Alaya's Newborn Shoot - Umina Studio

Alaya Maree Dowling. Born at 5:21pm on January 25th, 49cms long at 7.1 pounds she was ready to greet the world and her new parents.

Beautiful little Alaya came into my Umina Beach Photography Studio for her shoot in early February, she was actually due mid January, but like 95% of other babies she decided not to come on her due date and make her mum and dad wait it out for what I’m sure felt like an eternity.

My favourite parent image is at the end so be sure to scroll all the way to have a look, you can just FEEL the love and devotion looking at the image. Ugh, I have the worst job ever 😉

It might feel a bit odd, getting dressed to go to a photoshoot with a newborn in tow. You’ve had little to no sleep, recovering from birth, learning how to do this parent thing and now you’re expected to leave the house?! Carly and Mark handled it like pros! The best thing about having my photography studio in my home means that it’s a chilled space where you can just sit and relax and watch me to do my magic, the less stress the better!

I love these photos of Alaya and Carly + Mark. It really shows just how tiny she is as a newborn and from this point onwards she’ll continue to grow.

We opted for mostly neutral tones with a few splashes of pink, my favourite image of Alaya is on the little white daybed prop, you can still see her umbilical cord clamp and I love that. I love how fresh and little she is. My own not-so-little 6 month old boy feels enormous compared to Alaya, and it just goes to show how fast they grow and thrive!

Alaya was an absolute trooper, let me get through everything on my shoot list with a small break at the milk bar and barely a peep out of her! Even got a smiling shot, what a special little Bub.

But seriously, I love being a newborn photographer on the Central Coast, it is such a great honour when you choose to come into my studio to photograph your baby.

If you’d like to know more or book your own newborn or baby photoshoot please don’t hesitate to contact me by click HERE

Outdoor Maternity shoot

Well we weren’t sure this session was going to go ahead with the way the weather was behaving! Sometimes us outdoor photographers need to be part meteorologist reading the weather radar and checking the forecast hours before a session 😂 We decided to go for it and what do you know the weather held out just in time for us to get a whole maternity shoot done before it started raining again.

When Rhiannon booked her outdoor maternity shoot with me she was very clear she wanted it to be natural, nothing overly posed and just a focus on them as a family enjoying these moments before they become a family of four and before Micah becomes a big sister.

This hit me in the heart, I totally remember these feelings before William was welcomed into our family. Those mixed emotions of excitement and also #mumguilt knowing that you won’t have as much time with your firstborn as you do now, that you won’t have the days of ‘just the two of you’ anymore.

So when Rhiannon booked with me I had her fill out a questionnaire of all the things she wanted to capture as well as beach or bush location and she chose bush. I was so happy because natural/australian bush is my jam, as much as I love shooting at the beach I LOVE this location., it always has something different to offer at different times of year.

Gorgeous little Micah was such a cheeky girl. At the beginning she was running away from us and I tried to grab her attention but bribing her with some wild flowers, little did I know that this is her favourite thing to do! Before we knew it by the end of the session she had created the most beautiful bouquet of flowers from our session - I think future florist in the making! Check out the photos to see if you can spot her gorgeous bunch.

If you are interested in booking your Central Coast Maternity Shoot you can view my prices here and contact me to book or have a chat here

Ellie's First Birthday Cake Smash

This cutie pie came in for her Cake Smash photos in my Umina Beach photography studio. She was an absolute darling and LOVED smashing her cake

Central Coast Christmas Mini Session 2020

WOW 2020 Central Coast Christmas Minis are here already! What a crazy year for the history books! 2020 was a big one for my little family, my son JJ started school and we welcomed the newest addition to our family, William. I am so thankful that easing restrictions mean Christmas Minis can go ahead this year. There will be a 10 minute block after each session to give us a chance to clean and disinfect the area to ensure we are covid safe. We ask that only one parent come to the session, shoes off inside the house, disinfect your hands on arrival and that you wait outside if you arrive early. I’ve put in all the info you need for your mini session in this blog post, if you still have questions feel free to email me :) 

A lot of love has gone into creating this set up, I really wanted to make a set that was lush, cosy but also simple so that the focus is all on the kids. I’ve wanted to use the dark wood backdrop for at least 2 years now and I begged my parents to let me use their absolutely divine silk rug, so please NO SHOES 😆. Planning a Christmas Mini set up is on the back of my mind all year (yes we’re already planning next year!) so it’s a real joy when Amy and I put together the final set. There are always a few tweaks, sometimes certain props don’t come in until the last minute so the final set can slightly vary on the day, we are creatives after all 😉

This session is strictly for siblings only, if you wish to get some extra photos with cousins please book back to back sessions have to be booked with a maximum of 4 children. Please do not book cousins into the one session, this is incredibly unfair to those who follow the rules.

When you book via the website I get you to fill out a few details, you’re given info to pay the deposit as well as terms and conditions of the shoot. I usually confirm your session 24-48 hours prior to your session starting. This year you will be asked to fill out a COVID screening form the day before your session. There will be a designated day at the end of November if you need to reschedule your session. Due to being immune suppressed and having a newborn at home I ask that you please answer the questions truthfully, if you or your child/ren are unwell at the session you will be asked to leave. A $50 deposit is required at the time of booking with remaining amount due on the day which can be paid via cash, PAYID or bank transfer.

My studio is also my lounge room, it means it’s a nice safe and most of all relaxed space. I have an assistant and dear friend working with me on the day. Amy walks you through, takes payment, makes all sorts of noises to grab the attention of little kiddies and let me tell you the kids LOVE her, as a mum of two she is a total pro and has seen it all!

TIPS FOR A SMOOTH CHRISTMAS MINI SESSION 

I find it always helps to talk about the session when you book and even leading up to the shoot. 

• Please arrive on time, due to the nature of these session we run to a tight schedule and if you are late that runs into your session time. If you arrive early we ask that you wait outside until your session is due. 

• SHOES OFF inside the house please.

• Talk about the session before hand (eg.we’re going to see Ginny today to take some photos and have some fun!) let them know that Santa is watching and that I am the boss ;) 

• Talk about why we take these photos, ask them if they want a printed photo in their room when you get your photos back. Seeing themselves in print gives them so much confidence as well as a sense of belonging and importance in the family unit.

• Be relaxed the morning of! I can’t stress this enough, children really feed off our stress and anxiety so it’s important to be chilled and look forward to the session. Trust me, we always get the shot ;) 

• You’re always welcome to bring a favourite teddy or Christmas book to add a personal touch to your photos

• You’re encourage to BYO Santa hat.
  
  

WHAT TO WEAR

In the hopes of taking some of the guess work out of what colours to dress your little ones in, I have provided some colour pallets that will go well with our set up. Linen is very in right now and a neutral/earthy colour pallet with a hint of colour will really make your images pop. For girls think flowy skirts and boys a chambray shirt + chino shorts will work really well. You are encouraged to bring your own Santa hats, due to COVID we’d like to avoid sharing too many props between clients. Also, because you need to have your shoes off just a gentle to reminder to clean your Childs feet so they don’t look dirty in their photos.

PACKAGE OPTIONS:

Please see package options below. This year you can also upgrade to have an image of your child photoshopped with Santa. This is a great option if you child is terrified of the big man or you just want to avoid the crowds at the shopping centres this year. Please note this is a different set up and I need to take a specific photo of your child for this, you cannot upgrade to do it after your session is finished. You are also able to do an outfit change for this upgrade 😊

Option 1: $110 3 images, 20 minutes, Online gallery 

Option 2: $150 6 images, 20 minutes, Online gallery, 

Option 3: $200 10 images, Colour and B+W, 20 minutes, Online gallery,

Santa Image Upgrade $40 per child

WHEN CAN I EXPECT MY PHOTOS

You will be provided with a link to your online gallery approximately 2 - 3 weeks after your shoot.  From there you will have 7 days to choose your images, once you’ve chosen your photos I prep the files and send you a link for your images and done! 

HOW DO I GET EXTRA PHOTOS?

I’m so glad happy to talk about this, 9/10 clients purchase extra photos in my mini session, you’d be surprised how much fun we can capture in 20 minutes and sometimes it’s just too hard to only pick 6 😉 

Extra image prices are as follows: 

1 Image $20

3 Images $50

5 Images $80

SOCIAL MEDIA SHARING: I LOVE it when you post fun videos or pictures onto your socials from your shoot, it’s also a great way to see a ‘before’ and ‘after’. I’ll post one below ⬇️

Well if you’ve made it this far through the blog THANK YOU. Thank you again for taking the time to read this and also for being such loyal clients, I am so lucky to be able to capture your Childs Christmas photos every year, I really do have the best job! How many Christmas Mini years have you come to me for? Comment below, I’d love to know!

If you’d like to book CLICK HERE to see available times.

First Blog for 2020

Well it’s only taken me 21 days but my first blog post for 2020 is finally here! Crazy fact about 2020 if your a 90s kid: 1995 is as far away as 1970 was for our parents. WHAAAAT?! January has been a hectic time for my little family following on from the crazy Christmas period. We are currently preparing for our only son to starts school in February and I can’t help but feel like I’m going to forget EVERYTHING. How on earth am I expected to be on time for school 5 days a week 😆.

First blog post for 2020 is the adorable Zyler, he slept like a log while his brothers doted over him and was such a trooper for his session, we paused for a bit while the milk bar opened which enabled Zyler to sleep a bit longer in turn let me get stuck into finishing up a few last set ups. This family is full of boys and full of love!

If you wish to find out more about my newborn session packages you can click here

A quiet moment between mum and Bub 💕