Sweet little Lucas turned the grand old age of 1 over a month ago, and his mother had a birthday surprise planned out for him. I was lucky enough to be invited to document some of their family time together, and the unveiling of the beautiful cake Stephanie had baked and decorated for him. This fella has a keen awareness of the camera already, and if you look at the pictures carefully, you'll notice that he has pretty good ball sense too!
So not only did I get to spend part of New Year’s Eve with this newly-minted family of three … I got to document them going home together for the first time. Ever. That just blows my mind - their trust in my work, and their openness and generousity, to grant me such intimacy and then to allow me to share a sliver of it publicly.
Everyone who knows them personally already knows how much this little fellow is loved. If these images seem full of peace, contentment and tranquility, it is entirely because of them. To the Dzakpasus - much love to all of you and all the best on this new adventure!
I have received quite a few inquiries in the last week about shoots to commemorate the big 1 year old milestone, and thought it would be a good time to share a few highlights from this family session. The family was a joy to work with - not only were they on-board with my vision and ‘fly on the wall’ shooting style, the mother ran away with it and planned a good variety of daily activities to document in our time together.
A lifestyle / documentary session such as this would be a particularly good way to remember what your family is like at your child’s grand old age of 1 (or 2, 3, 4 etc) … Not every baby develops at the same pace, but with a relaxed environment and familiar activities, I can promise you a shoot that will embrace your child’s personality and your family’s way of life.
This lovely couple have been married for well over a decade, and are such an inspiration in how they still speak to and look at each other. Later today they will be joined by their eagerly anticipated son, and I just know that he will be welcomed with much love and respect. Good luck Z & I and see all 3 of you soon!
Just in time for Christmas! This shoot was a little different as the focus was entirely on the littles ... Ginny needed a festive portrait of her oldest son and thought that it might be a good opportunity to capture some images of all three kids horsing around at home. It can get a little tricky to navigate a kids-centric lifestyle shoot where you are not doing any posing, but together we managed to come up with a few little games (and snacks!) to get everyone in the mood. Thanks for playing along with Aunty Kerry!
Jarvis' mother mentioned right at the beginning of the shoot that she works with a lot of photographers and had been looking for someone suitable to photograph her newborn to no avail. Much as it may be uncool to admit - well, that made me a wee bit nervous! I think we hit it off immediately though as she was very clear about wanting something completely natural, unposed, and as far away from a 'baby in a basket' as possible. I could not have said it better myself.
This ended up easily being one of my favourite shoots of all time. Just a new little person hanging out in his home, and two new parents losing themselves in wonder over his presence. What a privilege to be allowed to share this with them.
I first met Zhing a few years (and what feels like a lifetime) ago, when she was helping to design and plan our wedding. It was really lovely to reconnect recently and as an added bonus, I got to photograph her small but perfectly formed family in their small(ish) but perfectly formed apartment. She recently shared a few of her favourite images of their morning routine on her own blog, http://www.little-project.com, and I thought I would follow up by sharing a few of my own favourites. This is a bit of a bumper crop as there were just so many sweet details of their family life to capture! From morning brekkie to family time in little Blake's room to getting Blake ready for school.
I spend most of my time shooting kids and families with kids, but every now and then, a special couple comes along with a special story. Goz and Phoebe got married in Singapore almost a year ago, but moved to Hong Kong shortly after to start their life together. A casual walk around their 'old' neighbourhood felt particularly meaningful and captured both the vintage loving side of Phoebe and the so-hip-it-hurts side of Goz.
