For the past 7 years I have been mostly behind the camera capturing families, weddings, love and all the emotions under the sun. One would think that being a photographers means having the most beautiful family photographs. This is far from the truth! It took me good 6 years to get my husband onboard and book a proper family photo session. I will share this story one day.

When Carly & Daniel from Wind & Waves Media reached out to me asking if I would be interested in a photo shoot swap somewhere on Coromandel, I said “YES!” They are based in Texas and are a husband & wife team offering wedding photo & video services. It was their first visit to New Zealand and what a great way to capture it! As my husband was away at the time, they suggested a Mummy & Me photo session. Perfect!

Location – Hot Water Beach, Coromandel

The reason why I suggested to head to Hot Water Beach was its unique landscape. There are dunes that allow sun to cover the long grass for longer creating a dreamy light. Recently I had an amazing engagement photo session at Hot Water Beach and it was sooo good! Plus, it is close to where I am based (Tairua). We had quite limited time frame, so each session didn’t take more than 20 minutes. This paired well with the Mummy & Me photo session, and I will show Carly & Daniel’s photos in one of my future blog posts. For now, let me share my experience being in front of the camera and what I learnt from it.

Photo session with the kids – make it fun

When it comes to posing or prompting, I truly believe that it is adults who need guidance. Children, on the other side, will fit in naturally. The last thing you want is to force your children and point at the camera asking them to look at it. As a result, you will have forced smiles, shy and uncomfortable little humans. Let them be! This Mummy & Me session was a great example where I wanted to hear what to do and let my girl to be herself. Yes, that’s right! With years of experience being behind the camera I needed that help from the photographer in charge.

Any family photo session should be fun and easy. Browse through some family galleries and get in touch to achieve the photographs that you will want to be be in your home.

Olga xx