makin' the most of your family pics

I’m excited to work together and create some beautiful images for you and your family!
I’ve put this guide together for you to make it super easy to understand the process and what it’s like to be in front of the camera with me.
I want you to feel calm, prepared and ready to make the most of our time together so I can create some timeless images for you and your littlest loves.

yipppeee, hello!

book

prepare

shoot

show

1.

2.

3.

4.

Let's book in a date! You'll pay a booking fee and answer a few Q&A's.

You have a read through the client guide! We'll decide a location.

Shoot day! I'll confirm weather and location. Your final invoice is due the week prior.

Online gallery delivery within 2 weeks of your session.

1. book

2. prepare

3. shoot

3. show

I completely understand it can be awkward to be in front of the camera, I’d love for you to relax as much as you can and just enjoy the time with your family.
The best moments will happen when you are just being you and being yourselves. Once I have you standing or sitting where I need you to be, with the most beautiful light behind you, I will absolutely guide you and prompt you to make you feel more relaxed. I’ll encourage you to play games with your kids, get them laughing, smiling, cuddling, tickling, throw them in the air, give them the best hugs and kisses ever. Being relaxed and affectionate will help bring out your kids (and your own) personalities.

this one's for the kids

this one's for the dads

this one's for the mums

Getting your kids prepared and excited for the session often can take any nerves or shyness out of the evening. As soon as you book, let them know what we will be doing, tell them they’re going to have their pictures taken, and it’s going to be FUN. Make it an adventure! You don’t have to tell them to “cheeeeeeese” or that they must smile at the camera, often this can make them so nervous that they’re fighting to laugh and can’t relax. Being relaxed and affectionate with your children will bring out their personalities.

That being said, bribery is not a crime. If you think your kids need a little extra encouragement, treats during the session are totally okay! Or perhaps even an ice cream date afterwards?!

Mums, I’m speaking to you. Hubby feeling less than thrilled about the photoshoot? Don’t stress, this is so normal. Remind them they do not need to stand in front of me and smile the entire time, the adults have just as much fun as the kids. I promise you I have such a relaxed vibe and it will never feel lame or uncomfortable.

Firstly, congratulations. It’s fiiiiinally your time to be in some pictures, I’m certain you’re the one that’s always taking the photos and forget ot be in them. When your kids sit down with you as they grow older you never want to have to answer the question "Where were you, mom?". Because you were there too and it will be so nice to have proof of that. I’m sure you’ve done all the planning and you just want everything to be perfect, it’s a lot of work! Time to relax now, you’re in safe hands! Come as yourself, live in the moment, take in your children. Just be present.

weather

A little important note: It’s Phillip Island, so we gotta talk about the weather. If it’s warmer/cooler than you anticipated when putting together your outfits, pleaaaaseee ensure you prepare for this. Unfortunately sessions often cut short if the kids are too cold and uncomfortable. It’s always best to have too many clothes than not enough.
It’s likely I’ll be watching the weather/wind/tides like a hawk all day. If it’s overcast, we can ABSOLUTELY still do the shoot, some of the best light is overcast light. If it looks like it is going to rain, we can make the call together and reschedule based on both our schedules.

illness

You and the health of your family is so important. There's nothing worse than an unhappy and sick feeling child, it's hard on you and it's hard on them. At the first sign that your kids aren’t well, please give me a call and we will reschedule for the soonest available date. Just keep in mind with busy seasons it is harder to schedule in so if anything comes up let me know as soon as possible.

what do we wear?

One of the most common questions; what the HECK do I wear?
Wear what you feel amazing in, I want you to feel beautiful and relaxed in your images, if you’re uncomfortable or self-conscious in your outfit, it will probably show in the images. Start with a piece you looooveee, and then coordinate your family around you. Steer clear of large brand names on your clothing, the “jeans and white shirt” movement has definitely passed. Try to mix up the colour palette. You’re hopefully familiar with my style of work, I suggest going with muted neutral tones. Browns, mustards, yellows, dusty pinks, oranges and earthy greens, creams or white clothing all look great and will compliment my style of shooting & editing.

what happens after the session?

It's show time! Your gallery will be delivered online via your own personal private gallery - within 2 weeks.
The second I've finalized your images, I will be in touch to let you know!

When you get your gallery link, I encourage you to make an event of it! Queue it up on your tv or a large computer screen and gather the whole family around… the first time you see your photos is always the best.

downloading your files

Downloading your images - the process is simple. Your gallery will allow you to select and download the images straight to your device. Ensure that you save your images and store them in a safe accessible drive - don’t let them just get lost in the thousands of photos on your phone.
You’ll be able to save the high res files (perfect for printing) and also the low res files (perfect for sharing online). If you’re sharing the files online, please ensure you haven’t altered/screenshotted/edited the images as this reflects badly on the quality of the work.

printing & copyrights

Once you’ve got your digital files in hand, you are free to print them when, where, and as often as you wish – you can use them to make holiday cards, share on your social media pages or personal blog, etc. If you’re sharing online, I would love to be tagged! It’s such a massive help for my business and I also just love seeing the images shared!

There is a high quality professional printing lab directly linked to your online gallery, this makes it super easy to order or enlarge any of your images. I also recognized that you may want to print your images, thanks to the digital files, you absolutely can! I recommend Fitzgerald Photo or RGB Digital for online printing. If you choose a cheaper mass-market printing lab, such as Kmart or BIG-W, you may find the images print poorly and the image colours may vary.