I got to meet little baby Mirella the other day, she wasn’t overly keen on having newborn photos done, but once Daddy stepped in for a bit, she was happy for a few quick snaps before she went off to have a little nap. The nap time allowed me to get a few more shots with Mum and Dad while she wasnt grumpy. Mirella was about 9 weeks old when I was taking these photos, which means that she’s getting a little bit bigger than what one would usually aim for when having newborn photos done. Generally one would aim to have photos done between 2-4 weeks old, as thats when a newborn is still tiny, and more happy to sit still, not knowing too much about whats going on around them. Baby Mirella on the other hand wasn’t too keen on the flashing lights -but once she got used to them all, we got a few nice shots 🙂
Once in a while I might be asked to do something quite out of the ordinary, and very different to my usual wedding-related or family photography 🙂 One such time was when an old firend of mine asked if I could go out on a Batman cosplay photoshoot with him. It sounded like a bit of fun, so we went out and did it! It’s great as Anthony Chammas, or otherwise known as the ‘Blackwood Batman’ (ig @abatman94) dresses up in his Batman cosplay to inspire kids and head to hospitals, schools etc as a bit of a hobby, while also working as a personal life coach. He also has several other cosplay outfits, but Batman is his favourite.
For our little shoot, we made use of the rooftop parking in one of the carparks along Hindley street in the Adelaide CBD, whith the idea that I’d get some of the taller buildings in the city as a backdrop to mimic that of Gotham city’s skyline. We also made use of the dingy little allyways nearby, and even head all the way out to Crozier St in Port Adelaide to use the lovely weathered industrial walls out there. Much to the amusement of a security guard who asked what we were doing 🙂 As this was Batman I was shooting, I made use of some smoke bombs and smoke in a can to create the hazy effects seen in a few of these shots, while also applying some liberal colour adjustments to make the shots look more like they belong in Gotham city.
Blackwood Batman would very much be eager to act as an officiant at your wedding ceremony if you’d like that sort of thing 🙂 Just contact him through his IG page!
Batman cosplay photoshoot
Batman standing menacingly
Blackwood batman
Batman surveying his city
Batman looking around
Batman cosplay batarang in wall
Blue light behind Batman
Batman standing in the sun
Batman looking at bat signal
Batman striking a pose
Batman shadow on joker grafitti
Batman cosplay looking out over the city of Adelaide
Seeing as we have all been stuck around home, or nearby for walks, I wanted to take a bit of a break on editing weddings and went for a walk with my little girl, Chloe for a bit of family photography. You’ve seen Chloe about in previous a previous cake smashing photoshoot for fir first birthday! Now she’s over two and enjoys jumping up and down in muddy puddles!
Her grandparents had also asked for some new photos of her to put up around their house, so I made use of the wonderful light this time of year brings and had her run about in the long grass. The idea of going to get a baby chino and apricot slice from her favourite cafe nearby was enough of a reason to have a big smile on her face.
Not too sure
Happy toddler
Happy toddler photoshoot
Chloe ran off at one point on our walk to go explore herself and almost crawled up a nearby storm water drain, which was very cute – but I had to stop her doing that. Fortunately nearby there was a normally very dry pond that was quite full of water which made for some great shots. Having a midwinter photoshoot done really allows for the use of this kind of scene that is much more difficult to putt off during the summer, and better weather. You can also show off some of the winter fashion your toddler, or yourself is sporting!
Little girl in reeds
Little girl looking at reflection
Little girl on waters edge
Adventure Midwinter Photoshoot
I thought that some of the photos we took while we were running through muddy puddles made Chloe look determined as if we were on a quest, so the next logical thing to do in my situation was of course to photoshop in a sword and shield. It’s fun to contrast this darker themed adventure photo to a lighter, happy-go-lucky shot!
toddler knight
toddler on an adventure photoshoot
A midwinter photoshoot like this really allows for some perfect light to come through trees like this and create a beautiful soft tone that can be used in both instances! If you’d be keen on having your own shots like this done for your toddler, or even for youself, be sure to get in contact and we can certainly work something out!
It wasn’t the nicest day to go out and do a photo shoot out and about high in the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens, but I’m so glad Olivia and Dimitiri were keen to head out anyway as the colours you can get here are just incredible! Also the rising mist from early in the morning just made the feeling of their engagement photos that much more surreal!
Olivia and Dimitri were umming and ering over where to go for their photoshoot, thinking maybe a beach, or the Belair National Park but in the end were very keen on heading to the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens, mainly due to it was where Dimitri had originally proposed.
As this engagement shoot was happening only a few weeks after when they were supposed to be married, I thought this was quite appropriate! Olivia and Dimitri had had to postpone their wedding due to the COVID-19 restrictions.
Once a location was chosen, I really wanted to make use of the lovely light either in the late afternoon for the golden hour, or early morning.
We ended up getting up early on the freezing morning for the gates to open at 8:30 as the COVID-19 restrictions had just been lifted and we expected the Botanic Gardens to be packed with people trying to get out and about a bit! The early start, coupled with the drizzly weather meant we had the whole Gardens to ourselves.
Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens Engagement Shoot
We began our photoshoot walk at the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens lower carpark, nearby the dam wall. Our first reaction when arriving was that we were super lucky to still have some colours in the autumn leaves that made these botanic gardens so magical! I was kind of hoping to get a bit of fog into their photos, but it was fast rising.
We quickly hopped up the nearby hill to make use of some trees that were losing their leaves, then head down to the water’s edge as I wanted to use my favourite tree in all of the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens, but unfortunately it had already lost all it’s leaves 🙁
Holding one another at the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens
Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens Autumn colours
Walking together in the Autumn colours
Walking along the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens dam
Close up of engagement ring
Laughing through the red leaves
Cuddles by the water
Olivia and Dimitri certainly made it easy as their carefree attitude was present all throughout the photoshoot and they had plenty of smiles on their faces!
We then head across the dam, which I feel is always an awesome shot to get, making the couple feel as though they are out in the middle of nowhere on ther path way. It’s a very tricky shot to get though as usually the dam walkway is always full of dozens of other people walking across!
Walking along the Mt Lofty Botanic Dam
Couple on the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens Dam
The big draw of the Botanic Gardens are the wonderfully vivid autumnal colours you can get at this time of year, and thankfully we were able to capture some before they all fell from the trees. The colours, coupled with the misty morning really made for some wonderful scenes!
I had a blast taking photos with Olivia and Dimitri during this weather, but it’s so rare to get a couple to get up this early and head out in bad weather like this! 🙂
Just have a ook at the types of unique scenes you can get in weather like this! from fog, to muted autumnal colours!@ It’s a great time to take photos! Just not so great if you want to stay snug and warm :/
Couple under the yellow leaves
Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens Bridge
Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens in winter
Couple under the orange trees
Laughing and playing
Hugs under the yellow leaves
Walking together with the mist
Hugs under the maple leaves
Looking at the camera under the maple leaves
Looking at a flower
I’d like to thank Olivia’s sister in law Thalia whose engagement shoot had been given to them by her mother for giving Olivia and Dimitri their engagement shoot! It’s always nice to know that people appreciate their photos so much they have their family and friends also have their photos taken with me! 🙂
I got to meet up with little Hadley for her first birthday shoot after having shot her newborn photos a year ago! She’s all grown up and as cute as ever!
Even though the weather wasn’t fantastic early in the morning, Hadley and her Mum and Dad were still keen to head out to a small forrested area nearby my house for some family photos in amongst the beautiful greenery that’s about at this time of year.
I was keen on heading back here after bringing my own little one out for a walk this way to make use of the nifty reflective duck pond, the wonderfully thick gum trees and swatches of clover and thin grass that makes for a lovely backdrop for family shots like these!
It’s sometimes hard to get people out on days like this one to take photos as generally little knees get muddy and everyone gets home wet, but the fact is that this kind of weather really brings out some lively, and intimate colour tones which suit timeless family photogrpahy like this!
Now Baby Hadley and her Mum and Dad will have a proper heirloom of amazing photos of this special moment in time! 🙂
