Time to get together!

It's difficult to get the family together at any time of year, but Christmas is one of those times when people are likely to be around, so a number of people used the opportunity late last year to have a portrait shoot where up to three or four generations could be involved. I love it when families decide to do this because so often parents take photos of their kids when they are young but forget about themselves, and before you know it 10 or 20 years has passed by without a proper family photo. It's just as important to document your family as everyone gets older! A lot of us may not like having our photo taken but your kids will love it, particularly as they get older, and as someone once put it to me, "don't worry, you'll look back in 5 or 10 years and think you look fantastic!" Anyway, enough waffling. Here are a few shots from another pre-Christmas portrait ...

And not forgetting the most important family member of all ...

Happy New Year!

Happy new year everyone! I've been back at my desk for a few weeks now following a short but fantastic break over Christmas and New Year, however I have been slack on the blog front - sorry! I wanted to kick this year off with a few portraits, as I did a pile of them towards the end of 2008 but I didn't get a chance to post any, and they are such a huge part of my business that I really love doing.

Nick & Sara from the lovely H family below run Inglewood, one of the loveliest reception venues around. They are always a joy to work with and Inglewood itself is a photographer's delight so I had a great time photographing their family portraits on the property.

Natalie & Darren

How is it that December is always so crazy???? It's been a mad rush as usual trying to get everyone's wedding and portrait images out by Christmas but it's also a buzz seeing everything come together in time and the joy on people's faces as they pick up either their own prints or those intended as gifts. In between all the chaos I have time to squeeze in one more wedding post before the office shuts down tomorrow for a long-awaited break. Darren & Natalie were married on the stunning grounds of Werribee Mansion and in a month of what has been crazy weather, they were blessed with sunny skies. After a beautiful ceremony and a few photos around the grounds we were able to take some shots inside the mansion, which is beautifully restored and well worth a day trip if you haven't travelled out there yet. Here are a few shots from their day ...

Andrew & Renee

Andrew and Renee were married at Immerse in the Yarra Valley. I have photographed at this venue a few times and just love it! They have a fantastic old barn, and check out the gorgeous views in the photos towards the end. We had beautiful weather on this day, and there was a magic/hilarious moment when we were taking photos of Andrew & Renee on a bridge and the sun suddenly came out from behind the clouds and shone right down on them - all the bridesmaids starting screaming at me hysterically to take the shot before the light went as I chose that moment to run out of space on my card. Needless to say I got the card changed and still got plenty of shots, which turned out amazing! Maybe you had to be there but it was very funny at the time (but maybe wouldn't have been if I'd missed the shot!)

Thanks for a great day, Andrew & Renee!

If any future brides out there are interested, Renee got her absolutely stunning dress from Judith Valente. It looked amazing.