family photography: Theresa + Mason

Earlier this week, Clementine and I drove up to Terrigal to spend some time with Theresa and Mason. While we were there, we met up with Jodi on the beach early one morning. She took photos of me and the little one for my first sling diaries post (can't wait to share!) and then I got behind the camera to shoot Theresa and her sleeping babe. He did eventually wake up and the babies enjoyed some beach time, which resulted in a few of my favourite photos ever.

In between photo taking the three of us chatted about life and blogging, travel and babies. It's so nice—and so important, I think—to have other mum friends. Both friends who are right at the same stage as you (and can commiserate as well as rejoice in gummy smiles and tiny toes) and friends who are further along in their parenting journey (who can inspire and reassure). Today I'm grateful for friends, old and new.

p.s. the winner of the Love To Dream™ INVENTA Sleep Bag™ is announced here

maternity photography: Katie

Last week I got together with my dear friend Katie to take photos of her belly and her boys. This baby boy is due early in the new year and I can't wait to meet him!

To be honest, the afternoon was a comedy of errors beginning with the 35 degree weather we were having. We had to shoot at the worst time of day (thanks Clementine) so the light was harsh, and juggling the needs of two small people and a baby while taking photos was pretty damn funny. At one point, just as I was shooting, Katie's bra strap spontaneously broke and I had to tie it back together. We joked that at this rate, it would hardly have been surprising if she went in to labour!

Despite the challenges (ahem), I have to say that I'm pretty happy with how these turned out. I just love taking photos of families.

a photo walk with ellen arthur photography

Way back in July, Ellen (of Ellen Arthur photography) and I went for a photo walk. We matched her lens with my camera body and took turns snapping photos of each other. She is so talented, and I loved getting the chance to pick her brain and chat photography. Like most things in life, the more I learn about something, the more questions I have. As I fall more in love with photography, I find myself asking all of these talented photographer friends of mine for tips and advice. It's a great way to learn.

p.s. all photos of me are by Ellen. All photos of Ellen are by me. She edited all photos.

tips for photographing your baby

Today you can find me over on Trish's blog, Under Lock and Key, talking about tips for photographing your baby. I loved putting together this guest post for her and I hope you find it helpful!

memory keeping

 

 

 I used to be diligent about memory keeping. I printed out all of my photos, spent hours creating beautiful photo albums and scrapbooks, and even kept journals. I was especially careful to document my travels, and have the giant photo albums to prove it!

In the last 5 years that I've been living in Australia, I haven't printed a single photo. Not. One. I always said it was because I never knew where I'd be living in a year's time, and photo albums take up too much suitcase real estate. But having Clementine has finally given me the push I needed to start memory keeping again. I want her to be able to flip through family albums and see what she was doing as she grew up - what she looked like, who her friends were, where we travelled and what she liked to do.

I was torn between printing out photos and making albums, or creating photo books. As you can see, I went with the latter. I like that photo books are much less bulky than albums, and they look so nice and professional. I used Artifact Uprising, a great new site that makes all kinds of photo books and accessories. I went with the soft covers (because the hardcovers were out of my budget) and they are just lovely. Nice matte paper and a great size. The only problem is that for those of us outside of the US, the shipping cost is very expensive (as much as the book itself in some cases!).

I'm pleased as punch that I took the time to make these, and I even just finished making one with Vancouver photos. I think I'm finally back in the memory keeping rhythm and I'm determined to continue!

p.s. photos in the spreads above are from Gui Jorge and Belinda.
p.p.s. I would've shared other pages but they all have photos of my husband!

182 days of summer

Last week I got to snap some photos of my friend Helen and her 6 month old baby girl, Summer. She is pretty much the most photogenic baby around, and didn't seem to mind having my camera in her face.

I met Helen back when Summer was still growing in her belly and she would come to my prenatal yoga classes. We became fast friends and throughout my pregnancy and these early months of parenting, she has been the most amazing support. Helen is the most generous and helpful person I know, and I was so happy to be able to take these photos for her. I definitely don't consider myself a photographer, but I was pretty pleased with how these turned out so I thought I'd share some of my favourites.

p.s. Don't you think Summer should get into some baby modelling??

who takes your blog photos?

photo by Ellen Arthur

My husband takes mine, though somewhat reluctantly, truth be told. Lately I've been thinking that behind every great blog is a partner who's been roped into being an unofficial photographer. 

And I'm not even a style blogger! I honestly don't understand how style bloggers get such great photos day in, day out. Are they all married to photographers? Or do their partners just really enjoy having stumbled into their roles as accidental fashion photographers?

My husband doesn't particularly like taking photos, so generally I have to ask very nicely, set up the shot I want with him playing model, then quickly swap. I also have this unfortunate habit of becoming incredibly self-conscious if there's anyone around while we're taking photos. And living in a big city, there is always someone around! This has been particularly true the few times we've taken bump photos. On this day, for example, I was hungry, tired, and hot but I still insisted on getting some quick shots. I was also feeling super awkward because there were people everywhere, so it was no surprise that within 5 minutes I was snapping at my poor husband. He really is a good sport.

So I'm curious... who takes your blog photos? And do they like doing it? Do you get embarrassed when there are people watching you have your photo taken? Or do you like playing model?

Edited to add: I just wanted to clear up 2 things... I take all of the photos on my blog with the exception of the ones that I'm in. My husband takes those. He also wanted me to point out that I don't always set up shots for him; he does a lot more than I gave him credit for. Fair point :)

p.s. I'm going to see David Byrne & St. Vincent tonight, so excited!

practice makes perfect

Over the weekend, I got together with a fellow nursery attendee to practice taking photos. Ellen has taken to photography like a fish to water, which meant she was able to show me some cool tricks with my camera and in lightroom. Hurrah!

We headed to a park near her house, with rolling hills, tall grass and lots of trees. The weather didn't exactly cooperate, but we still got in lots and lots of shots before we were kicked out of the park. These are some of my favourites, and later this week I'll share the photos that Ellen took of me. I can't wait for you to seem them!