Best of 2019!

What a year it's been!

I felt so blessed to meet your families, honoured to photograph your kids, thrilled to see how they've grown and inspired by your connection, laughter and love.

Cannot wait to do more in 2020. Happy New Year!


Like what I do? Get in touch, let's chat about photos of your family!

Contact Julia

Piú letti

Autumn in St Andrews - family photos

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 Autumn is solidly settling in, with its gorgeous colours, cosy blankets and sweaters, rains, and this special something in the air. At home, we watch more movies, bake more pies, walk on the leaves and listen to their crunchy-crunch under our boots, and I want to soak in all these colours around us - I love autumn! It can be risky to have a photo session this time of the year, the weather becomes so unpredictable. But it's well worth the risk, because the light in autumn is often golden and magical, and you have all these gorgeous colours around you. I can be more flexible with my schedule so we can work around the sunshine. Favourite spots around St Andrews for autumn family photos. Of course Lade Braes and Botanic Gardens - if you want all these gorgeous colours and nature details! Outdoor walks in autumn are so much fin, kids up to their knees in the leaves, or hunting for autumn treasures together, making piles of leaves for jumping, weaving crowns, hide and seek - you name it...
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7 reasons for having your family photoshoot outdoors

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Sometimes my kids pull out family albums, and I hear their happy chatter, remembering what happened in that photo, what kind of adventure they were having, who did the most silly thing - splashing each other in the sea, Maya putting sand on her brother's head, jumping on hay bales, having picnic on a hill watching sunset. I love hearing this, because I loved those moments. And as a family photographer, this is the kind of photos I want to take for you. Just imagine. Instead of dressing everyone nicely, driving to a studio and sitting still for 15-30 minutes while lights and reflectors are adjusted, posing is corrected and photos are taken, you are going outside to play, explore and have fun. You will share this experience as a family, and you will have natural and unique photos as a result. In all my years as a family photographer in Scotland and here in Sicily I've done dozens and dozens of shoots outdoors, parents and kids both love them, and here's why. 1. Photo sessions...
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Fife Coastal Path

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Our first walk of the year. Stomping through the mud, and lots of it. Some of us did even manage a bit of mud sliding. The sea had this surreal turquoise color, along with grey moody sky it was beautiful. Lots of dry grass, sticks and bushes, thorns. We did not go down to the beaches, it was too muddy and slippery for it. Next time.
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Autumn Mini Sessions / Family photographer in St Andrews

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Fancy getting some Christmas presents sorted, or maybe you'd just like some beautiful photos of yourselves? Autumn mini session is perfect for you! You go for a walk with your kids. You hold hands and throw leaves, play together and enjoy each other's company. I won't ask you to say cheese. But I might invite you to chase each other or tickle or do silly faces and messy hugs. Because I want to capture your honest smiles and moments that matter most. - 40 minute shoot in St Andrews, in Lade Braes or on the beach - suitable for a family of up to 5 - £100 fee includes 3 ready to print digital files, with option to purchase more. Number of available slots is limited! Message me to book at info@juliapagano.co.uk   or via my Facebook page, I'd love to chat with you. 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...
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A bit of sunshine

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Let's blame Instagram for this one. I was invited to participate to a photo challenge dedicated to the theme of sun flare on one of the communities I follow there. Parallel to it I was trying to bribe, torture, blackmail etc everybody and anybody (read Maya and Masha :-) to do something with the light shining on their back, so that I could experiment with shooting counter light. So it kind of came together. It is an experiment. I am still not quite sure I like it. We'll see at the end of the year, if I include these pics in the photobook. Or what happens with the Instagram challenge :-) And here's my Instagram , that is to blame :-)
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Visiting St Andrews

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Published on 27th of September 2022       The final weeks of school holidays we spent in Scotland - summer break is very long in Sicily, kids go back to school around mid-September. It was great to escape from the heat and mosquitoes, see our friends in St Andrews and visit all our favourite places. West Sands, East Sands, Tentsmuir, Botanic Gardens, Coastal path, Lade Braes, and of course Carnie fruit farm!  We came with quite a bucket list of things we wanted to do during our time in St Andrews, and we planned some of our walks and outings so that we were back by the time school is over and they could see their friends at Canongate. This was one of the downsides, different school schedules and limited time they could be with their school friends, so we tried to squeeze in as many play dates as possible. I think being back showed just how much has changed for us in this year - new country, big city, new language, new schools for everyone, different climate, differe...
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St Andrews by the front door photo project

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I'm starting a little project. It's about us as a community and how we go through this new and uncertain time. We cannot get together with family and friends, but we are together in this as a community. Going through the same feelings and emotions, trying to figure out how to live this new normal, how to make sure everyone is safe and sane. It's a rough time, but there is also so much goodness happening. The idea is to document families by their front door, through a window or in their yard. Reading, talking, playing with bubbles or making chalk drawings by your front door. Just being together at home. I'll spend 5-10 min at each home, using my long lens to be sure there's plenty of distance, and we'll be communicating with our phones. I am not making a charge for these photos. Instead, I am asking that, if you can afford it, please make a donation to North East Fife Community Hub and Cafe , a local St Andrews charity supporting vulnerable people in our c...
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Family photos in Tentsmuir forest

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Beautiful summer evening in Tentsmuir forest. This family wanted their photos in a green space, not on the beach, so Tentsmuir seemed to be the best option. It is one of my favourite spots around St Andrews and offers a wonderful mix of scenery - forest, dunes and the beach. Plus, plenty of space to run, things to do and explore for two active boys. And this is what we did on a warm summer evening a few weeks ago.  I love to capture families in their element, talking and having fun together, without posing or direction. This was easy to achieve here, as our photo session was about a walk in the forest, with a variety of activities captured - balancing on logs and climbing trees, stick and pinecones fight, piggyback rides, races and who has the biggest stick competitions. Of course, some cuddles, tickles and stories were thrown in the mix, and flowers the youngest boy has found for his mom and put in her hair. The result was a collection of beautiful, natural, at times funny, emotio...
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First weeks with baby Mara

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It's been quiet here since our newest arrival, I did not have much time for working on photos and posting updates. One would think, with baby #4 things should be easy and everything should be known and familiar. Nope, wrong. This one came with a whole bag of surprises, so we are slowly rediscovering all the baby tricks, and getting to know this little person. The easy bit - she sleeps. The difficult bit - she sleeps and falls asleep easily, and does not have the energy to nurse. Combined with her small size and weight, it is an issue. We had to start using the bottle and even formula every now and then, to be sure she is not hungry and is growing well. She does. So I'm pumping her milk and she's bottle fed for now. I hope as she gets a bit stronger we can switch to breastfeeding, pumping milk in the middle of the night is not a favourite activity. I am not going to pretend, I am tired, and worried. I want to make breastfeeding work, and be sure she's doing well and grow...
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