March 31, 2014

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I recently photographed some extended family portraits for Marti and her whole family, at her family home. Marti and I met years ago at a personal development course, and at the time, two of her children were about to jet-off to the UK to live and work for a while. Marti asked me to photograph the soon-to-depart kids in the Botanic Gardens, and since then, I’ve been fortunate to be asked to photograph Sally and Lachlan’s wedding, and now this full extended family portraits shoot.

When covering extended family portraits, I always aim to show the whole group as well as the smaller, immediate families that exist within the larger group. It all started when Marti and Peter fell in love, so that’s where the journey of these portraits starts:

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I followed with a group portrait of each of Marti’s four children and their immediate families. On this particular day, it was stinking hot, and the shaded area near this lovely hedge in Marti’s backyard was the only spot suitable for outdoor portraits, so I tried to use it in a slightly different way for every group – along with unique posing for each of the groups.

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Marti also asked for a portrait of her four children on their own… they were having so much fun together, and both Marti and I agreed that this portrait told their story better than any of the more “at the camera” moments!

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Part way through the shoot, the kids took turns trying to hit a piñata (hence the green rope in left of shot) and once it smashed its chocolate treasures everywhere, I grabbed a few frames of all the grandkids together – before the sugar kicked in and the kids started running around the backyard again. ;)

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Finally, I got one more setup of the whole family, just so we had an alternative story of the whole group. Marti was thrilled with the images, and put together a stunning album titled “A Moment In Time”, along with some frames to add to her growing collection of family portraits on the walls!

Marti and Peter’s family is one I’m grateful to call clients and friends, and I have no doubt I’ll keep working with them as the family grows and changes.

(Since shooting these extended family portraits, Sally and Lachlan have had a new baby, and Paul and his wife are almost due too!)

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