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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.

Pre Wedding Shoot – Yarra Junction

JD — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 04:12:19 +0000

Melissa & Jarred wanted some nice casual image with their dogs down by the Yarra for their pre wedding shoot. We took these photos around 5:30 -6:00pm so the light was just perfect, low in the sky and streaming through the trees. I am really looking forward to their wedding later in January at Immerse Winery as they are a really fun laid back couple and Immerse is the perfect backdrop for wedding photos. I also photographed Melissa’s sister & brother-in-law’s wedding a few years ago and if that was anything to go by I’m sure there will be plenty of celebrating and fun to capture throughout the day.

We will be making this into a nice signature book for them to have at the reception for all the guest to write their well wishes and messages in.

pre wedding shoot at the farm

JD — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 04:23:19 +0000

As with all our pre wedding shoots I asked Kim & Vincent where they would like to do their shoot. They mentioned they had a flower farm up in the dandenongs which sounded like the perfect setting and I was looking forward to the shoot straight away. We had heaps of fun taking photos around what is such a beautiful part of the world, their little dog Jet ran laps around us as we wandered around the beautiful property.

I remember when Kim & Vincent came in for the initial consultation to see my wedding photography work they were tossing up between hiring me and another photographer, after this pre wedding shoot I got a lovely email from them. (see below)

” – Hi Johl and Sarah,

Just wanted to thank you both for Monday night. Vin and I had such a great time, and are so excited that you will be our photographer for the wedding. Not that we weren’t before – just after Monday it shows that we really have chosen the right photographer. Hope you guys enjoyed it half as much as we did, and we got some good photos.”

This first image they ordered as a nice big single print as it is a beautiful artistic image and it also captures a piece of history for their family which they can look back on for years to come.

A musical shoot

JD — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 00:27:10 +0000

When Jess & Daniel came into the studio and told me that they wanted to do a shoot to get some images together for the artwork on their new album I was instantly excited. It is great to get the opportunity to mix up my portrait sittings a bit and do something a little different like this.

We decided the location would be at their church in Blackburn, but this wasn’t a church in the traditional sense and was a great backdrop for the photos. We had a great time playing around with different styles and lighting and got some great images that they will be using on their next album.

At the Beach with the Dogs

JD — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:52:48 +0000

These photos were done a couple of months ago when Heidi was pregnant with Lola, and were taken by the talented Kellie from Romantic Events Photography, thanks Kel. We decided that we should get some nice pregnancy portraits with the dogs down the beach, which is easier said than done.

I do a lot of couple and family portraits with dogs and this was a good opportunity to be on the other side of the lens and get the perspective of the clients. It is always fun doing shoots with dogs as they are unpredictable, fun and don’t really care that you want to take their photo, they will do what they want. Sort of like toddlers!! And it was harder than I expected to try and pose how Kellie wanted us to with the dogs pulling in all directions and jumping on us.

I find it weird getting my photo taken and I am much more comfortable on the other side of the lens but I find it an invaluable experience to get my clients perspective as it helps me understand what they are feeling and helps me grow as a photographer. I found the same thing when I was photographed at my wedding. How can you expect to know what it is like for your clients if you haven’t done it yourself!

Although it can be more difficult doing a shoot with dogs it really does help to relax everyone and have a bit of fun during the shoot.

You can check out some of the images below.

On a side note out new website will be launching very soon so I will update you all when it is ready to check out as I would love your feedback.

carrum beach

I love this photo of Heidi

My beautiful pregnant wife

Couple shoot – The last of the autumn leaves

JD — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 05:15:55 +0000

Allisa & Rob came to me wanting some fun natural portraits that really showed who they are as a couple. We decided to head down to a nice park in Vermont as I knew that the colours of the autumn leaves this time of year are very vibrant and full of life. They were both very comfortable in front of the camera right from the start and we had a lot of fun just wandering around the parklands capturing different images of them having fun and enjoying each others company.

The only time most couples get professional photos done is when they get married but I think it is great to get some more relaxed portraits that depict you as a couple to go along with your wedding images.

Have a look through a small selection I have posted here, I particularly like the last one where they autumn leaves are falling around them, it is very serene and romantic.