Madelyn’s First Birthday Studio Shoot and Cake Smash:

Date: 19th March 2016, 9am

Location: At Home, Bridgeman Downs

I love doing studio photo shoots but don’t get to do them as much as I’d like; I think there’s an assumption attached to them that they are going to be a bit too stuffy and formal (and expensive!) but this isn’t the case at all! I have a portable photography studio so I can come to your house and get studio quality photos without the hefty price-tag (a portable studio means no rent!)

I was fortunate enough to do an on location family studio shoot for Lauren, Hayden and Madelyn last year in Wellington Point and they very kindly invited me back to capture some photographs for Madelyn’s first birthday. I didn’t need asking twice! I headed to their home in Bridgeman Downs one warm and sunny Saturday morning, which I found to be a hive of activity in preparation for the impending celebrations. I added to the melee as I colonised one corner of the house to set up the studio (a simple, unobtrusive process that takes 20 minutes or so) and by 9am on the dot we were ready to shoot!

The best bit of advice I can give when photographing kids is to work quickly and to have lots of breaks to maintain their interest! We used the breaks to grab a dose of air-con (it was 34 degrees outside!) and to give Madelyn a rest from the prying camera! She did incredibly well and posed perfectly with Mummy and Daddy, then tried out the rugs and cushions I had brought along for some solo shots; but the hero of the morning was the pink helium balloons which she was intrigued by! Props are great for maintaining interest and for getting some awesome facial expressions! Good work Mummy!

As Madelyn was being so patient with us, we grabbed some shots with Mummy and then Daddy, and then with little Oliver who also loved the camera, which made my morning an absolute breeze! Thanks guys!

The extended family started to arrive at 9.30 and although the concentration started to waiver a little, Maddy was still a star and we grabbed some great shots with everyone!

After around half an hour of family pics we headed to the garden for the cake smash! I love photographing cake smashes as you really never know what’s going to happen: confused innocence or outright carnage! Happily Madelyn was somewhere in between and happily demolished the cake for us without sending it flying through the air!

Madelyn even got her first taste of cake – you can judge for yourself whether she was keen or not!

And then once there was more cake on the birthday girl than there was on the floor, it was time for a bath and a snooze, and I said my goodbyes. Happy First Birthday, Madelyn!

“Hi Andy,

Thank you so much for the work that you did on those photos. The disc arrived safely in the mail today. Hopefully there will be another occasion soon so that I can contact you again! It was great working with you again.

Lauren”