A bit of magic

 I have a secret. It is about magic, so do not tell anybody! It is a very magical trick!
We got this idea with Matteo to fill a hat with autumn leaves and play around. This is what we've got :-)





Piú letti

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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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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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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Sand castles on East Sands

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First barefoot beach day (we do not really count those short runs on the sand in February, right :-) Really and seriously, with feet dipping and running on the water - this one is the first. First sand castle of the season. First sand fight of the season and first hand full of sand - this, and sand in the pockets, will stay with us well till November. And I truly do not mind, I love my barefoot beach days as much as these two. Matteo is building a bunker - tunnel covered with sticks and sea-weed, then with sand. Good camouflage, it was hardly different from the rest of the surface around the castle. He tested it after completing the construction - the structure resisted his weight and survived. One very proud engineer. We tried to build the moat too - it did not really work, water was too far. So it was abandoned after a short while. Maya was collecting small rocks and shells to decorate the walls and the big tower. They both carried big rocks to reinforce the wall...
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Photo albums

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These beauties have arrived with the post today.  Putting last finishing touches - wrapping them and decorating with cuttings from my garden to give to  my lovely clients. Today's decorations are mint, rosemary, ivy and pink armeria. Such album takes work and time to create, it is custom made and designed specifically with your photos and ideas. It's the most popular product with my clients, often ordered in more than one copy as gift for grandparents or other family members. Beautiful way to enjoy all photos from your photo-session (and sometimes more than one!) in printed and physical form. The album comes also as pdf version, which can be used as e-book on your tablet. Can be a handy if you wish to protect the original from little often dirty fingers, or creative minds armed with crayons :-).  
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Servizio fotografico Natale 2023

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  Natale a casa Le luci, le decorazioni, il profumo di biscotti o di qualcosa di delizioso che viene cucina. L'atmosfera accogliente e calda, lunghe serate trascorse insieme. C'è così tanto di speciale nel Natale a casa. E quest'anno potete avere delle splendide fotografie professionali che vi ricorderanno il periodo più bello dell'anno, come dice la canzone. "It's the most wonderful time of the year!" Perché è un'ottima idea fare le foto di Natale a casa?  - Non devi spostarti, nè cercare parcheggio , preoccuparti che i vestiti si sgualciscano in macchina o si sporchino.  - Verrò da te, con la mia macchina fotografica, il buon umore e tante idee!  - Per i tuoi bambini fare le foto a casa è molto più facile: tutto è familiare e useremo i loro giochi, i loro libri di Natale e l'atmosfera della tua casa come sfondo. Anche il tuo animale domestico è il benvenuto!  - Documentiamo te e la tua famiglia in modo unico e autentico , senza decorazioni gene...
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Summer on the beach

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Published on 6th of October 2023 When I thought about the title for this blog post, summer on the beach was a firm winner. This is where we spent a large chunk of our summer, so it fits well. There was a lot of bathing, splashing, swimming, jumping from the rocks. There was barely any snorkelling this year, and not many waves, Matteo was disappointed. We found the canoe of my husband, that was believed to be gone, and it was a great addition to our sea activities. Although paddling with Mara is tricky, as she wants to hold the paddle too with her little hands. We spent a lot of evenings swimming till the sunset, or watering the rocks and the sand in case of Mara, and even made a night swim once. Apart of our usual beach, we tried several new spots like cala Bianca near Scopello, Monte Cofano (I loved that one, and the nature reserve too, hope we'll visit again in winter to climb the mountain) and Guidaloca. The last one we knew and visited several times before, but it was a nic...
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Photo a day - December and January. Our Christmas holidays album

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Published on 18th of January 2023     January often finds me in somewhat melancholy mood. The magic time of the holiday season is over, all the bright lights and decorations are packed away, the days are short and the weather is not the best, and one is expected to have all the new fresh starts and ideas and beginnings. I wish the magic would linger a bit more, but I'm also ready for new things, once the January blues fades away. In the meantime, there are photos, and stories behind.  Baking - we usually bake some cookies, with or without decorations, and gingerbread houses. Size and number varies. This year we had three, and they were part eaten by Mara even before they were assembled. The chimneys had some missing corners, oh well. Decorating gingerbread houses is easier before assembling, if you like to do nice drawings with icing - otherwise it's runny and the patterns swim away before they set. At least mine do. Kids eat more sprinkles and little sweets than usually...
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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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