News Just in from Las Vegas - Alicia WINS at WPPI!

A few weeks ago I sent of the entries for the WPPI awards in Las Vegas. The WPPI stands for 'Wedding and Portrait Photographers International' and the awards co-incide with the biggest trade show and convention for photographers anywhere in the world. So it's pretty much a huge event to be a part of.

I've never entered international awards but with alot of prompting from a photographer friend, I prepared an entry. Then I figured while I was at it, I'd throw in an entry from a concept shoot I photographed back in April last year. There was a perfect category for the photoshoot; Album non-wedding informal. This means the photos can be of anything that isn't a wedding and isn't an 'event' like a bah-mitzvah or christening etc. It's a very broad category.

The original entry has scored okay but it was the last minute entry that has left me absolutely STUNNED. I wasn't expecting much from it and my mind has been officially blown. On Monday I found out I had scored 94 out of 100 which was the highest score in the category, however this doesn't mean that I had it won. The three highest scoring albums have their scores wiped and are rejudged to decide first, second and third with the winners announced at a huge awards dinner.

One hour ago I received a call from the dinner and nearly fell off my chair! My album was FIRST PLACE! I had won the entire category! As you can imagine, I am still grinning from ear to ear like a Cheshire Cat. :D

Due to lots of questions about the album and the layout I have decided to post it here for viewing just as the judges have viewed it. Most of the images below are how you would view a double page spread in an album. The competition entry also states that you can show 'detailed' areas to draw the judges attention so there are some 'detail' images presented also.

Enjoy the album! (and yes, I'm still smiling :) )

Front cover


inside front cover




detail




















detail








detail (this little girl was just brilliant)




detail - The entire concept actually started with this boy. This is my oldest son, Ashley. He often gives me the same expression as he shows in this photo. I photographed him last year giving me this look and I wanted to find a way to showcase it. One thing led to another until I came up with the idea for this shoot. This image also earned a silver award at the 2009 Australian Professional Photography Awards last June.


Last page


A massive thank you has to go out to the kids from Junction Park State School who were so enthusiastic and positively threw themselves into these images. I couldn't have acheived this without their energy.

Boudoir Photography in Brisbane? Yes, we can!

In the past I have photographed a few very brief boudoir sessions with brides on their wedding day. The photos are for, "the groom's eyes only" so it's not really the sort of thing I can blog or show to other clients. This left me in a little quandry; I can shoot boudoir but I don't have the work to show other people so it's a little difficult for people to decide to book me to shoot their boudoir images.

So I made a decision - I was going to find a group of ladies who were all willing to let me shoot them in various styles and allow me to use their images to promote my boudoir work.

When looking for ladies for the shoot, I wanted women who were all different but still 'real'. Not all women are size eight, 6ft tall and blonde so it's not realistic for me to shoot models that look like this. I had six fantastic 'real' models lined up... then disaster struck. Three models called in late to say they couldn't make the shoot. After a last minute facebook campaign I found two stand-ins from my friends (Thanks Justine and Kirsty) and the last stand in had no idea she was going to model until she walked in the door. She was chaperoning another girl and I said to her, "Do you want to get your gear off?" and she answered, "YES!".

One large hotel suite, one hairdresser - the fabulous Lucinda, one make-up artist - my awesome friend Paula from Humankind, one photographer - me, and six lovely ladies.

Boudoir essentially means, "a woman's private room", so 'boudoir photos' can cover any sort of 'intimate' image of a woman. It's a broad genre that if handled poorly can come off looking trashy. I wanted to avoid that at all costs. First and foremost, I wanted the images ALL to be sexy without being tacky or tasteless

We all had a great night with lots of laughs. I got to play around with 'boudoir' in a variety of styles from dark and moody, to classic, to pin-up, to fun and cute (and even a nude photo thrown in).

A huge thanks goes to Katey, Kass, Johanna, Amanda, Justine and Kirsty. You were all amazing and lots of fun to work with.


**Viewer discretion advised**

Pheobe - Six Weeks Old

A few years ago I had a boss that I just couldn't work with. We started out on the wrong foot and it all went downhill from there. Suddenly, and it really was a bolt out of the blue, we found some common ground and the next thing you know, I am calling this boss one of my best friends.

Don't get me wrong, we still had issues working together but on a personal level things were great! Luckily I chose to leave that job but I still have my awesome friend.

Knowing Sandra the way that I do, I just couldn't imagine her being a mum. Not that I ever thought she'd be a bad mum; far from it! I just couldn't imagine a time in her life that she'd say, "Yep. I'm going to have a kid."

However fate often holds other plans for us and last year Sandra was surprised with an unexpected pregnancy and along came little Pheobe. Pheobe was born on Christmas eve and she is truly one of the most divine babies I've ever photographed.

And Sandra is an awesome mum!

To my gorgeous friend. You've kept me sane many times in the past and I know I don't get to see you as often as I would like but I just want to let you know that I appreciate your straight talking, no-nonsense demeanour... even if I didn't like you being my boss.

You cooked a beautiful baby and these photos are a gift from me for all the times you have been a wonderful friend. Congratulations on the birth of such a perfect baby girl and I hope you like these photos.

Jo and Richard - 16th of January

After Alex shot Jo and Richard's engagement session he came home and immediately said, "These guys are awesome! They're going to be alot of fun on their wedding day."

Even with a huge upheaval to personal circumstances just prior to the wedding, both Jo and Richard were radiant and only had eyes for each other. I think their smiles just light up their images in every shot. Jo's dress was amazing and Richard looked rather dapper and together they were perfect.

Congratulations to you both Jo and Richard and we can't wait to catch up with you soon. We hope you enjoy this little peek at your images.

Jacinda and Cliff - 6th of February

Jacinda and Cliff decided to rent a gorgeous private residence in the Gold Coast hinterland as the location of their wedding ceremony and reception. The home was stunning and the location was truly magnificent however, there is one things that the Gold Coast hinterland has plenty of; and that is rain.

Alex tells me this is the wettest and foggiest wedding he has ever shot at. There were a few quick dashes outside for photos when the rain eased but for most of the day it was pouring.

And there's nothing wrong with that! Rain adds something magical to the mood of the photos. Beautiful people, beautiful location, great atmosphere provided by low lying cloud then fireworks to top it off. It doesn't get any better!

Congratulations on your marriage Jacinda and Cliff. We hope you enjoy this peek at your wedding images.

My Newest Little Nephew...Welcome to Caleb

A few weeks ago I dragged my brother and my sister-in-law out for a maternity session. It's only natural that this is followed up with a newborn session.

I was going to be at the birth to take photos, but Caleb had other ideas and arrived a little too fast for me to even be called. Great news for his mum but not so great news for me. I'll have to camp out on their lawn the next time they have a little one.

So here is little two and a bit day old Caleb. Gorgeous and a little cross-eyed.

:)













And because I'm a typical big sister and every photoshoot needs an out-take...

"What is this little crying thing?!"

Levi's Newborn Session

Michelle had been to see me for her maternity photos and I have to admit I was a little excited to meet baby Levi.

He was simply beautiful and at nearly 6 weeks old he was very strong and also very curious about everything that was happening.

Welcome to the world little Levi!

Katie and Michael - Hunter Valley - 10th January 2010

Our working holiday took us even further south to the beautiful Hunter Valley region of NSW. Michael was getting ready with the boys at his family home and it was great to see the comraderie between him and his brother. Michael's parents were also fantastic and we even managed to convince them to bring out their wedding album for a little look. It was brilliant and made the perfect backdrop to the shot of the wedding rings together (and mum and dad were a bit of alright too).

After a few laughs with the boys and meeting the horses, it was time to meet up tiwh the girls. It was a very hot day in the Hunter Valley so at the point we arrived the girls were taking refuge under the airconditioning. Katie looked stunning and the girls finished it all off by surprising Katie with the gift of an inscribed silver bangle. As we headed outside we all took notice of a massive storm front that was rapidly climbing the ranges. It provoked a few looks of, "uh oh - it's going to rain"; but for us it became a great opportunity for unique bridal shots.

St Patrick's church in Cessnock is easily one of the most quaint churches we have been into; and lucky for us we have another wedding there in a couple of weeks! The grounds are beautiful and the church itself has a very intimate ambience. It really was the perfect backdrop for Katie and Michael's ceremony.

After the ceremony we shot some photos in the church gardens and it really was like Katie and Michael were 16 year old teenagers who had just started dating. Several times we were about to ask them to kiss and we didn't have to; they were already well ahead of us! Needless to say, we have lots and lots of photos of them kissing and looking at each other with puppy dog eyes.

The reception was held at the Hunter Resort where the food was great and we got to party on a bit and take some photos of the very enthusiastic first dance (and more). The first dance was a lively number for sure. Katie and Michael lit up the dancefloor!

Congratulations on your marriage Katie and Michael and we hope you like your sneak peek!

Jodie and Scott - 19th December 2009

Our final wedding of 2009 is also going to be the biggest blog post of 2009!

If a few of you think the groom looks a little familiar, it's probably with good reason. Scott was a regular on channel 10, but he now has his own videography and production company that you can check out at www.scottbeveridge.com.au

We first met Scott when he was the videographer at the wedding of Bec and Chris back in October and he booked us a few days later.

This wedding was a wedding full of the good stuff. Lots of emotion, a relaxed bride and groom, great family and uh-maz-ing attention to detail. I had a very difficult time trying to select the photos to blog as there were so many directions I could go. Do I show the emotion? The radiant bride? The huge storm that thundered in? All the details... ah! I'll show them all!

There were a few tense moments getting Jodie into her dress. Jodie's mother is the head of fashion at QUT and the dress was designed and made just for Jodie. It was a stunning and heavily beaded and textured vintage style dress. Jodie's mum had a fall in the weeks leading up to the wedding and had broken her arm so the dress production fell slightly behind. Beads were still being madly sewn onto the dress on the morning of the wedding and Jodie also ended up being sewn into the dress when it came time to put it on. Unknown to Jodie, the little detailed heart with her and Scott's names embroidered onto it was sewn into the dress as Jodie's something blue. It was a lovely finishing touch.

While Jodie was getting ready inside her mother's house (conveniently located next to the church grounds where the wedding was planned), Scott was outside doing a little "go-away-rain dance". The wedding was to be held on the lawn of the church and the seating had all been set up and decorated with some gorgeous cards that were made by Jodie's school students. They had the familiar school yard taunt written on them:

Jodie and Scott
Sitting in a tree
K-I-S-S-I-N-G
First comes love
Next comes marriage
Then comes the baby in the baby carriage

The cards were great but unfortunately Scott's dance wasn't successful and as the heavens opened, plans were hastily changed to have the ceremony inside the church instead.

The ceremony itself was touching and it was great to hear people speaking with such heart. It turns out that Jodie encouraged a student to contact Scott through a channel 10 program and this is how they ended up meeting. It's certainly a unique, 'how we met' story. The student who wrote to Scott was a very eloquent speaker during the ceremony. It was a lovely touch.

Lots of rain meant that we couldn't get all the photos that we like to get but it also means that we had to think of other ways to photograph them on their day. We had a little bit of time to get them outside without umbrellas and we worked as quick as we could to get the shots.

Then when we thought it was all over, Jodie said, "I'd like to get some photos out the back of the house. There's a pile of dirt down there." Alex and I looked at each other and thought of all the mud but hey, if a bride is keen to get out in the dirt on a rainy day, then we are happy to shoot it!

The biggest problem ended up being Jodie sinking into the dirt so we brought out a couple of chairs to pose them on. Jodie's vintage styling meant that it was the perfect time for a very old school serious photo. The rest of the series in front of the dirt pile was the result of the wedding guests cheering Scott on to make some moves, and Scott getting creative.

We likey!

Thank you to Jodie and Scott for ending our 2009 with such an awesome wedding. We had a whole lot of fun and we hope you love your photos...

Are You Being Served? - October 1st, 2nd and 3rd are now available!!

Sometimes unexpected things happen and this time it is the pitter patter of little feet.

No, Alex and I aren't expecting (four children is enough), but one of our lovely couples who has booked their wedding with us for October has just announced they are having a baby in September. This means that they have decided to push their wedding forward to May leaving the first weekend in October available for me to shoot!

Tessa and Jamie's wedding was going to be in Glen Innes which meant that I was unable to shoot for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of October as I had to include my travel time there and back... wow, we have knocked back so many weddings for these three dates! However, this could be good fortune for someone else.

Friday the 1st, Saturday the 2nd and Sunday the 3rd of October are now available! Don't miss out on these dates as they are sure to fill fast.

Oh, and a huge congratulations to Tessa and Jamie on the impending bundle of joy! Can't wait to see the cute little baby bump when I shoot your wedding in May.