Family.
That's what matters.
We used to print photos of our families. Birthdays with 80s cakes, mums wearing dresses with shoulder pads and beach holidays with sandy butts and melting icy poles.
Now we have 65 000 photos on our phones, none of them printed and one day we won't even be able to open those files.
I'm on a mission to change that.
They push our buttons and wear runners with jeans and sometimes drive us a bit batty, but at the end of the day, family is everything.
Hot summer nights, shooing away the seagulls stealing your fish and chips on the beach. Backyard cricket. Pottering in the toolshed with grandpa. Camping holidays with the cousins, nicking bits of Aunty Pam's pav. Sweaty kids who smell like sunscreen and laughter. Nose pickers. Cape wearers. I'm here for it all.
Documentary family photography in Torquay & Geelong.
For fun parents who just want to play with their kids.
Less posing. More playing.
say g'day to
book now for 2025
- Jean
I can’t begin to explain how incredible the whole experience was. The shoot itself was so much fun. I went in a little nervous as it was very late (sunset in summer!), but the kids handled it so well. And Kristen just brought so much fun - she never asked us to pose or smile, it was all about playing with our kids - who had an absolute ball! And the images are so beautiful, our kids personalities shine and her editing is spot on (I’m a photographer myself!). She also included some film images - it feels so special to have these nostalgic, grainy images that I can’t wait to print. Thank you Kristen for your incredible talent. I can’t wait to book you again, and could not recommend you more highly to anyone wanting natural, beautiful and timeless images of their family.
- Kat
Thank you so much for the amazing experience! You are so organized, the prep info was very helpful and made the whole experience stress-free. The photo shoot was fun! Your ability to make our ultra camera shy kiddo comfortable within minutes was magical. And the results are incredible. I love your attention to detail and ability to capture genuine emotions. You caught quintessential expressions for each of us! I can hear the laugh or feel the snuggle that those faces make. Thank you!!
- Lauren
I had such a great experience with Kristen! My parents were visiting from Canada, and it was their first visit with their grandchildren in over 4 years. It was so important that we captured this special time. The shoot was light and fun with all of us just doing what we do. She made sure to get all combinations of family shots with a mix of playful candids. We had more than a few laughs with her and everyone felt absolutely at ease. I look forward to surprising my parents a custom framed print that I ordered directly through her website - so easy, especially for the person who never gets around to printing photos. Cannot recommend her enough.
- Kat
Thank you so much for the amazing experience! You are so organized, the prep info was very helpful and made the whole experience stress-free. The photo shoot was fun! Your ability to make our ultra camera shy kiddo comfortable within minutes was magical. And the results are incredible. I love your attention to detail and ability to capture genuine emotions. You caught quintessential expressions for each of us! I can hear the laugh or feel the snuggle that those faces make. Thank you!!
Extended family sessions
The best kind of chaos.
Cousins who haven't seen each other for ages and still pick up where they left off. Loopy on too much red cordial. Nan making pickles. Pop gardening.
2 hour session.
A big family portrait, individual family portraits and a whole lot of candid play shots.
Each family unit gets their own little mini session.
Feel free to request your own combos.
Split the cost with your siblings and you'll all get the photographs - makes the BEST grandparent gift.
Lazy weekend mornings where you can't be bothered changing out of your pyjamas. Pancakes. Coffee. Pet snuggles. Reading books. Building forts. Get my drift? Easy.
90 minute session.
Lots of lazy funtimes and memories made in your own home.
Hike, beach play, picnic, camping holiday, you name it. If it lets us all play outside, I'm in. Dogs extremely welcome!
90 minute session.
A whole heap of fun.
Outdoor adventure sessions
I offer three types of family sessions: outdoor, in-home and extended family.
Click on the links to get in touch or scroll on to learn more!
Getcha grannies in the photos!
Session fee:
$250 (weekdays)
$300 (weekends)
Recreations of awkward family photos from childhood are definitely welcome/highly encouraged
Homebodies sessions
Collections:
Start at $700
Include both downloads and print credit
Session fee:
$250 (weekdays)
$300 (weekends)
Session fee:
$600
Collections:
Start at $700
Include both downloads and print credit
Collections:
Start at $700
Include both downloads and print credit
How It Works
First This
Then this
then this
Fill out the contact form and book a quick chat with Kristen below.
10 minutes chatting over a cuppa to see if we are a good fit!
You can tell me all about your family and your dreams for a photo session together. It's the most important part of my process because it makes sure your photos will really feel like your family. No boring, vanilla shoots allowed here!
A session fee of $250 (weekdays) and $300 (weekends) secures your date on my calendar. This fee includes the session, the film and my editing time. I guide you through the process with lots of preparation so you feel excited and ready.
Our session can be at your house or a favourite outdoor location. The session itself is very relaxed and fun - I'll give you some gentle direction as needed but for the most part we play games, wear goofy costumes and jump on the bed.
In three weeks you receive your viewing slideshow!
After seeing your photographs, you can then choose between three collections based on your needs. These collections start at $700 and include both downloads and print credit to help you get the photos out of the cloud and into your home.
I've been meaning to have professional photos taken of my family for AGES! But I don't like the cheesy posed kind of photography...
Any of these thoughts feel familiar?
I'll just wait until I've had my hair done. And my house renovations are finished. And when my kids no longer have colds.
It's about time I made a family album and put some photographs on my walls.
I really don't like being photographed. I feel so awkward. But I want to try showing up more in the photos for my kids - to show them I was present, and to promote body positivity to them.
My kids are growing up WAY too quickly.
And better yet, you will actually be in the photos.
Most people are a little nervous about having a photo session, but the whole process is pretty low-key and a lot of fun! I pop over to your home or meet you for an outside adventure, play with your kids and take photos of everyone just being themselves. You don’t need to coordinate outfits and clean your house, because we want to capture life as it is for you, right now.
At the end of the movie About Time (which is epically underrated if you ask me!), Tim realises the true power of time travel. It isn't to go back and change things, alter the past to have a different outcome in the future. He lives one day in the chaos of everyday life, and then repeats it, the second time taking moments to sit back and watch his family without worrying about work or fatigue or what's for dinner. He can see their gestures, their interactions, and savour those moments of his kids being little.
That is what I want my photos to be for you.
You won't be wearing matching clothes and posing as a family. You will be making pancakes on a Sunday morning and your kids will be sticky and there will be piles of laundry everywhere. And it will be your life. You will cuddle your babies and tickle them and then months and years from now you'll go through your album and remember how sweet and fleeting this time was. You won't care about your messy house, because you will get to see how squishy your baby's hands were again.
These are photographs that are beautiful, nostalgic and full of life and memories. You will look at your album and hear your toddler’s wet chuckle as you blow raspberries on his tummy. You will see the soft curls on the back of her head and remember how she smelled when you nuzzled her neck. And your children deserve to see you in the photos, too. They want to remember the way you loved them when they were small.
My job is simple, really. I want to see your children the way you see them, and photograph those moments so that you can hang onto the feeling you had when they were so little, and you knew it was all changing too quickly.
If that's you, then you're in the right place.
I have spent years finding the best albums and framed prints, ordering samples and testing them out, so you don't have to.
My clients have told me they don't have time to research print companies, choose their favourites and fiiiinally get around to ordering prints - so now, I do this part with you!
Quick and easy to order directly through your gallery. Every collection includes a sizeable print credit to spend in the online store, encouraging you to get these photos out of the cloud and into your home.
Great communication, lots of guidance along the way and quick gallery turnaround are all givens here.
Your session fee includes the session itself: the film, my time, and also my editing time.
The collections include a combination of digital downloads and print credit.
What's included
Let me help you print your photos.
Super spiffy albums and wall art so beautiful and well-made that they'll be the only things in your house off-limits to spaghetti hands.
I'm Kristen, and these two potatoes made me a mum.
When I'm not taking photographs of other people's cute kids, I'm slathering these ginger ninjas in SPF 5000 suncreen and playing at the beach.
hey hey!
Fellow film lover?
Rich tones. Perfectly imperfect moments in time.
All family & newborn sessions include film. Ace!
I could bang on for hours about why I love film. Yes, it's the depth of tone and rich colour, the nostalgia of the grain, the softness that the too-perfect crispiness of digital just can't replicate. But more than that, it's that you get the most honest moment in a scene - no firing off a hundred frames, it's the practice of watching and waiting for the decisive moment. It's the practice of letting go and accepting that they might all turn out a bit shit. It's the quick flash of a stink eye, the naked toddler scoot under Nonno's lemon tree. It's memories, hazy at the edges but full of sensory feeling and life.
FILM
FILM
FILM
FILM
FILM
FILM
Five kids, two fun parents and a whole lot of fun during a lazy Sunday breakfast at home. This is what I mean when I say, 'Less posing, more playing."
Torquay family session at home, on film
Want to see more?
For film lovers, photo album lovers, nature lovers, adventure lovers, and parents who love to play outdoors with their kids.
For humans who want to document the real everyday moments of family life, but aren’t really ‘dress up for a big photoshoot’ kind of people. For parents who want to see their kids grow and explore, and to have these adventures documented not-on-an-iPhone-and-with-you-in-them.
Tiny Everyday Adventures
A membership alternative to a one-off photography session.
4, 6 or 12 little adventures captured throughout a year, on film, and put together in an album for you and delivered one month into the new year.
Never put 'make annual photo album' on a to-do list again.
Spots very limited.
What areas do you service and do you charge a travel fee?
I live in Torquay, Australia and will come to you from Geelong to Ocean Grove, and down the Surf Coast as far as Anglesea. I do take on the occasional Melbourne shoot for bigger sessions. Beyond a 30 minute radius from Torquay incurs a travel fee.
My other home is in the Cowichan Valley, Vancouver Island. We try to make it back for Canadian summers and anywhere from Victoria BC to Nanaimo is fair game - please reach out to find out when I will next be there!
Frequently Asked Questions
I have teenagers - should I still book a session?
Heck YES! Most of my clients have younger families, and it saddens me to think so many of us stop photographing our children as they get older. I've taught high schoolers for 13 years and they are weird magical wonderful humans who are becoming their very own people... I know for sure that I want to document their evolving selves. They do sometimes take more encouragement to open up for the camera (some, but not all!), and I like to think I'm pretty good at helping them to do that.
What's the best age to book in for a baby session?
Each stage brings its own sweetness. Honestly, you can't go wrong as long as you do it 1-2 times in that first year! Fresh 48 sessions are raw and new, 2-6 weeks are sleepy and slow, 5-6 months have smiles for days, and my personal favourite is the 8-11 month cheeky rollfest because they are the easiest on parents (seriously, all you do is make your baby giggle!).
Should I go for an in-home or outdoor session?
The three biggest factors are the season, and the interests and ages of your kiddos. Chilly weather and a newborn at home? Let's stay in. Older toddlers/primary school aged kids who love the outdoors? No brainer - let's go out for a play!
Are your prices all-inclusive?
No, the session fee includes the session, the film and my editing time. Downloads of the photographs and print products happens once you'd had a chance to view your edited photographs, three weeks later. You will choose one of three collections, starting at $700, and these include different download and print credit amounts.
Do you charge extra for extended family, such as grandparents and cousins?
If it's a grandparent or two, they're welcome to jump in your session for a bit for the same fee. If more people want to join, then it becomes an extended family session. The main reason is every individual family has a kind of mini-session at the same time, so it's not just the big portrait and candids of the whole extended family, but also of each individual family. This is an affordable way to go when you split the cost with your siblings (especially if you've all been meaning to do your own family photos anyway!).
My house isn't looking great right now. What are my options?
Let's do an outdoor session! Or if you want it at home, you would be very surprised at how few areas of your home we use. Don't worry about a deep clean (my camera can't see dirt unless it's on windows!) - just give the three brightest areas of your home a tidy. The master bedroom, living room, any outdoor space and baby's room are good ones to use.
let's work together
Maybe it's something to do with the whole 'just be yourselves and don't worry about tidying up' vibe going on here, but I really do get to work with the most down-to-earth families. If you have an outdoor adventure on the horizon or want to remember your family life in your home as it is right now, please get in touch below. I would love to join you!
I would LOVE to photograph your family.
Hooley dooley!
"Great art picks up where nature ends."
-Marc Chagall
Get the Tiny Everyday Adventures Playlist!
The perfect roadtrip/adventure 'kids music' playlist - full of bangers that won't drive you batshit crazy.
Free Download
Tiny everyday adventures soundtrack
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