About Tom Handbury | Leeds Family Photographer

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About Tom

Let the world rush by. Be here instead.

(This is how you remember.)

In a world that rarely pauses, I create space for families to stop, breathe, and really see each other.

Since founding Tom Handbury Photography, I’ve spent over 20 years working with families who want more than poses - they want presence. These sessions aren’t about performance; they’re about honesty, connection, and creating something real to return to.

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This isn’t a production line - it’s personal

I care deeply about the families I work with, and when I photograph you, my aim is simple: to hold a mirror up and reflect the beauty of family life — to hold still one of those fast-moving days of childhood.

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I’m drawn to work that’s both beautiful and grounded - from the dreamlike world of Tim Walker to the quiet street life of Vivian Maier, to Pennie Smith’s ability to find the extraordinary in the everyday.

I grew up in a close-knit, loving family. My parents gave us amazing experiences . . . and I thanked them by pulling a wardrobe onto my sister while pretending to be Spider-Man. (She’s fine. We’re fine.)

My wife and I met in school - I played guitar (badly) in a band, and she’s tone deaf. It works.

At university, I was accused, by my course leader, of eating photographic paper because I got through so much of it. I spent hours in the darkroom, usually developing medium-format film and printing portraits of my much cooler friends.

I was fascinated by the remnants of Sheffield’s steel industry - that love of place and memory stayed with me. Years later, I documented the renovation of Bingley Five Rise Locks in a personal project I exhibited locally.

I spent years in a large portrait studio, photographing hundreds of families - learning how to meet each one where they were, and how to build trust quickly.

We have two wonderful daughters who keep me on my toes. One loves being photographed. The other tolerates it. My favourite portraits of them are the ones that capture who they really are.

And yes, I collect vinyl. I have far too many, according to my family. And not nearly enough, according to me.