Category: Portraiture

Personal: Family First

     

That moment you take a minute to reflect. Family support is EVERYTHING esp. when they came out to see my FMP Free Range Show back in 2016.

My daily challenges as a mother who is trying to work as a freelance photographer and at the same follow my passion, is that there are not enough hours in a day.

On a serious note, just getting to juggle between being a wife, mother and a photographer is hard enough as your family esp. children come first as the expense of getting childcare when an opportunity to go out on a job or assignment always makes you analyse whether is it worth it. Also, people don’t take creatives seriously and always want to undercut us when it comes to paying for work done.

I am here for #SupportingWorkingMums as the struggle is real.

So, if I quote you for a job, please keep in mind that I have bills just like you. And, when I mention my kids, don’t assume I cannot do the job. It is not that complicated. They are the very reason I am putting myself forward for the job.

Thank you and stay blessed, always!

Side note: This article by photographer Sophie Ebrard puts this struggle into a much better perspective of how as women we struggle to get the job, keep the job and still strive to raise our children in healthy environments.

#SupportingWorkingMums

Portraits: Lavinia

 

This session technically was not planned. My circle of friends hardly ever get photographed by me unless we are socialising and I want to change that. So when Lavinia reached out to me to go for a screening of “Kati Kati” at South London Gallery, I took this an opportunity to break that cycle. So after we watched the film and made our way home, we stopped off at Westminster area and then walked towards the South Bank area of London to take a few shots.

If there is anything I learnt from this experience, I AM NOT A FAN OF THE COLD. Lavinia, on the other hand, was a trooper, but we didn’t last long. The cold got the better of us.

Anyway, here are some the images I managed to conjure up in between frozen fingers and a very leaky eye.

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#WinterNightPortraits

 

Portraits: Khai

 

You photograph one, then you have to photograph the other.

I have to say though, I think my kids are teaching me a valuable lesson here. Don’t be so quick to judge mummy.

My son was a breeze to photograph (I think it’s an age thing) and at one point, his sister was shouting the same instructions I was when photographing her and if he wasn’t listening, I would get a tap on my shoulder, “Mummy, Khai is not putting his legs down.” Ahhh…I think I have an assistant in the making.

And, when I was chimping, Khai would shout at me to take his picture as he was ready for his next pose. These kids of today, I tell you! 😑

Anyway, here are my eldest best shots from his shoot. I am actually pleased with them seeing as I had just woken up and I was still in my pyjamas when I did these.

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Bonus image of the siblings together

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Am I on to something here? What do you think?

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#PreciousMoments

Portraits: Makena

 

It is winter here in the U.K. and in London, it just gets cold, wet and windy.

On this day, the sun came out to play, but it was just too chilly to go outside. So, I decided to take advantage of all that light that was streaming into our home and photograph my youngest. This was a good way to kill time before the school run and to also test my levels of patience when it comes to photographing kids. I just have a feeling that when it comes to your own and you don’t do this kind of thing, it becomes a nightmare scenario. Or is it just me?

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All I can say, I am actually happy with the final images despite the challenge of getting a 3-year-old to sit still and listen to posing instructions.

Photographers who deal with kids, you are my new heroes.

The big question here is, if you photograph children, how do you make them listen to you?

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#PreciousMoments

Portraits: Richard + Cynthia + Inaya

  

My first attempt in ‘Baby Bump’ photography I did a while back and I have to say, pretty please with the results. Now that I have ‘more time’ on my hands, I do hope I get to do more of these.

My guinea pigs are dear friends of mine, Richard and Cynthia, shot in their local park one sunny summer afternoon.

All I can say is, it was a fun shoot all done in natural light. As long as Cynthia was comfortable, Richard and I were too.

Here is to Baby Inaya…who will be turning 4 this year. Well, how time flies!

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