This family lived on a fabulous property in Cockatoo in Melbourne’s east. They had two very sweet children, a little boy and a little girl. The little boy took to me immediately, wanting to take me on a tour around their even more fabulous house (his bedroom was built into the attic, how cool hey?). Instead I took some time taking the little girl into her room and getting her to show me around her things and getting to know her, before too long she was relaxed and telling me all about her favorite toys. We spent some time photographing each child in their rooms before heading into their garden which was a photographers dream (I joked to mum I was bringing all my future clients there). When the session finally came to an end after lots of chatter and laughter the kids asked when I’d be back, i explained I had my own children I needed to get home to! ‘go pick them up and bring them here to play some more’ they said. So incredibly sweet.

here is an email I received from their mum….

I wanted to thankyou for the truly beautiful timeless pictures of my children.that will be treasured for a lifetime.  I can’t wait to get them so that they can take pride of place on my wall and I can look at them everyday.  Looking at all your gorgeous pictures, not only of my children but of all your photograph’s, I think the difference with your photography is that you seem to capture something extra.  The picture tells a story and I think manages to capture the child’s spirit.  When I look at your pictures of children, I find I can’t help but smile.

I have had the usual children’s portraits done in the past but they lack what you have managed to capture. They really don’t compare.  I think part of this is how you work with the child in such a fun and relaxed manner.  I am sure that my children think you were there as a play date for them and have even since asked when you are coming back.  I was also amazed at the amount of time you spent taking the pictures and getting to know the children and I really didn’t expect you to drive all the way to our house in Cockatoo.  I also want to thankyou for your patience with me as I took so long trying to decide what pictures to purchase as they were all beautiful and I never felt rushed or pressured.

We will definitely be calling you for our future portraits.

 

Most of my clients are aware that I’ve been a single mum to three children for a few years now. Juggling the house, mortgage, the studio, kids, work, life in general was at times both rewarding and daunting. I have the utmost respect for all parents, parenting isn’t the easiest of gigs. BUT I have a new understanding of just how difficult and emotional it is to raise a family, a house and a business on your own. When I became a parent for the first time I certainly never thought that my life would take the path it did. I had the usual vision of a house, a family and a loving partner to share that with. But that all changed, and I had to do the only thing you can do under those circumstances, get up, keep moving and just keep living.

Being in my late 30′s I was unsure if I’d ever meet and settle down and find real love. During my time on my own I had a few attempts at relationships, most met with a massive ‘fail’. I went through the ‘are all men losers’ stage, I took time to heal and I enjoyed my time with my family and friends. I sometimes wondered… How on earth would I even meet someone with my busy lifestyle? Will I remain on my own forever? Life went on.

Then during last year I decided to hop onto a dating site (RSVP). I’d used them before, though had chosen to use free ones in the past and had too many hits from the wrong types of men. RSVP is a paid site and has what seems, a good reputation. I was a little nervous and hesitant but figured ‘what have I got to lose’ and put my profile up. After only a day or two I was contacted by someone who caught my eye… and that is the beginning of how I met Campbell.

We chatted only the once through RSVP before exchanging numbers and texting over the next few days. During this time we found we had a lot in common and we decided we’d take the plunge and meet.

Campbell arranged our first date. We met down the beach before sunset. When I arrived he was sitting at a table overlooking the sea with his dog by his side. It was a lovely (yet windy) evening. I walked up and said hi and gave him a hug hello. We both relaxed more immediately and sat and chatted the night away getting to know each other better. He’d brought dinner and a few beers along. So we sat and ate and sipped and talked as we watched the sun set. We soon realised we had loads in common -  A love of photography, (Campbell is also a photographer and he’d brought some albums to share with me) -  A love of good food (he said he’d brought ‘hotdogs’ for dinner, the gourmet rolls certainly weren’t the hotdogs I usually know) – A love of good wine (and conversation to go with) – A love for animals (our blended menagerie is 3 dogs, 2 cats, a rabbit, 5 chooks, a turtle and some fish) – A love for family (between us we have 5 children, myself 3 full time and Campbell 2 kids 50% of the time) – and matching purses/wallets (I think you had to be there that day to understand how funny it was!)

At the first meeting I knew something was different. I felt a connection I don’t think I’ve ever felt before. We sat and talked for 5 and a half hours on our first date…. and we haven’t stopped talking since!

Soooooooooo

Rather than drag on and on about how we fell in love and how we love nothing more than spending time together and with our friends and family, about how wonderful Campbell is and about how well we fit together…. I wanted to share the news.

I’M GETTING MARRIED!

Campbell proposed on the 31st of January… on my birthday. I of course said yes! So now I have a family, a business, a house and also a wedding to plan… but I also have a huge bonus… someone to share all of that and life with.

So yes, this is not a standard blog post. But I wanted to share. I am always let into the lives of others through my work as a portrait photographer. So now I am sharing a piece of mine with you all.

“So back in August, for my 40th birthday, I thought that I might get some pictures taken of my darling little son and his new puppy. Fate, maybe, bought me to Susan, I was nervous about portraits as the few I had gotten done previously (not by Susan) were not very good and this time I was adding a young puppy to the mix, had to spell disaster!

Let me say that on my first contact with Susan she was such a pleasure to talk to that I was automatically at ease and very eager to have the pictures done.

Weather and a bout of illness for my son meant that we had to wait for the pleasure of meeting Susan face to face. After several months Melbourne finally put on some sunny blue skies and we all met down at a lakeside area that my son and puppy know well.

Susan took so many wonderful photos, she was at absolute ease with my son and had so much patience with my puppy. I would like to say that Susan is the ultimate professional but that description does not do her any justice. Susan’s open friendly manner and wonderful eye for a great picture has pleased me more than I could have imagined. I now have some extremely beautiful photos of my son and his little puppy.

I will certainly be going back for future portraits and can highly recommend her excellent services.”

 

As we are all aware Christmas is fast approaching… less than 7 weeks to go! (I know! I hear you squealing with both delight and fear!)

It’s a good time to ask yourself…. ‘When did we last have our portraits taken?’ 6 months ago? a year? two years? or worse…never?!

Professional portraits are a wonderful gift, not just to give in the form of a voucher for someone else, but as a gift to yourself and your families future.

If it’s been too long since you last had professional portraits captured then give us a call 95681441 NOW! to book yourselves in.

We’ve got some wonderful offers in the lead up to Christmas with our vouchers and also our digital packages. Please email the studio at studio@susandarcy.com.au for more information.

I thought it would be lovely to blog some of the feedback we get. So you can smile along with us.

“When I decided to have my children photographed, it was never about dressing them up in silly costumes and sitting them in oversized flower pots, or forcing them to sit still through a stiff family portrait session. It was only ever about one thing…. love.

You know that beautifully innocent look that your baby spontaneously gives you which just brings you to your knees. It catches your breath and you melt with overwhelming love. It was this look that I wanted captured forever in a timeless photograph. The photographer I chose would be charged with the enormous responsibility of capturing that look so that for the rest of my life I would fall in love with my children all over again each time I looked at these photos. And even more importantly, I wanted my grown children to see themselves as babies and see in a photo all the love our family shared. When I am gone there will be no words, only these pictures, and I needed them to say that my children were loved, so loved.

And so the photograher I chose was Susan Darcy.

I let Susan into the sanctuary of my family to capture us together in the beautiful simplicity of our everyday life. I trusted her completely with what I wanted and at times during the photoshoot I hardly even noticed she was there. My children loved Susan and we were all relaxed enough to just be ourselves and have fun together.

And there it was. The look. Susan had found it, and when I saw it in her photographs it hit me like a freight train and left me weeping with tears. And I fell in love with my children all over again.

Thank you Susan, for giving my family this timeless and precious gift that we will treasure always. I could not have asked for more.

Donna Maloney.”

Thanks Donna for your wonderful feedback, it was an absolute pleasure capturing your family.

LAST MINI SESSIONS FOR 2011!!

Christmas Mini Sessions

It’s that time of year again! Christmas is fast approaching. Book your family in for the gift of a treasured heirloom memory.

The date available is:-

Sunday November 6th 2011
(these book fast so get in quick!!)

$50 mini session fee includes a (5×7 in) print of your choice!!

WHAT DOES A MINI SESSION ENTAIL: you will get a ‘mini’ session with myself. A mini session lasts between 15-20 minutes. All sessions will be at the studio at 81 Poath Rd Murrumbeena 3163 (just down from Chadstone Shopping Centre), all will be an outdoor/location sessions). All will involve a little walking (we’ll be doing a location shoot round the park, laneways and closest streets to the studio)

WHAT ARE THE COSTS INVOLVED: Mini sessions cost $50 per time slot. A week or two after the session you will be able to order your images. There are special packages for mini sessions available and all are at heavily discounted rates. Please
email me or phone for more details (03) 9568 1441 and a price list.

WHO CAN BE PHOTOGRAPHED DURING MINI SESSIONS: these mini sessions are available for children through adults from 5 MONTHS of age through to 99 YEARS or more. These mini sessions are not suitable for newborns or for maternity/pregnancy photography (unless it’s a pregnant mum ‘with’ her children). There are to be no more than 4 people included in each session and all must be of the same immediate family. If you have a larger family or would like more children photographed you are able to book 2 time slots one after the other at $50 per time slot.

WHY A MINI SESSION: mini sessions are great! They are perfect for past clients to do a ‘top up’ session and get some recent images of their children without the fuss of a full session. They are perfect for NEW clients to ‘try’ the service out and see if they’d like a full session at a later date. They are perfect for getting images of the children or yourself for Christmas gifts. They are short and fast and fun.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE SESSION: at the end of your session you will make an appointment to come back to view your images and make your selection. This will be approx 1-2 weeks after the session and both day and evening times will be available.

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO NOW: email me or phone to secure your session time. Session fees are payable upon booking. Forward this to your friends and family so they too can take advantage of this wonderful offer.

These sessions only happen a few times a year and will book out fast so
email me or phone (03) 9568 1441 NOW to secure your place!

I’ve talked many times before about one of the perks of my job being that I get to watch children and their families grow. I first met this little lad when he was just 5 months old and have photographed him yearly, pretty much, since. He is now 5 and in school. I was saddened to hear the family were making the move to Adelaide recently, but alas mum told me they will be doing a yearly trip to melbourne and a visit to me to update their portraits each year for many years to come. How wonderful is that!

I wanted to share the last part of that with you all.

On the 4th of August my beautiful grandmother had a fall which caused a brain bleed. She had been living in a nursing home for some time now after slowly deteriorating with alzheimers. After her fall she never really woke again and my wonderful family of aunts, uncles, father, cousins all rotated a bedside vigil to make sure she was not alone for the week when she passed peacefully on the 10th August. We’re just back from a lovely weekend at rye to farewell her. Funerals are often morbid and sad occasions, but I can say my grans was unique and she was sent off in a way that she would have treasured and loved.

I want to share some images of my gran with you. Gran was a remarkable woman, a true matriach of her family (which consists of majority females!) She was happy and easy going, truly non judgemental. She loved each and everyone of us regardless of our faults or mistakes we made through life. She had amazing strangth and courage. As she grew older in her years , life never slowed down, she travelled the world alone in her 70′s, she studied numerous times achieving all sorts of qualifications throughout her later years. She had a passion for gardening and genealogy, she loved a glass or 2 of bubbly and a strong passion for family. Her passion for her family led her to research and compile our very extensive family tree and history and organising a huge family reunion in Beechworth back in around 1993. She was a remarkable woman who will dearly missed but always remembered by all who knew her.

my Gran.

So it was wonderful to go back and capture their second born daughter, Imogen, recently.

Peter and Jodie are very lucky, they have two very gorgeous girls.

Newborn Imogen and her family….

and a much bigger girl…Tegan…

Don’t forget our offer for June and July – Book your pregnancy session and receive a complimentary newborn session.

Also its time to start planning for your portraits for Christmas… more on the blog soon!

Have you thought of giving your mum or even yourself if you’re a mum or mum to be, a gift of photographic memories?

Vouchers are available from the studio. Please contact us to discuss the perfect gift idea for you or your mum.

studio@susandarcy.com.au or 03 9568 1441