Dublin Family Photographer: Vintage Aesthetic In the frame this week...

Hi, I'm Cara, an award winning Dublin family photographer.

Expressive, vintage inspired child portraits are some of my favourite things to photograph!

In every family session, whether it is a relaxed beach family photo shoot at Seapoint, Monkstown, with toddlers and babies, or a special occasion with all the family, I will aim to capture authentic, completely natural moments of joy and connection.

My sessions are usually done on location outdoors, or in your own and garden or a special venue.

I will also be on the look out to capture quieter, reflective moments. Quiet moments are perfect for my vintage inspired edit using softer colours and timeless black and white

What Is Vintage Inspired Photography?

Over the past few years, I have really loved vintage inspired family photography, adopting an Old Money editing aesthetic. This look and feel has evolved naturally as I experimented with film-inspired colour. I just found by slightly de-saturating brighter colours, and flattening contrast and highlights, but still keeping the deeper blacks and upping the warmth and tint, I got to an edit that felt timeless.

Many families have said they loved my softer vintage edit.

My photos have won awards internationally, most recently at Click Pro Elite Voice Awards, 2025 and the 1839 Photography Awards.

Looks Like Film Look n' Feel

The Vintage photo editing aesthetic has a Looks Like Film quality to it, replicating the mood of earlier film cameras. With that said, the "Old Money" look is flatter and warmer then some older high contrast and "glow" film edits.

The "Old Money" photo aesthetic primarily copies the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s. It is a look deeply inspired by natural, lifestyle-focused fashion campaigns (like Ralph Lauren and J. Crew), including the 35mm family snapshots of East Coast American and European life. Instead of the intense saturation of early film, this variation reflects the look of aged physical photo prints, fashion look books shot on low-contrast transparency films, and editorial portraits printed on matte paper.

Aged Paper Texture (The Matte Print Effect). 

When physical 35mm photo prints from the 90s age, the chemical dyes fade. This lifts the darkest blacks into a hazy charcoal and pulls down the brightest whites into a cream or light. This flattening of colour has been a huge inspiration to me as it prevents colour photos from being overly "loud". As a fan of black & white family photos, I love how black and white distills everything to simple elements: light, composition, emotion, and, to me, less contrasted colour does much the same.

Dressing for your Family or Couples session.

First of all, please don't stress. I totally get that you may well want to be as relaxed and comfortable as possible - no stiff outfits. But I do offer tips so you can co-ordinate wardrobe outfits easily on outdoor or indoor shoots in your own home and garden. This can be as easy as wearing 2-3 complimentary colours spread across a family.

A perfect vintage inspired edit for couples, engagement and small Dublin weddings

As well as being a Dublin family photographer, also doing sessions in Wicklow and surrounding areas - I also am doing way more couples, engagements, surprise proposals, elopements and small weddings.

The vintage inspired edit is perfect for romantic photo shoots as it makes the atmosphere timeless, cinematic and nostalgic.

What about Documentary "real life" photography?

Ah yes! The vintage-inspired photo edit works well for all genres of photography. My Dublin family photography pairs more traditional family portraits with documentary style photography. Both styles are relaxed and natural in that I don't go in for stiff posing and forced expressions. With that said, with more traditional portraits, I pay more attention to pretty light and nice backdrops and use this to frame a portrait.

With totally genuine documentary style photos, it;s about capturing all those little unscripted moments that arise spontaneously. This style is perfect for parties and celebrations where there is lots of hustle and bustle, including weddings.

In either case, a vintage-inspired edit with still make photos feel timeless, cinematic and nostalgic. Having the same, cohesive edit across all photo stories, makes your gallery feel curated and intentional, no matter the type of shoot.

For your family or couples session, I offer 4 main session options all available to see in more detail on my FAQ page.

My sessions include the photo shoot and a full edited and curated gallery of images. Handcrafted books and albums can be purchased separately

Book now to secure your spot! Have a great week, Cara xx