This family photo shoot in the vineyards above Rolle ranks up there as one of the most stunning outdoor photo sessions that I have done. Katherine and her family recently moved to the French-speaking part of Switzerland and she wanted to get her family together for some pictures. She booked me to capture some family memories in the amazing local Swiss scenery.
A Vision of Vineyard Colours
During the pre-shoot consultation two months earlier, Katherine described her vision for her family photo shoot. She wanted her family photos to be set in the colourful vineyards of Swiss Romande against the majestic backdrop of Lake Geneva and the Alps. She chose a late-September afternoon in order to get the warm autumnal colours that sweep across the La Cote vineyards in the fall.
Katherine’s timing was perfect. On the day of the shoot not only were the colours warm and rich but the skies were crystal clear. We could see all the way from our shoot location in Mont-sur-Rolle to both ends of the lake. Even the Jet d’Eau in Geneva was visible – you can see it in the photo above. Bearing Katherine’s vision in mind, I made sure to capture close-up pictures of the family together as well as wider shots incorporating the jaw-dropping views.
Teenager-approved Photo Shoot
You never know how a family photo shoot is going to roll. If the children are young, I normally tell the parents that the shoot will most likely run for around 30 minutes. Young clients quickly lose interest, get bored, hungry or cranky etc. As kids reach their teens they are able to maintain their attention span but within an hour the novelty has usually worn off. Sometimes they don’t feel like being close to their siblings, let alone having to act as if they like each other – yuck! Or maybe they simply don’t want to be there, because having a family photo shoot is just not the thing to do at their age…
So given the above and Katherine having teenagers, we both anticipated a shoot of around 60 minutes. We were therefore delighted when we passed the 1 hour mark and the children still seemed to be enjoying themselves. We agreed to continue shooting as long as we could, especially since the light was getting more and more golden as time went on. Later she told me that her children were still laughing and enjoying the mood of the shoot in the car on the way home. That is success in itself!
A Beautiful Record of fun times together
A couple of weeks after her family photo shoot, Katherine came to the studio for the Reveal & Ordering Session. She was wonderfully decisive and ordered a Reveal Box for 20 of her favourite images. It was beautiful: my folio boxes are custom-made in Italy and Katherine chose a lovely warm brown colour to match the decor of her home. Scroll on down to the bottom to see a little video of it.
I asked Katherine how she felt about the family photos. She sent me a photo of her Reveal Box on display and said,
“We are very happy with the portraits … love the pics of the kids and family together. Very meaningful and we had a nice day shooting with each other, especially great to see how well the kids got along!”
For most mothers, getting their family together and keeping the memories alive is very important because their children grow up so quickly. If you want to have a beautiful record of your family’s wonderful experiences and moments together, contact me about booking your next family photo shoot. Hopefully it will be an occasion that the kids will talk about long after it ends!
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Gallery from the Family Photo Shoot
Following my move back to Europe, I’m now based in Founex, Switzerland. I’m located between Geneva and Lausanne, and serve all clients in the area of La Cote and beyond. Among other places this includes Founex, Commugny, Coppet, Celigny, Crans, Nyon. Prangins, Cheserex, Gingins, Trelex, Begnins, Gland, Rolle, Allaman, Aubonne, Chavannes-de-Bogis, Bogis-Bossey, Mies, Tannay, Grand Saconnex, Versoix, Chambesy, and over the France border into Divonne and the surrounding French towns.