Triple the love | Sydney Newborn Photographer

So many people have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of this fabulous trio for the longest time! These beautiful rainbow babies made their way into the world just hours after our maternity shoot. This is the second time this has happened, so perhaps if you are overdue and are ready to deliver, book in a maternity photoshoot with me to get things moving along!! Given I have had twins myself, I have a good understanding of the special relationship that multiples have, and we wanted to capture that with at least one photo of the trio, and one of the identical sisters. The triplets were 11 weeks old by the time we got to scheduling their session, so we needed many assistants to help out ensuring that they were happy and relaxed for their photos. They are the sweetest and cutest trio I've ever met and I look forward to photographing them again, and watching their little personalities develop.

How to build a newborn backdrop stand

I have been using a regular backdrop stand for years, however, I spend too much time in photoshop smoothing out wrinkles in my blankets. There was a smart photographer somewhere on the globe that thought of making a backdrop stand out of plumbing pipes. This is genius! It means that we can now clamp our backdrops to the sides, as well as the top. The result is a smooth blanket. As smooth as the baby's bottom, so the saying goes. And it saves much time in photoshop. When I wanted to do this, I searched for a tutorial and I could only find American ones. American's stipulate measurements in inches and they also have different suppliers (cheaper suppliers!) So I thought I would write a tutorial for any Australians (or perhaps New Zealanders) that want to give this a go. I am so thrilled I finally did this and I can't wait to use it.

This tutorial will fit the shoot baby beanbag, found here.

What you will need: 4 x 20mm diameter 3m long plumbing PVC pipe - I got these from Bunnings. They were $4.79 each. 4 x right angle 20mm 90 degree PVC corners - They are $0.99 each at Bunnings 2 x 20mm PVC tees - They are $1.45 each at Bunnings 4 x 20mm Corner PVC pieces - I couldn't find these in Bunnings, Masters or the plumbing speciality shops. Instead, I found them on ebay. Unfortunately, this meant that I paid $15.30, including delivery for all four.

You will need a pencil, tape measure and a hack saw. If you have some sort of amazing electric saw that can do all pipe cuts at once…even better. You'll get this done in no time. If you only have the minimal tools, that's ok, you'll still manage. This is a picture of the materials you need.

You will need the following lengths: 7 x 112cm 4 x 43cm 2 x 62cm (you can afford to make this a little smaller if you wish)

I suggest the following cuts. This allows a larger piece at the end, in case you make a mistake anywhere.

Pipe 1: 112cm 112cm 62cm

Pipe 2: 112cm 112cm 62cm

Pipe 3: 112cm 112cm 43cm

Pipe 4: 112cm 43cm 43cm 43cm

You will now have a pile of pipes that look like this.

You can then put it all together using the following diagram.

You will now have a backdrop stand that sits neatly over your beanbag.

This is a picture that shows a pullback of your new setup.

And this is the final result you can expect, the straight out of camera (SOOC) shot of my 'model' on the backdrop. As you can see, there are no wrinkles to photoshop out! Yay.

It took me about 45 minutes to cut this all up and put it together. That will pay for itself very quickly with a reduction in photoshop time. It cost me $41.32. The costs are more than the American equivalent ones I have seen, but alas, we live in the expensive country! If you are on a tight budget, you can reconfigure the bottom with 90 degree and T pieces and have the bottom pieces in from the edge, so you eliminate the need for corner pieces. That will cost $32.88 instead.

I hope this tutorial is useful and I am sure that I will now save a lot of time (and frustration) in photoshop.

Melrose Park Baby Photographer

Meet adorable baby Olivia. I love all of her baby features; her tiny toes, her pudgy legs, her precious baby smile and of course, that beautiful hair.

A boy and his teddy

My beautiful son came down with chicken pox this week. All of my children are immunised, so I was shocked when I saw those unmistakeable spots all over his body. I took him to the Dr, partly in disbelief and partly in denial. The Dr confirmed what I knew deep down, and told me that he would beed to be off school for the week. We have been spending some quality time together, as I can't take him out in public. Yesterday, we went for a mini photo shoot, to capture a vision I have had in my mind for a while. I generally hate gender stereotypes, and I wanted an image that dispelled the 'rough and tumble, noisy and dirty' stereotype that can typically be associated with boy. Instead, I wanted to bring out the soft and caring, soulful and sweet aspect of maleness. I just love how these turned out and I think they are true to his sweet little personality. The only downside, was that I needed some extra retouching to remove the chicken pox.

Sydney Corporate Photography

I did Cait's head shots a couple of years ago. We met again recently to update her headshots with a different feel. Cait, from Indigo Counselling and Psychotherapy specialises in grief and bereavement counselling and she is located in Penrith. Whenever we get together, we have so much fun. We really do laugh way too much! Cait reminded me that I give her lots of instructions to pose her beautifully, then I instruct her to 'relax'. We laughed about that one a lot. I also love just generally chatting with Cait. She is wise, funny, compassionate and it's easy to see how she is so successful and can make her clients easily relax to share their stories. You are in very capable hands with Cait. Be sure to check out her website or look her up on facebook.

Please enjoy her updated head shots.

With this particular image, we shot it with a view to having some negative space available for any logos or text, as required.

For details on head shots please, look here for details.

Baulkham Hills Newborn Photographer

This beautiful baby boy was booked in for his photos when he was about the size of an apple (because baby books always compare growth to fruit for some reason!!) It was so exciting finding out that he was a boy and meeting him and his family for the first time. I've been told by countless clients all over Sydney, that I am very patient, some even say "the baby whisperer". I wouldn't ordinarily describe myself as patient, however, for newborns I very much relax and let the baby fall into their own pattern. They are so little and new and I feel that it's important to make sure that we are working to their clock and not ours. Sometimes, baby is just having an off day, they might have a sore belly or they just might be struggling to get into a good sleep for some much wanted rest. I try always to be patient, and follow their cues.

For this session, Huxley was quite unsettled, in fact, I returned another day for the family photos. However, we ended up with a gallery bursting with images I just loved. I had trouble culling them back for this blog post. You will see, he's as cute as a button.

What's in my bag?

A lot of clients are interested in photography, and will ask me questions about my gear and what tools I use to get my job done. So I thought I would do a blog post about what's in my bag, and more importantly, why! Nikon D600 - This is my main camera. I use this camera most of the time. I upgraded to this camera when I wanted to explore video more. I will discuss this a little later. What I love about this camera is: * It has 24MP, this is enough to be fantastic, but not so much that you need a new computer to process your images * The ISO performance is incredible. When shooting in low light, you may need to increase your ISO. Sometimes, a lot. This camera has usable images all the way past any ISO I use in regular sessions. * If you happen to underexpose an image, you can adjust your exposure in post without getting very much noise at all. This sets this camera apart from the D700 * It has dual memory card slots. I use both, so that I am backing up on the go. I have had a memory card fail on me before, and I never want to be in a position again where I am at the mercy of a recovery program (thankfully, the program worked!) * It has video. I believe more and more that video is our future. I love looking at stills of my children, but as they have grown, those sweet videos that capture their expression, their squeaky, high voices and their cute mannerisms are incredibly precious to me. I want to give this to my clients, too. The biggest downfall of this camera is the oil problem, that Nikon seems unwilling to address. Unfortunately, I've had this issue twice now, so this camera is not one I would recommend for a landscape photographer.

Nikon D700 - This is my backup camera. When you hire a professional, you are hiring someone who has a plan B, should plan A fail. From time to time, cameras will misbehave, and thus, we have a backup. The D700 is old technology now, but it's a beautiful camera. So much so, that the second hand market for this camera is strong and there is high demand for it. Lots of photographers lament that it is no longer in production. We are all hoping for a genuine replacement for this, and Nikon rumours are humming that this may be announced in September.

Speaker: I have a small bluetooth speaker in my bag. During newborn sessions, I play the MagicSleep app on my iPad, and play it through the speaker to soothe the baby (and me!)

Video Mic Pro: As mentioned above, I am loving video at the moment and I have a great mic, to ensure that the sound quality is amazing. This image looks like roadkill, though I promise, it's actually a very good mic.

Speedlight:

I generally shoot with available light, but there are times when I might love a location without ideal lighting, or I might be trying to shoot a larger group, so I need more light so that I can close down and get everyone in focus. I have a speed light with me at all times, and I will often have a soft box with me to diffuse the light. This image was taken against a stackstone wall that I love to use. The light is limited at this location, so using the speed light in my Westcott 28" is the perfect solution to create the vision I had.

This is another image taken with a speed light bounced off the ceiling in a dark hallway;

Now we are getting to the fun (i.e. expensive) part. Lenses. Oh, sweet, sweet lenses.

Nikon 24-70mm 2.8

I love this lens. I call this my workhorse lens, as it's on my camera most of the time. The focal length is perfect for general photography, especially newborns. It's a zoom lens, so it is really versatile. Here are a couple of examples of images taken with this lens;

Nikon 70-200mm 2.8

This lens costs more than some cars, but it's totally worth it. It gives the most beautiful bokeh (pronounced boke-eh). Bokeh is the lovely background blur that you get when a client is in focus, but the background is out of focus. This lens sings when used at f2.8 at 200mm. I will often use this lens outdoors. Sometimes, I strap two cameras on a harness, and use a mixture of this lens for lovely bokeh and background compression and something wider for full family and environmental shots. These are images taken with the 70-200mm lens;

Sigma 85mm 1.4

I wasn't too sure I'd need this focal length, since I have the 70-200, however, this lens can open up to f1.4. What does this mean? More beautiful background blur, but I am not quite as far away from my subject. This is a lovely portrait lens, and I often use it for head shots. These were taken with my 85mm;

Nikon 50mm 1.4

I don't use this lens as much anymore for stills, as the 24-70mm covers this range. Where I would consider it, is in very low light. I can open up to f1.4, which will allow lots of light in. However, this lens is my go to lens when shooting video, as it is light, so it reduces camera shake and it can open up wide to create background blur.

Of course, I have a tonne of different batteries, camera straps, and spare memory cards in my bag, as you can never be too prepared. My actual bag is a Lowepro backpack. I used to have a cute handbag, but I outgrew that when I bought too much equipment. The backpack distributes the weight evenly over my shoulders, as all of that equipment weighs a lot!

I hope you have enjoyed the tour of my camera bag :)

Besotted siblings | Castle Hill Newborn Photographer

I've known this family for years, and I photographed them in Parramatta Park, when their now five year old was about one. They had room in their hearts and home for one more baby to complete their family. And when you make such adorable children, why not! The last few weeks of pregnancy have been so hard, with Mum on bed rest. Finally, on 18 July 2014, at 35 weeks, he was born. He was such a tiny baby. The photos don't really do that justice, which is why we also photographed him beside his teddy bear. Very soon, he will be bigger than that bear! I've never seen siblings so besotted. Ever! Sometimes, one sibling will be particularly in love with the new baby. Mostly, they don't mind either way. But all three of Franklin's siblings adore him. His five year old brother kept stroking him so tenderly, and kept putting his cheek next to Franklin's mouth and declaring "he is kissing me". I asked his big sister if I could take him now. She looked right into my eyes and said "no"! She wanted him all for herself, to shower him with love and affection. It really filled my heart watching them all. Clearly, Franklin has captured the hearts of his whole family. I imagine that soon, he will be woo'ing them all with giggles and smiles and will have everyone wrapped around their little fingers.

Beautiful baby Jessica

Around two years ago, I photographed a stunning baby girl. I was so excited to be contacted to be asked to photograph her newest little cousin, Jessica, who also lives in Sydney's North West. Their Grandma was at each of the shoots, and it was lovely seeing their family grow. A couple of days before this session, I bought a new prop. It's an old style school desk. Ordinarily, I am not a very "proppy" photographer. I tend to keep photos natural and minimal with only a few props like baskets and my hammock. However, this beautiful desk stood out to me and I had to purchase it. I brought it along to my session, not too sure if I would use it. When I arrived, I learnt that Mum is actually a school teacher. I knew I needed to go and get my new prop to use at Jessica's shoot. She was a little unsettled, so I had to be very patient and slowly lower her into position. It probably took 5 minutes to lower her into place. I am glad I persevered though, as I love this image.

I also love the 'newborn sack' image that we did and then we progressed to the other snuggly poses on the beanbag.

Some time ago, one of my friends from Perth posted a photo on Facebook of four generations of her family. Each person was holding a frame. I thought it was a lovely way to represent four generations. Jessica's Grandma, and great Grandma were at the shoot, so I thought I would try this shot with them. I love how it worked out. I would like to credit the photographer that my friend went to, as this image wasn't my idea. Her business is Karin Gethin Photography.

Top 10 tips: How to prepare for your photoshoot

When I am booking in a photography session, two of the main questions are; how do I prepare and what do I wear? I will send you a guide, specific to the type of shoot you are having. If you are booking in a newborn shoot, I will give you a guide on what to expect and how to prepare. Maternity mammas also get an in depth guide. This post will focus more on general family photos, to give you tips on how to prepare for your photoshoot. 1. Schedule in haircuts at least one week out. This applies for the whole family. Do the boys need a tidy up? Do the girls need a trim? Do you need your roots retouched? Generally, haircuts take a couple of washes to settle down, which is why I recommend scheduling them a week before. You will know your hair best, so schedule that appointment so that on the day of the shoot, you will be really happy with your hair.

2. Make an appointment with the beautician. Waxing eyebrows, legs, manicures and pedicures is really important for your shoot. Of course, only focus on this if it is something that you ordinarily do. Your hands and feet may be visible in the photos and your face definitely will, so schedule any appointments that make you feel your best. As an aside note: I get asked the question, 'should I get a fake tan'? My answer is, if it is something you normally do, then please do so. But please do yourself a favour, and have it done professionally. A la naturale is much better than cheap fake tan. Trust me!

3. Choose Mum's outfit first. Mums tend to put their children first. We will give up something for ourselves in a heartbeat if it means our child is happier or more comfortable. When it comes to the photoshoot, I always tell the Mum to look out for herself first, and design the family around her. Look in your wardrobe, or go shopping. Pick something that you feel fabulous in. The print shouldn't be too busy or patterned, as it will overwhelm the image. Your outfit should be well fitting and flatter you. Baggy clothes don't make women look smaller, in fact, they have the opposite effect. So please choose something that fits well and flatters your body. Once you have found the perfect outfit, it's time to dress the rest of the family.

4. The rest of the family should wear clothes that compliment yours. I am not a fan of matching clothes, or denim and white. Rather, I prefer complimentary colours. If you are wearing pastels, your family should be too. If you are in bright colours, your family should be too. Remember, I am happy to help if you want to email me some ideas or bring along some options to your shoot.

5. On the night before the shoot, everyone should go to bed on time, so everyone is happy and refreshed in the morning.

6. We should schedule the shoot around nap times. If the session runs into normal nap times, we are likely to have tired, cranky children that won't photograph well. The only sleepy clients should be newborns!

7. If the children are sick, we should reschedule. I know it's tempting to push ahead, but the images will be much better if your child is feeling well.

8. On the morning of the shoot, try not to make the event a big deal. Don't worry about coaching your child or telling them that they need to behave or smile. We want them to have fun, with natural smiles and laughter. So please leave this up to me.

9. Bring along anything that is important to your child. A photo with their beloved teddy bear or trusted blankie will be priceless in years to come.

10. Relax and have fun. Your photoshoot should be an enjoyable experience, and will result in gorgeous images of your family, that you can enjoy for years to come. I want you to relax and enjoy the experience.