Golden hour doesn’t get much better than this session with Charlotte and Ben. They have such amazing chemistry that direction from me was not at all needed. My personal favourite is the final few shots, when I jokingly told Ben to ‘take her for a ride’ and he literally zoomed off around the carpark and it was equal parts cute and hilarious. Please, more rooftop sunset shoots!
Charlotte : Soccer club editorial session // Brisbane.
Months ago on Instagram, I saw Charlotte post a picture wearing this dress and I knew we had to shoot in it. Those sleeves are SOMETHING ELSE. When I was driving through the suburbs to her place for the shoot, I went past a local soccer club that was the perfect match. I love a good happy accident.
Bek & Cam : Adventurous couples' portrait session // Lamington National Park.
Last weekend I ventured up the mountain to Lamington National Park with my good friends Bek and Cam. I met Bek on Tumblr about six years ago, she found Cam on there too. Safe to say they’re one of the best things to have come from the internet.
Lily : Springtime portrait session // New Farm Park.
The best thing about October in Brisbane is our attempt at a cherry blossom season AKA the fleeting bloom of purple jacaranda trees speckled around our neighbourhoods. Our original location fell through, so this shoot was suuuper last minute with zero location scouting, but luckily spring time brought the goods.
All of these shots are taken in the same location, but I wanted to play around a bit and create some variation to have mini sets within this series. Enjoy :’)
Jarrod & Thalia : Brisbane engagement session // Ekka 2018.
Last weekend Jarrod, Thalia and I braved the crowds of the Ekka to create this magically colourful engagement session. This location was pretty hectic to navigate, but these guys are so much fun and really made the day special. I cannot WAIT to shoot their wedding next year (and possibly again sooner.) For now, enjoy these pretty neon portraits.
Personal: Birthday self portrait session // Lennox Heads.
This time last week was my 24th birthday, and my husband and I took a day trip down to the Northern Rivers of New South Wales. A little windswept and a little wobbly in inappropriate footwear, we ventured out to get some cutey coupley photos of our own (thank you tripod.)
Remy : Self love portrait session // West End, Brisbane.
A Saturday afternoon well spent with a friend, some wheat and a lot of manual effects. I love this series very, very much and can't wait to work with Remy again x.
Nic & Jen : Couple's portrait session // Melaleuca Station Crematorium
Nick & Jen were the best dancers at my wedding. My husband and I had taught ourselves a quick waltz via Youtube the night before, meanwhile these guys were out there spinning and grooving like pros. So there's a lot of dancing in this set, prepare yourself for all the twirls.
Clients-turn-friends of mine manage this ridiculously picturesque crematorium in northern New South Wales. It's so beautiful that I am 100% willing to inconvenience my family by subjecting them to the 2 hour drive to cremate me here. Careful to ensure there were no services on this day (residual habits of a funeral coordinator hi hello) we spent an afternoon in the gardens. I assumed that the garden was the only thing to see but there was SO MUCH MORE. It turns out before it was a crematorium, this place was an outback themed restaurant that now stands as a semi-abandoned looking warehouse, and before that it was a train station, with the platform still in tact.
One more big thank you to Nick & Jen for being good sports and good dancers, and to Thalia and Jarod for the funeral banter and permitting access to the location x
Ash & Amy-Rose : Winter farm wedding // Redlands, Brisbane.
On June 16th I had the privilege to capture Ash & Amy-Rose's wedding day. The ceremony and reception was held at an eco farm in the Redland Bay area, and their photos were taken...well, you'll see. Instead of rings they exchanged tattoos, the bride wore black and the bridesmaids made their own dresses. It was the perfect day that was so unique to them and I'm honoured to have been a part of it. Here are some highlights from that day x
I know wedding portraits are usually quite cohesive - they're shot in a single location so everything is the same colour scheme, mood etc. But that all goes out the window when your wedding is up the road from Daz, a man who, in his own words, 'likes to collect strange things.' Such things might include a church bell strung up in a gum tree, a giant fibreglass shark sculpture, an appropriately themed slogan or a froggy waterslide.
The following set is the slightly-more-serious 'proper' portraits that I am IN LOVE WITH.
Ruby & Travis : Pet portrait session // Brisbane City.
Recently I enjoyed an afternoon in Ruby's gorgeous home to shoot some portraits of her and her lovely long boy, Travis. I've never really considered pet photography but this pair's connection is so pure and I was delighted to come out of this shoot with such a wholesome, emotional set. I remember when Ruby was preparing to adopt Travis (he's a rescue greyhound) and she loved him so much before she'd even taken him home. He's definitely one the luckiest of rescue pups around. I'm sorry this post is so long but I really struggled to cull these photos because this pair are just too sweet.
Thankyou again for letting me into your heart and your home, Ruby x.
Ali & Daniel : Engagement session // Mt Coot-tha Gardens, Brisbane.
Last weekend I had the privilege to spend an afternoon with Ali & Daniel. For a pair that have never done a photoshoot before their session turned out so so great - not to mention they're maybe the most attractive couple ever? If this is set is any indication, they're going to be so beautiful together on their wedding day later this year. Their adoration for each other just radiates. Here's some of my favourites from our afternoon goofing around in the gardens.
Thank you guys so much for trusting me to create this special set for you x.
Street portraits // Harajuku & Omotesando, Japan.
Who thought it was a good idea to try their hand at approaching strangers for street portraits in an unfamiliar place speaking a language they're pretty sucky at? This girl. These pics are just for fun! Shot on my Contax T2 on Portra that went through airport x-rays many times (woops.) Even though these pictures aren't perfect, they're special to me and deserve a feature. I was tempted to include more street pics but I think I'll save them for their own post one day. Also shoutout to the boys and girls of Harajuku/Omotesando who are so shy at first but all know how to pose perfectly?? Enjoy.
Abby : Self love portrait session // Brisbane Botanical Gardens
Earlier this week Abby and I took a plastic bag full of tinsel and some literal rose coloured glasses to the city botanical gardens to see what we could come up with. Abby is an enigma of aesthetics and always nails the super vague styling briefs I throw at her. Everything here is shot through a Sigma Art Series 18-35 and a collection of second hand lens filters. You can find Abby on insta @wicked.mermaid
We held a bundle of tinsel close to Abby's face to achieve this streaky, watery reflection - because as you should know, Blade Runner is my inspiration for everything. I love the end results, even though the process was much less glamorous (scroll to the end of this post to see the reality of creating this look.) I am always thankful for Abby because she's so patient and trusting in my crazy stupid creative processes.
It is also worth noting that during this shoot, while crouching in some mulch trying to ~get the shot~ I stood up too fast and absolutely knackered myself, falling over in front of a bunch of kids walking through the garden to a punk show. So congratulations to me.
self: pink
Recently I took a massive leap and ... dyed my hair pink. For some this may not be terribly exciting but I never really had the opportunity to have 'fun' hair in my schooling and work lives. So I am feeling quite the Avril Lavigne rn. My lovely husband helped out with this little shoot the day I got it done.
The colour we used was Joico Rose (?) which looks great but be warned: they put glitter in their hair dye. Which is stupid, and inconvenient. I have had silver flecks shimmying from my scalp down my face ever since. I don't know how long I'll be keeping this colour, at least until we go to Japan and I can disappear into a cherry blossom tree.
Lauren : Content session // Southbank, Brisbane.
On Thursday I met up with Lauren to shoot some content for her. We hit a tonne of locations around the city and I am so pleased with these shots. Sorry that there are so many, I struggled to cull them down. If you're a content creator in need of some ootd/lifestyle/portrait work I'd love to bring your ideas to life :) You can follow this beauty @lauren.mcguckin
