Lenny and Noah - Brisbane Newborn Baby Photographer

Lenny and Noah were a special session in the studio, born at 30 weeks they were photographed on World Premature Birth Day, November 17. 

Lenny was first to drop off into a sound sleep, he's the smaller one of the two. His "big" brother Noah wasn't sharing enough in the womb and so Lenny didnt grow as much yet as his brother Noah. 

While Noah settled to sleep I photographed Lenny alone, which I think is an important part of twin sessions. These little guys are each their own person as well as part of an incredibly special set. 

Despite Noah being noticeably larger than Lenny, these boys are identical twins, which means that one fertilised egg split into two at the very start of their life, and so the boys are identical from looks right down to their DNA. 

With Noah settled to sleep we photographed the boys together for the first time, and this moment of two blissful babies sleeping side by side always gets my heart beating loudly, its just so amazing to see them snuggled together like this. 

We did family photos next and their parents are so photogenic you would be forgiven for thinking they were models! 

It was time to start unwrapping the boys and seeing some of their delightful details, fingers and toes and more. One of my favourite images we captured is where it looks like Lenny is telly Noah a secret! He was even partly awake at the time so it really did look like he was whispering to his brother. 

We unwrapped them further and attempted the "twin pose" where they mirror each other while snuggled, however with Noah so much bigger than Lenny they didnt line up exactly, but it was still super cute!

Their mum had requested a specific image of their faces side by side on a poser, so that was next up - and it really shows how different yet similar they are! 

The last set of the day we did was in a gorgeous set of clothing that their Nanna had sent them from overseas.  The boys must have liked it too because they were both so smiley!

As Lenny was set back into the car seat to go home, I quickly did a set of Noah by himself. He was wide awake from having his clothing changed but he was very content. In fact, he was more than content - he was pumped! This is, hands down, the BEST newborn smile I have photographed and I think it will be a hard one to beat! 

The best part? His mum said she gets those giant beaming smiles from Noah all the time, isn't that just amazing!! My heart would explode if my newborn babies smiled at me like this! 

www.brisbanenewbornphotography.com.au

Ava - Brisbane Newborn Photographer

Ava arrived quietly into the suction behind her 2 year old big brother Angus.  I totally did a double take (and I kept having de-ja-vu throughout the session) because Ava looks so much like Angus did as a newborn! 

Heres Angus from two years ago:

And here is Ava:

We kicked off the session with the main man Angus, he was more than happy to sit for some photos and even had fun giggling away as I played "round and round the garden" on his tummy. Every time we got to "tickle you under there" he would flinch in anticipation of the tickle, it was so cute! 

It was soon apparent that Ava was going to be a rockstar at the session. She was calm and collected throughout the family photos with her Mum and Dad, then it was time for her closeups and she burst into the sweetest, most enormous smile you could see on a newborn!  I literally squealed a quiet little celebration when I captured this sequence! 

So surely, amazingly cute big brother, adorably sweet little sister, sibling photo GOLD right? 

Yeah. Notsomuchtoday. 

It was about this time that Angus was done having photos. 

I had a few sneaky tricks up my sleeve though and in the end we did get some sweet sibling photos, just not the smiling at camera ones I had expected since Angus rocked his single photos so well. 

I think its all part of the family story though. You can imagine in 15 years time he will be like "Mum. Why isn't there a photo of me cuddling my baby sister?" and his Mum will say "Oh, thats because you flatly refused my darling boy. But doesn't this one say so much more?" 

Ava kept her cool the whole session, she snuggled peacefully in amongst flowers and then again into a green and white setup. 

She had a little drinks break before we got into the sleepy beanbag photos, and she totally nailed all of those too. I had a little moment again when I had her in the "chin on hands" pose - those cheeks are ah-may-zing!! 

We finished the shoot with my signature setup, a nice neutral one and had one last attempt at the smiling sibling photo with Angus to no avail. But still, its pretty cute all the same. Getting a new baby brother or sister is hard. We forget that sometimes. 

With the session all wrapped up we waved our good byes and they were off, hopefully for as peaceful an afternoon as we had enjoyed that morning! 

Baby Miller - Brisbane Newborn Photographer

full blog: 

https://www.brisbanenewbornphotography.com.au/blog

I had a little moment when this gorgeous family arrived. I had to double check I wasn't in the middle of a dream come true. 

First, big sister Ellie jumped out of the car, and her ruby red locks were flowing, a little curl at the ends, and I nearly squealed out loud. You see, I love red hair so much! 

Then, hold me in case I swoon, little 3 week new Miller emerged, and you won't believe this... he had red hair too! Already! 

With a flurry of gushing photographer, we headed into the toy room for Ellie to have a play while we got through the important stuff. 

Once underway, Ellie was hilarious. Mum and Dad were both having a cuddle with Miller (Mee-yah!) and Ellie was not happy about being left out. She was standing right at their feet, pulling on clothes to be picked up and join in.  Which of course we did right after we got the photos with just Miller. 

A cuddly, laying down sibling photo was next up. Except that Ellie was having none of that, so we moved to plan B and set Miller up on the beanbag for Ellie to come give him kisses and snuggles in her own space. 

Without any warning she was suddenly done, she turned around, too 3 steps, half turned back to us and said "Ta Ta" before spinning on her little heal and marching out of the room, not once looking back. It was the sassiest, cutest thing I had seen all week! 

With Miller now taking centre stage, it was important to help him to sleep. And the problem was that he was not looking like he was in much of a mood to sleep. We cranked the heater up, (and by "cranked it up" I really mean, we "turned it on") and soon the room was really toasty warm with the white music pulsing and in no time flat, Miller eventually dropped off into a peaceful snooze. 

This was a particularly special session for me to capture as Miller and his family had not had the easiest journey earth-side. 

After a fairly standard pregnancy and an uncomplicated labour, it was only moments after he was born that Miller was diagnosed with xxxx  ???

This means that his small intestines had not developed all the way through his body, and he was immediately rushed off to surgery to have a stoma bag inserted.  ???

Thankfully the stoma bag is not permanent for Miller, it is just a necessary aid until he is big enough to undergo another surgery to line everything up as it should be. All going to plan, he should be free of his bag by the time he is 3. ???

Miller is doing great, a true little champion who despite this unexpectedly rough start to life is a happy, peaceful little boy, already stealing hearts like nobody's business!

To honour his unique story, I included some story telling imagery into his newborn session. 

The first image made me teary as I was creating it, as it drew me back to my own emotions of being a mother with a newborn baby in special care. His mum was given some lovely heart shaped cloths, one for her to wear next to her heart, the other always with Miller in his crib in the NICU and special care. This is a way for babies and mothers to connect to each other, the mothers scent always with her baby even if she cant be. 

The next image we made was incorporating all of the pieces of medical equipment and personal gifts from the hospital such as the blue beanie gifted by staff in the NICU. I arranged these as a rainbow above him because I liked the symbolism of the rainbow, a fresh start with a happy outlook after a storm. 

This last story image is showing Millers journey through the pregnancy. I used photoshop to remove his stoma bag from the images that represent him in utero. This image particularly strikes me because it shows how nobody had any idea of his condition until after he was born, and despite the surgery and medicines he is so chilled out about it all.  

Next we moved on to more standard newborn portrait imagery showing off how crazy cute this red haired little guy is!  

Since we had some a lot of creamy photos we decided to mix things up a little and did a dark green set as well, and with his fiery red hair the green looked incredible with him. 

A dark grey was up next, and when I put the little bonnet on his head both his Mum and I make audible "Awww!" sounds! 

I snuck a little cuddle in before settling him into the final setup (another light coloured one) and as I was swaying and shushing him he opened one little eye to me and smiled.  My insides totally melted and I could have passed out from the amount of sweetness that little moment. 

It was such a wonderful, joyful morning with this gorgeous family and I was so honoured to have been able to capture their beautiful family portraits as well as some story images about Millers big journey in his short life. 

Baby Theo - Brisbane Newborn Photographer

Theo arrived with his Mum, Dad and big brother Harry.  Harry is 4 years old and has some absolutely stunning eyelashes on him! He showed them off a lot for me at first, barely looking up from the ground, however it wasn't long before we were good friends and he was smiling and giggling away at the camera and the full effect of his gorgeous eyes was hitting me. 

Since he was so happy being in front of my camera we quickly wrapped little Theo and the boys had a very sweet cuddle, and just like that one of the trickiest photos from a newborn session was ticked off! 

Theo slept happily - half keeping an eye and an ear on things - through his family photos and soon enough we were photographing him on his own. As I laid him down on his back for a photo from above he turned his head to the side, so I turned it back to centre. He turned it side on again and when I moved him again he grizzled at me. His Mum laughed and said "Yes he does prefer to turn his head to that side" as he did just that again. I am quick though so I managed a lovely front on portrait before he moved again. 

Since Theo was here in the week before Christmas we included a Christmas themed photo for him.  I had designed this Christmas tree image just before they arrived and I absolutely love the natural, and smouldering darker colours in it. 

When it came to the beanbag sleeping photos he took some time to really drop off, and once he did he didnt stay sleepy for long.  I managed to photograph the first pose quickly before he became restless and I picked him up and resettled him into the next pose,  which he was much happier with - forward facing. By the time I added a cute little teddy bear bonnet he had all but conceded our ongoing tussle.  

I mean, come on. His name is Theodore. Aka Teddy.  This kid had no chance of getting out of my studio without a few teddy bear themed images in his gallery.  

We were on the home stretch when his Mum requested a photo of her three boys together.  The boys had thought their photos were all done so this was news to them, but of course they all obliged in the most amazing way possible. 

Harry laid down first for a "test photo" where he beamed my camera with the most wonderful big toothy smile that shone from his eyes all the way out. 

Next I lay Theo beside him and as I said "Smile!" the two boys both burst into an amazing full beam cracker at the same time! I just about melted on the spot it was so adorable. 

Next we added their Dad into the photo and it was another magic moment of the three boys all together, Harry and Dad smiling at their newest member. 

Simpson Family - Brisbane Family Photographer

We arrived at the beach on a breezy day with a full tide. The sun was just starting to drop and the afternoon was comfortably warm, even with the wind. 

Paikea and Kahu were in the back of their parents car getting changed into their good clothes for the shoot, Pai in a stunning bright pink dress and Kahu into a cool shirt and tie combo! 

While I waited I wandered the area to see how the location was going to photograph well today. Occasionally I picked up a leaf or two and as I got back to the cars I showed the kids my fancy leaves. 

I last photographed this awesome family when Paikea was born, 3 years ago. She was gorgeous then and still is today, just check out those beautiful eyelashes!! 

Kahu has loads of energy and he was very excited to be at the beach, looking at the trees and spotting some cool insects that were climbing up a tree beside them.  

Paikea brought her A game and was a little star for the camera and Kahu was hilarious, pulling faces with his dad, getting upside down tickles and generally being the class clown. 

We soon headed to the water edge for some watermelon and suddenly the mood changed! There was calm and quiet. There was the crisp crunch of watermelon bites and giggles as the kids enjoyed the melon party together. 

It looked so good that Mum and Dad joined in, and when Kahu couldnt keep his wet hands out of the sand, Mum was there to step in and hold his watermelon slice while he ate as much as he could.

The sun was just setting and the kids enjoyed a last run around while their parents took a quiet moment together to reflect on their love and I can tell you straight up, this is a couple very much in love and a family that positively glows with joy.

When Newlywed Love Lasts a Lifetime - Brisbane Family PHotographer

Once in a while, in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairytale. 

This is exactly the sentiment I felt photographing this family. 

It all started when Olga got in touch with a very cool idea for their family photoshoot. 

She and Andrew have been married for 10 years, and while there are many ways to celebrate this milestone anniversary, Olga wanted to do something a little more interesting than the usual dinner out. 

Because Olga and Andrew are just as in love as the day they were married. 

Mortgage, taxes, pets, insurance, daily chores, children. The daily grind of life can really wear you down. But after spending the afternoon with this gorgeous family I can tell you without a doubt, that their love is just as exciting and alive as the last time Andrew saw Olga in this stunning wedding dress. 

When she first put it on, 6 year old daughter Marina's eyes grew so wide seeing her mum in such a gown. Olga picked up Marina's hands and they danced and twirled around the lounge together in united delight. 

The concept was to photograph daily chores together but with the blissed out wedding love shining through every image. 

So we set about, with cooking dinner for the delightful, but clearly un-interested kids. 

And then it was time to hang out the washing in the back yard. 

Their cat Harvey turned up to be fed and petted. 

The children played noisily in the yard, 3 year old Sasha even obliging the concept by giving everything up and laying flat on the ground until a better idea came along. 

They picked cherry tomatoes from the vegetable garden, all under the shade of the blooming Jacaranda tree. 

It was all just family life, and contrasted so well with the obvious glow that shone from Olga and Andrew - and their gorgeous children. 

To finish the session off we popped down to the local beach in the hopes of some family photos on the Shorncliffe Pier, but unfortunately upon arriving we found it was closed to the public for a swanky private business function. We were not allowed on even for a few minutes to take a couple of photos. 

So we went down to the beach, a live jazz band playing songs such as Franki Valli's "Too Good to be True" and Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon" mixing with the sea breeze and once more Olga was dancing barefoot across the beach, twirling in undiluted joy, just as she would have ten years ago. 

They lucked out even more as the full moon rose just on sunset, and with the children happily playing in the trees and the jazz band continuing in the background, they kissed and enjoyed the balmy night air watching a stunning moon-rise over Moreton Bay. 

Happy Anniversary Olga and Andrew, it was a pleasure to celebrate this very special family event with you and I wish you both every happiness for many more anniversaries to come. 

Book Now

www.familyphotographybynatarshamarch.com.au

Family Photographer Brisbane    |     Newborn Photographer Brisbane 

Grandparents at the Gardens

It was always going to be a fun session with four year old Zac and his best-friend-cousin Finn and their grandparents all along for this family session in the Mount Coot-tha Botanic Gardens! 

With the late spring morning heating up, some rain clouds hovering above and a lovely breeze in the air it was a perfect morning to be out amongst the flowers and butterflies at the gardens. 

Finn had two little red cars in his soft hands and there was no chance he was letting them go for photos! 

We headed along the pathways stopping at a few spots for photos, the boys both taking a great liking to the yellow flowers that had fallen on the path and pointing out the purple jacaranda flowers when we found them as well. 

When we got to the bridge they were so excited to spot the giant water dragon statue and were pointing and staring wide-eyed at it.  

Next we went to the jetty on the lake, a slow walk as the boys stopped to look closely at every ibis, duck, water dragon and even turtles on our wander. This is what I love most about sessions at the gardens, its such a great environment for children to see and engage with the wildlife there. 

Thankfully we got to the jetty and had most of our photos done quickly as it got very crowded with five families all squishing on at one time! 

With such limited space there we headed to our final spot of the day, under a shady tree. We had great intentions of photographing the boys some more, but the morning had gone long enough for them and with hunger and tiredness creeping up we called it a day and they headed off for ice creams and naps - the best way to spend a Sunday if you ask me! 

www.familyphotographybynatarshamarch.com.au