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

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.

Wedding at Bram Leigh Reception Centre

JD — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 03:19:12 +0000

Bram Leigh has come along way in the past year with the gardens full of colour and life as well as a new chef with amazing food. I have had the pleasure of shooting 4 weddings there in the past few weeks and loved every minute of all four.

The last wedding was Meagan & Andrew’s last Saturday and for the first time in quite a while weather wise we had a brilliant day – the sun was out which I love the photograph in, it breaths life into the photos and you can feel the warmth of the sun just looking at it.

We had a ball with the energetic bridal party and as you will see from one of the last image we had a bit of Movember fun as well.

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.

Movember promotion – Coming Soon!!

JD — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:27:35 +0000

We are very excited about a promotion that will be announced soon based around Movember. We can tell you that it will be interactive and heaps of fun so anyone can join in and help us raise money for this great cause raising awareness about men’s health.

There will be prizes and giveaways as well as a great portrait special all based around our FACEBOOK page – go there now and ‘like’ us to be involved. Each new ‘like’ and comment etc we will be donating money to Movember so ‘like’ the page so you can be apart of it.

No blog post is complete without some photos so below is a few shots from a recent portrait shoot we completed in the school holidays.

Spring, blossom, fun

JD — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 02:33:40 +0000

SPRING!!! – perfect for outdoor portraits – it is a beautiful time of year as everyone transitions out of the dull wet winter and get’s pumped up for the summer months ahead.

Shane & Vanessa were after a family portrait shoot at home but it had to be a specific time as a tree in the front yard with the most beautiful blossom only lasted about a week and that was one of the places where they wanted some nice family shots. As it turns out the evening we organised the shoot the weather was perfect with a soft setting sun, no wind and the tree if full bloom.

We have heaps of shoots lined up for the school holidays to take advantage of this beautiful time of year – can’t wait!