Picnic, races and shenanigans

It has started with family picnic at St Andrews Cathedral (we already had one photo shoot here). Then some random seagull wanted to join. Then we did some flower picking, crawling, running, and kissing.

Then came races, and shenanigans. Some participants did not take the start command seriously.
And some daddy moment :-)


Piú letti

Socks special

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What to say. They always fly around, these baby socks. Yet they can never be found when they are needed. They are played with, eaten, hidden... and sometimes worn too.
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3 reasons to have your family photos in Villa Giulia park

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Villa Giulia is a park in historic center of Palermo. It has its origins in 18th century and is remarkable for its perfect square shape with diagonal alleys dividing the park in different sections. Marble statues and fountains, a sundial, shady alleys and open spaces, and wide variety of trees and shrubbery make it a popular spot both with locals and tourists.  If you'd like your family photos to have lush green background with a touch of special Sicilian atmosphere, this park definitely should be considered. It ticks all the boxes - plenty of space, nice surroundings, easy access, lots of options for things to do during your photo shoot to get natural and emotional images (anyway we don't do posed photos on the benches or next to flowering shrubs!).  Here are my top 3 reasons why villa Giulia is a great location for family photo sessions. Reason 1  Lots of space and diversity. The park has an alley with Ficus trees, a little bamboo forest, a hill with cacti and succulen...
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Photo a day - January

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Published on 13th of February 2024 This January has been... different. It should've been great, we had a trip planned for New Year, my brother was expected to visit with his family, Mara and Matteo have their birthdays in January too. It turned out not quite what we planned and expected. The trip to Sila had to be cut short because everyone got ill, which turned out to be Covid, which as a consequence affected also Mara's birthday and made the time with my brother and his family a bit less fun too. On the other hand, it felt like my body and my mind needed this slow time after busy and stressful December, there was a lot to reflect about, a lot of rest and quiet. It's ironic that Covid became the answer to this, oh well. The January photos reflect this slow time too - we stayed at home or visited grandma's garden to collect oranges and to play, we baked and built pillow forts, planted bulbs for spring, read books and baked some more. Cookies and muffins are usually what...
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Photo a day - February

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Published on 25th of March 2024 This February did not feel like February at all. We were hoping to find some snow and were treated to spring-like temperatures and lots of sunny days instead, slow weekends spent outside collecting oranges or playing hide and seek in a giant blooming rosemary shrub, climbing trees, collecting rocks and even some splashing in the sea. Yes it was warm. We went to Scotland to take care of some personal matters, came back with a new cough, as if recent Covid and other cough and ear infections etc etc was not enough. I made a sweater for Mara and realized I've miscalculated the size, what I hoped would last also for autumn is just right for now. She is growing so fast, which makes me both sad and proud. Still loving her dinosaurs and playing hide and seek (the laundry basket is apparently an excellent hiding spot!), discovering 'big kids' Lego and liking it a bit too much, and trying to keep up with her big siblings.   Like what I do? Get in t...
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Forest walks

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Forest walks with a toddler are quite an exercise. Especially with an added bonus of a camera :-) What's involved? Jumping in the mud and trying to jump in the river. Collecting sticks. Collecting leaves. Walking in a wrong direction. Falling. Standing up. Stopping. Turning around. Then there is possible game of peekaboo. And of course trying to escape, especially when mom is taking pictures of some flowers and escape involves jump in the river :-)
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7 reasons for having your family photoshoot outdoors

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Sometimes my kids pull out family albums, and I hear their happy chatter, remembering what happened in that photo, what kind of adventure they were having, who did the most silly thing - splashing each other in the sea, Maya putting sand on her brother's head, jumping on hay bales, having picnic on a hill watching sunset. I love hearing this, because I loved those moments. And as a family photographer, this is the kind of photos I want to take for you. Just imagine. Instead of dressing everyone nicely, driving to a studio and sitting still for 15-30 minutes while lights and reflectors are adjusted, posing is corrected and photos are taken, you are going outside to play, explore and have fun. You will share this experience as a family, and you will have natural and unique photos as a result. In all my years as a family photographer in Scotland and here in Sicily I've done dozens and dozens of shoots outdoors, parents and kids both love them, and here's why. 1. Photo sessions...
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Tentsmuir forest, continued

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This is second part of our adventures in Tentsmuir fores t. I do not have much to say, I loved it and pictures tell it all much better than words :-) I thought that I've included about half of the photos in the first post. How wrong I was! This one is interesting, because it shows the face Masha makes, when she does not want to be photographed. This time I did it though. With Grandpa. This boy, making faces and running away. Then coming back :-) This girl, with messy bun. She is a modern version of Little Red Riding Hood, in red converse instead of the hat. It was good. We should come back.
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Giveaway! Win maternity photo session - or £100 gift voucher for your newborn photos!

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A new beginning, not quite there yet but you can feel it. How he or she kicks or hickups, how your body changes because of the little miracle it's working on. All the tiny clothes you bought and folded with so much love. All the grainy ultrasound images which you see more with your heart than with your eyes. Pregnancy is a short period in life of a woman, and the weeks when you proudly show your bump are even shorter. And so special. And then the little miracle you made comes to this world, to your arms, and you are absorbed by the haze and beauty of first days with your new little most favourite human. Photograph is one of the few things that can capture these fleeting moments and bring them back to life, to remind you how messy and perfect it all was and how tiny they felt in your arms. That's what my maternity and newborn photo sessions are about. And you can win one! What's included: - 40 min maternity photo session in an outdoor location in St Andrews, to ta...
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Adventures of Maya and the Bear, in pink

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She picked her dress today. And some of the toys to play with. So the poor Bear (which has no name and had indefinite gender so far), had to keep up with pink, necklaces and other girly stuff. There was even mirror, a hairbrush and lipstick involved (fortunately a wooden one :-) So the party got started! Then the Bear was abandoned for the blankie, keeping up with the pink theme of the day. And peekaboo we played.
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