Peter Pan, catch your shadow

The shadow we've got, in a girly way with a wee bit of pink :-)
The sun, sitting low in Scottish sky, invites for all sorts of shadow plays. We already had this, and this a while back. And will have some more probably, with a new twist.

Piú letti

9 essential tips for taking great photos of your kids on the beach

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A lot of Sicilian summer is about the sea - it's a place to escape the heat, to relax and have fun on the beach with your kids, be it splashing, swimming, collecting shells or digging in the sand, reading or even napping! As parents, we often find ourselves reaching for our cameras or smartphones, eager to capture these moments and memories of the summer.  However, there are quite some challenges when it comes to getting beautiful photos on the beach - the biggest are strong sunlight, crowded space, kids moving all the time. During my 7+ years as a family photographer, I took hundreds of photos of clients and my own kids on the beaches in both Scotland and in Sicily. I've learnt and discovered a lot, what to do, and what not to do, to get beautiful kids' photos on the beach. Here are my top 9 tips and tricks, that will help you to elevate your beach snapshots to beautiful photographs. It's about essentials, nothing technical, and will work both for your phone and camera...
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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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At home

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She was reading to me. The problem is, I could not understand a word. I got some uti-puti and kalam-balam, and we are still trying to figure out what it might mean.  She was trying real hard, and her reading was also very emotional. She clearly feels for Goldilocks. Again, if I could just understand :-) Then there are naps. She still needs two of them, and she is still not very good at sleeping on her own. Working as her pillow provided me with a lot of reading time though :-)
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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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The force is strong with this one

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This project has been brewing since a while. We even wanted to write down the ideas, cause Matteo had more of them than fingers on one hand :-) Finally the combination of sunset, being at the right location at the right time, plus the mood was all in place. So yeah, the force is strong with this one. We were rewarded with golden light and pretty sky. The playground nearby destroyed our plans for more silhouette photos. So more might come, if Matteo wants to implement his ideas. For now, this is what we have, plus lots of pretty sky, and sea, and golden cowlick :-)
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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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A portait, but no face

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These portraits were taken in November, but I did not get to post them here earlier. It happened to quite many of the photos I took end of last year actually, so better late than never :-)
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Cathedral

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  The Cathedral, our iconic ruin. Every time we walk by, Matteo wants to visit. It is like one of his playgrounds, along with the beach and the forest. There is plenty of space to explore, climb, jump and other shenanigans. This is a throwback to October when we had Grandpa visiting. I am sure he's got a really good closeup :-)
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