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Writer's pictureCara Hodge

Natural Child & Family Portraits. They have my heart!

Updated: Jul 11, 2023

A quick catch up with some of my sweetest child & family pictures (in my opinion!).


I was going through the archives to promote some of my packages & had to choose some pictures to go on my Google business promotions. I was also going through my Google drive to update & refresh my website.


Here are a selection from the "archives".


I love candid child, family & baby pictures. Those moments you can't prepare for. When a face beams at you between the branches of a leafy tree. When a feather is caught in her hair....when a face appears through water...These are unstaged, spontaneous. Moments in time.


The best moments...


Even with a little direction from me on your family session, I will always be looking for genuine expression & gesture. Those things can't be staged.


I would love to tell the story of your family. The ordinary moments above all. Those that you look back on, time & again. That's because the ordinary moments are so potent.

Why? They are often the ones that tug on the heart strings the most, because they form part of the everyday, regular fabric of our lives as parents.

The way out child's hand fit snugly into ours. The way their hair curls. A special bond with a favorite pet.

Your child. Just, the way they are.


As a parent myself, I know that when you see a picture of your child, I want you to have that moment of recognition when your heart sings.

As time passes, and our children grow up, sometimes we forget the little things. But I want you to look at a picture and remember & smile.


When I do your family session at a place you love - outside or in your own home - I want to make sure there are group shots, you interacting as a family - and also portraits of your children on their own.


Child environmental portraits are what I love most.

An environmental portrait means paying attention to the background of a picture so that it tells the story of your child. When we look at a picture of a child, our eye travels right around the frame taking in all the details.


Where does this child belong in the frame? How does the background help to tell a story about the child? The emotion of the picture.


I love to use black & white for child & family portraits, but it really depends on the light. Black & white is best for dramatic light with high contrast. It often works well in low light conditions. When the light is soft, diffused, color might be best. I love color that is natural. Increasing the vibrance is usually better then cranking up the saturation!


My Dublin family photo shoots are natural. Whether it is outdoor or in the comfort of your own home, I go with the flow of whatever is unfolding naturally in front of me.


With babies & toddlers, nothing can be planned. The best photo shoots happen by themselves


Contact me for your winter & Christmas family sessions. And sessions all year round.


Natural child & family photographer Dublin. Natural at home newborn sessions.


Grab a cup of tea and have a look around my website pages & take in my look & feel. contact me to ask anything about my family & lifestyle packages. Or to book a session.


For more natural family portraits. Including natural baby & newborn photography, check out my Fly On The Wall page. It is all about unscripted documentary family photography in Dublin here:



Have a wonderful week, Cara xxx

picture of award winning child portrait by Cara Hodge in a magazine

girl with white feather, child portrait. award winning natural child portrait. by family photographer Cara Hodge

girl in tree wearing a blue summer dress & sunlight gleaming through the tree branches

natural communion portrait, girl in communion gown

girl sitting in garden, soft focus flowers, child portrait

award winning portrait, boy on hay bale. natural family portrait

natural newborn baby portrait. Newborn curled up on pink blanket

award winning portrait, international award, boy and kitten

award winning portrait, boy eating pasta

family group portrait, siblings with baby sister around kitchen table

girl fanning her hair in her garden. at home natural family portrait by cara hodge, award winning natural family photographer Dublin

girl in a white summer dress lying in the branches of a tree as she wraps arms around brnaches. award winning natural family portrait

boy holding a hose as it spurts water everywhere in his garden, beads of water flying everywhere

girl in a blue blouse next to a tree in a park, with sweet expression on her face. natural child portrait

natural family portrait with mum and her baby in park, Dublin

boy lying back with eyes closed in long summer grass

boys face coming to surface of a jacuzzi pool, as water around him is a bubbling turqoise color

girl in pretty blue summer dress dangling from tree branch. natural family portrait

portrait of a girl holding a chicken in her garden at home with her sister in a red dress chasing a chicken in the background

natural family portrait showing mum holding newborn in phoenix park Dublin

small baby boy swimming in the river with the water looking gold. award winning natural child and family portrait

portrait of a small girl resting on carpet, showing texture of the pink carpet as well as her face and dark hair pooling across carpet

young woman with hands on hips and wearing a t shirt with slogan squuze these across her chest. in a summer meadow in golden hour light. natural portrait

girl in pretty dress with pink famingos hanging off tree branch with dappled sunlight

small girl in a large plant pot holding a flower in her hands and smiling sweetly. natural family portrait

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