Tired of seeing everyone's perfectly curated lives and businesses on social media? Me too. I value honesty in storytelling, and I have a feeling you do too.

Let's stop pretending that our lives are pretty all the time, and tell the real everyday stories of what our families are like. Let's show the behind-the-scenes process of your work so that clients value the effort you put into every step of the creating journey.


I help busy Torquay artists & mums capture their small businesses & families in beautifully (im)perfect photographs.

if this aligns with your values, then you are in the right place.

Hey friend. I'm Kristen (she/her).

All the best parts of life are a bit messy.

let's be honest...

let's photograph your messy story.

It all began when I was naptrapped.

You know the feeling? Sitting in a comfy chair, feeding your baby as they drift to sleep, gazing at their little eyelashes. Next minute you realise they are out and your book/phone/cuppa is on the same side as your occupied arm. Naptrapped. It's one place where I am always happy to be stuck with my own thoughts.

In fact, that's how my business was born.

Wandering thoughts and bottled-up creativity needing to escape.

Wanting to document this time of our lives but in a way that was honest and unposed.

so along came:

Baby snuggles while I still can, cleaning endless cloth nappies, diffusing toddler tamtrums (how can he want his banana cut and yet whole at the same time?!), trying to find two hands free to run this business and feeling the constant pull between the passion I have for my work and also not wanting to miss any moments with my kids.

My days are filled with:

Playing with my kids on the beach, at a yoga class, teaching high schoolers to speak languages or hiking in nature.

YOU CAN FIND ME:

Making things look unnecessarily pretty and Insta-perfect for the sake of a photo. There's rarely honesty in tidiness!

I'm NOT ABOUT:

Being kind. Being honest. Living simply. Being gentle on the earth. Encouraging women and helping them realise how much the world needs their skills.

I BELIEVE IN:

Now that I'm a mum, I see the world differently. I used to speedwalk down Melbourne streets to get into restaurants, and now I wander at a toddler's pace (geez they are slow), and my mind wanders to the way the light falls on the ocean, on my children, and I think about how I can capture that so I can remember it later. I'm trying really hard to take my real camera along, too, because iPhone photos just don't cut it. They really do look dreadful when printed (but more on that later).

Our lives are full and busy, spent between our two homes in Torquay, Australia and Vancouver Island, Canada, and as much as I love the chaos of life with children, I do wish it would all slow down a bit more so I could savour it.

Time. That fleeting little bugger. We worry we aren't photographing our kids enough and are missing out on seeing them grow. We waste time staring at a screen when we could be making art, or helping people, or getting to a yoga class, or being present with our children.

I've always loved creating. As a kid I made my friends act in my movies and spent hours playing with my dad's old film cameras. As a teenager I'd listen to Belle and Sebastian albums and paint all Sunday long. At uni I crammed my piano into my bedroom so I could muck around late into the evenings (with headphones, I'm not a d-bag). I've always thought I wasn't especially great at any one thing, but that I liked to dabble with everything. Then I decided to start clocking up my 10 000 required hours they say you need in order to master something - and I chose photography.

13 years teaching and meeting kids where they are.
6 years in business as a photographer.
4 years as a mum to 2 little ones.
A BA and Masters degrees to back up my skills (though to be honest, they came more from life than uni).
A genuinely open and friendly approach to working with creative people. (People say I'm kind. And daggy).
I'm silly with wild kids, calm with quiet kids, great with babies and even dads like me. Woo!

All the areas of my life come together to make me really good at my job.

but enough of the braggy brag. hear what my clients have to say.

so, in a land of great photographers, why should you pick me?

"Working with Kristen is like hanging out with a close friend where you chat about your dreams, sip tea, and crank some feel good music, but all the while she is working her magic behind the lens. She was able to simultaneously put me at ease and bring my vision to life! I had a vision of what I wanted going in, but I wasn't sure how it would translate in photos. Not only did Kristen accurately capture the aesthetic and colour palette I wanted, but she was able to translate the FEELING I wanted to bring through perfectly."

Carlie

naturopathic physician

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"Kristen is an extremely talented photographer whose passion is apparent throughout the entire session. Her skill set in making us feel completely comfortable allows her to capture real family moments that we will cherish for a lifetime. I could not have asked for a more positive experience while having photos of our newborn taken."

Julie

mama & teacher

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what it's like to
work with me

listening:

CRAVING: 

READING:

DRINKING: 

All Creatures Great and Small (I'm a sucker for a period drama with zero violence and baby animals).

watching: 

Currently

A flat white in the morning, or a good red in the evening. Or a Negroni if I'm feeling fancy.

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen. To my toddler, for the thousandth time. It's hilarious.

A cheese board the size of a surfboard.

To the flock of cockatoos squawking as they fly over my house every night at sunset. It's nice to be back in Australia.

My Favorite Things

I'm also a high school French and Media teacher, and I think teenagers get a bad rap - they are hilarious!

Going on biiiiig outdoor adventures with my family. Swimming in every body of water I find along the way. Yoga. Lots of yoga.

Being a mum to these two hairy menaces.

My Favorite Things

Being near the ocean. It clears my head and calms me down when I get cranky.

Making things with my hands. Art, food, music - my brain is wired to make.

Reading! Learning. I'm a big ol nerdy nerd and I'm very fine with that.

to the galleries!

Come see some of my work!

"Kristen, they are SOOO beautiful. You are a magician. I LOVE LOVE LOVE them all!"

kate said:

let's work together

If you made it all the way to the bottom of this page, thank you!
I have a feeling we are going to get along.
If you have any questions, or would like me to come and photograph your business or your family, please reach out below!

I would LOVE to create some photo magic for you.

Grab my freebie!

Forget 17 headshots and perfect flat lays.
After years spent photographing artists and helping them zhush their websites, THESE are the most useful brand photos!

P.S. I promise never to spam you.
My emails are verrry infrequent and only full of good things!