Love-letters

Firstly, Happy Valentine's Day! I know Valentine's Day gets a bad rap in Australia, but I tend to think that any day that gives you the excuse to tell someone that you love them is a good thing. Always :) Don't argue, just do it! Today is the perfect day to talk about my Love Letters sittings. These gorgeous concept shoots are based around your child's character, quirks and favourite things and make an incredible keepsake. There are two rules for this sitting, the kids have to dress themselves (the more outlandish the better!) and they have to be able to tell me about their family, their lives and their favourites. If it were my own kids (who are sadly too old for this now at 12 and 9!!) it would have been a crazy combo outfit of Batman suit, tool belt, gumboots and a mask, coupled with a long story about how Batman is better than Spiderman because he has a cool car. :) This opportunity to photograph the kids as they are, without being all dressed up and perfect is just amazing. They relax, tell me their secrets and dreams, perform, dance, and in the case of the superheroes...leap! We get a photograph and accompanying prose that is your child in a nutshell at that age. Glorious chaos and all.

This is Poppy, who is four and wanted desperately to get under the sprinkler with the others but got shy and hesitant. Her little belly is what makes this photo for me, it's just divine.

A Love-Letter sitting has to be booked and planned for, so let me know on booking if this is the kind of thing you'd like. Our Love-Letter prints begin at 20x30 inches (poster size) and come either block-mounted or on canvas. They look amazing in your child's room as a reminder of that gorgeous stage when the world was new and exciting :) This is their Love-Letter to you xoxo

Simone xoxo

Zane

For those that follow my newsletter, I featured Kylie, Shawn and Zane in our summer 'client spotlight' this month. This was one of my first shoots of the year and it was fantastic to see this beautiful little boy that I last saw as a teeny newborn. LOVE the chubby rolls and his divine dimples.

Kylie and Shawn, so glad you love them as much as I do! xoxo

Simone xo

A stunning new sitting option for 2011

One of the most common things my clients say to me is "We love them all! What will we do with them?". In the past it's meant loads of decision making, paring down to absolute favourites and careful planning of our gorgeous wall displays. We think we have the answer to that question. Our latest offering is a sitting unlike anything we've done before. A fun, story-telling, beautiful and inspiring shoot that will be immortalised in a gorgeous coffee table book for you to keep. You will, of course,  have the opportunity to choose your favourites to make a feature of, but all of your photos will be drawn from to create a stunning, personalised and collectable coffee table book. Each year we will feature a different limited edition design which we know our clients will love collecting to create a library of memories for their children. Our book sittings will be unique. Your real life will be captured, with the quiet times, the cuddles, the chaos and the fun all brought together to really show how you are today. Your sitting will tell a story, we can bake a cake, jump waves at the beach, run under the sprinkler or make a cubby in the backyard, but the underlying theme will always be how you love each other :)

These sittings begin at $1500 and include the sitting and your custom designed coffee table book and represent enormous value with our standard $275 sitting fee waived. Bookings are secured with a 50% deposit towards the book to ensure your appointment is held for you and then the fun begins!

Happy New Year!!

I hope everyone has had a safe and peaceful beginning to 2011. It's been a quiet one for us, with children at home, both boys' birthdays in one week and a lot of catching up with friends that just doesn't seem to happen when work goes back in full force. I'm still on official leave, but am getting the chance to do the odd sitting in and around looking after kids. I say that like I'm sick of them! I'm one of those rare mums that LOVE school holidays. To get to be with my sons all day is something I don't take for granted. Even when they're bored, smelly and whiny. Ok, the smelly I could live without. This year is going to be huge, with new sittings on offer, exciting new products, more concept style shoots and of course the Through the Looking Glass project. The studio is about to undergo a revamp to make it a better place to view your images and our focus on always excelling and raising the bar by entering and (hopefully) winning awards will continue. This year marks my first decade as a photographer for me, with the first baby I officially photographed turning ten in May! I'm looking forward to celebrating with my incredible clients.

I look forward to talking to you about what we have on offer, from limited edition, collectable coffee table books, to a fantastic concept in character portraits. Bookings for February are officially open, though filling fast, so call the studio on 8340 2838 to take advantage of the beautiful weather we've been blessed with. The photo below is of the most gorgeous JoJo who raced around under the sprinkler like a crazy woman, goggles and all! How nice is it to be able to put the sprinkler on for the kids again? Bliss...

Lastly, I want to extend my love and sorrow to the people of Queensland and my absolute admiration for how amazing Australians are in times of crisis. I'm a photographer because of my love of humanity and its bonds and this incredible show of compassion has been utterly moving and inspiring. Hug your babies tight and don't take life for granted. xoxoxo

Simone xo

My Christmas Wish

and no, it's not for a new handbag, or more time in the day... Tonight I was watching Marley and Me, and cried like a baby...again...but the last line of the movie sneaked up on me, as it has before. It reminded me of Christmas, how we can take the day/gift giving/pressure of it all for granted, and completely miss the big picture. This last line is what we need to concentrate on (and yeah, ok, it was about a dog, but it sums up unconditional love for me) "How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make you feel extraordinary?"

This Christmas, my wish for you is to make someone feel extraordinary. We get so few chances to make someone feel special. Take the opportunities when they're handed to you.

Much love

Simone xoxo

Studio news!

Yep, more awards! It's been the year for it, and this week saw the judging of the South Australian AIPP awards. I entered the Family Category, and came away with four silver awards for my prints. It's an incredible honour, so I was thrilled beyond belief. Christmas is fast approaching, especially with the Pageant this weekend, so if you're hoping to order for presents, get in fast before I drown in the craziness that 'tis the season and I run out of time! Orders for albums and keepsake boxes close November 16 so if you had a last minute thought that you'd like one, you'd better be fast!

Look out for our new newsletter coming soo, you can send me an email to sign up if you haven't already, and stay tuned for exciting new studio products and events over the coming months.

xo Simone

Porscha the Explorer

Every age has it's gorgeousness. Newborns are soft, flakey little bundles of divine, 9 month olds are gummy, drooly, sociable and smiley, and a toddlers are utter explorers. Porscha was no exception, and she covered every inch of this park that she could! This age is about their new, exciting, freedom-filled world! I loved chasing Porscha (and Bailey!) around, and capturing her as she got to just run and run. Ok....toddle which is even better, those little toddly legs are super cute.

Happy 1st Birthday Porscha!!

Simone xo

Through the Looking Glass - update

Well!! After a fantastic shout-out in Adelaide Matters last week, the response to my book project has been overwhelming. I've done nothing but answer phone calls and emails for the last week, and as such, now have above and beyond enough families for the book. It's been wonderful seeing how many people are this passionate about their town, and the ideas that have been shared have been so inspiring. I'm going to have a ball photographing them all.

Thanks so much for the astounding enthusiasm and support, and for those that missed out, stay tuned...in planning this book, a few ideas have planted seeds and more books may be in store. All of this is a dream come true, I always wanted to have a book with my name on it!

Simone xo