fun kicking around the leaves among all those wonderful autumnal reds, browns and oranges. Hats and scarves often feature in these photoshoots and can add nicely to the the overall look of these images. This is a really great time for all the family, certainly family pets and quite often engagement photoshoots. It is probably as popular as spring from my own professional photographic experience.
“Kicking up those leaves”
Winter also can have its fun for a family portrait especially on a frosty day when there can be a winter wonderland or a dusting of snow. Whereas there is usually a need to wrap up warm, the subject can really stand out with a few bright coloured garments isolated on a white snow covered background.
“That almost wraps it up”
The really great thing about the outdoors at any time of the year for a family portraits is that children and family pets are kept occupied with all that is around them and therefore act very naturally. This also reduces the stress on the adults and even a rainy day can produce some wonderful family portraits with lots of puddle jumping and splashing to keep the children and the family dog interested.
“Best Friends”
“Slashing with dinosaurs”
What ever season you fancy for your photoshoot getting in touch to discuss using the contact form on this website.
Copyright: Images and text Marc Byram 2026
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