I head up north of the city recently to meet little Odella and her Mum and Dad for a bit of a photo shoot in amongst the greenery of the Little Para Linear Park in Paralowie.
Little Odella’s parents had been given one of my gift certificates and had waited until Odella was big enough to sit on her own before organising a time to have their photoshoot done.
She wasn’t overly keen on smiling throughout our outing, but was otherwise very well behaved! And the glowing smiles from Mum and Dad certainly brightened up the photos regardless!
Last weekend, I found myself with no weddings booked so I figured it would be neat to offer my services at a very cheap rate in what’s known as a ‘minishoot’ or mini session. It was one week prior to mother’s day so I figured it might be a fun way to get some nice photos of the family for Mum!
The best thing about a mini shoot is that it’s really geared for people who aren’t overly keen on being in front of a camera, as the session only lasts for 15 minutes – and if the photos dont turn out as expected – ie the little one was upset, or the dog wasn’t looking, etc – then it’s no big deal as it was not that expensive!
It’s also great for people who want some nice family photos done, but don’t want to spend too long getting them!
The mini shoot was an up front cost of $65, which included the shoot and editing of the photos before being supplied via my online store, and each shoot received a $30 credit to spend – making the whole thing effectively only $35 and you get to go home with either some prints, or digital files – however you’d like to spend that $30 credit!
As a result, the sessions booked up fast, with 12 bookings coming in – the majority being young couples, with little kidlets in tow, but also a few couples and whole families. I held the shoot at the Cherry Garden’s Soldier’s Memorial Gardens with the aim of using the autumnal colours from the falling leaves with the park, while also making use of the impressive memorial trees that cast quite a bit of shade.
Each booking received an average of 54 photos in their album to choose from – which surprised myself, as generally I like to have 100 photos done for an hour photo shoot, let alone 15 minutes – but I guess that’s the benefit of a minishoot, it means that i am familiar with the surrounds and know what will work when for each group coming through. I can then use this knowledge to move quickly and get each shot.
All in all, I think the winter minishoot results speak for themselves – the autumnal colours of the leaves, and the happy smiling faces of each group really made for an awesome experience, that I’d be looking forward to doing again in the future – I’m thinking Christmas? Watch this space.
Southern Adelaide Winter Minishoot Results!
Little Ones
All the little ones who came through were really well behaved and quite enjoyed being in front of the camera! This made things rather easy, as the surrounding autumn leaves did the rest making for some awesome shots!
Boy climbing tree
Boys climbing tree
Brothers laying in autumn leaves
happy baby sitting on fluffy mat under tree
Sisters in autumn leaves
Bothers hugging in leaves
Boys throwing leaves
Smiling baby girl under autumn leaves
Baby boy sitting in autumn leaves
baby girl in autumn leaves
baby under autumn leaves
Smiling girl under autumn leaves
baby talking to stuffed elephant
Baby lying in autumn leaves
Boy under autumn tree
Family
The autumn leaves also made for some nice family portraits. I had the family groups walking through the trees, sitting on the dry leaves and basically treating their time with me as if it were a quick family outing to a nice park.
Baby peeking over shoulder
baby flying in sky
Family hugs for baby
Carrying baby through trees
Family sitting on ground with baby
Family sitting in autumnal leaves
Family sitting toegtehr under autumn trees
Family sitting on bench
Family sitting in leaves
Family standing under autumn leaves
baby getting cheek kisses
Lifting baby into sky
Holding baby in the sky
Family standing behind long grass
Holding baby girl
Couples
I had two sets of couples come through, which was treated as a simple date idea, and they got some nice photos out of it at the end!
Couple walking between trees
Couple sitting in the autumn leaves
Couple holding one another
Couple walking under autumn leaves
Happy couple leaning against tree
Couple standing looking through leaves
As far as winter minishoot results go, I feel as though we got some incredible photos, using the stunning natural light that filtered through the autumn leaves nicely. If there was one thing I would have done differently would be to schedule the last session a biut earlier as the light was fading quite a bit – but we still got some great shots!
The beautiful Saint Dimitrios Orthodox Church was the backdrop to baby Iliana’s baptism in mid September. This incredible church is lined wall to wall with ornate decorations detailing the stories of the bible and makes for an incredible backdrop for anything as a wedding venue to baptisms.
Being a part of little Iliana’s Saint Dimitrios Orthodox Church Baptism was an absolute honour to be a part of and was delightful to see such a large congragation come together for such a special ceremony.
Iliana’s Saint Dimitrios Orthodox Church Baptism
Iliana’s whole family turned up to witness her christening and her transition into holy life, which was wonderful to see. Carried by her god mother and assisted thoughout the ceremony, little Iliana was quite brave throughout, with only a little cry as the priests immersed her into the holy water. Once she was out however, she was quite happy again!
I got to have a bit of a chat with the church hand who was setting up for baby Ilania’s Saint Dimitiros Orthodox Church Baptism, and I was astounded to find out that the church was purpose built for things like baptisms, with a plumbed chalice for the holy immersion right at the center of the stage – meaning that the transport of that much water need not be a hassle! I just thought that was interesting.
Iliana before the ceremony
Iliana and Dad
Iliana greeting guests
Iliana’s Christening dress
Entering Saint Dimitrios Church
Approaching the front of the church
The priest
Iliana looking around
Saint Dimitrios Orthodox church baptism
Iliana getting changed
Guests looking on
Iliana being baptised
Iliana being placed into holy water
Saint Dimitios Orthodox Church Baptism
Upset bub
Upset baby during christening
Putting on crucifix
Surrounding baby Iliana
Church details
Baby iliana getting her dress put on
bressings from the priest
Greek Orthodox church
Baby iliana during her christening
Godmother and baptised little one
Saint Dimitrios Orthodox Church Baptism photo
Godmother with little one
Family together at front of church
Kisses from guests
Family together in front of church
Baby Iliana on church floor
After the ceremony, the whole family congregated at Svago on Unley road for a shared lunch and speeches thanking everyone involved. It was a wonderful day to be a part of and capture with my photography!
Always nice to catch up with little ones I’ve photographed before as little ones! In this case it was Baby Hadley who has now become a big sister to little Baby Sabine! We head out for a photoshoot at Pine Reserve in Aberfoyle Park for a bit of family photography and play on the play equipment and made use of the lovely early morning light shing through the trees.
Truth is that I had already shot little Sabine a few months prior while she was still in the belly! Having a set of progressive photos like this really makes for a beautiful story of a family growing together and I think it’s just beautiful!
Photoshoot at Pine Reserve
We started early for the photoshoot at Pine Reserve in Aberfoyle Park to make use of the sun shining through the trees. baby Sabine wasn’t overly happy with the new sensations of being photographed, and was possibly a little cold while out and about, but she felt quite comfortable in Mum’s arms, so we made sure to get plenty of whole family shots while she was happy.
Sister Hugs
Big sister
Family shoot at Pine Reserve
Family walking through Pine Reserve
Photoshoot at Pine Reserve
Running girl
Baby Sabine on Mum’s Shoulder
Baby Sabine
Going down slide with Dad
Family photo in Pine Reserve
Girl on Playground
Studio Photoshoot
After galavanting around Pine Reserve, we head back to my home studio – which was the first time I had used the new studio space I now have access to but baby Sabine still wasn’t overly happy – until she fell asleep which made for some beautiful shots.
Erin and Phil were the bridal couple at one of the first ever weddings I covered as a wedding photographer all the way back in 2011, so it’s always nice to see how families are progressing when they ask me to come out again and produce some updated family portraits! I’ve also known Erin and her family since I was very little so it’s doubly nice to reconnect and have a bit of a chat. 🙂
We head out to the lovely Veale Gardens on South terrace in the city early in the morning so that we avoided the majority of walkers and have the gardens to ourselves. The sun is also at a nice height in the sky at this time in the morning so as to avoid most of the harsh shadows that can otherwise creep across faces in an unflattering way.
We began in the carpark behind the Pavillian restaurant and made use of the gum trees behind Veale gardens to create a bit of diversity in the colours of the final photos – as otherewise every photo has the emerald green colours of the curated grass within the gardens. it’s good to have some variety! We then walked up the rolling grassy hills towards the last rock pool, then looped back via the man made river meandering through the space.
As a result, I think The Kennedy’s Veale Gardens Family Shoot produced some lovely keepsake moments and nice family portraits for them to treasure forever more! helps a bunch when the kids are as well behaved as these were! Turned out to be a lovely morning.
