a special pressie for my niece.....

As a present for the last 2 years in a row, i have done photoshoots with my gorgeous ( almost tween ) niece.... with a  special friend invited along for some fun aswell, as you can imagine.......there were loads of giggles............. 9/10 yr old girls, thats all they do , right ??? hehe....and pose ofcourse !!! 

we went for a soft, vintage-ish feel to this one............ and utilised my vintage suitcase and armchair......

where as last year was all about the surroundings of  downtown auckland, very urban , modern clothes....... cool buildings........... this time we were at a very picturesque park in lovely coatesville, and i was pleasantly surprised that there was still traces of autumn leaves, which i wasnt expecting at all ...............

this is my gorgeous niece.....look at all that hair !!!!! and those legs that go forever !!!!

we were running under cover ( thank goodness for the gorgeous coatesville hall ) every 15 mins when the rain would come across.........i am so surprised we didnt all fall flat on our faces !!! it was muddy, slippery, you name it....... but when the rain went away.......... the light was devine !!!!!

and i pulled my 70-200  f 2.8 out of hibernation ....... i know i know........ i'm sure most of you photographers will be saying....what !! why dont you use it all the time??? well i dont know........ its  heavy !!! and i was put off using it after doing weddings with it.......... but i had such fun with it on this session, i think it might just make an appearance more often..............

did i say giggles   ????? 

oh and the umbrella blew inside out a few times too !!!! 

Happy birthday to my lovely chrissie xoxoxo 

i hope you had a great time, and love how beeeautiful you look !!! ( and your gorgeous friend polly too ! ) 

big hugs 

aunty sam 

xoxoxoxoxo

just pure cuteness..............

Its always a huge compliment, if not the hugest !! compliment, when families come back for more...... and thats what this one was...... and i am so happy they did ! i photographed this gorgeous big boy when he was just 6 months old.................... so seeing him again, almost a year later,  with his cousins, was lovely .
i had such fun photographing these monkeys,  they gave me plenty of variety , thats for sure........ we were out , we were in .....and with a beautiful house as our backdrop, i was in heaven.
there is just something simply beautiful about dark floors and white walls..... so striking and simple, and as you can see, look awesome in b&w !
all wrapped up warm, we ventured outside for a wee play on the 'neighborhood swing' ....

it was one of those perfectly overcast days...............  the colours really popped !!

as you will see, inside, i got rather carried away ----- there was just cute little faces everywhere i looked !!!

crisp , simple, glorious b&w........... yep, i am a fan ......
look at their special little brother and sister moment ..... it melted me while i was editing these....there are lots of these !!!

trying to get the three cousins together in one shot.....hhhmmmm well....... we got some ...... kind of ....LOL

but hey, its them being them............. and who would want to change that !!!!

hehee
cute little darlings !!!

such a pleasure ........... thank you so much libby and mel,   i hope you enjoy your sneak peeks......

xoxo
sam

a little bit vintage ..........

Everything i love ........... tea parties, vintage china, cakes.......... and a cute family to boot !!!
it was such a pleasure to do a session with these lovelies,  we have such similar taste........
starting off in the park......... a cute little tea party........ well....... a cake party...... and i tell you , those cakes didnt last long at all !! hehehe..... for a little lady ,she had a great appetite that morning .... i had to snap the cake shots fast......
what a picture of cuteness, she had me in stitches!  and kept making get-a-ways.....

after the 'feast' we had some mummy and daddy cuddles too...... and although we were interrupted with the 'sugar strops' ( aka, sugar mood swing ) ....... this little darling , and her gorgeous parents, did so well....... and we had a wee play before heading to the car...........

back at their home, we had some very special playtime on mummy and daddy's bed...... did some reading ........ some bouncing, and most importantly had some cuddles xoxoxo ......
i adore the colours and pattern of the duvet !!
the whole house has so many cool little design aspects.......... and this gorgeous mummy is not only a pretty face, but has her own blog too .....if you are into renovations and interior design ..... follow http://destitutedesigner.blogspot.com/   to watch the progress ......... so inspiring !!

i hope you enjoy your little sneak peeks, nat and nick..... it was such a pleasure .

( gallery up v.soon  xx)

enjoy
xoxox
sam

why choose me over the run-of-the-mill photographer ?

Custom Photography as something "special"

Custom photography is more of a luxury than your entry level cookie cutter chain experience.  Custom photography truly is not for everyone, it requires a level of commitment, investment in time  and money, forethought and planning on the part of the subject/client and requires a larger time commitment for the photographer as well.

Clients who enjoy taking a more active role in the creation of their families’ memories have the desire to have portrait art that is truly personalized.  These more discerning clients have been known to budget and allot time for a custom photography session.  Many clients opt for it to be a once a year special experience, some opt to have custom photography sessions done to record their child's stages in life.  Having said this, it is clear that custom photography is not in everyone’s budget,  it is something that most families save for to splurge on from time to time to memorialize their children as they really are  (not posed and primped in the cookie cutter studio setting). 

There is a great deal of time involved in creating high end custom photography sessions for a client.  The luxury of great service, better choices and a supberb end product.  The result of all this are heirloom quality images.  The time invested at the session is only a small portion of time involved in this process.

Custom photography has been likened to purchasing a fine vehicle.  To get to point B from A let's face it, even a bus ride would suffice.  If you want to luxuriate in a finely appointed vehicle, customizing your own experience by listening to smooth jazz while sitting in a climate controlled setting adjusted purely for your comfort in a body hugging leather interior, perhaps that Lexus you so desire is your cup of tea.  Custom photography is much the same cup of tea.  It is the Lexus of the photography world.  It is where the intangibles make the experience truly wonderful and the images themselves make the investment of money and time truly worthwhile.   

Custom photography can be broken down into even more levels.  There are on location, studio, mixed studio/on location, specialty location and destination type photographers.  The beauty of custom photography is in the choices and in the luxury of thoses options.  The customized service level you are sure to experience will be amazing.  The knowledge that your final images are the result of someone caring about those moments so much that they take extra time ensuring that the artwork you receive is good enough to stand by with their name on it.  That level of quality and commitment  is all but lost in the age of "mass produced," "mass marketed," corporate "everyone is a number".  Custom photography is based on being unique to you.  How great an experience would be,  to be able to sit back and allow a photographer to do this highly custom work for images that you will most likely cherish for a lifetime?

Keep in mind more than anything that the Lexus will never appreciate in value the way your portraits will.  The portrait art you become invested in from your custom photographer will no doubt increase in value and become more priceless as the years pass.

................................................................................................................................................................

This fabulously worded article is from the website link below , written by Marianne Drenth of Marmalade Photography ( USA ) and is definitely worth a read, whether you are a photographer, or looking for a photographer, it gives a great , realistic view , on what you , as a client can look for, and why - WHY - you would save your pretty pennies to choose someone like me over the likes of pixi foto...or one of the others who stick you on a backdrop and say 'smile' ..... ( trust me , there are alot !!) .... this is why i am more expensive - because we plan, we customise the shoot FOR YOU !!! i can vouch for alot of photographers , i am sure, when i say this - before the shoot, i plan , with an idea of what look we want to achieve ( because we have spoken of what you would like ) ..... , there is planning done on my part, and ofcourse the amount of brain activity on the day is unbelievable, i dont just stand around and take pretty pictures.......its all done with precision , and talent and ok, the odd fluke ...hehe............ and then the hours spent editing your images afterwards..... its not a 5 minute job...........   that is why you choose someone like me, someone who makes it special to you and can capture photos of your special family moments, or the kids being themselves, and have spent the time to talk and play with them............. 

http://www.professionalchildphotographer.com/information/?page_id=18

i just felt completely inspired and got a good kick up the bum after reading this and other related articles........ and i felt it was worth sharing -  pricing is such a hard thing for alot , if not all , photographers............ and if you as a photographer were second guessing yourself............ this article will help !  and if you are client reading this, then it will also help you aswell............. 

On a side note- i have decided to wait until i have my studio up and finished, ( in a few months ) ....so i can have the M.O.M workshops here ...... i think it will definitely work out better that way, and people can then pay per person, and show up ...rather than trying to organise others to have it at their house ......... so WATCH THIS SPACE  !!   :)

ramble over , for now.................................

xx

s

toy boxes, trampolines and a newborn....

This session was special, as it was for the winner of a giveaway i did with the coffeegroup.org site at the start of the year............ and its always exciting to be able to go and do this for some one who has ''won'' it...... its like giving them a special present..... i like it alot....hehe
this session was hilarious..........4 cherubs in total ( from two families ) .....and  as always i allow time for the kids to get used to me....... and i am totally on their time...... seen as its all about them................ these guys had me in fits........ and while one turned it on...the other turned it off............ hehe...... just to start with anyway........................ he soon warmed to me .............
as for the babies............... super easy little bubs......... although the precious little newbie, didnt feel like posing for us , and was far from settling...... but i still got a few shots for his mummy   :)

best to start where they are the most relaxed and their favourite place............ outside..... toy cars, and ofcourse, the trampoline ..........

hehehe..... and then there is  the toy box................ enough said really..........................

and last but certainly not least........... some bubba goodness.......................cluck cluck.......

i hope you enjoy your sneak peeks ladies................ it was such a pleasure meeting you , and getting to hang out and play with your little monkeys.........

enjoy
xx
sam