I met Silvia, Chris, Jonathan and their dog Charlie (who is a bundle of energy) at Bicton Baths on a Sunday morning at 8am!  Ahhh the life of a photographer.  Silvia & Chris had their wedding photos taken here so thought it would be nice to have some family portraits here, now they have moved on to a new phase in their married life, I think the phase that means that 8am is an acceptable time to get out of the house.  I am not quite there yet and was very glad to be behind the camera rather than in front of it - a feeling I get quite often to be honest!

Bicton Baths is such a beautiful location and the morning was truly stunning and suited this gorgeous family.  And I think Jonathan is the first child I have completed a family portrait session with that didn’t cry, yell ‘no’ at me, run away from me or generally hate me.  YES!!!  I love taking family portraits but it is hard when the little, cute ones in the family take an instant dislike to you…  But Jonathan had a really curious nature and was looking at the camera and even crawling towards me!

I think this is my favourite shot of the session!  Jonathan looks so peaceful on Chris’s shoulder….

See look!  Jonathan is crawling towards me!

Kristen contacted me for a family portrait session at the end of last year. She had seen my blog post of Kat & Andrew in Fremantle and wanted some shots of her family in the same location. I love Freo and it is such an amazing photographic location. I met Kristen & Nick and their kids at the Cliff Street wall and we had a few shots on the wall before the rest of the family turned up.

Suddenly there was 10 Dempsters spanning three generations all joking around with each other. We headed to the roundhouse for a few whole family shots then, as it was a hot day, down to the little beach by the roundhouse to finish off the session. Eventually the kids got sick of photos and headed to the water to cool off while the sun sank into the ocean.

Striking a pose for the camera on the wall…

I love these images in a series!

The whole Dempster family!

I love these two too!  So hard to pick favourites…

Grandparents with the kids, so sweet!

A couple of the girls!!!

Now the boys…

The kids looking very sweet, I bet they are like that ALL the time

These ones are just beautiful!  Kids being kids (they escaped the camera when everyone was looking the other way and took to the water!).

So I get asked often about why I do a Pre-Wedding or Engagement session before a wedding with a couple.  There are a couple of reasons, but mainly it is because, surprisingly, most people are not very comfortable having a camera pointed on them.  It helps couples get more comfortable in front of the camera and it is also useful for a couple to get used to my photography style.  Most importantly, the couple gets some nice images of them NOT in wedding clothes!  The images are given to the couple before the wedding so they can be used if they would like at the reception or for the order of service as well.

Tina & Peter are getting married at Joondalup Resort in two weeks so I met Tina & Peter at the Victoria Gardens in East Perth for a family twist on an E session a couple of weeks ago.  They had lived here for a few months a couple of years ago and it is a great place to get a variety of different shots in a small area.  The day was pretty hot and PJ was a little worn out I think after a big day with the wedding rehearsal and then having to be in front of the camera!

The kids having a bit of a giggle!

Ok so there were a couple of shots of PJ looking a little happier!!!

My sister and her family came over from Queensland for Christmas and Christmas day we walked down from the folks house to the Bicton foreshore to get some family shots with the kids.  So they were a little bit over tired from all the excitement from the day and it took a while to tear them away from their tonka toys.  I don’t get to see my two little nephews very often, the last time I saw them was in April and it is amazing how different their personalities are!  Lochie is a serious little man and Bailey is a little gigglepot (although not when Aunty Em gave him a ’scary’ baby dinosaur that roars for Christmas - whoops).

The serious business of sand shifting…

How annoying it must be to have a little brother that tries to copy EVERYTHING that you do!

The way parents get kids to giggle and laugh at a shoot seems to be chucking them into the air…???

Bailey loves the water…

And loved practicing his Iron Man entrance into the water…

Looks like Leigh still has that feisty temper I used to run away and hide from when we were kids…

Or maybe not…

The whole family, with Bailey the show off and Lochie looking a little bit over photos…

In Gramp’s garden seems to be Lochie’s favourite place.  Is it the growing or is it the eating?

I met the Williams family at Kings Park on Boxing Day.  My last session for 2009!  For family sessions I don’t really put limits on numbers or charge extra for extended family members for the hour session.  This is because the more people there is at a session there is less likelihood of getting nervous and the session is more fun with more people!

The whole extended family

The boys with their grandma, and I couldn’t resist this shot of Max - what amazing blue eyes!

Ok I will finish with one more of Max - such a cutie!

A selection of images from my session with Jo, Jamie and Matilda (and not forgetting Dave the dog).

Matilda has amazing big blue eyes!

I had a fabulous shoot with this gorgeous family at the start of the month.  It was a beautiful sunny day at Heathcote Reserve, perfect for spending time on the beach, at the playground and just hanging out on the grass!

Miss Ruby wasn’t too impressed with me or my camera but I think I managed to capture some moments when she was happy playing around and not worried about the camera.

If you would like to see some more images there are a few more uploaded to my Flickr site here.

A shot from a recent family portrait session, on the Point Walter foreshore.

If you are interested in a family portrait session, my portrait package is $200 for a one hour sitting (at a location of your choice) with the digital negatives at high resolution included.

“Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still”

-Dorothea Lange