Sisters Simone and Kate decided to surprise their parents with photographs of their children playing in their grandparents backyard. This same backyard was home to an enormous and sturdy jacaranda tree which encased the well-loved kids cubby-house.
With a photo shoot date and time set, the unsuspecting grandparents were enticed out of their home with an engineered invitation elsewhere, leaving their backyard free. My daughter/assistant and I parked 3 doors down from the house, waiting for the ‘green light’ to sneak onto the property. This was my first visit so I was nervous, unsure of the layout/setting, lighting, best angles etc., but with a crew of kids ready to play, I felt hopeful of capturing some good shots.
This shoot was a reminder to me to always prepare for disaster. My camera seized up before the shoot even began. It resolved itself quickly – lucky for me, as I hadn’t grabbed a back-up. And the night before the shoot, little Fleur, the youngest of the group, was bitten by a mosquito on her eye. It was swollen shut so I had to get creative; I managed around it by photographing Fleur side-on or from behind. Sounds strange, but it worked: one of my favourite photos of Fleur is from the back, capturing her on the phone in the cubby (and not a swollen eye in sight!).
For a fast photo shoot (1 hour or so), some of my favourite children’s portraits to date are in this lot. You can see more images for this shoot here.
Thanks to the families for letting me share their memories.
