Tweed Heads Family Photographyx
You know what's missing from your camera roll? YOU.
Here's something I don't admit often: I am a professional photographer. I have taken thousands of stunning portraits of children and families over the past ten years. I have gorgeous photos of my daughter. Beautiful ones of my son. And when I actually went looking for photos of ME with them? I found a small handful. And one very cheesy cruise ship photo with my son that, honestly, I treasure despite everything.
A cheesy cruise ship photo is better than nothing. But it is not enough.
I spent years as a single mum behind the camera, making sure everyone else was captured and celebrated, and completely forgetting to step into the frame myself. It took me a long time to realise that my kids deserved photos of their mum too. Not just the perfectly lit portraits of them. Photos of US. Together. Real ones.
So I booked my own photoshoot. Because life is short, and I am not going to be the photographer who has no photos with her own children.
If you are anything like me, your camera roll is full of adorable pictures of your kids but barely any proof that you were there too. Here are 6 fun, easy ways to change that, starting today.
1. Set Up a Timer and Actually Play
Forget the stiff, posed selfie. This is about real, chaotic, joyful moments.
Prop your phone on a shelf, a chair, or a little tripod. Set the self-timer to 10 seconds or use burst mode to take a stream of shots. Then just play. Have a tickle fight. Let them tackle you onto the couch. Jump on the bed together.
The best photos I have ever taken of families are never the ones where everyone is looking at the camera. They are the ones where a mum is doubled over laughing because her toddler just headbutted her in the chin.
Set the timer. Make it ridiculous. You will not regret it.
2. Use a Tripod for Everyday Moments
You do not need a special occasion to be worth capturing. Tuesday morning making Vegemite toast is worth capturing. Saturday afternoon doing a puzzle on the floor is worth capturing.
Set up a tripod or stack of books somewhere you naturally hang out together. The kitchen. The couch. The backyard. Turn on video mode or grab a remote shutter from anywhere online for a few dollars. Set a weekly reminder to capture one ordinary moment.
After a month you will have a collection of real life that your kids will actually remember. Not the Christmas card photo. The Tuesday morning toast.
3. Catch Your Reflection
This one is my favourite sneaky trick and it requires zero setup.
Look for reflections throughout your day. Mirrors, windows, puddles, the oven door, even your sunglasses. Next time you are at the bathroom sink doing bedtime teeth together, or watching the rain from the back door, snap your reflection.
On the Tweed Coast we have the most beautiful golden hour light right before sunset. Find a puddle on the beach path at Kingscliff or Cabarita and catch your reflection with your little one. It sounds simple and it looks absolutely stunning.
4. Hand the Camera to Your Kid
Yes, really.
Kids make surprisingly incredible photographers because they shoot what they actually see. Which is you. Give your child your phone and let them go for it. You will get some very creative angles, a lot of photos of the ceiling, and occasionally something so pure and real it will stop your heart.
My favourite photos from my own childhood are the blurry, imperfect ones. They feel the most true.
5. Ask a Stranger (or a Friend)
We are so conditioned to not want to bother anyone that we miss the shot entirely.
Next time you are at the park, the beach, or out for a walk and you want a photo with your kids, ask someone nearby. Most people are genuinely happy to help. Hand them your phone, show them where to tap to focus, and just be with your kids for sixty seconds.
The Tweed Coast and Northern NSW have some of the most beautiful backdrops in the country. Do not let them go to waste because you felt awkward asking.
6. Book a Session With a Photographer Who Gets It
This is the one that changed everything for me personally.
A family session is not about standing in a paddock in matching white linen staring into the distance. It is about someone turning up to your life and capturing the way your daughter runs at you for a hug, the way your son still reaches for your hand even though he is way too cool for that, and the way you look at them when you think nobody is watching.
I photograph families all over the Tweed Coast and Northern NSW, from Kingscliff to Cabarita to the hinterland, and every single session I do is built around real moments. No weirdness. No awkward directions. Just you and your people, being exactly who you are.
Because in twenty years, your kids are not going to remember whether the lighting was perfect. They are going to remember that you were there.
And they deserve photos that prove it.
Years from now you will not care if your hair was messy or the house was not tidy. You will just
be glad you were in the frame.
Start with one of these ideas this week. And if you are ready to do it properly, I would love to be your photographer.
Get in touch to start planning your session on the Tweed Coast.
