Photographing four generations of mothers and daughters has to be one of the most special things I have done!
As a photographer, sometimes a particular photo shoot will stand out more from the others and I must say that this one probably stands out the most so far!
A couple of months ago I advertised that I was raising funds for the Women's Cancer Foundation by offering Mother & Daughter photo shoots. I expected to receive a few enquiries about photographing 3 generations but when a past customer of mine contacted me to say she would love me to photograph her family's four generations I was very excited!
Little Chiara at 18 months old I first photographed as a newborn. I absolutely love seeing my newborn customers return and it was great to see little Chiara not so little anymore! She is so lucky to have both her Nan and Great Nan in her life as it's not so common anymore.
When chatting to Chiara's Mum we discussed the options of having the photographs taken in my studio in Ferntree Gully or having a Sunset Photo Shoot. Coming into Autumn, she loved the idea of the Autumn colours and I had found a beautiful spot in Olinda (in the Dandenong Ranges) that had striking red trees at that time of year. I honestly couldn't have been happier with this spot, as the colours are just gorgeous!
Planning what to wear for the photo shoot
Before a photo shoot I always have a conversation with my customers about what they plan to wear and send through advise on colour options and keeping clothing simple. After all, we want your portraits to be all about your faces and not have the eye distracted by patterns or bright colours on your clothing. These Mums got an A+ from me! After the clothing conversation they went shopping and I was so impressed with how co-ordinated they dressed! Yet they still looked stylish and comfortable. Chiara looks absolutely adorable in that fury vest!
If you are reading this Blog, I hope you agree that it really does make such a big difference to take that extra effort and organise appropriate clothing for a photo shoot. After all, you will look at your photos for the rest of your life and you wouldn't want to look at them thinking each time 'I wish I wore something different'!
Patience and persistence!
I must admit that little Chiara wasn't in the best of moods this day, but you wouldn't guess it looking at these photos! She was a bit up and down with her mood and Mum told me that she is Little Miss Independent at the moment (very typical at her age!) so she didn't love being held. After capturing some gorgeous photos of her with Mum and Nan, she had had enough and wouldn't co-operate for poor Great Nan!
So after a bite to eat for Chiara we pursued with the portrait of them all sitting in the grass (below) and I then set up my wooden crate and Autumn leaves (that I had gathered from the side of the road!) to try and get some single portraits of Chiara playing with the leaves. At first she was a bit skeptical about the crate but once she sat on it she loved it and wouldn't get off! We gave her some leaves to play with and she was honestly having a ball! Great Nan took this opportunity to smartly pop in behind Chiara and we finally achieved the photo above to complete their collection :)
This photo shoot was a lot of fun and all Mums were just lovely to work with! I often get told that I'm so patient, but when my customers such as these Mums are just as patient in return and are so willing to work with me and help create natural smiles from the children, the result is a stunning gallery of photographs that will be treasured forever!
If you are interested in having a similar photo shoot, please feel free to contact me to enquire:
Phone Michelle : 0401 514 969
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