One family's back to school pictures are extra special this year, thanks to a supermarket competition win.

Natasha Woodthorpe from Ashford triumphed in a national Tesco competition, the prize of which was to have a back to school photoshoot with renowned photographer David Levenson.

Mr Levenson is known for capturing portraits of the royals, including Prince William and Harry on their first days of school, and hoped to bring some magic to the day despite the unique circumstances facing the world.

To enter, parents sent receipts to Tesco showing they had bought a school uniform or F&F child jeans - the favourite home-schooling uniform.

Being one of only three winners nationwide, Natasha's children Joshua, six, and Charlie, four, were left beaming when the photographer showed up.

The mum-of-two said: "It’s such a great prize from Tesco. We always take back to school pictures, so to have it done professionally by David Levenson is exceptionally exciting. It’s also made the kids really excited to get their uniform on and prepare for the return of school.”

The young school-goers join the ranks of the Queen, Princess Diana, Nelson Mandela, Michael Jackson and Margaret Thatcher, who have all been captured during David's illustrious 40-year career.

As a Buckingham Palace accredited photographer, he covered Prince Charles and Princess Diana on royal tours around the world and was the first photographer in a hundred years to be granted exclusive access into the gold vaults of the Bank of England.

With 79% of South East parents taking 'back to school' pictures, he offered some top tips on how to make them as professional as possible.

They are:

• For a good portrait, always stand the subject in the shade and avoid the bright sunshine.
• Be aware of the background in your picture. Brick walls don’t photograph well. Stand the subject in front of a cleaner backdrop and move any dustbins or eye sores out of the shot.

• For a more interesting ‘Back to School’ picture, get your kids to walk away from you and then turn their heads to the camera, to capture them smiling or try a shot where the kids are all jumping in the air, to give a bit of life to the photograph.
• If the weather is bad, make it a feature of the photo. For example, have them laughing under an umbrella.
• Have the subject reasonably close to the camera, and the point of focus. Just give a hint of anything behind them.
• On a sunny day it is better for the subject to have their back to the light – it will stop them squinting too.
• For good pictures of kids, always get yourself down to their level – don’t look down on them from above.

• Learn to edit your photos down to just the best one or two of each shot. Only show people a few pictures, nobody wants to sit through your rejects, or umpteen versions of the same picture.
• Don’t worry about whether or not your camera is good enough, some of the best photos in history were taken with simple equipment.
• A camera flash only travels about ten feet, so make sure your subject is within that distance.

For support, advice, events and all things to do with parenting in Kent, visit My Kent Family here.

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