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Australian Christmas
An Australian Christmas is unique to most parts of the world. Although everything is decorated in motifs of snowflakes and people in 
furry coats we here Down Under swelter! Today is 34 degrees c (96.8 f) so we popped on the air conditioner and dusted off the decs. Due to end of year fatigue, my littlest was already sound asleep as these two elves decorated to their heart’s content. Rather than getting out the tree, they decided to bedazzle this cane bookshelf I rescued from the roadside rubbish recently! Is there nothing fairy lights can’t make magic?! *Image take with my Pixel phone.
CameraPro Photography Festival 2019
Presentation by Brisbane family photographer, Briony Walker
Topic: Documentary Family Photography
Register for my session and be in the draw to WIN a FujiFilm Instax Mini 50S kit!
A little bit about Briony:
Briony is a Brisbane based documentary family photographer. For Briony, family photography is all about authenticity. She is fascinated by the real, the beauty in the ‘ordinary’ and the dynamics between family members. Briony does not pose or even direct, but will simply document families in their home environment, giving them a priceless storybook of where their life as it is, right now.
I will also be talking about my love for the mirrorless FujiFilm X series cameras and how they are perfect for this genre.
BONUS: You’ll see me flapping my hands around as shown in this photo taken at the last CameraPro event, by Misty Norman.
“Presentations by world-leading photographers Damien Bredberg, Russell Ord, Briony Walker, Lachlan Gardiner & Nick Ghionis
– Studio workshops
– Guided photo walks
– Free entertainment from Chinese lion dancers & a live mural artist
– Free product demos, advice & firmware updates
– Free food & drink
– Free CameraPro goodie bag for all session participants
– All session participants go in the draw to WIN 2 tickets to the Steve Irwin Gala Dinner!
…and more! ”
For more details and to register, follow the link: http://bit.ly/BWCameraPro
Photo: Misty Norman, CameraPro
Document your days
Documentary family photography is also just about recording ‘ this moment’. It doesn’t need to be particularly thrilling or interesting. It just is ‘right now’. I don’t always have my trusty Fuji Xt3 camera with me but I always have my Google Pixel
Tuesdays are our busiest day. After
Me: Does everyone have their cozzies on, dry undies and karate clothes and belt in the bag, goggles? towel?
Everyone: Yes!
Me: Are you sure? Everything: jacket, pants, belt, undies, goggles?
Everyone: Yeeeeeeeeesssssss!
Everyone: Races to pool, does lessons, gets changed in the car park, back in the car…..
Us arriving at Karate in a 38 degree hot sweat… (yesterday was truly disgusting in Brisbane!)
Max: Mum, where’s my karate jacket……. ?
Me: eye-fricking-roll, leaves 2 in class, drives home with small 1/2 naked boy, returns with
Some days are just like that aren’t they?
If you’re wanting to learn more about your own smart phone or to get a better understanding of how your DSLR camera works, I run one-on-one private tuition and small group sessions. You don’t need any fancy equipment, it’s just about using what you’ve got and learning to see light and angles to tell your family’s story. They’re so much fun. Group booking discounts and add-on documentary family sessions are available.
Chris, Leasa & Elle
Documentary family photography is so suited to young families. There can be so much wonderful chaos, uninhibited emotions and loads of connection. I love watching toddlers flexing their new found independence. They are absorbing everything around them and often have ‘Their Way’ on any number of outfits, food preferences or ways to climb in and out of the car.
Meet Elle. 2 years old and very certain of how things should be done. She is also soon to become a big sister. Documenting this day was so important to Chris & Leasa because their days are about to become very different….. (story continues below slideshow).
Elle’s mum and dad own Bill’s Fish House and the Salty Crew Kiosk on the beach in beautiful Port Macquarie.
Every morning Elle wakes up, goes to find Daddy and says “Juicy?”
That’s the cue for the two of them to drive into town to collect the day’s food supplies from Bill’s and deliver them to the Kiosk. There, Elle has a fresh juice while Chris checks in with the staff.
The selection of images you see here is very typical of a day-in-the-life for this family.
Sometimes it takes a while for families to understand that I really don’t want a ‘show’ to be put on for our photography session. It really is the everyday rituals and humdrum that make up the rhythm of family.
What draws me to documentary family photography most is that while the minute-by-minute tasks parents do for their littlies are quite universal, the way each parent does those tasks, the unique personalities and the combination of personalities in the family make every ordinary day extraordinary to me.
I come away a little wiser having learnt something from every family. Whether it’s how mum deals with a tantrum or gets a fussy baby to eat dinner to the complex strategies required to help a child straddle the ‘I’m not little but I’m not grown up’ tween phase. Very handy because we are learning daily in our home with our own gorgeous tween!
Perhaps because I’ve never lived near to family since having kids, I’m gathering my ‘it takes a tribe to raise a family’ wisdom piece by piece via these beautiful families.
Families who are brave enough to face the vulnerability that is having a photographer in your home for the day seeing all the nitty-gritty. Yes, I see the tantrums, the parental eye-rolls, cross words and disagreements but that is a huge part of families learning and growing together. And your secrets are safe with me!
To me, a family home is a sacred space. A place you can feel comfortable, relaxed and be yourself. To express yourself through the things you surround yourself with, whether that is your eye for designer furniture, a penchant for minimalism or a sink full of dishes and Mt Washmore in the corner. I’ve seen it all and to be honest, the mess you might be stressing over never really shows in the images.
I promise you, if you think your kids are too badly behaved in the development phase they are in or that your home isn’t Pinterest-worthy, if you trust me, if you let me in to your heart’s centre for the day, you will be astounded at the beauty that can be found in your home. Documentary family photography is how we stop time if just for a day.