Photographer Aga Piatkowska Captures Precious Family Moments

“Ever since I was little I used to spend after school time at my mom’s studio first watching and then started helping out with the lights and the studio set up. What great fun that was for an 8 year old! Later my mom noticed my interest and started teaching me things about photography and family photography as well as taking me to assist her at weddings.” Family photographer Aga Piatkowska, based in Barcelona.

What brought you to Barcelona?

It has always been a dream of mine to come and live in Barcelona and finally after 15 years of living in London last year I decided to make a move.

Both your parents are photographers. Was it inevitable that you would become a photographer too?

Yes, I think it was inevitable that I became a photographer. As a child I used to spend my free time at my mom’s studio and assisting her at weddings. She taught me photography from a very early age, which enabled me to start working at a very young age.

You have a teaching degree. What made you decide to become a photographer rather than a teacher?

I actually teach as well so I do both but my photography fulfils my creative side whilst teaching keeps me busy and engaged with my academic side.

Why did you decide to specialise in family photography?

Spending time with families, clients and seeing how they are with their loved ones is a super special part of that job and I love the fact that I am capturing those one time moments for them and creating something they will cherish for a long time. I also pride myself on being great with children and building great rapport is what makes a difference in photos as well. So the family photography was definitely something I felt I should be doing as it felt really natural and effortless in a way.

Do you prefer working indoors or outside?

I prefer working outdoors with natural light and shooting outside in a beautiful scenery! There are so many amazing places around Barcelona, I can’t wait to start exploring more!

You offer a special package for newborn babies. What does that include?

The newborn package basically includes three photoshoots in the comfort of your home to make sure both mom and the little one have everything at hand during the shoot. Its objective is to look back at those photo shoots and see each time how fast the baby was changing and what those changes were. It is really amazing to see it after few years!

How easy is it to photograph children?

What I love about photographing children is that they are super unpredictable and during the shoot they usually become curious about what we are doing so all I need to do is keep observing them and keep pressing the shutter. The results are usually superb! The best shots always come from unforeseen and unpredicted moments. I don’t like forcing emotions and my style of family photography is that more of a reportage and candid rather than fully set up!

How can a family prepare for a photo shoot?

There isn’t much of a prep work to do for families apart from preparing the agreed choice of clothing for the whole family and making sure we are doing a session around the nap times and meal times to ensure the children are well rested and excited about the photo session.

What do you love about your work?

Being a family photographer is great! You share some intimate moments with the families!  The children take to me quickly and very often don’t want the session to end as they have so much fun! It is great to be able to capture those moments that will be cherished for many years to come. Some of the families back in London actually became good friends and kids would get used to me coming around for their bday parties and family gatherings! I feel very fortunate that my job enables me to create those relationships.