An Evening on the Heath: Family Photography in Blackheath, Done the Slow Way
Andrea Whelan is a London family photographer based in Greenwich, South East London. She photographs families, newborns, maternity, and visiting families across London and beyond.
Blackheath Family Photo Session
Before we’d even ordered drinks, Dad had already stood baby on the table, had a bromance exchange with a man who complimented him on his parenting and did a stand-up bit about buggies. This is, in my professional opinion, the a very correct way to begin a family photo session. With a pub. With a pint. With the small, very specific ways of a family that actually likes each other.
I’m a Blackheath family photographer, which is a slightly grand way of saying I spend a lot of evenings on the Heath waiting for the light to do that thing it does in May. This session was textbook in the best way, a slow, sunny wander from The Princess of Wales, to Rossi’s ice-cream van to the village and final sunset shots nears The Hare and Billet. If you’ve been Googling “family photographer Blackheath” and quietly wondering about what a session will actually feel like, I wrote this for you.
What it’s like on a Blackheath photo session
I’ll tell you what it’s not. It’s not a studio. It’s not “everybody face me and freeze.” It’s not “say cheese while your toddler dismantles a tripod.” Family photography in Blackheath, when it’s working, looks more like a stroll with someone who happens to be holding a camera. We start somewhere comfortable, it doesn’t have to be the pub, I promise!
With Paddy and Rosie, we kicked off at one of the Princess, because (a) the light through those big sash windows is some of the best in London and (b) that’s where they planned to park and they were running late. The girls had an Etch-a-Sketch. Dad was on top form. Mum was apologising for being late but I reassured her. I know exactly how difficult it is to get two kids ready for a photo session, after a full day in work/nursery. I started shooting pretty much straight away. The light coming through the window, where I was sitting, was divine.
By the time little one was standing on the table, and I do mean standing, full posture, pleased as anything, we were past introductions. That’s how you know a session is properly underway: the kids stop checking in for permission, and the parents stop checking how their hair looks. It becomes an evening you’d be having anyway, except someone happens to be documenting it.
Why Blackheath
If you’re local, you’ll know why. If you’re new to it, Blackheath is the bit of South East London that is a vast open heath ringed by Victorian terraces and a lovely village. For family photography, it does three things at once: open sky for golden hour, characterful streets for “we live here” portraits, and a pace that doesn’t terrify a toddler.
I shoot all over South East London, Greenwich, Oxleas Wood, Hilly Fields, Telegraph Hill, Brockley, Forest Hill, but Blackheath is a favourite, not just because I can walk to work if I’m shooting there! There’s something about that big sky near The Hare and Billet in May, with the Shard winking miles away and usually a kite or two going up from somewhere near the All Saints’ end.
Where we shot: a route around Blackheath
Sessions in Blackheath tend to follow a loop, not because I’m rigid about it but more because that’s how a family naturally moves through an evening. With Paddy and Rosie, it went something like this.
The pub for the first thirty minutes. Indoor warm-up. Drinks. Dad’s bit about prams.
Rossi’s. I cannot, in good conscience, write a Blackheath family photographer post without mentioning the ice cream van. Rossi’s lives here. If you book a summer session and you do not allow at least one cone, I simply cannot help you 😉
Blackheath village. A slow walk along Tranquil Vale and Royal Parade. Past the Bookshop on the Heath. Past the painted Lordship shopfront with its enormous flowers. Past the always-jewel-toned window of Jigsaw, where the older one (Paddy, denim jacket, opinions) decided we needed to stop and assess the mannequin’s cardigan. We did. It was a good cardigan.
The Heath itself. Across to the open grass for the long, slow golden hour walk. This is where most of the frames I love come from. By this point everyone is full of E-numbers and joy. The light turns into the thing that makes these sessions. I take the parents aside for a couple of minutes. Dad runs too fast for me to catch up. Then we throw the children in the air. Repeatedly.
Ten minutes before the sun goes, we walk a little further, the kids on shoulders or in the buggy, and I start shooting into the light. This is when families get the picture they end up putting on the wall.
The wind-down. A loop back past the pond, across the heath. Denim jackets on, picking up sticks and asking philosophical questions about ducks and how Grandad lives on the moon. End of session. Start of bedtime. Everyone wins.
What to wear (the real, useful version)
I get this question more than anything else. Here’s the actual answer. Wear what you’d wear to a nice walk and lunch with friends. Not a costume. Not a co-ordinated palette from a Pinterest board. Real clothes.
Tones I always love on the Heath: the soft taupes, off-whites, denim, gingham, anything in the warm rust/olive/sand family. Avoid bright neons and big screen-printed logos, they tend to date the photos and pull the eye away from faces. Layers help, because the wind on the open grass is its own weather system and a soft cardigan or jacket gives you something to do with your hands.
The best light, and when to book
If you want the photos in this post, that low, editorial, slightly cinematic light, you want the last two hours before sunset, this late April session started at 6.30pm
Winter sessions work too, just earlier. December and January, you’re shooting from about 2.30pm to 3.45pm. There’s something gorgeous about a low pale sun through bare trees, and the village looks pretty in any season, but if you’re picturing the warm-cheeked glow, Late spring, summer and early autumn are the best times.
I usually book six to eight weeks ahead in summer, longer for the very tail end of golden hour weekends. If you’ve got a specific date in mind, message me as soon as you start thinking about it.
What you get
A gallery of around 60 to 80 edited images, delivered online within two to three weeks. High-resolution, print-ready, yours. Optional prints, frames and a fine-art album if you want them, and if you don’t want them, no pressure. I’m a photographer, not a salesperson; nothing ruins a relaxed session like the suspicion that the photographer is going to upsell you a frame at the end. I have a shop in my gallery and it couldn’t be easier to order what you need.
A few quiet things I think about during sessions
The best photo is almost never the one anyone posed for. It’s almost always the one that happened five seconds before or after.
I think about this a lot: in twenty years, your children won’t ask to see the photo where everyone was lined up looking at the camera. They’ll ask to see the one where dad was wearing them on his shoulders outside a restaurant named PROSECCO (once known as The Cactus Pit and we reminisced about those sweaty old days, if you know you know!) That’s the heirloom. That’s the point. It’s for the memories and stories, old and new.
Frequently asked questions
How long is a session?
Around two hours, give or take a meltdown. We can stretch to three for bigger families or extended-family shoots.
Do you do sessions at home?
Yes — at-home and lifestyle sessions in Blackheath, Greenwich, Lewisham and Lee work beautifully, especially with newborns and very small babies. Just light a few lamps and put the kettle on.
What if my toddler is in a mood?
I’ve never met a child who couldn’t be charmed by twenty minutes of being ignored. Worst case, we get ice-cream or snacks.
Do you photograph just the parents, too?
Always. Five minutes of couple photos, while the children are distracted, is one of my favourite parts of the night. You’ll thank me.
Can we do the pub bit even if we don’t drink?
Of course. The pub is a vibe, not a prescription. We can start in a café, a kitchen, a back garden, a bookshop, anywhere you feel like yourselves.
One last thing
If you take nothing else from this post: the goal isn’t to look perfect. The goal is to look like you. The version of your family that shows up in the kitchen on a Saturday morning, that argues over the last crumpet, that has private jokes nobody else gets. That’s what’s worth photographing. That’s why I’d rather start in a pub than a studio. Also why the best frames from this sessions include the one where Dad running with older girl on his shoulders, baby reaching for an ice cream with her tongue and mostly nobody is looking at the camera.
If that sounds like the kind of session you want, I’d love to hear from you. The Heath is at its absolute best from now until late September, the ice cream van is back.
How do we book?
Drop me a line via the contact page with rough dates and the ages of your children. I’ll come back with availability, and a slightly-too-excited whoop for joy if you’re cool with keeping your kids up slightly too late to get the sunset shots.
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