Noah, Meg, Kate & the folks! ~ Bunbury Family Portrait Photography

We know that lots of people like to hide inside during winter and wait for warmer weather, but the southwest really does offer up some gorgeous winter light on a nice day, and if you're brave enough you'll be rewarded with some beautiful family portraits! 

It took us a little while to finally get out with Darren, Danielle and their three gorgeous kids. Between sports, camps, FIFO rosters, moving home and a new business it was tough to find a day that everyone could be there, but we persevered and eventually Lisa and the family spent a chilly but lovely winter's evening creating some special family memories together, which was well worth the effort!  

A few weeks later they now have some amazing aluminium wall art proudly hanging at home, to be enjoyed for a lifetime - just as it should be! 

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Stop making excuses for not booking that family portrait you've been wanting to do for years. How many of your children's years have you missed because you keep putting it off? Make the time to make the memories - we promise it will be worth it in the end!

Click the link below to check out our family portraits and get in touch to book the perfect session for your family:

http://www.thephotographyboutique.com.au/kids

Courtney, Ashley, Rusty & Sophie ~ Bunbury Maternity & Newborn Portrait

When Courtney got in touch to enquire about booking a maternity and newborn portrait I got a little bit excited. I always love newborn baby cuddles, but when Courtney let me know about her fur baby Rusty and how she wanted to include him in the sessions I was over the moon. I'm a self confessed crazy dog lady and in our house our dogs are part of the family, so I love when clients feel the same way I do and they get to be part of the amazing things that happen in our lives.  

Not only did we have Rusty joining us on both shoots, but when it was time for the newborn session baby Sophie's nan, aunts and uncle also joined us. It was an epic session with so many people plus a pet (who behaved perfectly by the way ;-)), and a gorgeous baby girl who fought sleep at every moment, but never shying away from a challenge I kept shooting and captured some very special memories of a proud new family. 

Oh, and if you're wondering why Sophie is sleeping surrounded by a tool belt - well daddy's a chippie of course ;-)

Enjoy the gallery, and remember that if there's anything different you'd like to do for your next photoshoot just ask - we are always happy to create the kind of memories that have the most meaning to you! 

Jo x

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Find out more about our maternity and newborn portraits here:

http://www.thephotographyboutique.com.au/baby

The Hart Family ~ Bunbury Lifestyle Newborn Portrait

We just love capturing the first days of a newborn baby in their own home with their family around them. Lifestyle sessions are a great choice for families who want to capture relaxed, natural moments of family life, and for newborn sessions they are especially great when there are other young children involved, because little ones tend to be more comfortable in their own environment and not overwhelmed or over excited like they can be with a visit to the studio. 

When Tam called us to book a family session to celebrate their gorgeous new addition to the family, the plan was for a studio shoot because they are living in a rental and so they didn't want a shoot that featured their "home", but after having a chat we decided that a lifestyle session would work best for them and give them the type of images that they really wanted... we would just make sure that we focused on them and their home styling, rather than the house they were all in ;-) 

She warned me that her two year old daughter Grace might not be very cooperative and it's true she was a little shy when I first arrived at their home, but a quick game of hide and seek and some bonding over Nemo soon changed that and Grace couldn't have been a more perfect model for the morning.

Being an "outsider" noticing all the little details that you live with every day, us photographers sometimes find little gems that you might not think of too, so being in your home can enable us to capture more personal images with meaning, like capturing little Eve with the toy cat that her sister Grace gave her as a birth gift - the cat is the same size as her now but it won't take long before she's running around the house with it making it look ever smaller as she grows <3

Such a lovely family who gave me the privilege of sharing in this special time with them, this one has to be up there with my favourite shoots of the year so far :-)

Jo x

If you're expecting a baby and you'd like to chat to us about how you can perfectly capture their arrival, just check out our maternity and newborn portrait page HERE and get in touch!

http://www.thephotographyboutique.com.au/baby

WA Family Photographer of the Year Finalist!

Last month I entered the WA AIPP Professional Photography Awards for the first time ever, at the behest of a good friend. I have always been a proud member of the AIPP (Australian Institute of Professional Photography), because in an industry that doesn't require a licence to practice, I believe it's important to be part of a professional body like this that holds its members accountable and gives consumers the confidence in booking a photographer who they know will be experienced, technically excellent and professional in their business practices as long as they book a pro who is AIPP accredited (to find out more about what it means to be an AIPP Accredited Photographer click here: http://aipp.com.au/about/what-is-an-accredited-professional-photographer).

So the annual AIPP Awards are in essence the pinnacle of Australian Professional Photography. Every year photographers enter images for judging by their peers, creating a great space to develop and grow as creatives. I had never entered before because the awards require a lot of time, which with a busy studio to run and two under 5's in my house is not something I have going spare. But this year I decided to get involved, and I entered the Family Category.

Let me tell you it was such a great experience and I'm so glad I took part. I travelled up to Perth to watch the judging (which is open to the public so if you are interested in photography I would highly recommend going and seeing the hugely inspiring work being created by photographers in this state) and I am very happy to say that I was awarded three Silver Awards and was a Finalist (which puts me in the top three!) for WA Family Photographer of the Year!

You can check out all the winners and their amazing work here:

http://stateawards.aipp.com.au/WA/2016-WA-awards

I'm feeling very inspired after seeing such talented work, and I look forward to thinking outside the box to create some more unique and inspiring work myself in the year to come.

Here are my Award Winning Images for 2016 with the story of each one, which all have a special place in my heart so I'm very glad to see them do well. 

If you'd like to feature in your own award winning image, book your portrait with us and let's see what we can create together. Just give us a call on 08 9791 4226 or e mail studio@thephotographyboutique.com.au to book your session now!

Jo x

About this image:

This image features the gorgeous Carli and Shae, who's wedding we photographed last year. When they came to meet with me about their Big Day they asked if we could forego the engagement session we usually include in our wedding pakcages, and do an underwater trash the dress shoot instead, as they have lived their whole lives in and on the water and it would have special meaning for them. So we planned and prepared and I spent an afternoon in scuba gear (with my lovely assistant Bianca) at the end of Busselton jetty and this is what we got, which I was super happy with. Evidently lots of other people liked it too as it went viral and was published around the world! I'm absolutely stoked my fellow professionals also recognise it as an award winning image, and I hope it will be the start of a new journey to always challenge myself and be up for doing something different!

About this image:

This has to have been one of my very favourite shoots of all time. All those who know me know I'm a crazy dog lady, and Jasper and Gallifrey are just the most fantastic dogs!

We had lots of fun in the studio creating some amazing art, and this shot was actually an out take that I just fell in love with. I mean who ever gets a photo of one dog poking her tongue out at another? ;-)

About this image:

Recently a client and friend called and asked if I could take some family photos for them. Her father-in-law was not well and they were expecting Ray to only have a few months left with them. So I fit them in to a busy day of shooting and took lots of photos with the family all together. As I was leaving I noticed how many photos of his family he had in his home, so I asked him to sit in his chair amongst his loved ones and captured this shot. I'm so proud that this has achieved a Silver Award at the State Professional Photography Awards. This Award is to honour Ray who sadly passed away just a week after the shoot, and I'm very happy to have been able to capture these memories for his family before it was too late.

Eve's 18 months!

Today my beautiful baby girl is 18 months old! Eve is such a beautiful, vibrant, cheeky little trouble maker. It's amazing how opposite she and her big sister are, but we wouldn't have it any other way! 

To mark the occasion we spent a quick 20 minutes in the studio capturing the girls as they are, one loving life in a tutu and twirling like a princess, and one trying to eat a bubble stick.

(I don't know if other photographers get this but I find my own kids by far the most challenging to photograph ;-))

Love you to the moon and back my beautiful girls xxx

Jo 

P.S. If you're a mum and you want some forever memories of your gorgeous children, check out our Simply Studio Sessions: 

http://www.thephotographyboutique.com.au/simply-studio-portraits

Alexa's Milestone Mini Session

Recently we had the absolute pleasure of having gorgeous little 7 month old Alexa in our studio for her very first professional photo shoot. 

We just love babies at this age, so full of life and personality, and little Alexa was just super cute!

At 7 months old Alexa is all smiles, she sits up well and is thinking about starting to crawl, though she's not quite there yet. For now she'll just get up on all fours and rock, but she'll be off soon!

Don't make her lie on her back for long, she'd much rather be up and checking out new things, and of course clapping and laughing with mum and dad <3

Enjoy this gorgeous video and gallery of beautiful Alexa, and if you'd like to book your own Milestone Mini Session just check out the details on our website here:

Babies Have so Much to Do

In a world that's all brand-new,

Babies have so much to do!

Laughing, making funny faces,

Finding out those ticklish places . . .

Cuddling up and wiggling toes,

Looking cute in tiny clothes . . .

Tasting, touching, reaching high,

Crawling under, scooting by . . .

Learning words and having fun . . .

Making memories one by one.

3 Quick Tips for Photographing Children

1. Enter their world

Children don't live in our world, they are busy in theirs, which is about 4 feet high. When photographing their kids most parents just get out the camera and take a photo from where they stand, but you will get much better results if you simply get down to their eye level. All of a sudden they can look straight into the camera for a much more engaging image, and you can become part of their magical world of fun and make believe. So get down lower and let the magic happen!

2. Let them go!

Quit trying to make your kids stop and stand still for their photo, you'll end up with a classic tin soldier shot that just doesn't work. There's nothing more unnatural to children than standing still doing nothing. Instead let them explore their surroundings and capture them authentically. Engage with them in what they are doing and be ready to press the shutter when they look up to share something special with you. You'll be amazed at what you capture!

3. Whatever you do, do NOT say "Cheese"!

While we are talking about authenticity, forget the "cheese" face. When my eldest daughter was young I could capture beautiful shots of her effortlessly. Then we went on holiday to visit her cousins and the kids were dutifully lined up by my relatives several times a day and told to say "Cheese" for a photo. I can't even tell you how long it took me to be able to take a photo of her without that face after that, I sure had to work a lot harder to get a natural photo. It wasn't my daughter's fault, she thought that was what she was supposed to do when a camera got pointed at her, but who can honestly say they have a photo that the absolutely adore of their child saying "cheese"? Try a little harder and do something to make your kids genuinely smile or laugh. If they do spot the camera and start putting on that photo face just do something silly to make them giggle, and be ready to press the shutter when they do!