Try as he might, he couldn’t stay awake forever. I was just a far too patient newborn photographer for his liking. What a brave new soul he was – inquisitive, cheeky and learning about this brand new sense of being in a beautiful way. Welcome lovely baby Ethan – the world is happy you’re here.

{He gave me such a happy heart, Cheryl and Patrick – may he continue grow yours the same way each and every day}

{Juliana, she was worth the wait. Oh what a joy she was, her kisses and cuddles – divine}.

It was beautiful, special and I was proud to witness it and be a part of it. Every fibre of my being ached to try and capture even an ounce of her love for him in my images. I can only hope I did that love justice. Joseph’s mama was so relaxed with him, so bonded, I told her it felt like she had done all of this before. She agreed – it’s just like it was meant to be for these two. As a newborn photographer I felt such joy to be there and be surrounded by it.

I could have cried when his little hand reached up to touch his mama’s face. I very nearly did…

{Georgia, my heart still feels full and happy. Thank you for a joyous experience capturing the wonder that is your little man Joseph}

There was lots of this going on with the boys that afternoon (loved hearing that laughter)…

And much fun drinking this…

All while full of style…

Things were just as gorgeous with Tina and her bridesmaids before the ceremony also. There were 12 in the bridal party, including Tina and Duncan, and three of Tina’s bridesmaids were male. LOVED that.

I couldn’t have asked for a more gorgeous image of Tina than the one below if I tried. Actually, I did try. After I snapped this and she moved her head back a second later, I asked her to turn her head again in a vain attempt to capture the same shot again. I couldn’t. You can’t ask for moments like this. They just are. She looks so incredibly beautiful here and it’s one of my personal favourites of her from the day taken just at the right moment, in the right light. Bliss!

As I said to Tina’s mum when she was lauhing at me lying on the floor taking photos of Tina’s shoes, ”They’re Manolos Barb – they need their own space to be admired properly”. Oh yes… they do! Thank you Mr Blahnik from women everywhere

Did I say Tina was stunning…? STUNNING. Another two of my favourite images with her before the ceremony. In fact, the one of her girls helping her into her dress is one of my favourites full stop.

Another image I can’t help but make happy noises about. Love, adore, love, adore – detail on these beautiful nicolangëla bridesmaids dresses. They were honestly the most divine bridesmaids dresses I’ve ever seen.

Their beautiful ceremony was held at St Pauls Cathedral right in the heart of the CBD and was nothing short of magnificent. They connected so beautifully with each other. The images we took after the ceremony make me realise how much I love living here in Melbourne too.

 Tina + Duncan’s Dream Team
Ceremony Location: St Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne
Reception Location: Zinc at Federation Square
Bridal Gown: Brides of Armadale
Groom’s attire: Lavin
Bridesmaids: nicolangëla
Shoes: Manolo Blahnik
Jewellery: Vintage
Makeup/Hair: Anaka
Flowers: Kate Hill
Stationery: Chapel Press
Cake: La Tropezienne 

Baby Alex was oh-so-full-of-style on arrival. Sporting a little Ralph Lauren number, in fact. However, when we began to strip him down to reveal that amazing baby chub of his – I truly fell in love. Honestly, there is nothing better than those rolls. How could you resist?

{Is it crazy I miss him just a little bit since seeing him? Loved the time we shared. Thank you Stav and  Pete}

I have had this song by The Who stuck in my head for days – mainly because I was catching up on some much neglected blog/website stat reviews, when I came across some wonderfully gorgeous people who had themselves blogged about me and my newborn and baby photography. I was blown away, truly. Particularly as I had never heard a peep from these people before, and yet here they were, taking the time to stop and write to the special people in their world, about my work. I felt flattered, actually –  more than that, I felt honoured. Speechless, in fact. I would have never known that they had done so had I not stumbled across them. But, it also made me realise there must be many people out there who may visit my blog without ever saying a word (and considering my stats, that’s the majority of you!).

So today, I challenge all of your silent visitors out there!!!! Drop in and say hello! Even if it’s just one word, I’d love to hear from you in the comments field on my blog below. Go on… it will take two seconds, I promise!   Whether you’ve never commented, commented once, comment occassionally or comment every time I blog (I appreciate it more than you know… x), I’m talking to YOU! Yes, YOU! Show me you’re listening

Coincidentally, I’m also updating a new FAQ post for my blog shortly, so if there is some burning question you’ve wanted to ask me about anything (doesn’t have to be biz related) either pop it in the comments below, or send me an email.

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Don’t forget I also have a Facebook page that I also keep updated, so if you’re not already a fan via Facebook, make sure you come past, join and say hello!

So many times I found myself lost in her world. She consumed me. I wanted to so badly capture the way my heart was feeling – I was floating.

And oh those lips… she can thank her beautiful mama for those lips. The perfect. The pure. The beautiful Miss Kayla…

{Cath and Jason – continue to love her deeply, purely and honestly as you do. She can ask for nothing more than that}

After finding out that this family is friends with the wonderful Lynn and James (who coincidentally have  welcomed their own little baby boy into the world in Canberra a week ago – congratulations again!), it made it even more special to be asked to capture this little one.

He makes me smile…

{Amanda and Raymond, I feel so thankful to have been able to do this for you. Give him another cuddle from me}

Today, I celebrate. I celebrate the milk blisters, the milia, the flakes, the fuzz, the wrinkles, the lines, the softness, the creases, the beauty that is baby.

I also celebrate this little man (albeit a late celebration, as these images are now weeks old… very slack blogger!) I photographed his big sister almost two years ago, and being invited to capture this moment for their family again made me giddy with pride.

{Shannon, he is amazing. Your beautifiul adoration and bond with him was incredible to witness, and loved seeing you again}

Day 31: So… here we are. The end of the month, the end of the photo-a-day project. I had wanted to get a photo of the two of them together quite a few times over the month, but it just never seemed to work out. So, I kept putting it off, putting it in the too hard basket, saying that I would do it on the 31st. But when the 31st came around, try as I may, they were both just not in the mood. I was just about ready to call it a day when all of a sudden, I snapped this last frame. I could almost cry. It’s like their little personalities were frozen, in that hundredth of a second, just as I know them. My happy little bright-eyed man and my shy, cheeky little girl – together, loving one another as only they can do. I couldn’t ask for anything more from them than be themselves, and this is what they gave me.

Thank you to everyone who as been following along this year’s project with me. It’s been a blast, and I hope that you have enjoyed it just as much as I have.

Day 30: Taken during one of his crying episodes if only just to prove he’s not always smiling. Still cute though…(naughty mummy!)

(I know I’m slightly behind with blogging these as I take them, and even though I’ve finished, I’ll try and get the last one up ASAP! Thank you for all of your lovely comments on the project everyone! x)

I adore these two. Their attention to detail and meticulous preparation of, well, everything meant that the whole day ran smoothly and effortlessly. They went out of their way to make their wedding theirs – most of the decorations and details were all put together by the two of them and I can only imagine the hours upon hours of work they put into it all. It was all worth it though. All so very worth it. The entire wedding was just so very them, and I adore that.

Not only was this entire wedding held in my own suburb (nothing like supporting the local crowd – well done you two!) but every person involved with the day was so friendly and easy going that it just made it such a pleasure to spend the day with them.

First up though, meet our groom, Sam. I must say – the boys were great fun. I don’t think they stopped laughing the entire time I was there. The bubbles were out, the laughs were out, such a great atmosphere pre-ceremony for the lovely Sam (and for me as their wedding photographer!).

Tie shots are probably some of my favourite moments when capturing the groom getting ready for the ceremony (mainly because there’s always at least one guy that has no idea how to tie it properly) so you can imagine my delight when Sam brought out his bow-tie. Yep, a favourite alright.

Yes, they’re boys… but at least they have checklists!

Afterwards I made my way over to see Jessie who looked like some 1940’s film starlet. There’s something about weddings that makes brides just look even more beautiful than they already are, and Jess was no exception. She was beaming. That gorgeous smile of hers lit up as I walked in the door. “I’m up here!” she called from the top of the stairs and waved. I think I just stood there with my jaw open for a moment or two – she look radiant. And no wonder – she was about to marry her highschool sweetheart – the boy that still gives her butterflies every time she sees him.

These next two are so special to me, particularly the one on the right which is a beautiful image of Jessie’s parents on their wedding day.

Is she not the cutest little thing alive?

Sam and Jessie had told me how special photos were to them. They told me their house was filled with them, and that they would always be taking photos of anything and everything. It was so fitting therefore to see that they’d hired a photobooth for the day for them and their guests. Guest were all encouraged to use the booth to take photos and then pop them into their guestbook with a message. So,so fab! The first thing they did after walking down the aisle was jump into the photobooth and get some photos done. How gorgeous is that?

More Jess + Sam loveliness… oh they were so fun! 

Of course, there was a photobooth – so we had to try it out for ourselves while we were there (meet my gorgeous assistant CJ too whom I adore and makes my life so much easier for me every week! She joined me that day too)

{You are both as cute as a button – adored every single second of your day with the two of you. It was fun, relaxed and just a beautiful celebration of love – I wish nothing but the best for your future together x)

Day 29:  There’s the saying that if you can’t hear what your children are up to, then they’re always up to no good. I had just finished giving Charlie a bath and there was silence the house. No singing, no chatting, no toy noises. I could however, hear some very faint rustling noises coming from the studio. I was all ready to walk in expecting to see her looking through all of the albums that are in there (as she always does, it’s one of her favourite things to do) and instead found her conducting her own little photo session. When I asked her what she was up to, she put her finger up to her mouth and said ‘Very quiet. Baby sleeping mummy!’ and then proceeded to pick up her camera we had bought her for Christmas and take some photos. I almost melted on the spot. She had even gotten out blankets like a good baby photographer and put them over her dolly (who was on her tummy and had her arms up under the face, of course…). I asked her if I could take some photos too. She nodded. “Mummy, sit here” as she pointed to the space behind her. “Be very quiet”. If it weren’t for my uncontrollable giggling, I might have been very quiet too.

In honour of my 30th recently, I wanted nothing more than some images with my family. As a photographer, it is near impossible to get an opportunity to be in lovely photos with your own children, so I knew exactly what would make my heart sing for my birthday.

Barb is amazing – she gave me everything I could possibly wish for, and more. Beautiful, heart-felt, loving images with all of that Jinky magic that just follows her wherever she goes. I feel so thankful to have these loving memories of my family.

And as gorgeous as she is, she’s even blogged us -so head on over here to her blog, and check out her yummy images:

{Thank you my lovely friend, I have said it a million times already, and I’ll say it again once more… thank you! My heart has grown even bigger because of you xx}