Monika’s Studio Session 2013

I’ve been practicing my photography for a while now.  I am a second shooter on weddings and I quite often get to cast my eye over Kris’s photos and even edit his great work. Occasionally I will be in charge of some photos of the bridal party while Kris is working with a bride and groom, that sort of thing, but I have never been the one to run the show.  This was my chance to stretch my wings creatively.  I came up with the concepts, organised positioning, took the photos and edited them.

A lot of these images aren’t just a portrait, they are a story.  That was my aim for the day.  Not only to get some beautiful photos but to tell some stories through my photos.

Thank you to the students of Monika’s Unlimited Dance, who were great subjects and willingly gave up their time to let me experiment with them!

Parents and students that participated in the session can view images in the Monika’s 2013 Gallery. The full collection is now available for viewing! All of the access details you need are in the letter that accompanied your print. Hope you enjoyed the session!

This here is Sweet M.  She was a little shy but the camera, and I, loved her.

 

This is one photo in a series I shot on the day.  The concept and story behind this one is about a kid that is made to feel she is not worth anything, she wants to be a part of the group but is shut out.  I think today kids have it a lot harder with bullying.  No longer is it just in the school ground, but it follows them home, on social media, through texts and emails.

I wanted to show the pain that someone can feel when they are bullied.

It makes you feel alone, small, scared.  Even if no-one has laid a finger on you, pushed you, beaten you up, you can still feel isolated and afraid.

Miss A was such a good sport to take on the role of the one who is bullied.  The pain in her face, her body language, everything she did, made me feel almost like it was real.

Bullying is not ok.  (And A, YOU ROCK!)

 

 

C defies Gravity.  She held this pose for me and did it again and again till I was happy.  Such a beautiful girl to work with and an amazing performer too.

 

 

The Divine Miss J.  Great poses, did everything I asked of her and more! Got some amazing pictures of J and she was so happy to get up, get down, go here, go there, be happy, be sad.

 

 

The gorgeous Miss M…  Oooh la la! She was a magnet to the camera, even when I was photographing someone else I was drawn to her.  This photo is a Hollywood, spotlight on the star photo.

 

 

E the Jumper.  Oh boy, he could jump SO HIGH! We got heaps of great leaping in the air shots, but this one just captured me.  I love how he’s just sitting, quietly, and thinking…

 

 

G Girl.  Wow!  To be that flexible and she nailed this shot in her second frame!  Step, kick, hair flick and intense look right down the camera.  NAILED IT!

 

Thanks to all the students that were kind enough to come in and let me take some photos.   I only wish I had more time with these great kids on the day to get more photos! They were all really easy to work with.  Keep an eye out for a future blog with some more of my story photos.

And thanks to Kris for being my crew for the day, and trusting me to take some amazing shots.