An afternoons wandering

What a beautiful day today was!  Clear blue skies, warm sun and two kids with plenty of energy.  I am always on the look out for new locations to take my clients  to and capture some stunning images.  The other day I spotted another little walking track I hadn’t seen before and I finally had some time to check it out today.

We packed ourselves a little snack, a hat and the camera and set off to find some gorgeous light and nice locations to capture some memories.  Unfortunately my kids are maybe a little sick of having their photo taken

My daughter trying to take a serious photo

My daughter trying to take a serious photo

There were lots of laughs to be had and we found a new place to go exploring – plenty more paths to tackle next time as well!  Hoping to find the little lagoon that is hidden down there somewhere.

Would you like to have some photos taken in this lovely bush setting?  Contact Sacred Moments Photography to find out more – I can’t wait to hear from you

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Capturing your event

I recently had the honour of capturing some community events around Brighton and Redcliffe.  Event photography is something that is especially close to my heart.  When I look back at my life there are so many moments I wish I had captured on film (or mega pixels these days).

My bridal shower, baby showers, kids birthday parties.  As the years go past and I flick through the photo albums I find a couple of happy snaps of these important events caught quickly in the rush of the moment, many more are probably stashed away in someone else’s album, hard-drive or a box under the bed.  Those moments that you think you will remember forever – the way your child’s eyes lit up when they opened that present or the way you ran and hugged your best friend you hadn’t seen in years when she turned up at your bridal shower – these are the moments that aren’t in those happy snaps and they slowly fade away in memory as time passes by.

That is why I love event photography.

Birthday party.  Kids party. Bridal shower. Baby Shower. If its special to you – I can be there to capture it forever.

A lovely afternoon for a picnic

My daughter is in year 1 and this term they are learning all about animals and their habitats.  We often go for ‘bush walks’ I suppose you could call them – we prefer the term, ‘Adventures’.  One of our favourite places to adventure in is the wetlands near our house.  And after a busy morning of ballet practice and soccer games Miss 6 asked me if we could go Kangaroo spotting today so she could gather some research and get some photos for her teachers.

We have found a number of mobs of kangaroos and wallabies in Tichi Tamba before but these aren’t tamed marsupials that will welcome you into their habitat.  These are wild kangaroos and very timid.  In particular the big males are not fond of people coming close especially when their are young ones around.

So we set off just before dusk to hopefully spot some kangaroos and I took along the camera as it is one of my favourite places to get some beautiful family shots in the wide open spaces in the lovely soft afternoon light.  My eldest brought a book, of course and Miss 6 was taking notes and making diagrams.  I only managed to capture one dodgy shot of a little wallaby family (I think) – no tripod and failing light and very shy animals. I’m sure we will be heading back soon – perhaps next time 🙂

 

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Keeping me busy

I have been a bit quiet lately and for a very good reason.  Each year my children’s school has a fete and it is a very big deal in our house.  As a working mum  I often don’t get to do the ‘school mum’ stuff.  I miss a lot of assemblies, excursions and classroom visits because my day job is being a teacher – which means when my kids are at school, so am I.  But the fete is the one time when I get to feel as though I am giving something back to the school community and embrace my other love – baking!  So for the last 2 weeks every spare moment has been spent baking and freezing in preparation for the big day.

The day dawned overcast and rainy but as always seems to be the case at St Kieran’s fete in Brighton; as the people started rolling in the clouds started to roll out.  I got to watch my kids perform their dances and hubby and I did our hour on a stall each and the kids bounced from rides, to games to animals, even Nanna conquered the ‘Space Invaders’ ride with my gorgeous boy

 

Bellies to Baby ~ Part 2

Yesterday I was talking about how precious Maternity or pregnancy photos are and today I wanted to talk about the next best thing – newborn squishy-ness.

In those last few weeks of pregnancy when all you want to do is meet the new person inside of you, many people will tell you not to wish it away.  Caring for that baby while its tucked up nice and tidy (and quiet) inside you is so much easier.  But while you are counting down the days it’s a good time to consider getting some pictures of that beautiful baby.

There are generally two types of newborn photography at the moment; the first is ‘posed newborn photography’ – this is the one with all those gorgeous props, baskets, backdrops.  The ones that conjure up images of Anne Geddes Calendars.  They are usually conducted in studio and take between 3-4 hours.  Baby is usually kept asleep for these images and it is best done within the first 2 weeks of life.  Another style is ‘lifestyle newborn photography’. This one involves the photographer coming to your house and photographing your beautiful new baby in the space you have lovingly prepared for them.  We still do some traditional poses but your hands form the support for baby and we can capture the gorgeous relationship between you and baby. These sessions usually take between 2-3 hours and baby may be asleep, awake or both.  I will follow bubs lead and see what happens.  This type of photography can take place at anytime.  – And don’t worry about needing to have a spotlessly clean house: I have children – I understand.  All I require is an uncluttered space with good light – the bedroom, nursery and lounge room can often provide this.  We can move any artifacts of normal life with a child (ie. piles of washing/folding/ dishes) to one side – you will never see them in the images 🙂

The new type of newborm photography that I am starting to offer is called Babydaze photography.  This is a short session conducted in the hospital or home in the days just after baby is born – preferable the first three.  In this session I capture all those squishy newborn memories – the hospital tags (for a hospital birth), gorgeous little wrinkles, crib/room number, first meetings with grandparents and sibling – all those precious things that only happen in the first few days.

If you are interested in any of these – or would like to know more about maternity and newborn packages please contact me for more details 🙂

From Belly to Birth

I honestly couldn’t decide what to write about tonight, bellies or babies – they are both my favourites!

I do have a super special soft spot for gorgeous maternity photos, probably because I always wish I had gotten them done myself!  When I was pregnant with my son 11 years ago it wasn’t really the done thing, plus by the time I finished working I looked like a whale.  With my daughter it was definitely something we wanted to do but I was waiting for the perfect time – I wanted that big beautiful round belly you see in the maternity magazines… but then I just got HUGE and felt so un-pretty and un-wonderous that there was no way I wanted a stranger taking photos of me. One of those moments I wish I could travel back in time and say to myself – Wake up! You are only pregnant with this child once and it is beautiful – it doesn’t matter if you still fit into your skinny jeans at 28 weeks or if you ditched any form of recognisable pant for a potato sack at 16 week – that body of yours is miraculous and trust me – 3 years from now you will look back at the happy snaps someone managed to get of you with your eyes half closed with that beautiful belly and it will be the most treasured picture you have.

So, what’s my point? Maternity photos are for everyone!  The best time is around 34-36wks before you get too uncomfortable.  I won’t lie to you, having maternity photos taken isn’t just a walk in the park… although we can do that – but to get those “ahhhh” shots it sometimes involves a little walking, sitting down, getting back up again and a little more walking. Nothing too adventurous – I’ve been there, I know how it feels 🙂

AND I have completely run out of time writing this post so the baby section will have to wait until tomorrow – washing up is calling 🙂

Introducing Little Mr J

I was so happy to have the opportunity to photograph this beautiful family again.  The last time I saw them this little man was tucked up inside his mamma. So much love surrounds this gorgeous family

Beautiful beach maternity session

Beautiful beach maternity session

At three weeks old this little man was an absolute delight to photograph.

My newborn sessions are a little different to many you might see around.  I aim to capture your precious bundle in his or her natural environment.  I like to photograph the way you are as a family, holding and being together.  We can also incorporate some traditional posed shots but the focus is on you as a family in your own home.