Christina Lauder Portraits

Each year around this time I do portraits for a few playgroups locally. And each year I create portraits I just love to share. I'm not able to share many as I need permission and as I don't often meet the parents I have to send out some model release forms and wait to see who sends them back. I only ever share work once I receive permission to do so. Its never easy doing these types of portrait sessions. While small children have a natural beauty that needs no enhancements we are dealing with limited time and small children who are often frightened of the situation. I am usually a stranger to them. And my big lights can be scary. But I have patience and for playgroups, unlike schools, I have a little more time to work with them so that I can usually, but not always, bring them out of their shell and get something I think is pretty incredible. You might notice that not all the kids are smiling here. Thats because sometimes some children just won't smile for me. No ma...

I can't say enough how much I adore photographing this breed of dog. They just seem so photogenic to me, with so much character and such a lovely temperament. I think I could photograph these sweet things everyday. This one was a little frightened being on the wooden boxes. We weren't sure really why. It wasn't too tall that she couldn't jump down if she wished but for some reason we struggled to get her to settle. She just remained glued to the spot, which I suppose helped us in a way. In my attempt to get her to settle we tried a variety of boxes to see if she felt more stable on different ones and I think we finally got there. There is something about having the dogs sitting or standing on these wooden boxes that really appeals to me. And the ones in the boxes I think are just so sweet. The beanbag was a little easier. She certainly looked more comfortable but keeping her there was a little more difficult. When she wanted down she just left. But for the most...

I am so thrilled that more people are wanting portraits of their older children. Its quite common to have newborns and babies photographed but much less so with older children and I've never really understood why. A child reaching their teenage years is such a wonderful stage that goes equally as fast and is equally as special as the toddler stage. For me and my daughter it was the stage just prior to her becoming a young woman. It was the last time that she was my cute little girl and I'm thankful I have many photographs to remember this time. And as such, I think its a wonderful time to organise a portrait session to record this milestone in their lives. I've been building up a collection of dresses that my clients are always welcome to use. When young girls visit my summerhouse and have a browse through the wardrobe they will always stumble across something that strikes their fancy. Some like the pretty pink dresses, some like the black lace dresses. But there i...