Prep guide

Thank you for booking in your Mothers Day Limited Edition Session.

I'm really looking forward to capturing your family. Family time is fun, adorable, full of love and real moments,

This is what I aim to capture of your family, the connection & love you have for each other.

With your children anytime is a special time in your life to capture, children grow so fast, you will look back on these images for many years to come

Thank you for letting me be a part of such a special time!

I have put together this prep guide as your go-to resource to help you prepare for the best possible outcome.

I will be in contact a couple days before your session where you can ask any final questions you may have.

Preparing for the session

Mini sessions are short and sweet

A few tips:
• Make sure they’ve had a snack beforehand
• Tell them you’re going to run, cuddle and have fun

Some of the most beautiful images are:
• Forehead kisses
• Belly laughs/Tickles
• Little hands wrapped around you
• Them hiding in your dress

I’ll likely ask you to:
• Walk hand in hand
• Swing them
• Spin slowly
• Scoop them up

Movement keeps them engaged and creates natural joy.

If your little one is slow to warm up:
• Hold them close at the start
• Don’t push independence immediately
• Let them observe

We’ll ease into it gently. Some of the sweetest photos happen when they’re tucked into you.

For Wild & Energetic Kids That energy? I love it.

We’ll:
• Let them run
• Turn it into a game
• Capture their personality

You do not need to apologise for them being “too much.” Childhood isn’t meant to be still.

If things feel chaotic for a moment — lean in.

Whisper to them.
Laugh at the chaos.
Pull them close.

Often the “in-between” moments are the ones you’ll treasure most.

If they don’t look at the camera much — that’s okay. Connection always photographs better than forced smiles.

I’ll guide everything gently and naturally. Some of the most beautiful moments happen in between poses.

If you’re feeling a little nervous about how your children will behave, please take a deep breath. I promise you — I don’t expect perfection. I expect real life. Wiggly toddlers, shy cuddles, bursts of energy… it’s all welcome here. My job isn’t to make your children sit still — it’s to gently guide, adapt, and find the magic in whatever they bring. You just show up and love them. I’ll take care of the rest

WHAT TO WEAR

The beach tones are soft and neutral, so wardrobe makes a big difference in creating that timeless look.

For Mums & Dads

Choose:
• Cream
• Beige, Tans, Grey
• Soft blush
• Light blue
• Warm neutrals

Avoid:
• Bright colours
• Bold patterns
• Large logos
• Dark heavy tones (like black)

If you’re unsure, you’re always welcome to send me options — I’m happy to help style you.

For Children

Keep it simple and neutral.
• Linen, cotton, soft textures
• Barefoot works beautifully on the beach
• Rompers for babies, simple dresses photograph so well, avoid short dresses

The goal is coordination — not matching perfectly.

Avoid busy patterns on everyone, 1-2 people in small patterns is okay

Complimenting the colours will make a huge a difference in the final product.

Click here for some CLOTHING INSPIRATION

LOCATION

The Beach location is Dudley Beach

Park in the car park off Dudley Beach Rd, go down the stairs at the north end of car park. I’ll meet you at the bottom of the stairs. Please arrive 5 minutes early before your session time, if you are late, I can only allow the time left in your 20 minute session.

AFTER YOUR SESSION

After your session, I will get to work on culling your images down to the very best of the best (typically between 20-40 images), then editing those images and getting them up into your gallery. Once they're ready, I'll be in touch with the link to your gallery of images.

Your gallery is available for 7 days, to choose your favourite 6 images. You will be sent a link to download your chosen images.

Downloading your files:
Once you've received the link to download your chosen images, I'd encourage you to do that immediately. The process is simple: use the down arrow in the upper right corner of your gallery - click on that and the system will walk you through the download process. The images will download as a zip file, which you can double-click on to expand. I suggest you make a second copy of the expanded files, then save the two copies to two different locations - I generally recommend that one copy be saved to an easily accessible drive (either on your computer or on an external hard drive), and that the other get saved to the cloud (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.).

Copyrights (and wrongs):
Once you've got your digital images in hand, you are free to print them when, where, and as often as
you wish - you can use them to make holiday cards, share on your social media pages or personal blog, etc. The only things you can't do are related to the resale of your photos or use for commercial/business purposes. For instance, if you authored a book, you'd need additional permission to use one of the photos on the dust jacket, and you wouldn't be able to enter one of the photos into a contest and win prize money for it. Otherwise, you've got free reign.

Printing your images
While everything that I offer in my store is printed in professional labs and guaranteed to be beautiful, I also recognise that you may want to print your images yourself, and thanks to those digital image files, you absolutely can! I recommend

ProAm Digital for local printing and Frame Fox, Pixel Perfect and Brilliant Prints for online printing, framing, and canvas. Be sure to upload the original files you downloaded, not copies. The files you receive from me should allow you to print up to 20x30"

UPGRADE YOUR GALLERY

If you love all the photos from your session (which I’m sure you will) you have the option to upgrade to the whole gallery for $200.

You have a SHOP in your online gallery which is very easy to navigate

Digital images are great, They’re easy to access, easy to share with family, easy to keep close in everyday life.

Digital images absolutely have their place, and you can print your own photos with your digital files.

But they don’t complete the experience.

The session captures your story.
Printing finishes it.

That’s why I don’t see digital images as the final product, they’re the beginning. The finished experience is when your memories are tangible, visible, and woven into your home and your family’s legacy.