Last month I had the pleasure of photographing my step daughter and her friends before their prom. Bethany invited 7 of her friends around for photos at our place before the event. Its not often that she's glad I'm a photographer but I think on this occasion she was. Not that she'd ever tell me that though. The girls each arrived one by one and as can be expected they arrived to much screaming, hugs and giggles, all pretty much in awe at how beautiful and different they each looked from their day to day appearance. And they did look beautiful. Oh to be young again. It took me back to my prom a number of years ago (the exact number of years is not important). It was a great time for me, one that took weeks of preparation, so I can imagine how excited these lot were on this occasion. It was great fun photographing each of these girls. With flawless skin I have only a vague recollection of ever having and perfect hair and makeup they were dream subjects, each with their own style and special something. Unlike most prom goers though, our lot never got around to sorting their limo. So my husband had the brilliant and strange idea of using his transit van. And for some reason the girls seemed to love it. I can't help but think though, that had they managed to arrange their limo they would have thought it to be a ridiculous idea.
The mode of tranportation I thought was most unique and impressive was the double decker bus. What a fab idea and perfect for a load of lads. I only wish I'd thought of it myself. I must keep it in mind for Kieran's prom in 3 years.
They are amazing photographs, such pretty girls and wonderfully shot. I especially love the one of them all hugging each other, such a warm photo that the girls will surely treasure.
I am amazed that they have a year 9 prom! I didn't even get a year 11 prom, let alone one at younger! Hope they had a whale of a time and loving the idea of the transit van for transport!
So this is really becoming my thing lately. I am having so much fun working with children individually where I can direct and interact in ways that bring the best out of my subject. This has certainly become a process now of creating rather than taking photographs. And its what I have always wanted to be, a portrait artist rather than a photographer. I cannot put into words fully just how rewarding this is. For each of these shoots (as with nearly all of my shoots) we begin with a consultation where we discuss what we would like to achieve in the shoot. Here we will consider the type of clothing and any possible props. We will look at both the clients clothes and my ever growing collection so we can pick what will work best. In all circumstances we are heavily guided by what the child in the portraits wants to wear as I see this as vitally important. If he or she is uncomfortable its going to show and the portraits won't work. But most are happy to play dressups and wear a com
Or so the saying goes. But I have to say that working with dogs has been so lovely. They have been almost entirely a dream to work with. I say almost entirely because we have had a few moments where a dog has needed to settle. And one moment where the dog had settled but one of my cats decided to have a look through the glass door which, as you can imagine, rather quickly unsettled the dog. Still, that didn't stop us from creating incredible work. In fact it was during that shoot with the cat instance when I created two of my favourite pieces, shown below. (It was while sitting on the couch here when he noticed the cat peering through the curtain) I don't know if I've just been lucky or all dogs are just easy to work with. I photographed a french bull dog puppy and I thought that would be tough as he hadn't had time to be properly trained yet. But he did everything we wanted in no time at all. And this included the props we used here (below), which to me
I have a love and hate relationship with family portraits. I love the finished piece and creating something that is truly special to the family. I love that in years to come something I made is going to be a cherished and valueable memento for this family. What I struggle with, is getting all members of the group to look their best at exactly the same moment in time. You would be surprised at how difficult this actually is, particularly when it comes to 6 children. But I always get there in the end, whether it is the luck of a moment or with the aid of Photoshop. I ensure that everyone in the portrait is looking their best, even the dog. Seeing as this family is actually made up now of two families we also did portraits in their respective groups which I chose to do in different style to their main group. I love adding a bit of style for the overall main group and what you see above is something that is proving popular with my clients. I love adding props and giving a sort of Vani
I know this breed is becoming very popular, I believe even set to take over the top spot for most popular breed from the Golden Labrador, but I never expected to get quite so many in my studio. Can't say I'm complaining though. They have such a wonderful character and I love to capture those adorable squished up faces. This client came in not just for personal portraits though. Instead she is developing a line of homemade all natural dog treats called Claude's Little Doggie Bag and these portraits are to be used in her labels. Which is partly the reason why these images differ quite drastically from my usual style. This client had a very specific idea for what she wanted on her labels. But again, this is perfect for me because I just love variety. I don't really want to be creating the same work over and over again. This gave me the opportunity to revisit a style I've not used in some time. This little guy was just 14 weeks old so as you can imag
Meet Leo. Leo is 15 and currently going through an epic transformation that has momentarily turned the lives of himself and those around him upside down. A mum who once had the daughter she always longed for is now coping with the realisation that she will be living the rest of her life with a son instead. When your child is born you have certain expectations of the typical life they will lead but most of us know and accept that it won't necessarily end up the way we imagine. Not every person wants to marry, have kids or be involved with the opposite sex. Most of us have come to accept this and can adjust to whatever comes our way relatively easily. But few of us have expected to have to deal with a change in sex. Its not that we've hoped it won't happen, but just that it never occurred to us that it might. This is a new adjustment that we as a society are being presented with today, just like so many others that have come before. When I first heard that Phoebe
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I am amazed that they have a year 9 prom! I didn't even get a year 11 prom, let alone one at younger! Hope they had a whale of a time and loving the idea of the transit van for transport!