Gemma Clarke Photography Blog » family portraits

Lincoln, Michelle, Giselle and Felicity’s Portraits – Balmoral Beach

gemma — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 13:36:59 +0000

All those who know me, know my love for the colour red. And it was the red shoes that Felicity was wearing as a guest to Michelle and Andre’s wedding almost 2 years ago that caught my attention. I had to photograph them almost immediately! They were so cute! So when I turned up at Balmoral Beach last Sunday for a portrait session with the newly engaged Michelle and Lincoln and their two girls, they knew there would be a big smile on my face with all the red clothing that was present!

Lincoln and I have been chatting on Facebook since that wedding and it was so exciting to see how their relationship progressed to the next level – especially hearing about the designing of the ring! I love getting to know their clients and really understand the story that leads to their wedding day.

We spent a beautiful winter’s afternoon at Balmoral beach. I honestly felt a part of the family as I was welcomed with big hugs from Gelly and Fi. I believe that being a part of the session is just as important as capturing what is happening. Everyone has to feel comfortable.

I am looking forward to your two-day wedding in October and learning more about the Vietnamese culture!

Family Portraits – Vanessa, Andy, Ben and Jasmine

admin — Thu, 12 May 2011 22:47:07 +0000

After months of trying to get the right weather we were blessed with an absolutely magical autumn afternoon at the Norman Lindsay Gallery Gardens. For 90 minutes we all played in the gardens with bubbles, a tea set and the fallen leaves. Oh and we read a great book too! Thank you to the Reeves family for sharing such a great afternoon with me – LOVED being a part of your family!

Natalia, Con and Lucas – Portrait Session on the Georges River, Picnic Point

admin — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 10:57:24 +0000

Natalia and Con and their little boy Lucas enjoyed a fun time by the Georges River despite the invasion of mosquitoes half way through the session. Lucas put on a great show for his young age of 9 months and has the cheekiest smile! I wish you guys all the best and look forward to the Wedding and Christening in March this year.

International Weddings and Portrait Favourites – 2010

admin — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 11:51:05 +0000

2010 was a huge year for me as I solidly promoted my love of photographing weddings internationally. My goal is to shoot weddings in places around the world where I would like to visit and/or where I have friends. This makes it more affordable for my clients to hire me if they choose locations that are on my ‘To Go’ list. So if you have a wedding planned in Antarctica or Iceland then I definitely want to be there. There are many places I would like to see and experience in my lifetime and not just limited to the two I just mentioned. I love to feel a part of wedding day so I try to find accomodation with the family or friends of the bride or groom – this also helps me to get to know them better before the wedding and can therefore produce more meaningful photos.

I am very grateful to my fellow photographers, Anna Jarske and Derek Latham and Emilie Gerard of AmyPunky Photography who invited me to shoot alongside with them at weddings in France and Finland. And a big thanks to Charlie and Jenni for recommending me to their Finnish friends Nina and Timo for their gorgeous wedding in Hameenlinna. In total I photographed 6 brides (3 in Finland and 3 in France) and 3 portrait sessions. What I am most excited about is that my clients, Emilie and Ville have since gotten engaged and have asked me to come back in July 2011 to photograph their vintage carnival inspired wedding in countryside Finland.

I will also be photographing another wedding in Helsinki and a wedding, a bridal session and a few family portrait sessions in Northern Norway on the Lofoten Islands. Very exciting times!

Charlotte and Thomas’ Wedding in Normandy. See more images here.

I second-shot this wedding with Emilie Gerard. We asked the groom to take the shot on the right – not bad!

My friends, Emilie and Ville in Helsinki – Pasila Train Yard – Vintage theme – see more of their photos here.

I photographed this gorgeous wedding with Emilie Gerard near Angers, France. One of my absolute favourite weddings of the year for the attention to detail. You can see more images here and here.

Laetitia and Cedric couldn’t book Emilie for their wedding day as she was already booked but they decided to get dressed up again a few days later and I was lucky enough to be here with Emilie to take some shots. This was taken just outside of Paris at a gorgeous chalet! You can see more images here.

After a portrait session on a Finnish Island I noticed this gorgeous couple on the boat back and they were being so smoochy. Deniz was visiting from Turkey and Maiju lives in Helsinki. We have stayed in contact after I snapped a few sneaky shots and hope to catch up again in Helsinki next year.

We were lucky to get these family photos as there were lots and lots of big mosquitoes around as it had rained overnight.The family is related to my very good friend Anna and I spent 5 days with them all and enjoyed fishing, picking strawberries, shopping for Marimekko bags and also at the thrift shops!

Charlie and Jenni recommended me to their friends in Tampere Finland after they visited Australia for a wedding I photographed in November 2009. As a thank you I suggested to take pics of their new addition to their family, Eliel. You can see more pics here.

I love getting a photo with the bride and groom and this was a surprise shot when I heard something whispered behind my back in Finnish and suddenly Nina and Timo gave me a smooch! Loved it And thanks to John Shiels of Ireland who captured this moment! Please enjoy more of the pics from the wedding here.

Päivi and Jukka’s Portrait Session was on the island of Pihlajasaari Island just a short boat ride from Helsinki. More shots here.

A spectacular wedding at the Lutheran Cathedral in Helsinki. Päivi and Jukka are truly one of the most romantic couples I have ever photographed. Totally fell in love with them myself More of their gorgeousness here.

Satu and Tero were married near Kouvola in south east Finland where there are many yellow fields. It was so beautiful seeing the colours. Satu ‘carried’ her dad down in the aisle with her bouquet. You can see more pictures from their wedding here.

Simone, Sophia and Leila – Portraits for Christmas

admin — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 00:44:32 +0000

Simone asked if I could do a portrait session that would truly represent the natural personalities of her two beautiful girls. We had so much during the 2 hours and I was so impressed the girls were still happy to smile for me after that amount of time. It was great that Simone brought along props including the very effective cupcake The photos were a surprise for Sophia and Leila’s dad, Simone’s husband and I have been told that when she hung the canvases “Best present ever! [He] even had tears in his eyes and he never tears up! Thanks Gem xx”

Charlie, Jenni and Eliel Family Portraits – Tampere, Finland

gemma — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 03:58:39 +0000

I met Charlie and Jenni when they attended Sabrina and Phil’s Wedding in Sydney in November last year and I was so excited to hear they live in Finland. They recommended me for Nina and Timo’s wedding (blog post coming soon) in Hämeenlinna, Finland that I just photographed on July 10. We met up the day before the wedding to have a mini-tour of their city, Tampere and also to get some pics of their new family – 5 month old Eliel! What a cute family! As you can see, Charlie and Eliel are big Everton supporters. Thanks for everything, you are such a lovely little family and I wish you the best with your new home and I look forward to seeing Eliel grow up on Facebook and hopefully in person

Elyse and Shrek’s Portrait Session featuring lil’ Cheeky Chops, Eden

gemma — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 00:46:27 +0000

Elyse and Shrek are getting married in August but they have already expanded their family with little Eden (aka lil Cheeky Chops) 9 weeks ago so the engagement session became some fun and relaxed family photos in the back room where the winter sun warmed us. FYI Shrek is his nickname

Sandrine, Ly and Odyssey – Phillip Bay, Sydney

gemma — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:49:24 +0000

What a lovely morning spent on the beach. This was my first engagement session with a doggie – I was so excited when Sandrine and Ly told me about Odyssey! She is an important part of their family so they couldn’t imagine doing the photos without her! We almost had the beach to ourselves so Odyssey was able to run around and play in the sand while her mum and dad were getting their smoochy pics done.

Northcott Family Portraits – Lambeth Reserve, Picnic Point – Portrait Special

gemma — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:58:25 +0000

In the lead up to Christmas I will be holding portraits specials so you can have your family photos before Christmas! Email me if you are interested.

Melanie took up my pre-Christmas Portraits offer and we all had a great time trying to get the attention of the gorgeous Paige! She was happy to wear the pink and orange pettiskirt I brought along – it matched her pink and orange polka-dotted top/dress perfectly! Thanks to Melanie and Mark – I look forward to watching Paige grow up – she has such a fun personality!

The Lee Family – Nurragingy Reserve, Blacktown

gemma — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 01:01:35 +0000

It is always flattering when a photographer asks you to take photos of his/her family but it is also pretty scary – the pressure, the espectations! In this case, Des Lee asked me to take some photos of his wonderful family, wife Janelle and daughter Phoebe and a few with the grandparents! Everyone was so well behaved, including the adults! We met at 8am at Nurragingy Reserve in Blacktown on Monday morning and it was a glorious day! We explored all different spots and my favourite was the Blacksmith’s Hut, very cool! Enjoy the pics and thank you Des for asking me to capture these great moments for you!