I get asked every so often if I photograph weddings.

My answer is usually something like ‘yes, no, kinda…’

All I can say is, thank goodness these summer school holidays were smoke free and somewhat more carefree than last summer. Yep, the threat of covid still hung over our heads, with snap lock downs in parts of the country, Christmas for some people was not what they had planned, and state borders suddenly shut overnight. But through the eyes of my kids, at least we could get outside and explore the great outdoors without getting lung fulls of smoke.

I was going to start this blog with commentary on the year that 2020 has been. But for these guys, the shit really hit the fan in dying hours of 2019, as the year took it’s last, gasping, smoke filled breaths.

A few months ago I received a message from Melissa, asking if I could take some family photos. But she wasn’t sure when, or if that might be, but would I be interested.

She was writing from a hospital bedside in Melbourne, from The Royal Children’s Hospital, with her then 7 month old daughter Millie. I could try to tell their story, but I won’t do it justice, so I asked Mel to send me some info. Here’s their story in her own words:

A few months ago I entered a photography competition run by Click Magazine called Voice.

This year there were 40,000 entries from women across the world entered. I was left speechless to find out that 2 of my entries made the finalist selection!

For someone who deals with people and humanity as a day to day part of my job, you’d think I’d be awesome at facial recognition and remembering names…

I’ll let you in on a secret. I’m crap at it. Always have been, and I guess I probably always will be.

What you don’t think of when you think ‘commercial photography’. I don’t work off vision boards or mood boards, and I definitely won’t go rearranging you or your space. I like to capture what is unfolding right in front of my lens, with as little input from me as possible.

Maternity and newborn sessions - I really love these. And even more so when they both are done in-home. It’s such a wonderful thing to be able to witness a family on the cusp of a huge transition, whether it’s from none to one kid, or multiple to more.

And the latest in my very unpredictable blog…

Last year, after a discussion over Facebook messenger, myself and 3 other photographers decided we wanted to do something a bit different.

My most asked question after people have booked their photos? “What do we wear?”

There are so many things I love about in-home sessions - they’re relaxed, they're slower paced, they’re cosy and warm and intimate.

One of the most unexpected, but simply wonderful benefits of doing this (bloody fantastic) job of mine is all the amazing photographers I’ve met, not only from Australia but from around the world

Those who know me, know that I have this thing with doing photography workshops… I might have done a *few*

What is lifestyle photography, and what makes it different to your more traditional type of family photography?

So here’s the thing. In case no one has told you - perfect is a a big, fat, stinking lie. It doesn’t exist It’s not real and it’s definitely not who I am.

I read a blog post once - I think it was written by photographer Dana Pugh, about working from home with young kids and all that it entails. It talked about working in ‘snippets of time’. The more I do this job, the more I realise that is exactly what it is.

How lucky am I that my families love my photos enough to come back again and again?!

This is Jodie. She’s tough, determined and about to tackle a mammoth effort on her own.

Newborns and toddlers! What’s not to love?? They’re simultaneously calm and chaotic. A reminder of how fleeting that newborn phase really is, and what lies ahead.