I love something that’s “uncool” and I think you should too.

by Lilypad | Mar 9, 2016 | Families, Kids & Portraits, News, Photography Basics

I love something that’s “uncool” and I think you should too.

Ok, so I’ve never been accused of being super cool, and back in the 80’s my name was more likely associated with being a “dag” (if your not from Oz, that’s slang for someone who don’t have a neat, tidy or cultured appearance), than someone who’s chic and on trend, but I sure wasn’t drawing attention to it. Now that I’m a more “mature” young lady, I’m not worried about being cool anymore and actually enthusiastically embrace the uncool – if I love it. So that’s where todays confession comes in.

I love selfies.

Love them. I take them all the time. There I said it, it’s out there.

AND – I think we should embrace the selfie.

Now I hear you say, that just makes you vein, not uncool. Not true. I have a good reason to love selfies, and it’s not what you might think. I want to exist in my families history. I don’t want to always be the one behind the camera and I really want to have as many shots with my kids than of my kids.

Like most families, my Mum was always the one with a camera in her hands, snapping photos of my sister, brother, and me as we grew up. First smiles. First steps. First birthdays. First days at school. Mum and her camera were always there, capturing the delightful humdrum of daily life in addition to special milestones. She was always behind the camera and rarely in front.

When I was 24, my Mum unexpectedly passed away. And while there are a few shot’s of Mum through the years, the shots of us together are rare. You see Mum valued photo’s of us, we valued photo’s of her, and with her. I didn’t get married until four years after she died, so I don’t even having the classic wedding photo with Mum my sister has. I can’t go back and change that with my Mum, but I can for my kids.

So I’m going to lead the charge for the family selfie, starting today! By all means take that shot at assembly with your little one and their certificate, then turn that camera around and get in that shot too, capture the joy in both your faces. I particularly love selfies over always giving someone the camera to take (which we should also do more often) because I get the most hilarious faces from my kids. They find a selfie loads more fun than posing for someone else. The selfies with my two have such personality, humour and warmth. And Love. Oodles of Love. What’s not to love!

I’ll leave you with some of my favourite selfies of the past few years. Most of these, if not all are simple phone or point & shoot shots. Not technically perfect, but perfect to me.

Take your best first day of school photo’s ever!

by Lilypad | Jan 31, 2016 | Behind the scenes, Families, Kids & Portraits, Photography Basics

Take your best first day of school photo’s ever!

It’s that time of year again! Is your little one heading back to school or starting school for the first time? There’s little doubt this is one of the most photographed moments of the year. Follow our five quick tips to make sure this year you capture your best back to school photos yet!

1 – Be prepared! That first day back can be crazy, but it’s also be the one day of the year when we are organised well ahead of time. If you’re like me, as the year (um, week) goes on, my level of prep the day before goes out the window. Harness that early enthusiasm and make sure the night before you iron the uniforms (hey I only iron uniforms on the first day of school and school photo day), lay out the socks, hair ties and accessories as well make sure the bag is packed ready to go. Plan to have everyone dressed and sorted with 15 minutes spare to take some photos – rushed kids make bad models.

2 – Find the right light – Read our post on finding the best light to photograph your little one. We haven’t moved house with kids yet, so I like to use the same place every year – it builds a great story as the years pass. 3 – Capture some details – Don’t just photograph the front on smiling shot, have them load up the bag and turn sideways. That giant bag on little people is something to remember. Missing teeth or braces? Capture that for sure! New black shoes for the first time, get those tiny feet. 5 – Include a few with the really little ones – Have a few that include all the kids, even those not yet at school, it’s all part of the story. 4 – Get yourself in a shot – Don’t be missing from the family history, make sure you’re in one of the photos too. You’re a big part of your family story. Happy first day of school everyone! Here’s to as few tears as possible, from both the little ones and Mum. My “baby” is moving from the early childhood classes into year 1 this year – there’s a good chance of a few sniffles from me. Lisa

The easy guide to gorgeous christmas card portraits

by Lilypad | Dec 14, 2015 | Behind the scenes, Families, Kids & Portraits, Holidays, Photography Basics

The easy guide to gorgeous christmas card portraits

Every year, I love “subjecting” my kids to a christmas card portrait, I’m pretty sure it’s the highlight of their year as well ;). Now I’ll be honest, as a portrait photographer – the few months that lead up to Christmas are my busiest months of the year, so unless I actually manage to get organised in September (um nope) it’s normally a mad dash at the last minute with bribes a plenty ensuring the kids cooperate. This year was of course no different 🙂 Inspiration came from a $5 set of battery operated twinkle lights. Add in a few hanging glass terrariums (both super cheap at Kmart) and the idea was born – have the kids hold the glowing glass lanterns out like they were out searching for some christmas magic. Simple. Actually it really was!

I wanted it to be darkish so the lanterns would glow nicely, so I waited until just before sunset before shooting. The location I chose was our backyard – and the little passage behind the studio (kinda like a back shed) was perfect. I simply had the kids stand at the very edge of the passage (right where the pink x is). There’s lovely soft light falling on their faces but the back ground was dark and moody. Just what I had in mind.

Now the fun part – the kids were suitably motivated with their bribes to wear the clothes I suggested and to “mostly” do what I wanted in the shoot. Here’s what I also do to help it all go smoothly.

Let them choose an element of the session. Kids like to feel in control of something, so by choosing two hat options I was happy with and allowing them to select their favourite the wardrobe choices went (almost) unnoticed. Santa hats it was (elf ears were the other option).
Don’t have a really rigid plan in mind, have a good idea but don’t be too fixated on it. They might not be able to achieve exactly what you imagine and you’ll end up getting frustrated and angry – and then it all gets messy and any co-operation goes out the window. Let them be themselves. Plan, but be flexible.

During these shoots I always take a few on their own as well as together, I keep these shots for our album. The image together goes on our christmas cards and tags. I buy plain kraft tags and simply glue the photo on. One more thing to remember with composition. I’ve left a fair amount of space to the top and right of the main shot – I like this – but I also knew I’d be putting a christmas message over the photo without covering anything important. I’m pretty happy with this years shot.

While the kids were still having fun I had them pose in the back of the garden as well – which one do you prefer?

A Mum’s guide to buying your first DSLR

by Lilypad | Dec 13, 2015 | Featured, Gear guides & reviews, Photography Basics

A Mum’s guide to buying your first DSLR

Christmas is coming and you’re thinking of finally splashing out on a fancy camera. You start looking around online, looking in a few shops and it doesn’t take long to realise there are more cameras to choose from than dishes at your local Chinese! How on earth do you narrow it down to the right one for you? Well, I can’t help you with choosing your dinner (I normally just want it all) but I can when it comes to choosing your camera.

Here’s my top 4 things to consider when buying your first DSLR camera.

1 – Do you really want a DSLR?

A DSLR is a “big fancy” camera with interchangeable lenses. It’s what the pros use and will give you the best quality results. BUT – to get those results you have to know how to use it. If you buy a DSLR and never take it off Auto, you’re better off buying a smaller, more compact point & shoot. Your images won’t end up looking that much better, and you’ll just need a bigger bag to carry it all. If you’re happy to spend a little time learning all about your camera (I can help you there) and are maybe even looking forward to getting a little creative, then go for it! You won’t regret it!

Remember though – a DSLR is not going to magically fix your photos on it’s own. It’s going to be a team effort between you and the camera 🙂

2 – Price

Entry level DSLR’s are relatively inexpensive these days. If you’re not sure how much you’ll use it, these are a great option. If you’ve always looked longingly at gorgeous photos and wished you could do it to, and are serious about documenting your family, then perhaps consider a midrange camera and putting in a little bit more.

3 – Features

All camera’s have loads of features and when moving to a DSLR it can be hard to see the woods for the trees! So what’s important? Well, the first thing you can forget about is Megapixels. It just doesn’t matter, any DSLR these days will have enough for your needs, so don’t even worry about this one. Other feature that also used to matter a lot, aren’t such a big deal anymore either – even entry level cameras have decent ISO performance (this is how sensitive the camera is to light) Video (if video floats your boat) and other things like shutter speeds, file types etc. Sure, the better the model the better all these things will be, but entry level cameras are pretty good these days.

So what counts then? Well, it’s the handling, slightly improved sensors (picture quality) and durability that counts. Entry level DLSR have controls that make it hard to work in full manual, without dedicated shutter and aperture controls you have to go through menus which can make it harder to work when your kids are running around – so 95% of the day. The quality of the body itself gets sturdier as you go up.

How does it feel in your hands: The two main players in the field are canon and nikon. While I shoot with canon there is no right answer here. If you can, go to the shop and pick up the models you’re looking at, play with the dials and see which one feels right in your hands.

4- Accessories

Here’s the thing about DSLR’s. The camera body is just one half of the picture. The lens is the other. The “kit” lenses that come with your camera are going to be OK for getting starting and learning the ropes. For the biggest leap in your photography quality you’ll want to start getting some good glass. The best bang for your buck and a lens I’d strongly recommend you try to stretch the budget and include a nifty fifty in your initial purchase. You can read all about that lens here.

So there you have it. Do you have any specific questions? Seen a great deal you’d love to share? – Comment below and let us know or just ask!

Behind the Scenes take a gorgeous photo of your kids at the beach

by Lilypad | Dec 3, 2015 | Behind the scenes, Families, Kids & Portraits, Photography Basics

Behind the Scenes take a gorgeous photo of your kids at the beach

Perfect for summer, the first image I want to share and deconstruct for you is this gorgeous shot of a brother and sister playing on the beach.

Time of Day & Location notes

Taken just a few minutes before sunset – the sun had gone behind a cloud giving the image a lovely soft look.

Setting the scene

Setting the scene for this shot was pretty simple, what child doesn’t want to build a sand castle! These shots are perfect for when little ones just don’t feel like smiling or looking towards the camera. I simply suggest we take five and go build a sand castle – the key tip here is that I normally start the building so they are in just the right spot.

The tech stuff

I used the wide end of my EF24-70mm f2.8L II lens at 24mm. This wide angle gives the soft curve to the horizon and really places the kids in the scene. 1/640 at f4.5, ISO 640.