There has been frost on the grass for the past couple of mornings here in Surrey, which means that winter is not far away! I love photographing families with frost on the ground as it adds that extra bit of magic to the photographs. Children love to jump around crunching the frost – which makes for lovely photographs full of laughter and big jumps. Family portraits taken in the winter season are great as the light is much more orange providing great ambience to the photograph. Hues of yellow, gold and deep orange creating halos around the children’s heads is a wonderful effect, and can really only happen in winter light. Even though the day is shorter, if you have young children, it’s quite hard to photograph them in the “evening light” as it is usually near their bedtime. In the winter, the majority of the afternoon is filled with this magical light, so it is a wonderful time to take advantage of it. To get the kids warm, I enjoy playing games of chase, creating races out on the Surrey Downs, or even in your back garden. Once I have been caught in the game of chase, and the races have been won, we settle down and focus on looking at the environment around us – getting the kids relaxed to catch “their look” and “that smile,” for you to have on your wall for years to come. Although the majority of the leaves have fallen, there is still lovely foliage to use as backdrops in the family photographs. Holly, rose hips, and evergreen plants provide bright back drops that represent the season. I have included some fun family photographs and children’s portraits taken in winter, enjoy!