No two Family Portraits are the same!

And they shouldn't be! No two families are the same, we all have different relationships and things in our lives that are special to us and us alone. My family here in Sydney is fairly small, just Robert and I...but then there is Tilly the dog and The Poose (the Diva cat who runs the show here) and I know that our family portrait just wouldn't be complete without the two of them in it. And that's the way it was when Karen called me about having a family portrait done.

Karen told me that she has a small family, just her Dad and her little dog Bailey and that she would love to have her Family Portrait done at her beautiful little cottage and garden that she has put so much love and work into. Fantastic! I love it when we can incorporate the places that people really care about into their portrait as well - the family home is always full of memories, so what better place to create some more?

When I arrived, I found the most beautiful, picture perfect cottage complete with the most gorgeous garden.  Standard and climbing roses, foxgloves, azaleas and camellias - and that was the front yard! Not to mention, Karen is a collector of all things old and rustic, I was in my element discovering Karen's wonderful collection of tools, bikes, fences, bird cages, tubs, troughs, old timber seats...so many fantastic things - honestly I had the best time! I could see just how important Karen's garden was to her, so it was important to me that we feature as much of the garden as we possibly could.

Karen's little dog Bailey was such a good boy and was fairly happy to pose beautifully wherever he was told - amazing considering Jack Russell's are such a busy little breed of dog - he had his busy moments but was happy enough to play our game. He was whip smart too - I got away with making dog noises to get his attention for a little while but he was awake to me pretty quick so I resorted to bribery - it's amazing what a Smacko will achieve. Karen's Dad was an absolute gentleman and put up with me asking him do fluffy, photographery stuff and wedging him into places that not too many men want to spend an hour doing - particularly when the Rugby Union Final is on! And Karen well, she was just an absolute delight and the most gracious hostess - she put up with me oohing and aahing over all her wonderful things, I could barely bring myself to leave!

Thank you Karen, Ron and Bailey! I so enjoyed meeting you and spending some time with you and most of all, I love that we were able to create your family portraits in a setting that you love so much. I love the portraits we created on the day and I hope that they will bring you great joy for many years to come.

Alicia.