Of flowers, and children

We went to Botanical Gardens on Sunday. I found this wall still covered with the leaves of last year, and I absolutely wanted to photograph Masha there. Here's what we've got.

As well as lots of flowers, dry and new.

And then there are these three flowers. It takes an effort to get them together and sit quietly, and look at the same direction, oh my.

Piú letti

5 fun games for natural family photos on the beach / family photo shoot on West Sands

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I'm often asked, what do we do during our photo shoot, and what do we need to bring with us?  The answer to the first one is - do you have a favourite activity, or something you usually do when outside? No worries if not, or if every walk is a new adventure (our family walks are often like this, so I understand!).  Here's a list of 5 simple activities and games for the beach that kids love (and adults too!), and that result in great natural photos. We did most of it during this family photo session on West Sands with little Noah and his baby brother. Most of these activities don't require any additional toys or equipment, which is great if you plan to walk and move around, and don't feel like dragging with you bags of toys and stuff. The few things I always have for a walk on the beach, and suggest to my clients are water, wipes and change of clothes. Treasure hunting Shells, rocks and sea glass are the obvious choice for this. Can also be funny-looking seaweed, sticks ...
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Sculptures

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This story started in May and still goes on, as Masha is working on ballerina sculpture in her art class with Jaclyn Stuart. The children were learning about Alberto Giacometti and his sculptures, and made some of their own artwork with wire, tape and colors. Colors are still to come, as well as tutu - so to be continued
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Faces of autumn

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The fall, with its crispy mornings, golden trees and leaves rustling under your feet, is here. We also have some boys' faces of autumn, with more colors and boyish mood. Coming soon.
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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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Last days of autumn

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I know, it is Xmas time, so autumn photos are somewhat out of date. But I have some nice ones to share, and I had creative break to experiment with my photo editing, and work on some other photography projects. So I am sharing them now :). I had some ideas, the individuals involved had others. Sometimes I get carried away with my own ideas, which they did not want to do. I still need to remind myself to let go and let it be. I get nice stuff this way too, not what I wanted, but full of real emotions and laughter. These were made on one of the last warm autumn days, when rolling on the grass was still OK and leaves were down, but nice and dry and crunchy. Not dripping wet as we were hit by a rain season. So rolling in the leaves and grass we did. We have started in the park, where all the shouting, grass rolling, leaves throwing and laughing took place. Then we continued to the harbour, where we wanted to do some silhouette shots with Matteo. We piled up l...
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Pieces of our summer / Children photographer in St Andrews

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Long walks, strawberries and home-made ice lollies, long days and late dinners. Pieces of our summer. This blog is going on holidays for a couple of weeks. See you on the beach! 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.
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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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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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