Jason and the boys rolled up in the morning with a box filled with photo booth goodies including props, Polaroid camera, and a corkboard to pin all their guest’s photos as their day unfolded.

Lily was getting ready in the master bedroom, upstairs at Butleigh Wootton. Her warm smile set the scene for the day, as she climbed the grand staircase with her girls. Great way for me to start capturing her story.  I think it’s important to always be looking for those hidden moments.  The photo of Lily’s dad walking into the bedroom, seeing his daughter in her stunning dress for the first time, was a little teary for everyone. The gorgeous filtered light that came through the powder-room curtains was prefect for some natural portraits as well as an artistic silhouette with her bridesmaids.

Now Jason and the boys had been waiting inside the marquee while the girls were getting ready. He was pretty cool about what was going to happen next until he saw Lily, dad and mum walk down the isle.  His infectious smiles and laughter filled the marquee, as Jason shook his father-in-laws hand.  You could see the level of excitement in both their eyes. One of my favourite parts of their wedding ceremony was after exchanging rings, they both, simultanouesly, looked up for me, with wedding ring hands raised high for a photo.

The guests moved onto the lawns for canapé hour, as we stepped back inside the mansion for some more artistic photos. As an optometrist, Lily  brought some vintage optical  trial lenses for a very unique photo with her girls. Take a look at their wedding photo collection to see what I’m talking about.

After their  lunchtime reception, we met up at the arts percent of Melbourne for some artistic, natural location photos. The low afternoon light was perfect as we walked from the National Gallery of Victoria to the Art Centre and ending their shoot at the Victoria barack on St Kilda Rd.

Lily and Jason are fun, vibrant, and caring people with a remarkable circle of friends and family in their lives.  Thank you all for sharing this impeccable day with me, and allowing me to document it for you!

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They all flew down a few days before from Queensland. Jason and the boys were very relaxed and having a few laughs when I arrived. His best man David was looked for cufflinks on line as he misplaced his own. The boys had gone Go Kart racing the day before, and yes Jason won. Rumours floated around that the guys let him win, but with Jason’s many talents, I doubt it.

Kathleen and the girls got ready upstairs in the grand bedroom at Butleigh Wootton.  Her elegant dress hung on the four-poster bed as the finishing makeup touches were being made. The girls royal blue dresses provided a great contrast that made Kathleen stand out in her gorgeous dress. It was the beautiful period furnishings and elegance of Butleigh Wooton that suited their classic wedding theme.  As a photographer, the creamy window light, that poured into the bedroom was perfect for her getting ready photos. Now it did get a little emotional when Kathleen’s dad Charlie, saw his daughter in her wedding dress. A little tear and lots of laughter as they both kept it all together.

The love these two have for one another was evident in every aspect of the day. One could try and bottle the smiles they had for each other as Kathleen walked down the isle toward Jason at the Church.  After the ceremony, and keeping with their classical theme, we went to the Hawthorn Town Hall and some of the cobble stone lane ways on Alburn road for photos before heading back to Butleigh Wootton.

Thanks you Kathleen and Jason to the opportunity to tell your story.

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Michelle had come into the studio previously to get a new branding headshot for work.  You could say the headshot session was a very relaxed affair. I got to know a little more about Michelle who was originally from America and had called Melbourne home for the past 4 years. She loved all the artistic portraits on the studio walls and arrange a session for her family.

Now I always get asked how do I deal with children who just do their own thing.  Response…. have a lot of patience, don’t take it too seriously. make it more of a game and, above all, have fun. Sometimes it’s more a case of relaxing the parents first before the children.

Now Cy and Nadine had other plans as to what was going to happen in the studio. While playing around, spinning on the rotating chairs, rolling over each other on the floor and jumping on my red arm chair i managed to get some great natural expressions.   I told Michelle this is my normal days work and If she wanted to raise the bar she just needed to bring in a pet.  As the cliche goes, don’t work with kids or animals, but that’s my exception.

Take a look at these fun family portraits and if you would like me to capture some timeless portrait of your family just get in Contact.

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There seemed to be a little devine intervention regarding the story of how Maryse & Jude met. Maryse’s mother had found a pray card at the church they attended and started praying for her daughter to find a “good guy”. Now you might say mum has connections in high places, as it just so happened, she was praying to St Jude. Thankfully she was sitting down when Maryse first told her the name of her new boyfriend and now husband.

Being around these two is infectious.  Within a couple of minutes you feel part of their whole family. They are so generous and thoughtful of others. Mayrse hand packed snack boxes, incase any of her guests got hungry after the ceremony. With a large number of guest coming from Sydney, Jude chartered a bus so they could easily get, from the hotel to St Mary’s Star of the Sea and then to Luminare for the reception.

After the ceremony we headed off to the Queen Victoria Gardens, and around the National Gallery of Victoria for some more artistic location photos.

The themeing at Luminare was very stylish, colourful, and a little bit gangster.  The Design Depot did a phenomenal job with every detail from the colourful Vassette flower wall, behind the bridal table, their names branded on the elevator doors, and the now M&J initials in a giant lightbox.

With the Melbourne cityscape as their backdrop, Maryse and Jude were lead onto the Luminare balcony by traditional Kandyan drummers and dancers for their first dance. The guest created a semi circle to greet them, as the sun set.

Maryse decided that she mightn’t  be able to hold back the tears if she danced with her dad Ranjan. Unbeknownst to her, Jude and Ranjan had other plans.  After entree, Maryse and Jude walked onto the dance floor.  Maryse looked amazing in her Pallas Couture dress as Jude held her tight. Dad’s cue had arrived. He walked straight towards Maryse as Jude stepped aside for their first dance together.  Let’s just say neither Maryse or myself could hold back the tears. Camera got a little wet.

Thank you Jude and Maryse for to opportunity to capture your very unique wedding. would like me to capture your wedding story,

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There area hundreds of lens review websites that you can check out but I just want to focus, (pardon the pun), on which Nikon lenses I use for specific photos when it come to documenting a wedding story.

1. Nikon 24-70mm Zoom. All round general purpose lens, beautifully sharp with a wide angel 24mm for those candid moments and large group shots to the close up 70mm for portraits. I generally use this lens when I want more of the background in focus.
2. Nikon 85mm Prime Lens: My main lens for individual portraits. Unlike a zoom, Prime lenses have a fixed focal length, which generally deliver superior quality to zooms. With its larger aperture, the 85mm create dreamy out-of-focus backgrounds, which is perfect for portrait photography. It’s the king of background blur, or boken. which makes your subject pop. It also compresses any prominent facial features, like noses and chins for a bit of added flattery.
3. Nikon 50mm Prime Lens: Same advantages as its 85mm cousin but wider. Used for 50% of my candid wedding photography and great for full-length portraits. There is no magnifications with a 50mm lens so it’s like looking through you own eyes. With no zoom, it makes me move in and around to find the best composition and angle. Also brilliant in low light churches and wedding receptions with it’s maximum 1.4 aperture.
4. Nikon 70-200mm Telephoto Lens: This lens is my little baby for capturing those candid moments from a distance when no one is aware you’re there. I love using it at its 200mm magnification, to create a shallow depth of field to blurring out the background, isolate my subject and move other elements of the photo closer to fill the frame.

I’ve always been of the opinion if you own a Canon or Nikon use their lenses as they are designed to give you the best results from their cameras.

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Henry’s personality started to shine at his 6 month portrait shoot. He had developed a very infectious smile matched with his deep blue eyes. Was all giggles and laughs, at the start with mum, but needed a little feed to bring him back to his happy self.

Now mobile and more confident, Henry was going to set the ground rules for his 1st year shoot.  There were some priceless expression, but he alluded me with a key photo that would capture another side of his warm personality. Well, that is until he met the studio tripod.

Seemed to love helping himself up on the tripod. With Reshmi and Kevin holding hands behind him, studio flash brought down low to wrap the light around his gorgeous face, I captured one of many timeless portraits that we all fell in love with. Timing and patience is everything when photographing children.

You’ll just have to spoil yourself and take a look at Henry’s portrait collection and feel free to Like and Share.

Thank you Reshmi and Kevin for allowing me to photograph your little man.

If you would love me to capture your precious family portraits just send me a message.

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Varun contacted me about capturing his family’s portrait and was interested in seeing whether a close up of Arya and Mayan faces, with the focus on their eyes, would show some of their inner world. Was in love with this photo brief as my mind pondered on the type of family photography I was going to shoot for Varun and Nicola.

Happy, smiley family portrait photography has always been a favourite but there are so many individual looks our kids give us that are unique to their personalities. Yes eyes are the window to the soul and more so through portrait photography. For Varun and Nicola I wanted to capture the cheekiness of Arya and the dreaminess of Mayan through their eyes. Two of my favourites include Arya warm embrace sitting on her dad’s shoulders and the protective look on Mayan’s face with mum sitting next to him. Varun and Nicola now have a priceless moment in their family’s history, captured for all future generations.

Please take a moment to take a look at their family portraits and let me know which is your favourite. With their Indian heritage I got a little arty at the end but you’ll have to take a look at the last image.

If you would like me to capture something unique for your family just get in contact.

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In 2007 I photographed the gorgeous Lily with mum Kristina.  Since then mum and dad decided that Lily would also like a sister Zara in 2009, sister Eva in 2012 and sister Ruby in 2013. Each girl has such a distinctive warm personality along with their gorgeous long hair. The youngest, Ruby, is on her way to growing her golden locks.

Now they all had fun as babies, being photographed especially Eva who has the biggest smile. Zara wasn’t a big fan of the camera the second time around. A little bribery, with some treats, goes a long way.  Her third trip to the studio Zara was on fire, like all her sisters, with her long hair that’s hasn’t been cut since she was a baby.

Got the chance to meet their dad Sam on the 5th visit to the studio. I had been busting to capture the “icing on the cake” family portrait  to top off their artistic collection.

Take a moment and view the girl’s story, over the years, and see how they have changed.

Thank you Kristina, Sam, Lily, Zara, Eva and Ruby for this amazing privilege to photograph your family’s history.

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Met up with Howie and his groomsmen, as they got ready at the Quest Apartments. After a quick Google on how to tie a bow-tie, we moved onto the balcony for photos, and ended with a cheeky footy sock photo. Watching a match amongst these guys would be interesting as they all barracking for different teams.

Keeping with the Hawthorn wedding theme, the guys, headed off to Baranows Lounge for some pre wedding ceremony cigars and whisky. Unbeknownst to Howie, Teena had arranged a unique gift. Inside the lounge, Howie was presented with a humidor, containing his favourite cigars, and a heartfelt, hand written note from Teena about the new journey they were about to start together as a married couple.

Now when I arrived at the Hotel Windsor Teena and her bridesmaids were finalising their hair and makeup with a glass of champagne, cheese platter and plenty of laughter. The regal feel of the Hotel Windsor was a perfect backdrop as her bridesmaids helped Teena get into your gorgeous dress. Before heading off to the wedding ceremony at Butleigh Wootton, I captured some artistic photos on this iconic Melbourne hotel’s grand staircase.

After taking one of my all time favourite wedding group photos, with all their guests kissing and hugging each other, we headed inside for some more artistic images on the mansion’s signature grand staircase and upstairs rooms.

Had scouted the surrounding Hawthorn streets, before the wedding, and found some cobbles stone lanes ways and one key location that I knew Howie, in particular, would love. The original art deco Hawthorn football club pavilion, with Howie being a huge Hawthorn supporter, was a perfect location for their wedding story.

Always love getting comments on the stories I’ve captured so please feel free to leave a reply.

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It felt like I was capturing a close friends wedding story in Melbourne with Sarah and Tim. Each time we caught up we would share our travel stories, along with the food we loved, only to realise that we better start talking about the actual wedding itself. Their love for fine wine had us drop into their local, Gibson’s Wine Bar in Hawthorn, for some photos after the ceremony. I visited Walters a few days before hand to scout the location for lighting. I was looking for a more black and white european documentary wedding feel for their photos and captured the moment when an old lady walked past the front window they were sitting at.

Sarah is very close with her grandfather Bernie Shannon, who played for Collingwood 1949-51 #24. To encapsulate the rich family history I used the wall in the lounge room, as a backdrop, that had some amazing photos of Bernie.  I had Sarah hold one of her grandfather’s images for a photo, which got a little emotional when she started to think about her grandfather being at her wedding.

Upon arriving at the church I noticed Tim’s sister walking around with her iPads, up in their air, on a mission to video everything that was happening. Don’t know why I noticed it more than normal until I caught up with Tim. He explained that his mum had fallen ill a few days before the wedding. She was feeling better but was still in hospital unable to attend. With the advent of technology Tim’s sister was live streaming the entire ceremony to his mum who was tucked into a warm hospital bed, watching all the hidden moments unfold on her iPad. Got to love the way technology connect us today.

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