Baby Declan - Brisbane Newborn Photographer

As this family were unravelling from the car, I could hear a saxophone playing....




The saxophone followed us into the studio, it wasn't coming from the car at all.

It turned out it was on mum Denise's phone, and hold me so I dont swoon from nostalgia, it was Kenny G. I grew up in a house that played a lot of Kenny G and so I was instantly back in my youth, smelling the summer kiwi air with this music in the background.

Flash-forward  to today and baby Declan, the cutest little man in his navy striped jumpsuit was a massive fan too.

Seriously, as soon as we would fuss we would crank up that saxophone music and Declan would settle so quickly. It was like his special kind of white noise.

We captured some amazing imagery of Denise when she was pregnant with Declan, and so it was only fitting to update some of these images in a before/after kind of theme.

I actually love all of these, so in no particular order, here they are!

Firstly, the classic before and after baby photo of reflection and newborn baby:


Then, because my mind never stops thinking, I wanted to ramp it up a bit with a cool layered up graphical design type image from Denise's maternity shoot. While editing this piece I thought how cool it would be to incorporate baby Declan in there to, and so I present to you:


Denise had also brought along a cute little bow and bunny to her maternity session so we included them into a set at the newborn session as well.


And then, something I have never done before, we created a scrapbooking photo!  Using their original frame from their sonogram scan at 20 weeks we updated it with images and new letters documenting Declan at 1 week 6 days.  I absolutely love this one!


Now. Declan had been snoozing very happily most of the session. But..

It was time to unwrap him for some beanbag photos.

The room was hot.

Kenny G was pumping.

Declan was fast asleep with a full tummy.

Until.

Yep, we unwrapped him and it turned to custard. Luckily, with the help of my two amazing assistants (aka Declans parents) we were able to lull and shush and settle Declan into a sleep just long enough to capture the last few images for the his gallery and gosh they were worth it!

Jones Family - Brisbane Family Photographer

We met on one of the most idyllic afternoons Brisbane has ever offered up. A late autumn day with beautiful warm breeze still hanging around from summer, although just the lightest breath of it. The sun gently embracing us and the ocean still and calm, a beautiful peacefulness was all around us.

Enter 2 year old Audrey.

She's awesome by the way, her adorable bright bow on her head, she jumped out of hte car and told me she was pretty.

Her dad is also pretty, just so you know.

Thankfully, eventually, she announced that her mum is also pretty.

Then off she went to explore the parklands by the ocean.

We got off to a rocky start with the family photos, Audrey not really interested in anything we were suggesting. Not keen to snuggle into mum or dad, not keen to walk here and there, not keen to hold hands ore even climb a tree.

In fact, she was so disinterested at this point that she crossed her arms and walked directly away from me, looking back occasionally to throw some shade in the sweetest, sassiest way a two yearly can. It was truly very cute, and I could see that she was not really upset, she was having a bit of a game testing out who was in charge.

Its always the kids that are in charge at my shoots. They are the ones that determine how we go, because for me the most important thing at a session is that we have fun. And parents will always have fun if their children are happy. So keeping the kids happy is my top priority!

Once she had established she was in charge she was much more content to play along with us, showing her mum some shells and climbing trees with her dad.

We ventured further onto the beach and even though the water felt icy cold on our precious little toes, we all mucked into the stream and captured some truly stunning family photos giggling and playing in the last golden light of the day.

On the way back to the car we noticed a yellow flower in a tree and so Audrey picked it and gave it to her mum, it was the cutest little moment and one that I was so glad to be able to capture for this beautiful family.

Baby Samuel - Brisbane Newborn Photographer

It was mothers day when I got an email from a family who I have photographed before. They had just welcomed their new baby boy and although circumstances weren't perfect, they had decided to book in a photo shoot after all.

Baby Samuel was a surprise and a delight to have in the studio, but his big sister Isla stole the show!

She was a little pocket rocket, full of energy and strong will!  The sweetest little co-operative model one moment, then refusing to work with us the next.  She knew what she wanted and she was not compromising, and I really hope she keeps that fiery strength her whole life!

Baby Samuel, just over two weeks old was the opposite personality. Chilled out, sleepy and snoozy. The only time we heard a peep from him was when he was unwrapped, or when he was snoring!

We started with the family photos and they were giggling because the way I pose families feels so unnatural, so awkward and odd, but it looks awesome in the camera! I like to give a lot of direction when posing and I find most people are happy to trust me on it - especially when they look back at the photos and realise that they actually look really comfortable and relaxed in the image!

With family photos done, it was time for sibling photos, and Isla was happy to cuddle her baby brother, but not laying down, only sitting.

And it turned out that she was done with the sitting cuddling very quickly. So quickly that I didnt even get a chance to photograph her!

But not to worry, I have plenty more tricks up my photographer sleeve.

We sent Isla off for a play in the next room and moved on to the single portrait photos of Samuel. He was in such a snoozy state by now that I don't think he even knew he had moved. I have a sneaky trick where I wrap babies up twice, firstly in a constricting flesh coloured wrap, then in a pretty textured wrap. This way I can change the outer wrap without bothering the baby, and it works so well to keep the session flowing!

We called Isla back into the room to give her baby brother some kisses and she was more than happy to oblige. I was ready to capture this one, and they were such adorable little moments where she was staring at Samuel and then kissing him on the head.

She found my little prams and was happy pushing them around the studio so I captured a few quick images of that as well, then when Isla left we posed Samuel into the pram to create a cute sibling photo, keeping Samuel safe from harm at all times.

His mum asked for some deeper colours in the session next so we finished hte day with a really cute dark blue set and it was just gorgeous. The dark blues definitely suited Samuel so well.

And that was that! We waved our goodbyes as they headed off to buy Isla her Hash Brown for being such a great little model and I was left thinking how good that sounds and wondering if we had any hash browns in the freezer too....

Baby Samuel - Brisbane Newborn Photographer

I love when families return with new babies, and since I remember "baby" Isla's session as a favourite from the past I was extra excited to hear from this beautiful family that they had welcomed a new baby boy, Samuel.

This was a session all about the family connection. Lots of family photos and sibling photos with just a few on Samuel on his own.

Big sister Isla had brought her A game to the shoot, lots of sweet little smiles for me and adorable kisses for her new baby brother.

When her mum had the idea to create the pram photo Isla was so excited, until she realised that she didn't get to actually push him in the pram, for safety reasons.

I take this image in two steps, one with the toddler pushing an empty pram and then we send the sibling out and place the newborn baby into the prop with parent hands stabilising it the whole time, then I stitch the photos together in photoshop to create the final image.

Safety is such an important part of my workflow and the first thing I consider when working with babies and children.

So with safety in mind, Isla had her turn with the pram, then promptly wheeled it out of the room.

Thankfully, my mother in law has sent me two identical prams (my 2 girls each got one for their second birthday, and yes they are still toys when they are not props!) and so I can bring in the second pram for the second photo while toddlers wheel the first pram out to the play area and find a doll to put in it.

She is such a doting big sister and I have no doubt little Samuel will be her best friend and biggest ally in no time at all!

www.brisbanenewbornphotography.com.au

Baby Mason - Brisbane Newborn Photographer

Oh Baby Mason, with his thick hair and pouty lips, I was so excited about this session as soon as I met this gorgeous family!

Usually in newborn sessions we start with baby wrapped up, but as Mason is a little older at nearly 8 weeks, wide awake and looking around, we started this session with some unwrapped photos of him sitting so happily in his dads arms.

With the cute already hitting the high notes, but Mason getting a little over having his arms free to spring out and surprise him, it was time to wrap and snuggle. I did the wrapping and his parents did the snuggling.

Mason loved being wrapped so much that he soon dropped into a really deep sleep, even snoring a little bit!

VIDEO

With the wraps it makes the session so easy to change colours and shapes without bothering our little model, so we were able to capture a lot of variety really quickly by simply changing the colour of the wrap and the curly felt behind him.

I got out the basket setups next and we did a lovely neutral tone, then after looking through some of my digital backdrops, his parents chose the blue flowery image and so we did that one.

While I was fussing over wraps and curly fluff layers, his parents were standing to one side, snuggling each other and just enjoying what a beautiful baby boy they had made, and those sweet little moments are some of my favourite in the studio, even though I don't photograph them.

With older babies, they tend to be more aware of what we are doing at the session, and although Mason was still sound asleep, it was no surprise that once I started unwrapping him for the next set he was soon awake and chatting to us.

With all the preferred colours ticked off the list, all that was left were some super close ups! Eyelashes, toes, curled up fists, its all so delightful to see up close, and Mason's tiny little features were some of the most delicious I have seen.

www.brisbanenewbornphotography.com.au

MacDonald Triplets - Brisbane Newborn Photographer

I was lining up for an ordinary week of business as usual when the email came through.

"I have just brought my newborn triplets home and was wondering about a photography session?"

We scheduled for a few days time as this incredible family were not only just-home-from-hospital with newborn triplets, but organising their move to New Zealand in a weeks time. Yes really.

The triplets are all girls - Sienna, Olivia and Amelia, with two identical and one fraternal. How incredible is that?!

To keep the day running as smoothly as possible I had discussed colours and ideas with Alana, the girls mum so that I could have some set-ups created and ready to go when they were here. She like pinks and purples, so naturally the first one I made was blue.

It was a beautiful soft pastel blue and mint tone that looked lovely and fresh and soft for the girls. Its is also a little unexpected colour set which I like too.

Of course once they saw the set both parents agreed that it was lovely and dad Chris was stoked to get a set that wasn't pink since their house has become overrun with hues of pink lately.

As I wrapped the girls one by one, they settled into their snuggly wraps peacefully, little "dolphin" sounds coming every now and then which their parents said was a sign they are happy.

Next we did family photos, which I feel so strongly about. Your babies only fit into your arms for such a short time and they really do grow so quickly,  it is just so important to be photographed with them as much as you can while they are still so little.

If you have ever held a baby in your arms you will know how full your arms are and how it can get heavy after a while.  So for Alana's sake we did her photos in the chair with the babies all snuggled in on her lap, then Chris came in for a photo with everyone too. Next, Chris steeled himself to hold all three at once while standing and did a stellar job of it!

One thing I make a point of capturing at multiples sessions is single photos of each baby as well. Twins and triplets, while being gorgeous together, are still individuals and I feel it is important to honour that with single photos of each one as well as group photos.

With the girls sleeping soundly we captured another set of pink, grey and white, each of the girls getting a single set of photos as well as a few versions of group photos.

We were ramping up for the grand finale - an ultra-flowery photo of the girls each in their own basket, photographed separately and stitched together in photoshop. This image took a total of 9 seperate captures to create, plus overlays and cleanup layers.

It was getting towards feeding time and since un-wrapped babies tend to be more alert and squiggly, we took this chance to feed the girls.  As I unwrapped each one gently, they would spring awake and start asking for milk, it was almost funny by the time we were through them all!

The girls were each so stunning on the curly wool layer that I photographed some closeups as well - and you wouldn't believe it but they all gave me a little smile on the closeups!

It really was the most enjoyable day in the studio, we all has such a peaceful and fun morning capturing life long memories of these beautiufl little girls and their first few weeks.

www.brisbanenewbornphotography.com.au

Baby William - Brisbane Newborn Photographer

As you likely know by now, I love getting to know the families I photograph and working with them to design creative imagery that is personal to them.

Well, this particular family I could just about gush over all day long.

Everything they tell me, I think "Ooh I can see a photo in that!"

When Tash first contacted me about a newborn session she had no plans for a maternity shoot as well, but she took up my offer of a promotion I had running that included a free maternity session, and it was possibly the best decision she could have made. In her life. Ok probably marrying her gorgeous husband Chris was her best decision ever, but you get the idea.

So this all started a few months ago when they turned up for their maternity session, Tash holding her breath for about the first 20 minutes as we got to know each other.

After that, we were chatting and laughing and everything was so casual and easy.

During the maternity session Chris mentioned how he is in a tap dancing group called Those Tap Guys and so we started thinking of how to incorporate an image for that.

Turns out he is also part of the local volunteer fire brigade. So we talked about incorporating a photo for that.

During a maternity session I also love to create a before/after photo when possible, which Tash loved the idea of and so we got to work.


When they arrived a few weeks later for the newborn session I was buzzing with excitement to share the concept I had for the before/after photo, and of course to meet sweet little William!

He was a little poppet, only just clicking over 6lbs at birth, but so happy and content with his mum and dad.  He was so chilled out in fact that we captured sooo many cute photos, it was really hard to trim it down to a manageable newborn gallery of 55.

We started with the family photos, as I expected, they are stunning.

Then a photo with a Bronco's teddy that was a gift from his Aunty.

Then Chris' tap dancing photo.

Then the firefighting photo.

The before/after navy photos were next, followed by the beanbag sleepy photos. It was about this point that we all fell into a fit of giggles as Tash presented one animal outfit after the other, by the time we were photographing the fourth one we were all laughing pretty hard at how indignant William will likely be looking back on these photos as an adult.  I still think this is pretty funny, and so super cute!


He made it through all of this, and then some. Sleeping soundly, content as could be.

Then Tash mentioned how they have a 2m pet python at home and my eyes lit up "Theres a photo in that!" and I was a little bit gutted that she hadnt made the trip today but there are promises of the python joining us for a photoshoot in future. When I told my children about this they were literally fizzing that it might happen and I suspect they will not want to leave during that photoshoot!

It was a wonderful morning with this gorgeous family and I would certainly love to see them all return (with or without their python) because it was just like hanging out with friends, a couple that are so beautifully in love with each other, great sense of humour and totally doting parents.  You guys are my tribe. <3