THE FAMILY GUIDE

There isn't just one way to photograph a family

My aim when making memories for you is to make them real, make them alive and make these images make you feel something.

One of my favourite ways to do a session is to create some adventure. We go on a walk, to the beach, whatever it may be, but the key component is action. We move and capture those little nuances your family have. The memories, the little hands in yours, you brushing hair from their eyes, those little movements you don't even know you're doing, they come more naturally when there is something happening.

I absolutely adore home shoots too. I love a kid that is so comfortable in their home that they show me around and can just 'be'. This goes for the parents too. You feel calm at home and very you in that space. The aim is that you all 'just be' as you are because these are the memories you will hold onto and remember. I like a bit of mess, a bit of crazy hair, silly smiles, cute little habits. This is the time you want to hold on to.

I am not a fan of the cheesy smile and something dies a little inside me whenever a parent tells their kids to 'smile at Mel', there is not feeling in that. Once you book me you will receive a family guide which tells you all about how to be, how to act (key here is , you don't) and many other things you might find helpful.

Once thing we also discuss is what you want to do with your photos. Some families want a more formal style portrait session for prints on the wall, so that means I might shoot in a slightly different way. Some extended family sessions mean more 'looking at the camera' type shots, but with a mix of candid. My ideal would be that you walk away with something in your hands. My dream is that you have a small album of your session and each year or two you add to that collection and have a little shelf of albums for you and your kids to look through as they age. Wouldn't that be amazing, to have a little vault of memories at your finger tips.