May 26, 2014

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A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I met with Michelle and her family for some family portraits at Coogee Beach. Her kids were going into Kindergarten and Year 4 at school, and the shoot was great fun. Michelle and I kept in touch on and off over the years, even training at the same gym in Randwick for a while.

While unfortunately Michelle’s first marriage didn’t work out, fast forward a few years, and she is now uttery blissed out and happy again with a charming man, creating a new chapter in her family’s story with him on board. The kids are now in Year 7 and Year 11 respectively, and I nearly fell over when I met with them at Centennial Park for these updated portraits.

My favourite thing about photographing families again after many years, is seeing how everyone has changed, and simply chatting, laughing and catching up with them. I build such a strong rapport with most of my clients, that even 7 years later, we’re still good friends and can chew the fat like it was yesterday. Of course, the risk with shoots like these, is that we end up chatting non-stop, so I need to constantly remind myself that I have a job to do in creating some actual family portraits for these beautiful people!

 

I love seeing the special bond Michelle shares with her kids – it’s clearly evident in these images:

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And, to their credit, the kids are still (mostly) the best of friends. At least we have some photographic evidence of the “nice” moments for Michelle to reflect on, when the kids are arguing…! ;)

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I tell you, it really gobsmacked me to know these kids as young primary/infants-school-aged kids, and then seeing them all grown up, looking every bit the maturing teenagers they are.

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Something else I love about families is the embarrassment that parents can so easily dish out to the kids. This was one of Michelle’s favourite images from the shoot.

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And, to finish, a happier-than-normal ending. Michelle has just gotten engaged to her new man! Hooray and Congratulations!

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Michelle had some absolutely beautiful words to say to me about her portrait experience:

These latest portraits mean so much to me. They symbolise a new beginning as well as capturing the fun and love l experience every day with my children. I love the colours and the way you were able to capture the happiness, beauty and love we all possess. I want to thank you for making me look nice and natural in the shots. I was so surprised that I actually loved all the photos that I was in and didn’t have the desire to delete them straight away like I usually do with photos of me. You have such an amazing talent.

Thanks so much Michelle!

 

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