etta photography

In April I captured the wedding story of Hugh and Kirsty. It was a beautiful sunny autumn day and it was my honour to share in this relaxed and romantic love story.  Kirsty made her preparations surrounded by three special women: her bridesmaid, a close friend and her mum. It was fun to be there to watch them prepare for the day and to see their gorgeous outfits come together. Kirsty wore a simple but elegant Vera Wang dress and it was awesome to see a bridal party step outside the norm and add their own personal taste to their look! Amongst Kirsty’s amazing collection of heels I photographed her divine Nicholas Kirkwood midnight blue satin shoes (with a hint of black to match the band on her dress) and also the bright orange Jimmy Choo bridesmaid shoes you will see a bit further below – so much fun!!

Hugh wore an awesome velvet midnight blue jacket with both the men’s suits by Wil Valor. The velvet jacket tied in perfect with Kirsty’s shoes and outfit. Kirsty married Hugh at the Albert St Uniting Church – a beautiful venue where both Kirsty’s mother and grandmother were married. After the ceremony we headed off to a few local spots for their portraits and also included a trip down an alley way to the secluded bean cafe.  It was so fun to capture them in a place that has become one of their local favourites!    We then ended up at Urbane Restaurant for their reception – a funky modern venue that provided the perfect backdrop for an intimate wedding.  Congratulations Hugh and Kirsty, it was a perfect day! xx

Hair by GW Private Rooms // Makeup by The Powder Room // Vera Wang Dress by Helen Rodrigues, Sydney // Bridesmaid dress by Ultrasuite // Flowers by Michelle Jorgenson of Bride’s Flowers // Brides Shoes by Nicholas Kirkwood // Orange heels by Jimmy Choo // Suits by Wil Valor // Ceremony at Albert Street Uniting Church // Photos around Bean Cafe  and at Roma St Parklands // Reception at Urbane Restaurant, Brisbane

A month or so ago, I was honoured to attend the beautiful water-birth arrival of a little girl named Avalon. Her mother, Dayna had contacted me about newborn portraits earlier this year and when I mentioned birth photography she said she was very keen to have hers captured. Dayna had planned her birth at the RBWH Birth Centre, a place close to my own heart as I have welcomed my two water-birth babies there.  Like myself, Dayna loved the idea that the Birth Centre offers an experience similar to a natural home birth, but with the added knowledge that there are the best medical facilities only a few doors away if required.  The midwives there are wonderful, and I thoroughly recommend the wonderful work they do, empowering mothers to trust in their body’s amazing design for birth.

The story for me began when Dayna texted me during the day on a Monday and said that things were progressing well (after a few weeks of false starts). There was a sense of anticipation for me – not knowing if it would be soon, or still a day or two away.  At 6.45pm I received another call, this time from her sister saying that labour was progressing fairly quickly now, that Dayna was in the bath and I would need to come in soon.  My hubby had just arrived home and the kids were in bed, and I had been keen to have dinner and freshen up but something told me just to leave, and leave now. So I grabbed my camera gear (ready and waiting) and began the 45 minute drive toward the city.  I was filled with butterflies at the thought of what I was about to capture, whether I would make it in time and also planning how I would work with the low light and make sure I was the quietest of observers, to let Dayna do her thing.

When I arrived at 7.30pm, the room was peaceful and Dayna was leaning on the side of the bath, deep ‘in the zone’. From my own experiences, I could tell that she was very close to the pushing stage – quiet, concentrated and in tune with her body. Within only a few minutes of arriving she began to push and within 20 minutes of my arrival, we met little Avalon!  It was amazing to witness a little life come from the womb into the world and to see the joy on Dayna’s face as she met her baby girl. I was then able to spend their first hour together capturing portraits of Avalon with her mummy and daddy. It was wonderful and beautiful to share this moment (and made me rather clucky again!).

A week after the birth we also met for Avalons newborn portraits with her family and big brother too.  Dayna wanted to share a few words about the whole experience of birth photography:  ”I am a big fan of Maddie’s work. I didn’t even notice her taking the photos and looking at all the precious images now, I am SO glad Maddie was there. I will cherish them forever!  I wish I had beautiful photographs like this of my first birth and I can’t keep myself from recommending Maddie”.

This post is a collection of images from Avalon’s arrival and her first hour in the big wide world. Whether it is a home birth, hospital birth, natural or ceasarean, welcoming a new little person into the world is one of life’s greatest moments…I look forward to sharing in more little people’s arrivals over the coming years!  Maddie

There is something wonderous about the start of a new year. It’s like a blank page that is yet to be written.. and we can dream or plan about what will be. So it was very fitting that my first shoot for 2012 was a newborn shoot – and what a yummy bundle of newness I was able to capture. Cute little Grace arrived on Christmas day much to the surprise of her parents. I always thought it was strange when someone shared a birthday with another big event, but here I realised first hand babies just make their entrance when they are good and ready to meet the world!  But what a delightful gift for her parents to enjoy on Christmas night. It was a warm and humid morning when I arrived, ideal conditions for a newborn baby to just chill out and relax. And relax she did! She was a perfect little angel and quite the model. Check out her delicious little pout and those cute chubby cheeks. Yum! Her aunt had collected some different items to celebrate her arrival and we were able to give her shoot a very girly feel, while also mixing it up with some precious moments with mum and dad. Gosh I love newborns! xx

In October it was my daughter’s 3rd birthday and for months she’d been asking for a “pink princess party” (same as 75% of all 3 year old girls…!).  As I’m not a real fan of tizz and hot pink… we combined my love of “brown paper packages tied up with string” with her “pink princesses” obsession and came up with a lovely rustic princess party to share with her closest friends.

As a bit of a wanna-be party planner or stylist, I do enjoy making things pretty and fun… so I had a few key ideas for the party  - It had to be environmentally friendly (we used existing objects like a paper flower and white platters, or leftovers around home or friends to decorate, buying only some coloured paper, stickers and brown paper for the event) - It had to have a mostly healthy menu – We had ‘fruit jewels’ (cookie cutter shaped fruit on sticks), ‘ham swirls’ (ham and tortilla wraps on sticks), ‘princess popcorn’ (fresh popcorn in paper cones), ‘garlic toasties’ (garlic bread shaped like tiaras) to name a few  -  It had to have a goody bag bar with delicious and pretty sweets (where the guests could take wrapped items home to share with family rather than eating lots at the party)  -  It had to include fun activities for the girls to do (they each decorated their princess hats [made from recycled boxes and leftover paper], they had a pass-the-parcel and also spent time filling brown paper bags (with printed messages) with goodies - It had to be relatively cheap but also classy (I made all the decorations, the lollypops and cupcakes (with chocolate tiaras) myself and then to give it a finished look I chose printable stationary from Polka Dot Prints including invites, chocolate dots, personalised princess straw tags, buffet sign and buffet labels – which looked great!).

Yet most of all, my goal was for the party decorations and food to be made up of items that my daughter and I created TOGETHER – I dipped the cups in jam, she dipped them in pink jelly crystal, I made the cones, she filled them with popcorn, she counted out the musk sticks, I wrapped them up, I put the chocolates in the bags, she put the stickers on etc.  And I’ll admit I did more than her (and a bit of it at some ridiculous hour of the night before!), but it was so much fun to be creating things WITH her rather than shooing her off so she didn’t make a mess (as most creative perfectionists like me tend to do!).

It was really fun, and I’m going to put these memories into a book for her soon – added with even more pictures I took of her friends (we did a mini photo booth on the princess chair!).  It will be a wonderful memory for us to look at together and reminisce – I realise already how treasured it will be – she has changed already in the two months it took me to post! Don’t they grow too fast?