12 Week Old Baby Steals the Show! Ainsley. Baby Portrait Session.

Adorable. That is the only word I can use for this delightful baby girl! Ainsley was about 12 weeks old when she came in for her baby portraits with her Mum and Dad and she absolutely stole the show (and my heart!!) along the way.

 The best part about baby portraits at this age is they are smiling and starting to interact beautifully and if all the planets align, they will drop off to sleep for some gorgeous sleepy poses as well. This baby girl gave us everything - awake and bubbly for her sets with Mum and Dad, then off for a quick 20 minute cat nap where she was oh so beautiful - just have a look at those eyelashes!

Then she woke up. Oh my goodness child! Could you be any more beautiful!

Apparently the answer is YES! I was quite sure that she would be all grumblebum after her nap (most of them take a while to wake up) but not our gorgeous girl! She turned her star power on with all her might and had Mum, Dad and I in heaven! I adore those little elbow dimples - how terribly cute are they?

She was so clever with her tummy time and the sweetest little doll!

Thank you Rachel and Jamie for sharing Ainsley with me, she is a delight!

Til next time,
Alicia xxx

His Daddy Is Defence Force - Baby Boy Newborn Portrait Session.

Patricia and Tom are part of the family here. They have been coming for many years and I have been honoured to photograph all 3 of their children as babies, for Easter, Christmas, their Family and Maternity portraits and soon the girls are coming in for Fairy Portraits. We are such old friends now that when these guys come in, we think about ordering in a pizza or two - we KNOW we are going to be chatting and laughing for hours.

In the lead up to baby number 3 - darling little Charlie, Tom and I were discussing how we could incorporate some of his Australian Defence Force items into little Charlie's newborn portraits. We had a few ideas about using Tom's dogtags, boots and hat...and then...we started talking about his camo pants, specifically the side pocket...we had an idea...but it was going to require a whole lot of co-operation from an exceptional baby. Our plan was set - I told Patricia and Tom that all they had to do now was bring me the perfect baby (I don't ask for much!!) - and somehow, they did.

This little man was a star, so squishy and sleepy. There are not too many baby's that could sleep through being put in the pocket of his Daddy's cams but it was a perfect, cosy fit for little Charlie and he did not stir once! Hi Mummy was on hand to keep him nice and safe as well but this little guy was as safe as a boy can be with his Daddy.

He was happy to pose just about anywhere for us, he truly was an amazing baby to work with...that may just have something to do with how amazing his Mum and Dad are too!

He even managed to crack out a gorgeous smile for us.

Thank you for sharing your family with me, Tom and Patricia, I always adore seeing you all and watching your family grow.

Til next time

Alicia xxx

Children's Portrait Session - Grace and Matthew.

Children's Portrait Sessions are always exciting and great fun. Two different ages, two different personalities just double up the amount of interesting things you can get up to with the kids.

Grace and Matthew came in a few weeks back, Matthew had portraits done at about the age Grace is now and her Mum wanted something special with the two kids and particularly of gorgeous little Grace. Matthew was on fire - a typical little boy that wanted to be involved in everything and he showed off his personality perfectly. Grace being a perfect little lady is by nature a little more reserved and looks just like a porcelain doll.

Both kids have the most incredible eyes (courtesy of their Mum) and I adore a serious portrait as it shows off their big, beautiful eyes so well.

Isn't Grace just adorable? And you just have to love the "birds" - kids somehow manage to do that to me on a regular basis and it always makes me giggle.

Thank you for bringing your kids in Rebecca - they are simply gorgeous and a heap of fun. I loved working with you, Grace and Matthew!

Cheers

Alicia xxx

World's Greatest Shave 2013.

For many years, I have talked about shaving my head to raise funds for the Leukaemia Foundation during the World's Greatest Shave. I figured that it's only hair and it will grow back...but actually biting the bullet and doing it? Well, that was my sticking point. As much as I have always wished to have thick, curly, BIG hair...and my own hair drives me insane, somehow shaving off my hair was almost like walking through the main street of Penrith naked and that's not an idea I relish!

My Dad was diagnosed with cancer in September 2011 and was told he had a year at the most. Dad was always the type to dig in if someone told him what he could and could not do and he fought long and hard to prove his point - he had longer than a year! And he did, we had 2 more wonderful Christmases and 2 more birthdays with him, for which I am forever grateful, sadly he left us on 25th January 2013.

My Dad and I - October 2012.

This year when I saw the World's Greatest Shave advertised, I felt compelled to take part. I still ummed and aahed about it, I had my doubts and it took me forever to go to the Leukaemia Foundations page to register. But having been through my Dad's struggle over the previous 18 months, I knew that I wanted to do SOMETHING to help others that are battling cancer. Leukaemia, breast cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer...doesn't matter what type of cancer, I feel it is important to raise awareness of the disease and to raise funds in the fight against ALL cancers.

I was late getting off the mark, I registered on Sunday 3rd March and set my shave date for Thursday 14th March - I didn't have long to raise some funds. So I set a goal of $1000, I figured that we had a good chance of making that (if you know me at all, you will know that once I set out to achieve something, I will not stop until it is done) and maybe we could get just a little bit beyond that target. Over the course of the next week, I was moved to tears so many times. Everybody got behind me and supported my shave. Clients, friends, old workmates, business associates, family...people I hadn't seen for years....people I didn't know! Whether it was $20 or $200, I was overwhelmed by the generosity of the wonderful people I have around me.

On the morning of my shave, we had raised $1881 and just before the clippers attacked my head, Rebekah and Lawrence from Origin Fitness kicked in a whopping $170 to get us to DOUBLE the original target - over $2000.

So it was now or never. I set up my webcam and the clippers, made myself a cup of tea....and sat there looking at the clippers for what felt like an eternity. I finally said to myself - JUST DO IT!!! And picked up the clippers and mowed a strip straight up the middle of my head from back to front - I like to call that the Reverse Mohawk :) The best part about it was, it left me with zero options...finishing it off was going to be easy!

I cried when I was finished shaving my head....not because of the hair...there's more about that at this link...

The Day I Shaved My Head.

What did I learn from this experience? I learned that the people I know (and even some that I don't know!!) are incredibly generous and completely amazing. I learned that many, many people have been touched in some way by cancer - people shared their stories with me...and we shed tears for our lost loved ones together. I learned that my hair (or lack of it) does not define me. I learned that stepping outside my comfort zone for a good cause was actually very easy to do and unbelievably rewarding.

I shaved my head for all the people that do not have a choice as to whether they have hair or not - their chemo takes that choice away from them. I shaved my head to raise funds for research into this horrid disease so that hopefully one day, cancer can be cured. I shaved my head to support families that are going through this....And I shaved my head for my dear, sweet, determined Dad.

By the end of our fundraising efforts we have raised $2687 and I am so very proud and completely humbled by your support. Thank you to everyone that donated to my shave and am so grateful to you all, you helped me achieve something that I will cherish forever.

And this is me now - 7weeks later and my hair is soooooo long! There has been a few interesting, funny and "that could only happen to me!!" things along the way. I discovered quickly that having flies land on your super short hair is on of the most "eeeeewwwww" feelings ever. Washing and styling hair that short is one of life's great pleasures! Resting your sunglasses on your head results in 2 dents that make you look like My Favourite Martian :) and blow drying 1/2 inch long hair has its challenges - should you use a pipe cleaner or a mascara wand as a round brush!

My new hair! 7 Weeks and 2 Days.

Thank you all again, words can barely express how much I appreciate your generous sponsorship and words of support and encouragement....thank you all, I am forever grateful.


For my Dad. Allan Birch.

Alicia (aka Floss)
xxx

Granddad's Garage - Limited Edition Portraits for Little Boys.

How hard is it to find a really sweet and timeless portrait for your little boys? Little girls are relatively easy - there is a million ways to dress up little girls, our Enchanted Garden is a perfect example.

Over the years I had many of our Mum's with little boys ask when we would do something special for our boys, well, we did it! We had our first ever Limited Edition Granddad's Garage sessions in June of last year and it was an absolute hit with our Mum's and their boys!

What little boy wouldn't love an old fashioned Roadster, dusty old oil cans, polish and fuel tins  - even a petrol bowser! With classic styling and gorgeous overalls and newsboy caps in our rustic garage setting our Granddad's Garage Portraits are great fun and a gorgeous family heirloom.

This year our Granddad's Garage will be held on Saturday 1st June and I can't wait to meet your little men! As always with out Limited Edition Theme Days, we have a pre-register list and already several spaces have been filled. If you would like to come along, please let us know so that we can get you on the list - the spaces are sure to go quickly once we announce it on Facebook!

Here's a little look at our set and our beautiful boys from last year.

 Aren't they absolutely gorgeous? We would love to have your little man come along and experience our Granddad's Garage and we love creating these unique portraits that we know your family will treasure for a lifetime.

To pre-register please call on 0419 411488 or email alicia.birch@bigpond.com

We would love to see you there.

Til next time,
Alicia xxx

Aria's Newborn Portrait - Gorgeous 6 day old Baby Girl.

 Her name is Aria. Aria. Every time I say it I expect to hear a string quartet - I adore her name!

She was in a hurry to make an entrance to the world too - took her gorgeous Mum Simone a bit by surprise and arrived safe and happy within a few short hours. Simone is a friend of one of my clients, Anita and both girls have another friend, Jess - all three of these beautiful ladies were due to give birth within a couple of weeks of each other and sure enough they delivered. Aria for Simone, adorable Hudson for Jess and Anita's gorgeous little man Corbin. So I have quite a few blog posts to write! What a fantastic group of girls and their babies were just so easy to work with. Anyway, I am getting off topic!

Today is all about gorgeous Aria...but keep an eye out over the next few weeks for the boys! Aria arrived here at just 6 days old, content and happy she was 8lb 14oz born. She was asleep when she came in and I'm not sure that she woke up properly throughout her entire Newborn Portrait. She was the perfect little lady - sound asleep and happy to be posed any which way.

Her parents Simone and Ryan were justifiably proud of their sweet little angel...she made it so easy! Ryan was a hands on Dad and was the perfect helper for me. He was in charge of spotting the baby and keeping her safe (we let Mum have a rest - she had had a big couple of days!) and he was so good at being a posing assistant that we invented a new pose and called it "The Ryan" after him. It came about as we had her cocooned and were transitioning to a new pose - Ryan just held her together to settle her for a moment, he had a hand cradling her head and the other cradling her feet. I loved the look of his hands holding his baby girl and VOILA - we created  "The Ryan". Thank you Dad, you did a great job!

Our new pose, "The Ryan" was created as we settled the baby before transitioning to the pose below.

Thank you for sharing your perfect baby girl with me Simone and Ryan! She is so beautiful and the three of you make such a lovely family!

Cheers
Alicia xxxxx

Laura's Maternity Portrait.

Laura is beautiful. Inside and out. A stunning natural beauty with a delightful heart and a smile that makes you love her - that is Laura.

Laura had arranged to have a Newborn Session done and about a week later realised that fairly soon she would be having her baby and she would no longer be pregnant. Laura wanted a memory of this important time in her life. 

Now I know 9 months must feel like an eternity but in the scheme of things it is such a short time...and then... it's gone. Fortunately you receive the ultimate gift at the end of it all - but those 9 months, those major changes that your body goes through, that gorgeous round belly, that lovely softness - that is going to go away once your baby is born. Pregnancy is a milestone in a woman's life and should be celebrated with pride - this is your crowning achievement, your moment. You are giving new life.

I adore Maternity Portraits and Laura was a joy to work with. She had brought along a couple of her own outfits and we planned to use one of my Maternity Gowns and Wraps as well. Laura was well prepared and had her makeup and hair done the morning of our session, on top of that she was absolutely glowing.

I adore her gorgeous dimples!

       

She was fun and cheeky, soft and maternal, elegant and sizzling hot mama! All in the space of an hour or so. It was a fun and exciting experience and working with Laura was an absolute dream.

There were another 2 wonderful moments for me that followed Laura's maternity session. The first was meeting Laura and George's gorgeous new baby girl Lulu (keep an eye out for her gorgeous Newborn Session blog post) and the second was seeing Laura's husband George's reaction when he came to collect his gorgeous wife's maternity wall portrait collection....I think he liked them!

Thank you Laura, you are simply beautiful. Inside and out.

Cheers
Alicia xxx.

Newborn Twins - a Very Special Portrait.

Hearts entwined, twenty fingers, twenty toes,two sweet babies with cheeks of rose.
Born on the same day, two gifts from above, lives entwined, two babies to love.
                                                                                                                                   Author Unknown


I adore twins, they are so special. We have twins in the family - my niece and nephew who are now 12. It's amazing how alike they are...and how different. 


A few weeks ago we were lucky enough to have our 3rd set of twins in the studio for a newborn portrait and they were absolutely adorable. Little Georgia and Jack and they were so different, she was tiny and he is pretty big for a little guy, their complexions were different and their personalities too. Jack was happy to be put in any comfy spot where beautiful little Georgia needed everything to be just so...which is as it should be. A girl can't just drop off to sleep any old where you know!

What amazes me about twins is how they settle when you put them down together. I bet there are a whole lot of mother's of twins just screaming at their computer screen about now!! But in all honesty, with the few sets of twins we have done newborn sessions with, they have almost breathed a sigh of relief and settled right off once we had them curled up together.

Georgia and Jack were so sweet - they even stole my heart by smiling...not at the same time though, I'm going to have to get them to work on their timing!

Aren't they just the sweetest little things?

Little Jack wasn't shy about showing off his smile.

Georgia, so delicate and beautiful.

Two peas in a pod.

A big thank you to their lovely Mum and Dad for sharing their gorgeous babies with me - they left with a little piece of my heart.

Cheers
Alicia xxx

Sandy Puc would like to interview you....

So what do you say when you get an email saying that the great Sandy Puc would like to interview you on SPTV? You say YES of course - and mark it down as one of THE most exciting moments of 2012.

For forever, Sandy Puc' has been my idol. For those of you that don't know of Sandy, she is the Doyenne, the Queen, the Oprah of babies and children's portraiture in the US. Co-founder of Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, serves on the Board of Directors of the PPA, holder of the Canon Print Master and Explorer of Light titles, holds the PPA Masters in Photography, international photography teacher, philanthropist, amazing photographer of children and babies and all in all one hell of an inspirational woman.

Going back some years ago, I came across an interview with Sandy and was blown away by her honesty, and how down to earth she came across. When I first saw Sandy's children's portraits, I knew right at that moment, that that was what I was going to do - create gorgeous portraits of children and babies. Sandy has a forum for photographers and I became a member (still am!) so that I could learn more from her.

Anyway - on to the exciting bit! This all came about in a couple of parts. Sandy contacted me via the forum mid-2012 about our Granddad's Garage Limited Edition sessions. She loved them and asked me if I would be interested in having her team create a marketing campaign around the theme and featuring my promotional images. Sandy's marketing campaigns are available to forum members and also are available for purchase via Ukandu - her Marketing and Business template site.

SPTV is Sandy's weekly internet TV show and is a great resource for photographers, with sections on business, marketing, interviews with leading photographers in the industry, live shoots, image critiques and featured photographer spotlights. When the show kicked off in about November 2012, I submitted several images for Sandy to critique live on air. If you don't think having your images critiqued, by one of the best in the business, live, in front of thousands of people is scary...well, you should try it some time. Fear, excitement, anticipation, dread - you name it, I felt it ALL!

I believe it is very important to have your images critiqued by knowledgeable and respected photographers - good quality constructive criticism (CC) is one of the greatest learning tools for any photographer at any level. I could not miss this opportunity to have Sandy tell me what she thought of my portraits...I was nervous but knew that whatever she said would be beneficial to my ongoing education and growth. And guess what - she loved them! Found some minor area's that could be improved (which I duly noted!) BUT she loved them! Complimented the lighting, posing and set/prop design - I almost busted a foofoo valve, I was so filled with pride.

Then it happened. A couple of weeks before Christmas, I was contacted by the team from SPTV which is Sandy's weekly internet TV show. They said that Sandy would like to set up an interview with me for the show! We would pre-record the interview via Skype and it would be aired the very next day. To say I was stunned was the understatement of all time - and so very excited! I was going to speak with Sandy Puc - THE Sandy Puc - in person! I have long dreamed of meeting Sandy and one day visiting her studio in Colorado...well this was the next best thing!

It was wonderful, a chance to speak personally with Sandy beforehand and then straight into our interview. Sandy wanted to know about our Limited Edition Theme Days, how we handle such big days in our small studio, our marketing and how I came to do baby and children's portraits. So for about half an hour, there I was chatting away with one of my idols, who, without her actually knowing it, has been a mentor to me, a woman who has shared so much with the photographic community and someone that I have learned so much from. Truly a dream come true!

Since then, Sandy and her team have been back in touch and have some new and exciting teaching resources in the works - and they have asked me to take part in that as well. At the moment the finishing touches are being put on the new project and it is expected to launch at the end of January 2013. I can't wait to be a part of this and hopefully be able to share and help other photographers that wish to make their dream of having a successful portrait business a reality.

If you are a photographer and aren't familiar with Sandy Puc's forum or her other teaching and business resources - go check her out at the links below - and keep an eye out for the new project too.

Sandy Puc University
Ukandu Marketing and Business Resources
Sandy Puc Portrait Design

Cheers
Alicia xx

Newborn Portrait - Twin Boys!

We were so excited! Lynn and Andy came in for their Maternity Portraits a couple of months ago and they were so, so sweet! They knew they were having twins but had decided that they would not find what what they were having, so it was better than Christmas leading up to the birth of the twins! Lynn was in on the Wednesday to pick up her Maternity Portraits and we were talking about babies names, both boy and girl...I showed Lynn the hats I had made especially for her twins - 1 blue and brown, 1 pink and brown and one cream and brown - after all I had to cover all bases!

We have twins in the family and know how very special they are and these babies would also be the first set of twins I had photographed as newborns in the studio...oh yes, I was excited! Really, really excited! Lynn told me she would let me know as soon as the babies were born - can you imagine my excitement when on the Friday night, I received a text message to tell me that 2 gorgeous, healthy little men had arrived - little Hunter and Chase - so, I was messaging Miss Mel, telling everyone about MY special twins...you would have thought it was me that did all the work in the labour ward! Seriously though, I could not wait to meet them.

They came in at 2 weeks of age and they were truly adorable...heart melting....sigh. They slept and they fed...I have to say there was an awful lot of pee - just ask Andy, he wore most of it! and then they slept some more - two perfect little men.

And to top it all off, Lynn came in last week to sit down and relax for an hour or so and view the twins Newborn Portrait session here on our big screen. It was fantastic, both babies woke up for a feed -  Lynn had a baby, I had a baby and we were feeding babies and watching their DVD Slideshow and talking about how beautiful they are and how 2 babies is twice as much fun and twice as little sleep - a perfect morning! I can't wait to watch these two beautiful boys grow over the next year.

Alicia

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.