A new beginning


It's spring, everything is coming back to life. It's time of new beginnings.

So it will be also a new beginning for this blog. I will be posting my favourites from my customers' sessions, and also some of my personal work. So you can get a better idea what a family, or baby, or newborn session with me would be like. And our families will appreciate me posting more pictures of our children too, win-win!


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, Fife, and around.

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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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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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Our lockdown life

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Here's a little update about our lockdown life. I'm still here, still love photography, and try to keep creative in these tough times. There've been days when nothing made sense and I did not pick up the camera for a while, but there were also good days, and I am developing my skills, experimenting, and learning new things so that I can do more when life comes back to normal. It's been... different, this living in our own bubble. Boring and fun, creative, and confusing. We read books and watched movies, tried new crafts and did some DIY, baked cakes and built Legos, spent too much time in front of computers, jumped and shouted, went for walks, found fossils and new sticks. Stay well, and stay safe x More personal updates Like what I do? Get in touch, let's chat about photos of your family! ...
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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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Autumn family photos in St Andrews - Lade Braes and Botanic Gardens

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Majority of my photo-sessions lately are outside, and involve gorgeous details of autumn. My style of outdoor photography and use of natural details seems to work especially well here. It's my favourite season, after all :-). Katie wanted to have photoshoot for her family in a place that's special for them - Lade Braes. It's their favourite place to visit, play and explore - where kids can be silly and run around, laugh and play with sticks. Being autumn and in Scotland, we were only partly lucky - half way through it started to rain. So we continued next week-end in Botanic Gardens. This venue was our backup plan in case it rains again - we could escape to the glass houses! Fortunately, it was not needed. And fortunately we had this second venue - kids had even more opportunities to run around and be silly and play outside among gorgeous colours of autumn. There was never a dull moment, they were engaged with each other and exploring everything around them - it was ...
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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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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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Best of 2018

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What a year it has been! Thank you for all the smiles, silly and serious moments, peekaboo games and cookies! What a year it's been! Happy 2019!
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How to prepare for newborn photo shoot at home

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There are so many advantages for having your newborn or young baby shoot at home - you do not need to pack everything you might need and more just in case, you and the baby are in the familiar atmosphere, no need to worry about getting older siblings ready and thinking of how to entertain them during the shoot. Having photo session at home is also a deeper insight into your family and your life. So dear new moms, below you'll find some practical tips and suggestions on how to pick outfits, prepare yourself, your baby and your home for the shoot. Dads can read it too :-). 1. Preparing your home We need good light for the shoot - the rooms with big windows would work best. Usually master bedroom and family room are the main locations. To prepare your home for the shoot - some basic cleaning is needed, like made beds, a little tidying and organising (like hiding a laundry pile in a closet). Don't worry if you don't have time to clean everything - life with a newborn is...
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