Meeting cousins often involves some drama. Over who shouts louder or jumps higher. Or goes first, or stops last, or decides what comes next, or argues with the decision. Lots of fun and lots of drama.
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...
Preparation As both parents are history lovers and always try to visit and explore historic places when travelling, St Andrews Cathedral seemed to be an obvious location choice, followed by a quick trip to East Sands beach and the pier, so that we had more diversity in the scenery. We spoke on the phone to sort out all the details to plan the session so that it's also enjoyable for them and manageable with their little baby girl. I was a bit worried to have an outdoor photo session in winter with such a young baby (she was about 2 months old when we did the photos), but she did so well! She liked our time on the beach much more than the Cathedral ruins, probably because we walked more there and she could sleep cuddled in her mommy's or daddy's arms. The weather's been a gift too, we had a lovely warm day which did not feel like winter at all and beautiful golden sunlight. The photoshoot We started with a little walk around the Cathedral ruins, followed by a short nursin...
We did not have much snow this winter. We usually do not get much snow here at all, which may be surprising considering how far up north we are. But the truth is, winters in St Andrews are mild. We wanted some snow adventure and real winter experience, even as a short break. This desire took us to Glenshee. It was beginning of March, but we were lucky to find some snow patches, good enough for sledges. And small snowman. And snowballs. And of course snow lollipops. Result - some hours of driving and a bit getting lost, even with navigator - or despite :-) Couple of children who got car sick. Fair amount of fighting over how three children share two sledges. Couple hours of fun on the slopes. Five pairs of soaked shoes and socks. And this true sportswoman, who bravely pulled sledge up the slope for the next ride. All on her own. Photographs are copyright of Julia Pagano Photography. Julia Pagano specializes in candid natural light photography of babies, toddlers ...
I was photographing these two little brothers a short while ago at their home. I got a lot of serious looks. I got some sweet details and very real moments, like this one below. Some more of my favourites from this session. Photographs are copyright of Julia Pagano Photography. Julia Pagano specializes in candid natural light photography of babies, toddlers and families, as well as children portraiture in St Andrews and Fife, as well as Dundee.
Ville storiche e parchi di Palermo Dove faremo la nostra sessione fotografica è una delle domande più frequenti che ricevo dai miei clienti. Da un lato, è bello farlo in un luogo che abbia una qualche importanza e significato per voi, come un parco che frequentate, dove tuo figlio ha un posto preferito per nascondersi o il suo 'albero da scalare. Ma forse stai cercando qualcosa di nuovo, perchè il vostro parco preferito è chiuso per lavori di manutenzione o semplicemente non è adatto come location per uno shooting fotografico perché è piccolo o presenta altri problemi. Quando si sceglie una location per le foto di famiglia, ci sono diverse cose da considerare: quanto è grande il luogo, se offre diversità di sfondi e possibili attività, ma anche quanto sia facile da raggiungere, o va evitato in alcuni orari perchè troppo affollato. In questo articolo, parlerò dei miei parchi e giardini preferiti di Palermo che sono perfetti per una sessione fotografica di famiglia. Villa Trabia è u...
Beach is fun all year around. And we had the cutest little explorer. We went to Maiden rock beach for this family session, just a short walk from East Sands. And we had lots of rocks to explore, shells to collect and sand to play, and driftwood tree to climb. This girl and her flyaway hair! Here are some more of my favourites from this session. Her face says it all, it was a good fun! Photographs are copyright of Julia Pagano Photography. Julia Pagano specializes in candid natural light photography of babies, toddlers, children and families, as well as children portraiture in St Andrews and Fife, as well as Dundee.
Every now and then I get frustrated with my photos. It does not look right. The colours are all wrong, the skin tone is all wrong, the contrasts are too strong, brights are too bright, greens are not properly green ... This is when I start to experiment. And this is when I usually learn something new, a trick or a technique I was not aware of earlier or was not using properly or to its full capacity. My editing philosophy remains the same - I am not doing any major alterations to the images. I am not changing smiles, adding or removing objects, painting snow or rainbows or sunsets. What you see is what was there - a documented moment. Here's some of my recent work, with some new editing tricks used. Photographs are copyright of Julia Pagano Photography. Julia Pagano specializes in candid natural light photography of babies, toddlers and families, as well as children portraiture in St Andrews and Fife, as well as Dundee.
How often do we stop and really feel the moment? How often is it even possible, with the busy life around us, phones beeping with notifications, children asking for this and that, dinner that needs to be cooked, email that needs to be answered, laundry that needs to be folded... Yet, there are moments and feelings that matter so much, that they shape and mould us, who we are and what we are. First smiles of your baby. Getting settled in a new home, and making it a home, not just a house with walls and furniture and random accessories. Wiggly little bodies of your children, how they both fit in your lap. Sweet clumsy hugs and kisses. Tickles and giggles. It's short and fleeting. It's full of love. Photographs are copyright of Julia Pagano Photography. Julia Pagano specializes in candid natural light photography of babies, toddlers and families, as well as children portraiture in St Andrews and Fife, as well as Dundee.
This week-end we were discussing, what to do with my summer project, #100momentsofsummer . Calendar was rolling to inevitable end of August, while many of our summer adventures remained unpublished. We also bought a sun dress, stumbling upon it accidentally. And we thought, it cannot be over, if we are not ready. If we still feel like summer, with all its flowers, berries, bugs, fresh Scottish winds and sand between your toes. So we went for a walk, and made a crown. We crowned a queen and a king. Thus, the Queen of Summer declares it is not over, who cares about calendar. It goes on, at least till September equinox. The Forest King in his turn orders to go on with ice-creams, sand castles, barbecues, bike rides and all the boyish summer joys and shenanigans.