The darkroom is open
Adelaide, South Australia
No stiff rows, no cheesy grins. Races down the beach, piggybacks through the vines, the way your youngest still reaches for your hand. Shot on digital and real film, from the southern beaches to the Adelaide Hills.
The family photos we keep forever are rarely the ones where everybody looked at the camera. They are the blurry one of dad spinning you around, the one where your sister is mid laugh.
My sessions are built around that. I studied cinema, so I think in scenes rather than poses. I'll give you something to do, then step back and watch it unfold. Most of your gallery is digital, edited by hand to feel warm and true. Alongside it I shoot a roll of 35mm or 120 film, and if you like, a cartridge of Super 8.
The result is a family story told in more than one voice: crisp, grainy and moving. It looks like your own childhood photos, because it is made the same way.
Call sheet
Every family is different, but a summer beach session tends to run something like this.
Meet at the beach car park. Shoes off, hellos, I let the kids hold the Super 8.
Walk down to the water. Holding hands, piggybacks, somebody finds a crab.
Races along the waterline. The 35mm comes out.
Quiet frames by the caves. Big hugs, whispered secrets, the medium format camera.
Sun on the water. Last reel of Super 8. Everyone in, one last time.
That is a wrap. Home for dinner and bath.
Family sessions
Every family session includes digital and at least one roll of film. Travel across Adelaide and the Fleurieu Coast is included.
$295
Short, sweet and easy on little legs. Twenty minutes by the sea at sunset, on set dates in spring and summer. Released to the mailing list first.
I usually have a 35mm camera with me on mini days. If a frame of your family is on the roll, it comes with your gallery.
Join the mini list$550
One easy hour, ideally in the softest light of the day. At the beach, in the vines or at home. Your gallery is digital, with a roll of film shot alongside for the frames that feel like heirlooms.
Suits families, maternity, and little ones who are done after half an hour.
Enquire about The Golden Hour$790
Twice the time of The Golden Hour. Two unhurried hours that run from golden hour into the soft glow after the sun goes down, with room for a second spot, a snack break, and the photos that only happen once everyone has relaxed.
Add a home movie
Super 8 is real motion picture film. Every cartridge is bought, sent to a specialist lab, developed and scanned frame by frame before I edit it, which is why these sessions sit higher. You can also add one cartridge to any session above for $650.
$1,450
The Afterglow, plus a real Super 8 cartridge. Your evening also comes back as a small, flickering home movie, set to music.
One cartridge holds about three minutes of film. That usually becomes a home movie of around two minutes.
Enquire about The Home Movie$2,450
A day-in-the-life story. Breakfast, the walk to the beach, bath time. Every format I own, and time for the ordinary moments to happen.
Growing a family? The First Year follows your first year, from bump to first birthday, on one Super 8 reel.
Anywhere in Adelaide that feels like you: a favourite beach, the Adelaide Hills, the vines around McLaren Vale, or your own home. I live down south in Port Willunga, so the southern beaches are my backyard, but I travel all over Adelaide. I will suggest a spot for the season and the time of day when we talk.
That is the whole point. I do not ask anyone to sit still and smile. I give children small games and jobs, like racing to the water or finding the biggest shell, and photograph what happens. Toddlers who refuse to cooperate often give me my favourite frames.
The last hour and a half before sunset, when the light is low and warm. In summer that means an evening session. In winter it is mid afternoon, which also suits little ones who need an early dinner.
Soft, warm colours photograph beautifully on film: cream, rust, mustard, olive, faded blue. Avoid big logos and neon. Coordinate, do not match. I send every family a short guide after booking.
Digital photographs usually arrive within three weeks. Film has to go to the lab, so scans follow a little later, and Super 8 home movies usually take six to eight weeks from your session.
Travel across Adelaide, the southern suburbs, McLaren Vale and the Fleurieu Coast is included. For places further away, like the Barossa or Kangaroo Island, I add a small travel fee and tell you what it is before you book.
We watch the forecast together and move the session at no cost if it is wet or blowing a gale. Overcast days are welcome though. Film loves soft light.