Book the Photographer!

When I was about 10 years old our family had photos taken in one of those portrait houses with a staged setting and enormous wooden framed pictures were the end result. I can remember that it cost a lot of money back then and now, 20 odd years later they're not even hung in our family home {I don't think my mum loves them, none of us do}. With my own family we try to have family photos once a year and this year was my favourite shoot ever! It was in our yard - we'd lit our fire pit and made s'mores, the boys tore around on their bikes and we shot hoops in the driveway. It captured us doing things we normally enjoy, treasured memories of us in the summer of 2021.

Captured by Tash and Arie Stokes of Black Robin Photography, a local Hamilton husband & wife duo who ooze talent and I've come to adore, lots! Just in-case you thought we have a big, spacious, white walled home let me tell you that's not the case. We live in a very small, modest but homely home that has given us nearly a decade of safe, warm nights and innumerable memories. For a long time I'd not wanted photo's of us in the one place we get to call ours because it had beige walls and the same couch we purchased as newly-weds 15 years ago. Isn't that train of thought ridiculous?! Photo's aren't about that, they're about preserving moments in time so, what you see here is our ordinary family snapped by photographers who have a passion for capturing beauty in the mundane.

Once you get your photo's back you need to splash them around your home {says the hypocrite who still needs to have hers printed}. Tash tell us this - "Think of the message it sends to your children. They are worthy of being the art on your wall, each time they walk past a family photo you're reminding them that they're important and part of something. A physical, tangible, always visible way to be proud of what and who you are are". Ahhhhh, stab to the heart...off to get our photo's printed and hung!

Get creative with how you display and store your photo's in your home;

1. Print and hang them but making sure you use your local print lab or camera shop, they'll appreciated your business plus their printers will do a better job at preserving the rich colours of your images
2. Create a photo wall in your home, this gives you the freedom to switch out the photos whenever you desire. A quick search on Pinterest will give you some inspiration on how you to achieve a gallery that'll work in your space
3. Have your photos made into photo books, there are lots of options out there but my favourite is Chatbooks - you can use RENATALARDELLI-XVYL for $10 off your first order
4. Start journaling with Write to Me a brand dead set on encouraging people to see the importance of documenting memories and what that means to loved ones. These are not just journals, they're so much more than that!
5. More ideas on capturing motherhood memories can be found HERE