Lovely twin girls

We managed to get a few gorgeous images of these lovely baby girls before they went down for a nap. They were such perfect, precious girls...

Gorgeous baby girl

I met this lovely baby girl who was so smiley and happy. She thoroughly enjoyed sitting in the cereal and laughing at us and was very obliging with all the changes around her. It was lovely to meet her and her adoring Mum.



Photographs: your most valuable possession

In Queensland, Australia we have just had huge floods that caused a lot of families to lose everything. Many of them had notice to evacuate but some did not. One thing that you hear so often when people are fleeing floods and fires is that they grab their most valuable possessions and leave quickly. Photographs are always, always packed in the car to be rescued. After all, material possessions can be replaced but those reminders of those precious memories cannot.

I wanted to do a blog post to help people protect their most precious items; their photos.

At the moment there are plenty of ‘back to school’ specials at stationary stores like Officeworks. All you need to back those photos up is a good external hard drive and a scanner. You can get a 1TB (which is HUGE) hard drive for around $100 and scanners are similar prices.

You need to back up all of your digital photos. For the older physical photos you can scan them in and then back them up. If you live in bush fire or flood prone areas can I also suggest that you purchase two external hard drives and leave one backup at another safe location.

This is the perfect time to start this project as the kids are home on school holidays and are often looking for things to do. I am sure they will also love looking through all of those old photos as they scan them in.

Furthermore, you can start a special Mothers Day project. With all of those old photos scanned in, why not create a photo book for your Mum for Mothers Day in May. If you start the project now you will have plenty of time to finish it.

There are plenty of places where you can print your photo books like snapfish. Or if you would like a professional album like one of these, please contact me at louise@reflectionsbylouise.com.au and we can discuss your options.

(Images from Seldex)

But please, at the very least, make sure that you place all of your photos in one area so that they can be easily relocated in case of emergency. Televisions, couches and beds can all be replaced, but photographs can’t.

Size DOES matter!

When my clients are selecting their print and canvas sizes, they often ask me for my opinion. Together we get the measuring tape out and start discussing the merits of each size and groupings of each size. Whilst on the measuring tape, an image might seem quite large, what I have learnt is that size is relative and often those measuring tapes can be deceptive.

This is a fun game to play at home so, go on, grab your measuring tape and play along!

OK...so, an 8x10 image. That's a reasonable size right? It certainly looks it on the measuring tape but when you put it up on a wall behind the couch, the 8x10 canvas no longer seems quite so big...

So now let's consider the next size. Surely the 11x14 is a good size right? It certainly looks ok on the measuring tape. But again, when we print it on canvas and mount it on the lounge room wall, we gain a new perspective on just how large the 11x14 is.

It certainly does help when we frame it, as this 11x14 starts to look less dwarfed in the room. It still is a reasonably small wall hanging though.

Now let's consider the 16x20. If we look at this on the measuring tape it look quite huge, right? This is probably the minimum size I recommend to my clients. As you can see, it looks good on the wall, but by no means would you describe it as huge.

When you mount the 16x20 into a frame it also helps to give it presence within the room.

It is probably at about 20x30 where the image can be appreciated without being dwarfed by the furniture or the size of the walls.

 The 20x30 also looks great mounted in a frame.

And of course, when you measure a 30x40 on the measuring tape you think to yourself "this is waaaay too big". However, when you see this image on the wall, it is the perfect size in relation to the wall and the furniture within the room.

Smaller images make a great impact when grouped with other images. In this setting, a 20x24 is surrounded by a grouping of four 8x10's, which is a lovely addition to the room.

And these are more examples of how you can group canvases in differing sizes to create exquisite art in your living room.

The moral of the story is; size does matter and bigger is better!

Top 10 of 2010

Here are my favourite images from 2010. I was going to number them but then someone might figure out that there's actually more than ten! I couldn't narrow it down, as it was I left out lots I loved.

I have loved my photography journey this year and I look forward to even more adventures in 2011. Watch this space as I intend to start the year with a bang :)

I cheated!

I never, ever thought it would happen to me. I thought I was different. But I've learnt to say, never say never.

My story really is quite predictable. In the beginning, I was so in love. From the moment we met I knew I had found my match. Everyone else commented too. So many positive comments, all the time.

Things started to change a little though when my expectations weren't quite being met. I looked around at other people and saw what was possible. Why couldn't I have that? Still, I dismissed those feelings as we all know that the grass isn't necessarily greener on the other side, don't we.

Then...I met David. In an instant I knew I would inevitably cheat. He had such a profound impact on me. He showed me that my expectations were indeed possible. And then I found tonnes more out there just like David enjoying what I once thought wasn't possible.

Initially I didn't act on my feelings. I admired from afar. Dreaming and hoping that one day I could find such bliss. As the days went on, my eye wondered further, until one day, I contemplated 'what if'. 'What if' I acted on this?

Well...as they say, the rest is history. I must bid my beloved Canon 450D a huge farewell. We had fun together and I will always remember my dear Canon with fondness. But my new love has been found in a Nikon D700. Yes, I cheated. Defected even. But I look forward to my newfound relationship.

And here is the new love of my life.....

Where'd it go?

Where'd it go? That is what this totally gorgeous two year old boy said after I drove away from our family portrait session.

I loved this family session. They live on a gorgeous property with lots of room and real cows! I was driving to the session and just as I thought I must be getting close the satnav told me to continue another 35 kilometres before turning.

I just love this family. They are so happy and genuine and we had so much fun. I didn't want to finish taking photos (in fact, I am sure I took a lot of "just one more's") and the girls were more than happy to continue.

And we had some silly moments in between the more traditional shots :)