Family photography | Williamstown
I still love coming back to Melbourne to photograph families - especially when there’s a beach involved! It was a bitterly cold morning on the rocks at Williamstown with two beautiful girls and their parents, before we retreated to the warmth of home for a mix of indoors and the backyard. Two year olds are never predictable units but there is always funny, chaotic joy when you go with the flow. This was a long form family session which always feel pretty chilled and gives everyone a chance to breathe out and forget the camera is there.
It is worth noting that these photographs are, for the most part, not ‘candid.’ People always ask for candid/down to earth/lifestyle/relaxed photographs and then sometimes feel a bit panicky when I start to ‘pose’ (position/prompt/nudge/whatever you want to call it!) them. I do this to create a ‘structure’ which fosters connection and joy and then a quick unravelling, using light and shadows and composition to create beautiful and meaningful and useful portraits. Some families want complete direction from me - some I don’t need to do much (like this one, incidentally!) but it’s always in the aim of getting the most out of your session and relieving the mental burden of ‘what do I do with my hands?!”
In the last year I have also moved to editing your sessions in a mix of colour and b+w (I used to do both for all photos) - this gives me a lot more creative freedom and saves time, and reduces the burden of files and choices for you! I do always welcome your preferences though, which was a clear “we love b+w” for these guys!
