Xmas art


I was not planning to decorate this year for Xmas. We are going away, as we always do.
But some people had other plans. So we did decorate, we also made some of the decorations ourselves.

Some rocks from the beach, and paint - and voila, we have Xmas trees, snowflakes, Xmas comets, candy canes, gifts, and even Santa's been painted.

 Some art pieces we could not keep. Like the one below. Pity.



Piú letti

The magic of reading during your family photo shoot

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5 reasons to include books and reading in your family photos If you are reading this, you are probably considering a family photo shoot. I know all the different concerns that my clients have before their session. And one of them is - what do we do, how do we get those images with genuine moments and real emotions? During my 7 years doing family photography I've discovered one activity that always works - it's reading books with your kids. There are so many good reasons why integrating books and reading into your lifestyle family photoshoot can bring a touch of magic, warmth, and togetherness, while capturing beautiful and candid moments along the way. Below I'll let you know the top 5.  Let's get started! 1. Reading with your kids is great for those who might feel uncomfortable in front of the camera Because you do what you usually do - you sit down, take a book and read. You don't need to worry what to do with your hands - they are holding a book, or both the boo...
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Fine art motherhood photo sessions, and giveaway! - Family photographer in St Andrews

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I have something to celebrate this week. All women do - it's International Women's Day today, and Mother's Day on Sunday. For me it's also 1 year since I made this giant leap of faith, published my photography web-site and decided to give it a try and make my hobby of last 12 years into something more, and share it with the world. So I am doing something very special to celebrate. It's about bond between mother and her child. It's about love, holding hands and messy hugs. It's about laughing together, exploring together, being together. And remembering what it felt like to hold the small hand of your child in your hand, or to lift up your little one and hug and twirl and laugh together. Photograph is one of the few things that can capture this special connection and love. That can help us to remember it and treasure for many more years to come. This is what my fine art motherhood photo sessions are about. And one of them I'd like t...
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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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More Blooms!

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My free photo collection of flowers has been updated with 15 new photos I took during past weeks. Some I missed - like the gorgeous blue hyacinths in my own garden. Daffodils remain a mystery, no matter how many times I photograph them, I am not happy with results. Hope you will find your favourites here - and let me know if you'd like a particular bloom or colour, I'll do my best to add them to this collection. They can be used in any way you'd like. A screensaver on the pho ne, a wallpaper on computer screen or cover for your facebook profile are just some of the possibilities. They can also be printed if you'd like. The photos with 's' in the title are compressed for facebook or phone. The ones without 's' are for computer screen or printing. You can find them here .
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Photo a day - January and February

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Published on 3rd of March 2023 An update on my 'a photo a day project' has been long overdue, so here it is finally. It's covering January and some of February. Winter in Palermo finally came after New Year, the eternal August was finally over, and it was like, poof, suddenly cold and rainy and not anymore nice outside. No slow transition, no gradual change, it just happened almost overnight and then we could see snow from our terrace on the mountains around the city. Slow days, lots of reading, socks and sweaters, movies and hot chocolate, and getting out on the terrace to soak up the sun - this is how we spent the first weeks of the year. I had hard time to keep up with a photo a day project at first - the January blues and all, bad weather, bad light, short days and I think I photographed everything kids do at home so many times already! I missed some days, or took some photos and did not like them after all. There were new things too, Mara's changing fast, how she i...
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Family photo session in Villa Tasca, Palermo

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We met with Greta and her parents on summer evening in July for their family photos. I've photographed this family several times already, first when Greta was a a baby, and it always touches me deeply when families come for a repeat shoot. We picked villa Tasca park because they often spend summer evenings there, so Greta knows and loves the park and has several favourite spots there. As her mom told me that she's very much into exploring and researching now, I offered to bring a little basket and magnifying glass for her research. They also brought some books and a blanket to sit on. We started with one of their favourite spots - tree stumps and hammocks. There was a game of sticks, drumming, bouncing and jumping on the stumps, rocking on the hammock with some tickles.  I saw some interesting looking bushes with blooms and beautiful light, so I suggested we move there and let Greta play with magnifying glass. She was really excited about this new toy, so for a while it was dif...
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Our trip to Favignana

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Some impressions from our week on Favignana, a little island west of Sicily. Beach, lunch, nap and more beach, watching sunset by the sea. These are the days. In the mix are also books, some games, football, random ice-cream trips. We are going around the island checking out different swimming places and exploring best rocks for jumping. Our favourite spots so far are Cala Rotonda and Grotta Perciata. On one of the days we skipped afternoon sea and visited the museum in the Tonnara.  Here are more from our island life - mostly beach - adventures. More personal updates More beach photography ...
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How to select outfits for family photos at home

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Dressing your family for photos is often challenging, and even more so when the photo session takes place at your home. At home sessions usually are reserved for newborns and babies, but there are so many reasons for doing at home shoot with kids of any age! Everybody feels more comfortable at home, you don't need to worry about carrying extra clothes or shoes in case someone gets messy and needs a change. You have all your favourite books and activities right at hand. Having photo session at home is also a deeper insight into your family and your life. Choose colours that you like looking at, because they will remain on the photos for a long time. Start with picking your palette of 3-4 general tones - for instance greys, pastels and earth tones etc. Then select clothes which fit with the chosen colour palette. Everybody should not wear the same colours, and as you've started with a common palette, outfits would coordinate together beautifully. When deciding about...
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She is 5!

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Maya is 5 today! 5 years of adventures and giggles and running after this little girl of mine. Maya at 5 loves to dance and wear dresses, beach and Christmas, to eat ice-cream and to watch Peppa Pig. Her best play (and mischief of course) buddy is her brother, she has a bad day at school when there's painting. She is passionately avoiding any green leaves in her food (like parsley or spinach - big no no). Her next big project is to learn to ride 2 wheels bicycle. And her birthday cake request is chocolate with raspberries and pink frosting - so I am signing off for the day to work on that, and balloons, and surprizes, and yes there's also ice-cream stashed in the freezer :-) This is her official birthday portrait. By special request - with glitter. Lots and lots of it! More personal updates Contact Julia
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