Having your partner at your pregnancy shoot is a great idea, apart from the obvious growing bond between a father and his child there's the visual contrast that works so well too. Including contrasting elements accentuates those features you want to draw attention to. For instance masculine and feminine, rough with the smooth, angular and curvaceous, large and small, physical strength with maternal protection even rough textured skin or tattoos highlight the softness, roundness and fragility of the bump. Having your children in the photo with you can also create a little magic, the promise of something wonderful in the making.

A wedding is such a momentous event but we put such lot of effort into planning the minute details and it's those small things that can often be the big memory triggers.

A picture paints a thousand words but a few pictures together can paint an even better story. 

Stepping back and allowing a family to enjoy each other's company is often the best way of capturing great family portraits.

A recent family gathering gave me the perfect excuse to photograph my own children and their gorgeous cousins.
These images were captured using the same daylight studio set-up described in my last post. Light from a large window directly in front of or slightly to the side of the subject. Simple but stunning.

These were the photos this gorgeous family chose for display.

You can get quite tricky with your lighting but often the simplest lighting set-up is the most effective. These two daylight studios are easily setup at home. In this family photo the light is from the front, great when you have a few people in shot because no-one gets shaded out or darkened by light 'fall-off'. The black backdrop makes the subjects pop out and concentrates your view. The further away your backdrop is from the subject the darker it is, and if it was lighter in colour, the less likely that shadows will fall on it.

In these single portraits the window light is on the kids right, slightly forward of their position so the light accentuates the the shape of the face. I love this chiaroscuro style of lighting.

A photo essay taken as part of my Massey University Honours Degree. Quite incredible to think buildings like this were the heart of a rural community and now thousands of them lay abandoned and often neglected. This one looked like they'd left after a service years ago and just not come back.

There's something kinda wonderful about the shape of a baby bump and the glow of a pregnant Mum. 
I love the symbolism in this image with the pearls; the echo of form, the promise of something wonderful hidden just beneath the surface and the anticipation of that moment when finally you can see what that beautiful, hidden treasure looks like.
Every woman should celebrate pregnancy, it's a monumental time in your life and such a magical experience. Desiree, Mark and I had such a fun time playing in my new studio. Thank you guys for allowing me to stretch my creative legs. Good luck for your birth x. There's more of the same on my baby bump photo page.