JUNE has been chosen as the UK LGBTQ Pride Month. To celebrate this beautiful initiative, as a diversity, inclusion and gay-friendly wedding photographer based in London I decided to share with you this amazing Family photoshoot.

I’d like to present to you a very special family! The lovely Ale and Eva and their babies Larry and Kobe!

Ale and Eva welcomed me from the first time we met, at a wedding fair quite a few years ago. I then photographed their engagement and their wedding.

They feel like family to me. I love spending time with them and I will never forget when they took me out for dinner after their wedding. It was so sweet of them. Eva was pregnant with Larry and we had the most wonderful evening near the fireplace, in one of my favourite pubs in Richmond, Lass O’ Richmond Hill.

The family photography session

I arrived at their apartment in Sheen and everything felt so wonderfully calming, clean, cosy and homely.

Larry was a real star, always looking at the camera and he didn’t cry, not even once. After the photo session, I designed an album using one of my favourite companies Folio, something they will treasure in the years to come. Ale and Eva are now back in Italy. I miss them immensely but I know that this is the best choice for them and their children, they are now close to their family and friends… A few days ago a really heavy box arrived by post. The beautiful gift from Italy it was from them. I was so touched and I’m so thankful to have met them and have them in my life!

This is a little bit of their story...

How did you meet?

We met when we were 14 years old at school. We were classmates in High School.

Tell us about your love story.

In High School we were best friends. We’ve always been very jealous of each other, but it was very difficult for us at that age to understand our feelings. 5 years later, when we were 19 and we started University, we realised that there was something more than a normal friendship. Everything started in a winter evening with a kiss and we’ve been together ever since.

After University we moved to London and 3 years ago we got married. Now we have two beautiful children, Larry, born in November 2017, and Kobe born in March 2019.

Tell us how having children has changed your values/view in life.

I’d say that the main thing that I’ve learned is that you need to be flexible and compromise. You have a lot of ideas and dreams about how you will be as a mom (your stereotype of being a “perfect” mom) but then the reality might be different and you end up understanding that being a perfect mom means just do the best you can for your children, loving them unconditionally.

Tell us about your family photography session

It was a great experience!

Paola came to take the photos in our flat. We love having memories of our daily life, rather than having photos outside in a different environment. We took very natural photos while we were playing and singing with Larry, a bath, dressing him… Larry loved it, he was looking at the camera all the time and we were very relaxed because we knew Paola and she is very good to capture the moments without making you feel under the spot.

Why is important to have a family photography session?

We all take photos with our mobiles, but it’s not the same. These are professional photos of the whole family sharing special and at the same time very natural moments. The difference between selfies or photos taken by us with an iPhone and Paola’s photos is huge, you can’t even compare the two.

These photographs mean being able to capture little moments of everyday life, means that we will be able to share them with our children when they are older.

As soon as Kobe is a bit bigger, we will ask Paola for another family session. We prefer to do so when our children are not newborn so they can interact a bit more with us.

Any big plans for the future?

We are moving back home to Italy, this is a big change. After almost 8 years in London, we are moving back to our hometown, a small village in the North East of Italy, close to our families. And we are already thinking about child number 3... But we will see how life is with two first!

Having two under 2 is quite hard!

What is your best memory together?

There are so many. I would say that the first one that comes to my mind is our first kiss. After that our wedding is full of amazing memories and of course the birth of our children.

What is the best thing about being a parent?

You have this little person in your life, that you love unconditionally.

Is just so MAGICAL!

It feels incredible the way they learn how to clap or how to wave... things that you have taken for granted are now a big discovery, since that moment.

Simply amazing.

What advice would you give to new mums?

Don’t be ashamed to say that it’s hard because being a mom is the hardest and at the same time the most rewarding thing in the world. Ask for help if you need some. Be ready to change your mind a hundred times (I had said “no tv for the first 2 years” before Larry was born.... yes, right, I don’t need to say anything else). Don’t worry about the others, just worry about your kid (for example I feel that there is a lot of pressure on breastfeeding. If you find it too hard or you can’t do it: it’s absolutely fine!! You are still an amazing mom). And try not to forget that there’s also your partner in your life (it’s not only about the children). If you know someone with kids of the same age, spend time with them.. for my wife the NCT course was extremely important to make new friends and to share with them this amazing but also scary experience.

My favourite quote is: “The very fact that you worry about being a good mom means that you already are one” With Love, Ale & Eva

If you are looking for a gay-friendly family photographer in London. Please get in touch I would love to hear from you.