The Kealey family have been a part of our lives for the past 8 years.
I’ve photographed them all over this time – at afternoons spent by the river, birthday parties, Christmas lunches and evenings filled with love and laughter – but as Sam draws nearer to leaving home and starting his own adventure, Jen has been wanting to do a family portrait session.
With one thing and another, it hadn’t happened. Until Jen remembered it was my birthday and invited me out to Marinka for a birthday lunch. She rang a couple of afternoons prior and asked – if it was okay with me – could we follow lunch up with that family portrait session, seeing as everyone was home for the weekend?
How could I resist?!
The dress code for the afternoon was jeans, boots, and works shirts – what everyone is relaxed in at home and outside. Plus, work never stops on a property, and Sam and Chook had been yarding up cattle as we arrived.
Jen knew where she wanted photos taken on the property, and aside from getting Sam to crack a smile, the whole family is so used to seeing me with camera-in-hand, that they all instinctively knew what to do and where to stand!
When I asked Jen what her favourite part of the afternoon was, she replied “Cuddles from my girls at the end! I don’t love having my photo taken, but doing the shoot with my family, knowing we were getting beautiful images, made it worthwhile.”
