“I look so beautiful,” said my daughter in a voice that was not quite a whisper, but soft and filled with a mix of pride, awe, and wonder. Her voice at that moment was one of the most beautiful tones I have ever heard. I wished I could just bottle it up to play again and again. I had just played her a slideshow I created from some images I captured a few weekends ago on a stunning Sydney afternoon. It was an ordinary afternoon spent at the park – not a planned session or a special occasion. True to my daughter’s nature, she had picked a sparkly dress even though she fully intended to climb, play in the sand, throw the frisbee, and get all sorts of dirty and sweaty. Since the dress sparkled, I grabbed my camera as we left but didn’t pick it up until we were heading home. The light was amazing so we went on a little walk along the wharf. It was a walk filled with the usual six year old shenanigans – twirling in the light, playing in some water, tossing the frisbee with her brother, and playing their favourite game of Sleeping Beauty. But something about that afternoon shimmered, creating a window that allowed me to capture my daughter’s spirit – her joy, exuberance, beauty and tenderness – in a way that I don’t get to see very often.
“Of course you do,” I replied. “You are beautiful.” She looked up at me with a huge smile that literally brought tears to my eyes. I tell my daughter she is beautiful a lot. But often all those articles about how instead of saying your daughter is pretty or beautiful you should tell them they are smart or hard working or strong make me catch myself. I do tell her she is strong and smart but I equally believe that children should believe they are beautiful – both girls and boys. But especially little girls. Our culture will always put beauty on a pedestal. I want my daughter to grow up knowing she is beautiful. That her beauty radiates from deep inside. That it makes her compassionate, strong, capable, and kind. I want her to believe in beauty and how it makes the world a softer gentler place when it is used for good and not evil.
She wanted me to play the slideshow again and again. I watched her as she watched and I hoped that the true to life, candid images she was seeing of herself were being etched in her mind somewhere. So whenever she doubted herself, or felt bad, or had a bad day, one might just pop up and she’ll remember how her mum saw her on that ordinary day. And her day will rise with the smile that crosses her face as she remembers she is beautiful.
I would love to capture the beauty you see in your child. Contact me to book a session.
Week 2 in January found us in the middle of summer holidays here in Sydney. For the past four years I have wondered where the gorgeous summer weather was hiding – but this year I got it. We’ve had hot dry days perfect for the park, pool and beach. And while we frequented lots of those places, I was also taking an on-camera flash class. I have shied away from flash until now – preferring to use natural light. But sometimes natural light is just not enough. – and I kept seeing gorgeous images from my photographer friends that were shot with flash. Santa brought me a speedlight (an on-camera flash) for Christmas so I really put it to use this week. And I have to say I love it! Gone is the noise and grain common in photos shot in low light – as are the color casts. I can’t wait to use it in some sessions especially this winter. So without further adieu – here is Week 2 of 2015.
8/365 Hi Mum!
50mm ISO 160 f/2 1/2500sec
10/365 Night Night
50mm ISO 1600 f/2 1/80sec with flash (shot in pitch black room)
11/365 ipad
50mm ISO1600 f/2 1/160sec with flash
12/365 Storytime
50mm ISO 320 f/5.6 1/125sec with flash
14/365 Elsa at the Outdoor Cinema
50mm ISo640 f/2.8 1/400
I’d love to capture special moments of your daily life. Let’s make a date to get together.
Contact me and we can plan the perfect session.
I love how this storyboard turned out from one of my favourite sessions to date. There was so much laughter, silliness and all around joy. I hope this makes mum smile wherever it is placed in their home or office. It is often hard to display all the photos from one session so storyboards make that so much easier! Designing photography products is one of my favourite things to do. I find it so much fun to put together. One of the best things about this product is that it stands up by itself. No need to frame it or hang it. How easy is that? In fact, I think I need to make a few of these for myself 🙂
View more images from the session
I’d love to capture your family playing. Let’s make a date to get together
There was so much all around joy as these little ones played in Sydney’s majestic Hyde Park yesterday afternoon. This beautiful blonde haired boy is just approaching his first birthday and mum was keen to capture this milestone. Big sis was such the perfect little model and playmate. She had me engaged in a game of tag before we even got started! We started out by the big fountain for some more posed family shots and then into the tree canopy. All of a sudden the kids had formed their own little band that was beyond picture perfect. From there we went on to the arbor. The flowers were vibrant and provided such a lovely background to a lot of chasing games, water play and a bit of play time in the sand. You could just see how much fun these kids must have playing with their parents every day. The clouds moved in on us a bit toward the end but that didn’t interrupt a bit more dancing, climbing and all around silliness. Here is a sneak peek of their session. Many many more to come!
I’d love to capture your family playing. Let’s make a date to get together
This was a bittersweet session for some special family friends of ours who were moving back to the UK. We met up one golden afternoon in our local park to capture some memories for them to take with them. The afternoon was perfect and we just let the kids play while I snapped and chatted/chatted and snapped. Relaxed sessions like this are my favourites. My babies and these two cuties have grown up running, jumping and climbing in this lovely park. And as mums we have spent many hours chatting over coffee while we watched them explore. Here is a sneak peek from their very special session. I wish them all the best and we will miss them dearly!
I’d love to capture your little ones playing. Let’s make a date to get together