Family portrait: history captured on paper

I've been in Sydney for nearly three weeks now. I visit occasionally because my family lives here. This visit was extra special though as my sister had another baby! A beautiful baby boy named Joseph. He is such a precious little bundle and his sisters love him to bits!

I'm staying at my Mum's house and she has bags of old photos and shelves full of albums. Every time I visit I find myself going through them as if seeing them for the first time. Even though I've gone through them a hundred times before, as I get older I see them differently. I understand more of the circumstances behind each photograph. I'm filled with joy at the memories and then a kind of sadness sets in. I can't really explain it. Nostalgia? Maybe I realise how old I'm getting and how far removed I am from my own childhood. I look at photos of my mother and she was such a beauty in her youth (still is!) and realise we are now the same age.

Maybe, more and more I'm seeing things for what they really are/were through the eyes of an adult; gone is the veil of youthful naivete. In some photos where we all look so happy and carefree, little did I know that this person was homeless, that person was sick, this person was abused, etc. I have photos with childhood friends and we're doing the kid thing, you know, jumping on trampolines, riding bikes, swimming at the beach, visiting the zoo. Some are married now with children of their own. Others have been in prison or fallen to substance abuse. Others who are successful and happy, or so I hope. It really gets me thinking and wondering and all sad. I can't really articulate why.

I was going through a few of them this evening with a friend. She was laughing at the gap I used to have between my two front teeth. Then she said that her family had about fifty photos total of her family. Fifty. And here I am with two full bags at my feet while I type. It reminded me how important photographs are. They capture a moment in time that will never happen again. I'll never again be that seven year old girl with a gap between her teeth. I'll probably never see some of those kids I used to play with. I'll never see certain relatives again as they've passed away.

1991 - Me (age 7) and my little brother (age 5)

With the neighbours' kids

So I come back to little baby Joseph. I have been hinting and hinting at my sister to have a family portrait done before I go back to Melbourne because Joseph is already getting bigger! I want to capture him now, with his doting teenage sisters by his side, before it's too late. Before we know it, he'll be the teenager and his sister's will have left home and we'll be saying "gee, if only we'd gotten that family portrait done all those years ago."

Bianca

(Read Bianca's thoughts on her photoshoot here.)

The last time I saw Bianca was nearly two years ago on the other side of the world. We were having coffee in one of London's largest shopping centres before I was to leave for a new job in Barcelona.

We met in 2009 at a school where we were both teachers, and when things didn't quite go to plan with our jobs, we decided to leave it all behind and give working overseas a try.

We shared a small apartment in a town east of London called Grays - a must see destination if you're ever in the area ;) I loved every minute of life in that quaint little town.

From London to the small seaside town of Portarlington, here we were catching up, in the middle of nowhere really, nearly two years later, having a laugh and reminiscing a life so long past and discussing the endless possibilities for the future (which hopefully involve going back to London!)

Bianca is a stunning young woman. She is of Indian and Irish descent and got the best of both worlds: a year round tan and amazing blue eyes. "I want to look and feel like a woman" she said to me, which confused me at first. How can you not look and feel like a woman? And I realised there was more to it than that. It was about being grown up.

I guess people everywhere, everyday, hide behind a veil of sorts. We create barriers to protect ourselves, or hide our true selves away. We do it for fear of judgement, amongst other things. (I am just as guilty of this, ask anyone!) So when I understood what Bianca was asking for, I thought yes! I am going to take photographs of who you really are, behind the funny faces etc. I'm going to capture the essence of you and who you are: a beautiful, young, grown up woman.

Here is just a small selection of my favourite images from our session. Zero fun was had that day, can you tell? ;)

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Miss T

Towards the end of last year I was inspired to create my own boudoir photography studio. I envisioned dark images with soft light to accentuate the curves of the female form. The inspiration came from a studio I contacted in London (www.fyeoportraits.com) when I was interested in having a shoot done myself. Their work is great and what I loved most about them is that they welcome women of all shapes, sizes and ages - and they look amazing. So I thought I'd give it a go! But when the time came to make a booking I decided to spend the money on travel instead.

Anyway as I've mentioned before I am loving natural light at the moment. I'm also loving faces (as opposed to boobs and bums). I've been focussing a lot on portraiture, particularly the connection in the eyes, facial expressions, big hair and makeup. It's creating an experience for women where they leave looking and feeling amazing. 

So last week I had the opportunity to practise some natural light boudoir with Miss T. I hadn't tried it yet (in natural light) and thought this would be a good way to see whether it's something I continue doing or not.

She arrived to the studio with a vast array of lingerie and corsets. We only shot the one outfit though as we also had a portrait session beforehand (see!?) and ran out of time. Here are some of my favourite images from the session. I envisioned 'Vogue' meets boudoir - I wanted to keep it classy (as always!) I am loving the bright backlit image.

Sandy

Another shoot from last weekend was with the lovely Sandy. Cheerful and bubbly and quick to laugh. You can tell by the smile in her eyes.

One thing I loved about this session was that she brought so many lovely clothes with her that she just never wears. 

You know, like that dress that doesn't quite fit but it's too good to throw away. 

Or that top that flatters your body so well but risks being too revealing. 

Or the fact you have three children under five and to wear nice clothes means having to clean nice clothes and it's easier to just not wear them in the first place. 

Or that beautiful dress you love but have never had a nice enough occasion to wear it to. I have a stunning red floor length dress that I bought in London. I've only ever worn it once - and that was to the Moulin Rouge in Paris. PARIS! Now that's hard to beat! When and where will I ever get a chance to wear that beautiful red dress again?? 

Well you know what? Those outfits you love but never wear? Bring them along to a shoot. Get dolled up with hair and makeup. Feel like a million dollars. Give that dress another chance to shine, then capture it in photos to keep forever. If I could step out of my body and photograph myself in that red dress, I would! *sigh*
A BIG thank you to Sandy for these photos. I loved working on them.

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Teagen

I am so in love with what I do!

This weekend I had the pleasure of meeting and shooting a young lady named Teagen, with Greek and Celtic ancestry and the most luscious head of hair you have ever seen. An aspiring art teacher, we found we had a few things in common (I'm an artist and a teacher!), including an appreciation for red hair and travel.

The shoot was awesome! Lighting was perfect (unlike my last shoot where it was such a cloudy day all my images came out very dark) and Teagen did a great job following direction. It's always funny when I ask my clients to pose in a really awkward way, but I always appreciate the trust between us that, despite the discomfort and awkwardness, it's all worth it in the end. 

There are a lot of black outfits in this shoot, which really brought out her fair skin, but she also brought a beautiful blue 'scarf' dress that had so much flow in it, I thought it would be perfect for a twirling sequence. I think we both felt a bit daggy shooting it, with me telling her to spin this way and that way and "laugh, we're laughing, haha" and her probably thinking "what on earth am I doing??" but I'm so happy with how they turned out. Her expression is genuine and the result is a series of images that I'm sure mum/the grandparents/future children will love. And hopefully she does too :)

I was telling Luke afterwards how strange it feels when my clients leave. I feel like, in the short time that we're together doing hair and makeup, we really open up about life and love and all sorts of personal things. Then we shoot, and then they're gone. I love that doing this gives me the opportunity to hear stories from women from all walks of life. It's a privilege to be offered a window into someone else's life story. But man it kinda leaves me feeling sad to see them leave!!

Anyway, thank you Teagen for these beautiful images and sharing your stories with me. You have an insight beyond your years and it was lovely to have met you!

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In the beginning...

I was going through some old photos and had a chuckle. My photography has evolved so much! Thank God! I look at where I was eight months ago and am amazed at the growth I've seen in myself in such a short time. I know I have a long way to go, but at least I can say, thankfully, that I am heading in the right direction. If I didn't believe it, I would quit right now.

I decided to get serious about photography in September last year. I had a studio set up in our spare room - black backdrop and a few soft boxes, with a white wall as an alternative to the black. I put up an ad online for anyone who might be interested in being my model. I had a good response!

Mary was the first to get in touch. She is pictured below. I can remember how nervous I felt preparing for this shoot. What if she hates my photos? What if it gets weird? What if she feels uncomfortable being shut away in a room and thinks I'm a pervert!!?? (Silly, I know, but it was my first time shooting a complete stranger and a HUGE privacy issue for me to overcome) I did not hesitate to tell her straight out: "I'm kinda packing my dacks right now." To which she laughed and replied, "Me too!"

So we shot away. I didn't know anything about directing, posing or general interaction with the client - nothing. Fortunately for me she was an aspiring model and did a bit of posing on her own. But the silence was so thick it was ridiculous. I just kept shooting. Mumbling and fumbling with equipment. I have about 10 pictures for each slight pose change resulting in 500 photos over three hours!! I laugh now... 500 photos of one person just standing there... Wow. It really didn't occur to me that I was allowed to tell her what to do and that, in fact, it was my obligation as the photographer to tell her how she would look her best in my photos. Didn't think of that.

I also want to make a point that just because someone has the newest fanciest equipment, doesn't automatically make them a better photographer. I am still using the same basic DSLR and lens. I have Photoshopped the images a tad, but even so, you can't change the fact that her elbow dominates in the first image. Her hair is all over her face. Elastic on her wrist? Her expression in the second photo is pretty lifeless and the catchlights cover her pupils. (These were some of my favourite photos!) All things I had control over but didn't change because I didn't know I could. Now I will tell you how I want you to look, right down to your fingers, THEN take the shot. It's good fun.

Well, we all have to start somewhere. I have learnt so much these past eight months and am so grateful to all the beautiful women who have offered their time for me to practise and learn, even through the awkward silences. Can't wait to see where I'll be a year from now.

Kirsten

Last week I had the opportunity to practise more natural light photography with the lovely Kirsten. Even after a big night out she looked radiant and ready for some serious shooting. She arrived with a BIG suitcase full of clothes, shoes and accessories, and if there were ever a contest of who's brought the most clothing to a shoot, she'd win hands down! We picked a variety of colours and styles and created the following images. She did an amazing job, even if she felt a bit strange at times with the posing ("More booty Kirsten!" ;). 

It was so overcast outside, which meant the light was well-diffused with very little need to soften it further. It also meant however that as it got later in the day, the images became darker. I refused to up my ISO because I absolutely hate noise and try to avoid it when I can. The result (especially in the black backdrop images) creates a moody scene where her eyes and face pop out of the image, framed by soft dark curls.

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I was also very pleased to trial Alienskin-Exposure 4 with Kirsten's photos. All the pictures in this post have been modified using Exposure 4. It's a very cool plugin if you're after actions that mimic real film, from vintage film to light leaks to dark room effects. I personally love the vintage black and white films, they are amazing. There are dozens of presets, each of which can be modified, and even further so by adjusting layer opacity in Photoshop. You can trial it for 15 days so give it a try. I'm thinking of buying and seeing how my photos of Europe turn out :)

Left: Kodak Ektar 100 Holga 120 Right: Agfacolor Neu Dust & Scratches