Beck and Chris have been long time friends of ours. I used to work with Beck at Channel Ten back when I was a video editor working with her on kids shows like Totally Wild.

Flash forward ten years and here we are, both with young families and both in wildly different careers, neither of us working in TV any longer.

When they arrived for this photoshoot, one of the first things they said at the studio was "Oh wow, look at all the jacarandas! Little Olivia has been obsessed with them and we are so excited to have them in our family photos!"

You see Beck, Chris and kids Olivia and Daniel were visiting from Texas, where jacarandas are... well I was going to say "rare" but I think the more correct term would be "non-existent". So the kids had never seen them before, and so you could safely say they were spellbound by the beautiful purple blooms.

So with the "lots of jacarandas please" brief in mind, we headed out to the studio gardens for their family shoot.

One of the wonderful things about our studio gardens is that there is always something in blossom, and along with the jacarandas there are other purple flowers in bloom at the same time. (Don't ask me what they are, I'm much more a foodie than a green thumb.) Our largest jacaranda tree drops a thick blanket of purple to the ground each season, while other smaller trees have low hanging branches to touch and play with. We have around six on the property and loads more on our street.

After spending time with the large tree at the top of the hill, we headed down to the grassy flat at the front of the property where more lovely low hanging trees create gorgeous archways, and then headed through to the street, another spot loaded with more jacarandas!

The kids were very active, so they loved walking around the yard and running to each of their parents for snuggles.

Little Daniel was so excited about the exploration play that we had nearly finished the shoot before I realised I had yet to capture some sneaky smiles from him!

I just love how much this gorgeous family love each other and I had so much fun capturing their genuine delight at simply being with each other, marvelling at the purple flowers of the Brisbane springtime.

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Baby Wesley is super lucky to have two awesome big siblings to help take care of him. Big sister Kenzi is so doting and sweet, relishing every chance she gets to give him a snuggle.

Big brother Harvey is so tender and gentle with him as well, although I suspect he is hanging out for little Wes to get big enough to play with a little more.

As we had also captured a maternity session for the family, we created a unique before and after image where it looks like Sam turns around and Wes goes from bump to baby as you read across the image. I just love how this turned out!

The family brought along a beautiful blanket to incorporate into the session, which is something I love as it makes for such personal and more sentimental pictures, the newest generation of the family relaxed and peaceful on something that links to their heritage.

Little Wesley was such a little snoozer that he made it through the entire sleepy pose set on the beanbag. He is now a studio star as this gorgeous set is hung in my studio showcasing the poses we do on the beanbag.

Since it was just before Christmas, I love to create a themed image for families in the studio around this time. With the magic of photoshop I can use pre-made digital backgrounds and simply add in the baby photo to personalise it. Creating images like this is quick and easy in the studio during the session, most of the work is done before or after the session.

There was one other special guest in the studio for this newborn photoshoot - Wes' Grandma. I always love to include generational images when families are present because these are the images that will mean the most to families over time.

We finished the day with a "new twist on an old favourite" image, Wesley nestled into his parents hands with his siblings hands supporting him as well.

A symbolic image of the power of the family unit and how everyone works together to support and lift each other.

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Do you love having a sticky beak?

Me too! There is something really fun about being nosey and seeing just what do people lug about with them all day long.

So I thought why not show you all the stuff I lug about with me on a photoshoot. So here it is - everything that I bring to a session and whats in my camera bag.

Camera Bag: 3 Annies Australia Camera Bag

I love this bag because it holds all my stacks of lenses and they are easily accessible during the shoots. Its also pretty and has loads of external and internal pockets to keep everything in it's place!

Camera Body: Canon 5d Mkiii

Favourite Lens: Canon 35mm 1.4

The rest of the camera crew:

Canon 50mm 1.4

Canon 85mm 1.8

Canon 100mm 2.8 macro/portrait

Canon 200mm 2.8mm L Series

Canon EX420 flash

Spare battery

Nemo

Lollipops (if I haven't given them all away!)

Mini flash diffuser

Batteries for flash

Spare memory cards

Business cards

Hand sanitiser

Location shoot bag

I also bring along another bag to parks and beaches loaded with other outdoor necessities! It is bright red so we cant lose it and lugs about all of this:

Water bottles for you!

Tissues

Baby wipes

Hairspray

Bug spray

Stingoes

Bandaids

Hairpins

Reflector/scrim shade

Blankets

Umbrella

Rattles

Water bottle for me

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Now you may have noticed Nemo. He is a little something special I have in my kit. He sits on top of my camera and gives out little lollies to well behaved kids when he gets their best smiles! I did have to file down the little foot hold to fit him in my flash hot spot, but as I rarely use my flash it works great for me!

So there you have it, all my favourite things to work with!

I love shooting with prime lenses (this means they don't zoom) as I find it makes me focus on framing the image by moving my body and these particular lenses create a beautiful background blur (called "bokeh") which makes the subject really pop out from the background.

I do bring a few treats for little ones to my sessions, but I usually try to keep these to the end of the shoot when possible.

To find out more about what happens in a photo session,

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When two ultra sweet little girl and their loving parents and Nanny jump out of the car, I know instantly this was going to be a fun day.

We had arranged a studio session with indoor and outdoor photos in our private studio gardens and it was a stunning day for it.

Starting off in the indoor studio we quickly ran through a family set of everyone, then single portraits of the girls and of course a sibling photo.

While 3 year old Eva was all smiles and giggles, little Chloe was slowing taking everything in around her. Chloe found one of my pram props and loved it, so we brought it into the studio and created a super cute sister photo thats about as sweet and girly as they are.

This session was to be weighted a little more towards photos of Chloe for her first birthday, so since she wasn't feeling her groove so much indoors, we quickly made our way outside and just like that she was in her element!

The first stop was the Fairy Steps, a lovely shady spot literally at the door of my studio and a personal favourite spot to photograph any time of the day.

We slowly ventured around the gardens, stopping at a few other locations along the way where I have some custom-made outdoor props such as this extra wide (and very low) swing to hold up to three siblings at once. The kids always love this swing when they see it because it looks so big and easy to get onto!

We finished the shoot in another of my favourite spots, just at the bottom of the fairy steps (also handy for getting back to the studio!) where the girls sat on a blanket in the summer breeze, picking up flowers and leaves and watching the butterflies float around them.

There is just enough room to fit a group photo in this spot too, and we were glad we did because it was the favourite group photo of the day, and you can see why!

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Meet Lydia.

A 17 year old, 2 metre long, 10 kilo rainbow water serpent, raised from hatching by licensed reptile handler and herpetologist, Tash. #greatname

Lydia is big sister to a new baby brother Will.

It was during Wills newborn session that I first learnt about Lydia and my creative senses started tingling - big time! So when this family got in touch to schedule Wills sitter session, I said "You must bring Lydia!"

Now, before we get too far into this session share, I feel the need to be ULTRA clear that for Wills safety (and Lydias) they were never within a metre of each other in my studio.

These images are called composite images, meaning two images merged together to create one new image.

Here is an example of how all images of Lydia and Will were stitched together in photoshop:

Did you notice the cute little wildlife carer khaki overalls that Wills' mum had made for him just for this photo? Take a minute to recover from that cuteness right there.

My own daughter is ultra excited about snakes. She loves a reptile. So when she found out that Lydia was coming to the studio, she wanted to hang around (for the first time ever) and meet her.

Sophie is a tough nut, she's not much of a smiler in photos. Its called photographer's child syndrome and she has a very severe case. So this photo has a bit of a Mona Lisa smile to it. At first glance she is cool and defiant, but look at her eyes and you will see an excitement and electricity that gives away just how thrilled she really is in this moment.

With Sophie's dream-come-true snake-cuddle out of the way, my family were ushered out of the house so that we could focus once again on the gorgeous family that had come to the studio today.

Lydia had her own closeup photos, then we laid her on the ground to capture some images to merge with Will's newborn session. Thats one of the fun things with digital photography, we can take images captured six months ago and merge them into an image captured today to create a new portrait like this:

It was time for Lydia to go back into her sleeping bag while we demolished the set and moved onto a normal session flow.

Since this was an update, milestone session for Will, we documented his new skills such as sitting, smiling and playing with his feet. So many cute moments!

Just as they were leaving we realised that Tash should really have a photo with her pet of 17 years, so Lydia was back out of the bag again for one last set of portraits before it was time to head home.

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Evie, I love you.

From your big blue eyes always brimming with smiles to your little soft hands that you love to clap, it is always such a treat to be around you.

It has been a year since we first met. You, a tiny little bub that had arrived early and still so tiny by the time you arrived in my studio, and me, blissfully unaware of how much you and your family were going to mean to me.

It's the first time I have cried with a family in my studio, seeing your mum so emotional with love for you, and I instantly had to hug her. I think we have all been friends since that hug.

So flashfoward a year, and that tiny little newborn is suddenly a bouncing giggling bub with a spark very much still in her eye. Sweet cooing gurgles, claps and smiles and... oh gosh I miss you!

Your dad loved the little dinosaur outfit on you, and as you were crawling around the studio I could totally see why!

For the first time in all our sessions your parents were part of the shoot as well, which is a big deal for me. You have such a gorgeous loving family and their love just radiates out of these images!

I always encourage parents to be part of the photoshoot. Even if they don't print those photos, they will become some of the most important images in their child's life. As a mum who takes all the photos in my family, I know how rare it is to be in a photo with my own kids, but how much I love seeing photos with my own mum when I was a baby. You parents are taking photos to look at you but I know you will love looking at these photos of your parents in the future.

One of the best things about photographing milestone sessions with families is that we can create special time lapse images like this one from your newborn, sitter and first birthday sessions. I love how by using the same prop each time we can really see how big you've grown!

I look forward to seeing your beautiful family for another update shoot in the future!

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I love photographing babies of all ages and stages, but particularly babies who are so super cute like 4 month old Elliot and his big brother William!

This gorgeous family were the lucky recipients of a gift certificate, and what a truly amazing gift! From work colleagues to family units, international friends or grandparents who dont know what to gift at a baby shower, a photography experience with included photos has to be one of the most touching gifts of all. Memories that you and your family can look back on forever, its much better than a bottle warmer, trust me. More about photography gift certificates here.

Hosting a family session in the studio usually means an indoor photoshoot, but at our studio we have

We started with a simple family set inside, the boys loving getting close and snuggly on the white rug! Little Elliot can't quite sit up on his own just yet at four months old, so big brother William helped him out, and gosh these boys are so sweet!

We captured some beautiful images with the white and cream tones.

Then for a change of pace we popped just outside the studio to one of my favourite spots to photograph any time of day, the stone steps. We have specifically grown the hibiscus and "other-purple-flowering-plant" together to create the lovely shaded archway just perfect for framing family units and super cute kids photos. There are always butterflies around this spot in summer as well, they love all the flowers!

The boys were such great models and have such a loving relationship with their doting parents, it was such a wonderful morning to spend with this gorgeous family!

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Toby was such a delight to capture newborn photos of, his incredible chubby cheeks and soft squishiness had me in a whirl the whole session!

This was technically his second trip to the studio as we had photographed his parents a few weeks earlier at their maternity session.

One of the wonderful things about photographing maternity and newborn sessions for families is creating a special "before and after" image. I love images like this that sort of merge time into one image.

So when Toby came back to the studio it was a lovely relaxed session picking up right where we had left off just weeks before.

We started the session with beautiful family photos, this silhouette family image always really popular, and you can see why:

Next we moved on to Toby's single portraits. I photograph most of newborn sessions with baby wrapped up tightly, I find it makes for a smoother and quicker session. You can almost count on the moment we unwrap the baby that they will unsettle and take some time to re-settle again. This would be one of my biggest tips for new parents. babies love being snuggled!

His parents had brought a beautiful white circular blanket that had been hand knitted just for Toby and so of course I created an image with the beautiful lacy knit blanket a lovely frame around him.

With Christmas just around the corner we also included a couple of Christmasy themed photos too. While this image was done in camera, these sort of images are really easy to include into a session as the bulk of the work can be done outside of the session, the intricate setups captured at a different time and the two images stitched together in photoshop. Its called composite editing and is really useful to save time or to keep babies safety paramount if a photo is too dangerous to create in camera.

Toby looked gorgeous with the navy blue and grey tones so of course we included a set of those colours before moving on to the final images - the unwrapped sleeping ones.

Toby rocked the whole workflow like a star and before we knew it we were all done!

I snuck one last snuggle in before he was secured in his carseat for the ride home.

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I love this lot. Having photographed them since Jasmine's first birthday and every year since, this is a family that feels more like friends.

I love seeing the kids grow up and change, and Jasmine remembers things from our past photoshoots like the daisy chain headband we used one year. She loves looking through the albums we have created over the years and seeing her family growing and changing.

The last time we caught up was when Jordan turned one last year. So now he is one and a half and as any parent of toddlers knows, this is such a fun age.

Fun for the toddler that is, less so for everyone else!

I love to capture a mix of images that are formal, looking to the camera style and candid, have a bit of fun.

Since the kids usually run out of focus early on, we tick off that formal photo pretty quickly, and these kids did a stellar job of it.

This session is all held in our studio gardens and that formal photo is literally outside the studio door.

The boys quickly noticed my old rusty trike and wanted to play, which was a great way to get them to stay still for a minute (almost). Jasmine held a basket of flowers for a really sweet photo of her own.

We headed a bit deeper into the gardens and piled the kids onto some of my favourite stone steps for the first sibling photo, and it was a cracker!

The golden light in the afternoons is just perfect in the studio gardens and so we made the most of it for the rest of the session, with gorgeous snuggly photos of each child with their mum and dad.

The kids were getting very excited about playing on the swings in the garden and I thought what a great wide photo this would make with the beautiful jacaranda tree in bloom above. Jasmine loved swinging, Josh was on the trapeze and Jordan was happily munching down on some afternoon tea, and I love that this is such an "in-the-moment" image and yet still very beautiful.

With the kids energy ramping up we shot down the hill to the grassy lawn at the front of the property and let everyone run riot. Jordan loved swinging in between his parents, and we even got another one of those "formal" photos right at the end of the shoot which is almost unheard of.

As Jasmine tottered back up the hill to the studio, the boys were collected up in fire-mans hold by their dad, squealing and giggling all the way home.

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We got Noah's newborn photo shoot underway with a sweet wooden bed setup, bringing in big sister Hannah for some smiles and snuggles as well.

A couple of years ago I met this family when little Hannah was born. She was an adorable little baby, so it was no surprise to meet her again as a big sister and find out that she has grown to be a totally adorable little girl!

So cheeky and always ready with a little kiss for her baby brother, she's one gorgeous big sister!

Family photos are such an important part of a newborn photoshoot. Baby photos are super cute, but the relationship that parents have with their children changes constantly and documenting the very early days of being a family unit, when your newborn fits just in your hands or your toddler still has chubby wrists, these are the moments that pass by so quickly and yet are so precious.

These kids have one of the cheekiest sibling photos I have ever captured, both smiling and poking their tongues out at the same time. Its dangerously cute so view at your own discretion. You have been warned.

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With family and sibling photos finished we moved onto Noah's single portraits.

I love this image of Noah in his Dad's hands, its such a stunning example of how someone so small can take up such a large space in your heart. And of how quickly babies grow, Noah will never fit in this space again.

The theme of the day was soft tones, so soft greys and soft neutrals were the pick of the prop collection.

We finished the session with cute little brown overalls and took my signature image of Noahs feet in his mums hands, shaped like a love heart.

It was such a divine morning spent with this family and I can't wait to see them back for Noah's sitter session in a few short months!

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As I drove onto the family property for this photo shoot I was instantly in love with the space, the trees, the light, everything about this beautiful acreage in North Brisbane.

I was greeted with smiles and hugs from gift certificate recipients John and Lynette. They received this photoshoot as a Christmas gift this time last year and had saved up the session until just the right time.

With their extended family all over for the afternoon, there was quite a crew to photograph! It was so fun with the young kids running around the massive "back yard", chasing each other and their parents.

As I was photographing smaller family groups, a gorgeous big cane chair was brought out and the second I saw it I knew it was going to feature in some photos as well.

To wind the older kids up a bit, the parents suggested a "peeking out from behind the tree" photo which the kids all went along with, and while it is pretty funny and corny, I reckon its also a great photo because of the memories that go with it. The parents behind me joking with the teens, the young boys scared to touch the tree because it was so rough, the older kids a little indignant but going along with it. But there they are, peeking out with smiles like its a totally normal thing to do and not at all awkward. Love it!

John and one of his sons have a joint enthusiasm for their cars, so of course the extra "family members" had a moment in the spotlight as well.

To finish the session we piled everyone onto a farm gate on the edge of the property. Those on the other side of the gate were a little cautious of "the mean ponies" that live in that field, although they must have been on the other side of the paddock at this point because they were nowhere to be seen for the photos.

John and Lynette were such an inspiration to be around, their gorgeous family full of jokes and jibes, everyone always smiling. The couple also snuggled up together so easily, a lifetime of friendship between them.

I can only hope to have a photoshoot with my husband, children and grandchildren like this one day.

Contact Natarsha to schedule your family photos here

Did you know I offer a free maternity session when you book a newborn session? Yeah, neither did Jess when she first got in touch.

They were going to take some photos themselves at home, but when she saw my two-for-one package she was so excited!

The only catch with the free session is that it has to be held at the studio, which isn't really much of a catch since my studio has an indoor and outdoor space to work in. You would never know these were "studio" maternity photos!

There are many reasons I like to offer the free maternity session. It's a great chance for us to get to know each other, for you to feel out the studio space so you know where you are coming on the day of the newborn photos. The photoshoot is often one of the first outings for a new family and coming back somewhere familiar makes the trip that much less stressful than if it were all new.

So when the family returned with little Jimmy a few weeks later, Ruby was straight into the playroom where she remembered all the toys living!

For more informal family photos we used my fake bed set! Isn't it cool?

They even brought the dogs in so it felt like a true family moment snuggled together cooing over the new baby. To be honest, most of the time the pups weren't really that interested in Jimmy or the photoshoot, but they managed a quick moment or two where they did look interested and that was all we needed for the full family photo!

Jimmy's dad works on plane engines so they had brought along a wooden plane to incorporate into a photo. I had a fun idea to make it look like Jimmy was dreaming of the plane flying around the room, which took many takes to create but made for a fun composite image for the family!

Another themed photo we did for his Dad was a football one, which unfortunately was just after the very tense 2018 final that Collingwood fans do not like to speak of. I'm sure it won't be long before Jimmy and his dad are cheering the team on together!

My little pink pram got a run in this session also, although for Jimmy I changed the colour to blue! It was such a lovely image of Ruby in her pretty flower headpiece pushing new new baby brother.

In fact, there were so many gorgeous photos of these two, which I love because these are the images that document the start of a lifelong friendship.

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It is always such a special surprise when a family I have photographed in the past gets in touch to schedule a newborn photo shoot! This family in particular is one I remember so well as Imogen and her little brother Hamish were so cute last time around!

There is a term we sometimes use in family photographer circles - "Unicorn Children" - these are children that are happy to be at the photoshoot, happy to go along with anything you suggest, will hold a pose for you and even smile with their eyes! #neversaycheese

Imogen, Hamish and Genevieve are all Unicorn Children.

So when they turned up with their newest baby sister Genevieve it was cuteness to the power of three! Just check this sibling photo out, these kids could not be any more perfect!

The kids also loved giving their new little sister some special cuddles and kisses when she was laying on the beanbag.

Capturing these beautiful connections, the very beginning of a lifetime of friendship, is such a special thing to be able to do for families.

These family photos are also just divine. Last time around, we did black and white images so this time we did colour photos on a lovely grey background. The boys holding up the grey side and the girls all bringing a pop of pink!

Part of my standard workflow these days is to include digital backdrops to create fresh images without the time it takes to design in studio on the day. Here is one of my most popular photos - the pink posie!

And here is another example of a digitally created image with the beanbag she's laying on shaped into a sweet little heart.

It was such a wonderful morning in the studio with this gorgeous family and I can bet these photos will be cherished for a lifetime and more.

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One of the unique things about the studio is that we have these beautiful, colourful private gardens right on site. Literally this photo is taken as I am standing almost inside the studio looking out to the group.

After I scheduled this gorgeous family photography session for our studio gardens, I had an email come through from one of the members asking if their little fur baby could be included.

I figured since the other sibling had their special baby included, why not include puppy Charlie as well? And gosh it made for some fun!

A short step away is the "fairy garden steps" as my children call them - beautiful natural stone steps that lead down to the front lawns. I love this spot particularly for black and white images with the lush hibiscus framing the family.

We have quite an eclectic mix of plants on the grounds and since the jacarandas had just started blooming it was only natural to incorporate those into the gallery also.

Wandering back through the garden we stopped at a few different spots along the way, playing with the different light falling through the trees as we went. Some glowing golden images and some soft warm images, but all just divine!

When we reached the lawn at the front of the gardens I sent the family for a walking photo, and they decided to do one without Charlie.

But it seems that nobody told Charlie and so it happened that I captured quite a funny outtake as he rushed back into shot!

Little Ellie had a moment on her own and this time, with some help from her Dad (because Dads always get the best smiles) we captured some very sweet little giggles from her.

To finish the day I brought the family back to the studio where they enjoyed refreshments while I prepared their big screen viewing of the photos. We had a great time looking through the gallery right away and designing three beautiful framed pictures for their walls.

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One of the best things about sitter sessions is the SMILES!!

Declan came fully loaded to this one, it was adorable!

Declan and his family returned to the studio for his sitter session and my gosh he has grown a lot since I last saw him as a sweet little newborn! It was only a few months ago, and boom, before you know it the tiny little man has grown into a giggling, wriggling baby boy, full of enthusiasm and curiosity.

I always prioritise family photos in my sessions because they will remain some of the most special images you will ever have. Photos are like a time capsule, where by simply viewing them your mind fills in all the blanks and takes you back to that time in your life. The baby years are really so short, it is so important to document them.

He had smiles for his mum.

He had smiles for his dad.

He had smiles for me.

Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, the smiles dried up. Instead the saddest looking pout you ever saw took over!

..... And a moment later the smiles were back!

Since the warm brown tones were so lovely for Declan, I quickly laid him on a curly layer and gave him a teddy bear to cuddle, he was barely interested in the teddy bear but very intrigued by my camera hovering over his face! I just love how he looks so inquisitive in this photo, taking in the sounds the camera is making and sharing a soft smile.

Sitter sessions are a great opportunity to document how quickly your newborn changes into a baby. We can photograph for age (6 months) or stage (sitting) and if you have done a newborn session in the studio we can also capture a growth photo showing how much bigger your baby is now in the same prop they were in at the newborn session.

Your relationship changes with your baby a lot in the first year, while the newborn family photos are all about soft sweet connection, the sitter family photos are much livelier, with tickles and giggles, pretend drops and rattles, and by first birthday theres a good chance you might get a photo of everyone looking and smiling to camera as well as a lovely interaction photo.

Seriously, how cute is this setup though? I love the little overalls that look a bit like the old man from Up, and from the pout to the giggle, Declan is just divine in every way!

It's a real pleasure to capture the family dynamic and how it changes over the course of the first year, and I can't wait to see this family back for Declan's first birthday in the not-so-distant future!

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So often when babies arrive at the studio with their older siblings I find myself deep in conversation with the siblings before I even meet their new little brother or sister.

Sure enough this is exactly what happened when Tallulah arrived with her new baby sister Tigerlily. She's such an energetic little girl, not shy at all and within moments she was right in amongst all the toys in the play area.

So now it was time to meet the new addition to the family, Tigerlily. Oh the cheeks on her! She was so snuggly and content.

I always start with family photos but Tallulah was very taken with all the toys, she eventually agreed to come in for a moment and their family photo is such a stunner!

The next set is usually sibling photos, but with the toy room pulling Tallulah back we moved on to some gorgeous images of Tigerlily on her own.

With her middle name being Rainbow, it was only fitting that we created a rainbow themed photo in her session as well, and doesn't she look divine all nestled into the fluffy cloud?

Tallulah came back in to see what the fuss was and I managed a few images of her by herself, but before we knew it she was off again into the playroom!

Then I had a brainwave. We could bring the playroom to her.

I got my pram prop and made it all soft for Tigerlily to lay in and photographed this image. Then we took Tigerlily out of the pram and called Tallulah into the room to show her the pram, and BOOM! Gorgeous sibling photo achieved! For baby safety I always capture this image in two steps, one with baby in the pram and no toddler in the room, then remove baby and it doesn't matter if the sibling moves the pram since baby is safely in mums arms again. I can then use Photoshop to seamlessly stitch the two photos together - wins all round!

We captured lots of lovely soft colours for this session, pastel pinks and soft yellows, and then a fun flower set with Tigerlily nestled into a bright pink flower!

The last images of a session I always capture are the "sleeping unwrapped" photos, because more often than not babies wake up when we unwrap them and may not re-settle. This was not a problem for Tigerlily, she dropped back to sleep quite soundly just long enough for us to photograph the first two poses, "bottoms up" and "facing forward".

My sessions are always baby led and it turned out that this was as much as Tigerlily wanted to do on the day, she quickly woke up so we rolled her safely on her back and captured a gorgeous open-eye photo!

Family photo shoots are so much fun.

Book in for your family photo experience today.

This was our third session for Bryce, and after watching her grow from a tiny newborn to a sitting baby and now a giggly wriggly near-toddler, it has been an absolute pleasure to photograph her and her family the past year.

We were in luck to schedule her session while her Nanna was visiting from the UK, which makes these images even more special for them both. I just love the beautiful connection that family have, and to have images like this in your home makes family feel so close, even if they are half a world away.

At Bryce's newborn and sitter session we had photographed some soft toys that her parents had collected in their travels, so it was only fitting that we did update photos with them this time around too! Since she had been tucked in at the newborn session and sitting in the sitter session it made sense to be standing at the birthday session.

Her parents had brought along a really cute tutu in rainbow colours, which we thought would also look great in a standing up image. Bryce thought otherwise, and despite our best encouragement she was determined to stay seated for the rest of her shoot, and it still looks super cute anyway!

With Christmas just around the corner, we also included a couple of Christmas themed images into the gallery. These are a lovey sweet addition to photoshoots at this time of year!

I love documenting how much babies grow during their first year. Seriously, babies grow so SO fast. It feels like a long time while you are in those sleep-deprived years but looking back, it always goes way too quick.

I'm so honoured to be able to capture this very special time for families and to help keep those memories fresh and alive for years to come. To book in for your family photo session,just give me call.

Last time she was here, Emily was just days old and brought her Grandad Alistair with her.

This time, Emily returned to the studio for her sitter session and this time she brought 3 of her grandparents along!

We started the session with her single portraits in the studio as it was such a windy day we did as much inside as we could before heading out into the gardens for the big family photos.

She had the sweetest little navy and floral jumpsuit for her photos, so the first call of the day was to capture that outfit, although she was concentrating so hard on sitting up that she didnt have much space for smiles just yet.

We moved quickly on to some of the other milestone session photos such as laying on her tummy, which most babies take as a cue to roll over by this stage! Emily was great at rolling, I can tell you!

When we did Emily's newborn shoot we captured how small she was by photographing her in her father's hands. At this shoot we represented how much she had grown by placing her in her father's arms.

And then it was time to head out to the garden for the family photos. Thankfully we had some spare hands to help hold up the light diffuser for me while we made the most of some of the sweet little wildflowers that have recently bloomed around the garden.

Everyone had turns snuggling and cuddling with Emily and she just loved being outside, in fact despite how tiring the photoshoot can be for little ones, and despite the gusty wind throwing some extra spark into everyone, she was still giggling and smiling at everyone.

She had just learned to make clicking sounds and that was her favourite thing to do to communicate, her grandparents would click their tongues to her and she would click back with a giggle or a coo. It was just delightful to see and photograph such special little moments like these.

Next time she comes will be for her first birthday and we have some plans already taking place for that special session too!

Book a session with me now to capture your family as it grows.

Sienna arrived at the studio in the cutest little hand knitted outfit, made just for her by her Great Grandma. So of course the first thing we did was to photograph the adorable jumper, beanie and bootie set! She was a picture in pink and so content while all rugged up.

When we changed her from clothes to the wraps, Sienna woke up and wasn't too sure about what was going on, but with the heat, white noise and a snuggly wrap around her she was soon back to a lovely deep sleep while we photographed the family photos.

With her parents now able to relax we moved on to photographing the single portraits, and I love starting with a classic close up of her all wrapped up in a snuggly bundle.

Part of the inclusions in a newborn session is some digital composite images, where we photograph intricate setups separately and then add the baby into the image. It means we can create more variety in the gallery and also capture stunning, time consuming setups without using session time to do so.

We also captured some lovely earthy neutral images of Sienna, I just love the natural tones in this set. The vine baskets from David Lam Designs are just gorgeous and we used two different ones in this session. This is my nest prop, a large nest that lays flat on the ground.

We also used another of Davids creations in this session, the hamper basket which I had some help from Siennna's dad Robbie to select the flowers and help arrange them down the handle. The resulting image is just beautiful, sweet baby Sienna snoozing soundly in there.

But the sleeping was all about to end.

Once we had her unwrapped, she was not taking her eyes off us!

Content and happy, but WIIIIDE awake.

We captured the beautiful "simba" photo in her dads hands, as well as an adorable one with her mums hands as well. The smiles she was having, it was just amazing!

But not sleep.

We continued with some more photos in her dads arms next, and I just love these moody dark images as they go so well with her super dark hair.

With no sign of sleep making its way to her we jumped to the last set of the day, my signature setup of neutral tones. Sienna must have been happy now because she gave me more sweet smiles for the last shots of the day.

Getting the timing right for newborn shoots is so important to catch them while they are still so small and delicate. Get in touchso we can book your spot before it's too late.

Contact Natarsha here to book your session

Around this time of year all sorts of creative and festive images start flooding our social media feeds. It is really important to remember that a lot of these kinds of images are created with photoshop to keep babies and children safe.

There are so many things that might seem like a cute idea for a photo but can put your precious baby in harms way such as wrapping them in fairy lights, taping the kids to a wall, hanging a baby in a stocking or putting your baby in a glass bowl full of baubles. These images are not safe, please do not do this.

But because I know how fun it is to take your own photos of your kids in Christmas theme, here are a couple of simple ways to take a safe and special photo of your kids this year.

1 - WRAPPING PAPER BACKDROP

It looks almost like a studio photo, but here is the secret, its just wrapping paper!

TIPS:

- Choose a matt paper. Shiny, reflective paper doesnt photograph well

- You may need 2 strips of paper on the wall to make a big enough backdrop

- Try to have your main light source (i.e. large window) behind you or to the side of you

- Turn your flash off

- Sit your child around a metre in front of the backdrop so it will be a bit blurry

- If you have a DLSR set your f stop to about 3.2 to get a nice blurry background

- Get down low, on your tummy even, to take the photo at their level

- For babies, you can give them a Christmas teddy to hold or for toddlers a seat will help keep them in place for a few seconds while you take the photo

2 - CANDY CANE LOVE HEART

This one is pretty obvious, there's not much more I can say on how to capture it. It took a few tries to get the heart shape just right but we got there in the end! The girls still talk about this photo and make candy cane love hearts together!

3 - SANTA HANDING OUT PRESENTS

To add Santa into your photos without much hassle you can create a fake arm with a cheap stocking, cut the toes open, slip a white glove on (in my case I use a white exfoliating glove!) insert the arm and boom, Santa hand!

Heres a video of how it works: