Melbourne Photographer | Wedding and Portrait Photography | Kids Photography | JD Blog » Portraits

Baby Dax – a new addition to the family

JD — Thu, 10 May 2012 03:53:15 +0000

As some of you may be aware – if you follow us on Facebook my wife recently gave birth to our second child little baby Dax. The first few weeks has been quiet a different experience from when we bought Lola home. It is similar in so many ways but I think that is why it is so different, with Lola we were running blind and learning as we went as you do with your first – not knowing if we are doing things right and following every bit of parenting advice to the letter of the law. This time around there is a certain comfort in knowing that we have done this before and survived, it is amazing how everything just comes back to you like it is sitting at the back of your brain just waiting to be recalled for the next baby.

I remember being quite nervous bringing Lola home, I would go in and check on her if she hadn’t woken or made a noise for more than 20mins just to make sure she was ok. On occasions I ever poked her just to be certain. This may have something to do with the fact that she was a terrible sleeper and rarely spent any time in her cot those first few months.

In many ways Dax is the total opposite of Lola, he is a boy, bigger, a great feeder and a good sleeper but yet they have some many small similarities when they cry, smile etc that you know they are cut from the same cloth – and both exceptionally cute!! – Below is both of them at around 1 week.

Bringing Dax home has really reminded me how fast the last two years has gone from when Lola was born and how quickly they grow – I am determined to make more of an effort to take it all in and enjoy the moments as they grow which includes plenty of photos!

Below are a few photos I have taken of Dax in the first few weeks and one of Lola because I couldn’t resist.

Entering Awards

JD — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 03:50:42 +0000

There are a few different industry awards coming up in the next few months and for the first time I am really going to give them a crack and see how I go in them. It’s not something that I have really focused on much in the past although I have entered I haven’t really pushed the boundaries to much. Why is this year different? well seeing these awards come and go I think I am at a stage in my business and photography career where I can confidently have a real go at them. They also make you look at your business practices and photography skills and reassess and question what you are doing and that can only be a good thing.

If you are not consistently trying to improve then you are doing your clients and yourself an injustice. There are two different awards, one is voted on by my wedding clients and is awarded for customer service, quality of product , value and of course photography. The other is purely a photography award where you enter prints and they are judged by other photographers.

I don’t plan on judging the success of these by winning or not but by what I get out of it, if I can see areas where I can improve or change as a result then that will be great. In saying that I am a highly competitive person so of course I would love to win!

I can’t post any of the images that I am going to enter into the awards until they have been judged but below is a little teaser of what type of shoots we will be offering later in the year – more news on that soon!

What will 2012 bring? A new direction.

JD — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 01:27:43 +0000

At the end of last year I took stock of what was a very busy and fulfilling year both personally and professionally and asked myself what I could change to make it better in 2012. What I decided is that I needed a better work/life balance and to somehow find a way to work less hours and spend more time at home – having children really changes your perspective on life!.

In the busy months I was spending up to 70hrs a week working 7 days and that’s just neither healthy or sustainable so I decided big changes were necessary in 2012. We started the ball rolling late last year with a business coaching session to help work out the direction of the business and where we were headed. The last 4 or so years we have been roughly 65% weddings and 35% portraits and we have decided to flip that to be roughly 30% weddings and 70% portraits. Big change I know but one I am really looking forward to.

I love photographing weddings but doing 45+ a year plus portraits plus running a business really does take it’s toll. When I shoot a wedding I invest quite a lot of time and energy into each one with meetings, pre wedding shoots etc to make sure that each couple gets a unique and amazing experience. Now I don’t want to compromise this so instead of changing our systems and style I am cutting back the amount of weddings I do.

Now doing more portraits is a challenge that I can’t wait to sink my teeth into with the help on Sarah who came on board late last year. We have already photographed heaps of families, couples , pets etc and seeing the finished works of art leave the studio is a great feeling.

We have some big news to share in the not to distant future about the portrait side of the business and it will be announced here first once it is all finalised.

With the way Facebook is being used these days I am going to keep the blog going for general musings, thoughts, news and personal posts. If you want to see our latest shoots etc on a weekly basis go check out our facebook page

No post is complete without a photo so below is one of a recent portrait shoot I photographed

This is why I love my job, this is the third shoot I have done for the Hoen family – one for each of the girls when they were 18mths old. They are all beautiful and unique in their own way, this image for me captures each of their different personalities in the one photo – love it!

Families, kids, couples and the year that was 2011

JD — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 06:15:19 +0000

I blog about weddings quite a bit and everyone knows the connection between the bride & groom and the objective of capturing the celebration and love of them on their wedding day. Portraits are a different story – people tend to get their family or kids portraits done to document a time in their life to look back on. This year we have tried to change this with our portraits and try shooting them more like a wedding. This might sounds strange but I have been spending more time with portrait clients before the shoot and on the shoot to get a real connection between the family or the subject and the camera. In doing this I am getting some really strong, stirring and emotional images that aren’t just a documentation of a person or family but a window into their personalities and connection as a family.

This has created some of the most beautiful portraits and I love the thought of these images clients are purchasing owning pride of place in their houses for years to come. The fact that they aren’t your typical boring family or kids portraits makes them timeless and artistic and because of the emotional connection even more valuable to the family.

2012 we are going to explore this style of photography and invest more time in making it even better. I think if you aren’t growing and evolving as a person and an artist you are going backwards so it is important to keep evolving my style and moving the business into new directions.

2012 is going to be an exciting time for JD Digital Photography, we are going to be taking less wedding bookings to make way for more boutique portrait sessions. As far as weddings go we are almost 90% booked out for next year and the portraits have also started booking up quickly early next year so if you are thinking of booking either in don’t leave it too late.

I know this post is primarily about our portraits but I have photographed over 40 amazing weddings this year and I can honestly say I have enjoyed every one of them. I will hopefully get time to do another blog post on the weddings before the years out to showcase some more images of these amazing couples.

Here is a few images from some recent shoots we have completed over the past couple of months.

Lola – model in the making or photographer?

JD — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 02:30:04 +0000

I have been slack in taking photos of my daughter Lola lately so on the weekend I spent a few minutes playing with her and trying to get a few nice images. What I found is that because she has been photographed so much and is that little bit older it is a much harder task now – as soon as I bring the camera out and fire off one frame she runs towards me to check out the back of the camera!

To get around this I gave her my holga to play with while I took a few snaps

and this is what I came up with – technically not the best photo but I love it and is one of my favourite images of her – maybe she will take after her dad!

Below is an example of what it is like to photograph her now – the first image is a quick one I snapped when she was playing on my camera bag and I didn’t think she was paying attention. The second image is just after this when she realises that I am shooting, notice the cheeky smile just before she runs over to check out my handy work on the back of the camera.

Movember Promotion just around the corner

JD — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 08:53:52 +0000

We have a huge Movember promotion coming up soon with a great portrait special available on for the month of November. You can buy a voucher to the value of $225 for only $20 which can be used for 6mths – all proceeds of the vouchers going to the Movember foundation.

There is going to be some funny & interesting things of our Facebook page coming up, as well as prizes & giveaways so click on the link & like our page to be a part the Movember action – you won’t be disappointed.