Tell us a little about you.
Tell us where you are and what a day might look like. At home, out together, on holiday or at a gathering. We can work it out in conversation.
Documentary family photographyDigital & 35mm film
Photography by Dominique & Liam Shaw
All the little things that make it yours.
Family photography for people who don't want a family photoshoot.
We're Dominique and Liam Shaw. Brother and sister, documentary photographers, and two artists with a shared photographic language. We usually photograph families together, quietly finding the interesting moments nobody planned.
Based in Yorkshire and the North East. Photographing families on digital and 35mm film, close to home or further afield.
Explore the photographs
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The interesting photographs are rarely
the ones anybody planned.SCROLL TO EXPLORE ↓
Another way to see family life↓
One day, these will be the photographs that mean everything.
Not because everybody was looking at the camera. But because there's something happening in the frame that feels unmistakably like you.
The faces, the interruptions, the unexpected combinations of people and place. The funny photograph that becomes the one you can't stop looking at.
We're interested in the photographs you couldn't have planned. The ones that let you see your own family with fresh eyes.
What being photographed is actually like
→The work / A selection of photographs
The photographs. Nothing arranged.
Humour, gestures, layers and the moments between moments. A few photographs from families who let us look a little closer.
Beyond a single frame
Some photographs are better seen together.
Spend a little longer with a family. Explore selected sequences and photographic essays.
Explore the work
→Big days. Small days. Days you never want to forget.
NOTHING POSED. EVERYTHING FELT.A small manifesto
The best family photograph isn't always the one where everyone looks perfect. It's the one where everyone looks like themselves.
UNPOSED. UNSCRIPTED. COMPLETELY YOURS.
The photographers / Dominique & Liam Shaw
Two photographers. One photographic language.
We're brother and sister, and we've spent a long time looking at the world together.
Our photography is rooted in street photography: humour, relationships, layers, and those fleeting combinations of people and place that couldn't be arranged.
We usually photograph families together. We move quietly and independently, but share an instinct for the same kinds of photographs. The result should feel like one way of seeing, with more opportunities to notice what matters.
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We know what the other is looking for, often without saying a word.
Meet the photographers
→A photographic choice / Real 35mm film
Some things are lovely on film.
We love the physical negative, the colour, and the distinct character of 35mm. Film is part of how we work, not an effect applied afterwards. Your session can be on film or a considered mixture of analogue and digital.
Choose what feels right
A different medium. The same instinct for a photograph.
There's something about a real roll of film: the colour, the texture, the physical negative. We love the thought of making new photographs with something of the same spirit as the family albums we grew up with.
Ask us about making 35mm film the focus of your session.
Explore 35mm family photography
→A little note from a family we photographed
"You captured the epitome of what my heart feels when I remember that day."
Shelby & CreaghGood to know / The experience
It's really quite simple.
You don't need a plan, matching clothes or children who enjoy posing for a camera. We're here to observe your family, not organise it. A good photograph can happen almost anywhere.
You get on with your day.
We spend time with you and work quietly, watching rather than directing. You get on with being yourselves.
Photographs that stay with you.
A careful edit of honest, original photographs: sometimes funny, sometimes subtle, always unmistakably yours.
A few questions you might have
What would we actually do during a session?
Whatever you'd enjoy doing together. Breakfast at home, a walk, a trip to the beach, a birthday, or familiar little routines of a normal day. We won't direct it like a traditional photoshoot.
Do we have to be comfortable in front of the camera?
Not remotely. You don't need to perform or pose. Our approach is observational and relaxed, so you can concentrate on one another.
Could you photograph our family on 35mm film?
Yes. We can talk about a film-led session or including 35mm photographs alongside digital coverage.
Do you travel?
Absolutely. We're based in Yorkshire and the North East, but photograph families across the UK and further afield.
A CONVERSATION STARTS HERE
Shall we make some photographs?
Tell us who you are, where you're based, and what you have in mind.
You don't need to know exactly what a session would look like. We're happy to talk ideas, 35mm film, or simply why you'd like these photographs.