Ella before moving to Australia

I met Ella when she was about 8 years old as she is the daughter of a very good friend of ours! Over the past few years I have done various shoots with her and watched her grow from a cute little girl to a beautiful teenager.  Here is the last shoot I did with her in January 2013 before she and her mom left South Africa to go and live in Australia.  I miss her so much and hope that when she visits again I will be able to do another shoot of this natural beauty, who I believe, will really go far one day! Have a look at these photographs and if you would like a fun Portrait/Portfolio Shoot done of yourself then please contact me and I am sure we will have loads of fun dressing you up for the shoot!  Email me at laurette9@hotmail.com for more information. As you will see many of these items of clothing were purchased at real bargain prices from the Helderberg Hospice Shops a real treasure chest of props for photographers.

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The last time Ella and I were together we played around with various pieces of clothing which both of us had, plus some of my handwork and just generally had a lot of fun! Here she is wearing a cotton gypsy blouse and skirt (which I use as props for my shoots). The cushion on the left is one that I sewed, crocheted and embroidered myself. Her headdress is a few material flowers that someone gave to me when they were spring cleaning and I made it into a garland for her hair.

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Ella has the most beautiful blue eyes! So sweet and gentle!

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Here Ella is wearing a shawl which I got for a ‘song’ at the Helderberg Hospice Shop called 2nd Debut.  They have the most amazing bargains sometimes and it is a great place to go if you are a photographer looking for props for your models to wear.

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Here Ella is wearing an old skirt of mine, a crocheted lacey top that I got for a bargain at the Helderberg Hospice Shop, her black top and the black and gold shawl from the Hospice Shop. The shoes she is wearing are her own favourite pair.

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A beautiful portrait shot of Ella.

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A little bit Vintage and Romantic style look with flowers in her hair.

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This one reminds me of Eva Cassidy’s song ‘Fields of Gold’. The shawl is also a secondhand item from Helderberg Hospice Shop.

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I love the lace, the light and the Vintage look on Ella.  Just so Romantic! This dress I also got for a bargain from the Hospice Shop, and I use it as a prop for my portfolio shoots.

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Well what can I say … I love this one of her having fun!

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A true natural beauty enjoying the little forest of trees around her.  I wondered what she was thinking!

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Of course the family cat decided that doing a photoshoot was the place to be so it followed us wherever we went. 🙂

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I loved the light shining through her moving hair!

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Here Ella is wearing her own jeans, a very old  top that I bought secondhand years ago which I tie-dyed and an old cotton headscarf also bought secondhand years ago.

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Whatever Ella wears it always looks good on her!

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…. and finally the Kitty Cat getting in on the act!

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Just a quick shoot!

My friend phoned me up and asked whether I could do a quick half hour shoot for her friend’s daughter’s Matric Farewell. I was to meet at my friend’s house as she had a garden that would be great for the backgrounds. Well when Celomi walked in, I was completely blown away by her beauty.  A natural beauty who was not only beautiful on the outside, but beautiful on the inside as well. She was with her boyfriend Rikus and her mom who I knew from the past. Hope you enjoy the images and let me know if you would like to book me for a Matric Farewell Shoot for 2014! 🙂

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Love these children and the family!

A few weeks ago I got a phone call from someone who said she had bid for a photoshoot with me at the Helderberg Animal Welfare Fundraiser and had won and could she possibly book a date for a photoshoot.  I said sure and we made a date a few days later. They live in one of the most beautiful areas in the Helderberg Basin and when I arrived at their home I was met by two of their children and two dogs. Eventually once I got through the gate I had the great pleasure of meeting mom, dad, their son, two daughters, two dogs and two cats. We had so much fun and I so enjoyed the areas of their property where I could shoot. It made for a much more relaxed shoot for the family to have it done at their home. At a certain stage they were struggling to get their youngest daughter, Kayleigh, to co-operate, as she wanted to go and play on her own in her room, so I asked her whether she would show me where she was playing in her room and this broke the ice and I got her to open up. We had so much fun! Here is the result of some of the images I took that day.

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Meet Kayleigh, Wyatt and Roxy, three beautiful siblings who get on so well together. I actually love these children so much I offered to babysit them! 🙂

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Roxy is a real natural and I will definitely try get her to do a portrait shoot on her own. She is so relaxed in front of the camera and really seems to enjoy it. She is the middle child and such a lovely personality.

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Kayleigh is the baby of the family and is a little shy of the camera, but is in a world of her own once you get her into her room with her toys, guitar, hamster etc. etc. She opens up like a beautiful flower telling you all about everything that she loves. She reminded me a lot of myself at that age.

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Then we have Wyatt, the eldest. A gentle spirit who loves animals and his family.  What a joy to meet such a lovely young man who is so well mannered and respectful, and I know that it is because of his parents and his upbringing.

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Meet Woody, their very old little dog who tried to follow us down the stairs even though it was difficult to get there with his short little legs. A real little sweetie and very close to the whole family, especially Wyatt.

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Then we have the cat, Ginger, who is a real beauty and very playful.

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The cutest of the bunch is of course, the yorkie, Chase! You just want to cuddle him!  The day I dropped of their photographs he got out and we couldn’t see where he was and then we eventually saw these two little ears sticking out above the grass of the field next door and realised he was after the guinea fowls.

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Meet Dad, Gerald, with his son Wyatt. Such a wonderful buddy relationship with this father and son. Both have a really wonderful sense of humour and love to tease each other. His wife, Dawn, who won the prize prefered not to be included in the blog, but maybe you should take a look at what she does as she is the abstract artist in the family and your will find her work here!

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While I was doing the shoot I came across this ‘heart’ in the bark of a tree!

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Roxy showing me her modelling skills!

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Kayleigh in her bedroom cuddling her very big teddybear! Comfort!

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Here Wyatt is cuddling his best friend, Woody, while sharing a moment with Roxy on the steps, but Chase is also looking for attention from Wyatt.

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Pretty Roxy the natural!

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Kayleigh sharing a special close moment with her dad, Gerald!

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Roxy sitting against a huge tree on their property with the river that runs through their property in the background.

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Kayleigh introduced me to her little hamster that lives in a cage in her room. What a cute little face it has!

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This very lucky cat, Ginger, has the most scratch poles any cat could ever wish for!  I’m sure our cat wouldn’t mind visiting there.

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Roxy having a fun moment with her dad!

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Kayleigh giving me a beautiful smile in her bedroom with the lovely morning light coming through her windows.

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Pose for me please Roxy! 🙂

Wyatt with his cute little yorkie, Chase. Love this one of the two of them.

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Thank you so much for allowing me into your home to meet and capture these memories of your family!

Searching for Tinkerbell

At the beginning of September I started photographing Families that had entered their children in the recent ‘My Favourite Things’ – Babies & Kiddies Market at Lourensford at the end of August. The first family who I photographed was a past pupil and her family. Lecia, used to take Modern Dance classes with me when she was a tiny little girl and we have since connected with each other again. She entered her beautiful shy little daughter, Samantha, in the contest to raise funds for the Kanga Moms and Babies of the Helderberg and this is the result of their shoot on a cold windy and overcast day at the Helderberg Nature Reserve. Samantha, got a little bit niggly during the shoot and so mom and dad told her to search for Tinkerbell, which kept her going throughout the shoot. They eventually found Tinkerbell when they got home. 😉

Please leave a message if you like or even if you are interested in having a family shoot done for your family. You can contact me at laurette9@hotmail.com for more information or go to my website.

The Kirkwood Family Portrait

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Cuddling up to Daddy to keep warm.

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Samantha’s dress and outfit was Samantha’s choice and I was so glad that she chose what she did because it brightened up the day with those beautiful colours and having her little ‘friend’ along  just made the day!  Here is Sam working with Dad along the boardwalk alongside the pond.

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Peekaboo, while Mom and Dad give her a loving kiss on the forehead.

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When I met Lecia again after so many years with Samantha, it was amazing for me to see the similarities of Lecia and Sam at a similar age.

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Okay, let’s go and find Tinkerbell!

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Mom and daughter, Sam, having a cuddle to keep each other warm!

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I love this one of Sam. She is such a shy little thing and this image shows that beauty!

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Sam looking for Tinkerbell amongst the plants and vegetation.

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A very special family who love one another dearly!

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Mom and Dad stealing a few moments for themselves.

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Can you see the squirrel up there ……….?

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Sam:  “So now where is Tinkerbell?”  Lecia (Mom):  “We will go home and look for her there”

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