Your Family Story

Life’s special moments. Here today—and here forever through photographs that keep your memories alive.

Your Family Story is my unique way of photographing your family, based on my philosophy that life unfolds like the chapters of a wonderful book.

It’s about beautifully marking a point of time—a special occasion, a special milestone or even just a special moment in your daily life.

A touch, a smile, a gesture, a glance…you promise yourself that you’ll never forget but you always do.  My commitment is to only create images that possess the magic, personality and authenticity of your family.  Focus on your family during Your Family Story photo session, together we’ll have fun, and I will do the rest.

Your heirlooms will grow in value as the years roll by. Many decisions are made that add feeling to the photographs—in-camera, during post-production and the final presentation. From start to finish, the process is precise.

Your collection is not governed by fad or ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ fashion. These aren’t pretty pictures or happy snaps. Rather they are touching stories that stand the test of time—images that reflect who you really are. Your Family Story is guaranteed to take you back in time, generating laughter and tears of joy.

Beautiful Products

I’m focused holistically on capturing your special family moments that you’ll want to experience again and again for years to come. Your collection will be presented in a gorgeous hand bound book (with personalised text) as the primary product, accompanied by wall art that you will enjoy daily on your wall(s). This is a practical, appropriate and beautiful solution to your family story collection.  Your deposit of $1000 goes towards your product purchase and is paid before your family photo session. Packages begin from $5745 and there are payment plans available.

Some stunning family story collections:

A Saturday Morning at Home in Berlin
Alex and Laura
A Saturday in Sydney
Our Haven Home
Our Slice of Heaven
My Family
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
The Arrival of Meg
Isabella’s Third Birthday Party
Brunch in Berlin with Emilia
Matt, Amy, Anna and Evie
A Friday Night Picnic
Baby Lloyd’s Christening
Lloyd in London
Rebecca, Steve, Freya and Hugh
Candice and Minh Got Married
Duncan, Carla, Loki and Olivia
Canadians in Canberra
Wendy and Benny
The Kennedy Clan
Margaret, Sam and Jack
Mark, Nadia, Soraya and Cody
Iris’s 90th Birthday
The Anticipated Arrival of Ruby
Glenn and Damon
Jo and Phil
Julia and Charis
Happiness in Hannover

Cathy, Chris and Lauren (aged 3) from Canada

…during their one year posting to Canberra, Australia…
They chose Mount Ainslie, overlooking the city one late afternoon, to capture their experience of the bush capital.
This is a special place in Canberra, where the bush meets the city.

I.LOVE.MY.PHOTOGRAPHS.
posted by Cathy on Facebook before she had seen the images, hours after her family photo session at Mount Ainslie.

For more on Cathy, Chris and Lauren at Mount Ainslie, please click here.

Cathy’s Thoughts

“If it weren’t for a chance visit into my new neighbors’ house, I might never have considered getting family photos taken. There was a large framed photo of her now 7 yr old daughter when she was 4 yrs old – and it was beautiful. My neighbor, Michelle, suggested that I may want to capture Lauren, my 3.5 yr old, while she still had that gorgeous ‘babyness’ about her.  So, I started researching a few photographers in Canberra.  I wasn’t seeing any images that I wanted to see my family in so figured I’d leave the search for a while.  Then a serendipitous occurrence; friends of ours back in Canada had met a fabulous photographer and had the most lovely and unique family photos taken…and that photographer just happened to be from Canberra, where we were now living for one year.  I viewed the photos and immediately thought, “That’s what I want.” I met with Beth and got a good vibe.  She just sat back, let me talk and attempted to absorb my poorly articulated expectation of what I wanted for photos.  I quickly realized that for Beth the ‘experience’ was key and I must say that she has successfully focused herself on achieving exactly that for those she works with.  Our session was super.  Relaxed, yet still special.  My husband has been extremely busy since we moved here and our focused family time together that afternoon in the Australian bush seemed to have a heightened feeling about it.  Beth was taking our pictures and guiding us here and there but the family time seemed separate from her and I think she captured the private and magic moments of a special family outing that afternoon.  When I viewed the photos, I was a teary mess.  The images were so lovely, so unique and truly brought the special feeling of that afternoon back.  It was stunning for me to see us as a family in this way.  We previously only had 4 or 5 snapshots together as a family.  You know how those in your family look when they look at you, and one another, so to see images of Chris and Lauren in the photos was lovely but not unusual. What I particularly loved in Beth’s pictures is the way I could see how I appeared when I looked at my family.  Those images captured the way I feel about my family.  What a gift.

There is something fantastic about seeing a professional photo of yourself and your family. The quality, the vision and the impact of the images is incredible and for me, completely justifies the monetary cost.  We have captured a very unique time in my family’s life – not just capturing Lauren and her gorgeous 3.5 yr old cheeks but also our time together in beautiful Australia.”

Cathy Ayotte, October 2010

Some commonly asked questions

What is the difference between Your Family Story and a family portrait?

A traditional family portrait usually results in a one-off image reflecting one emotion and one point in time. It’s usually set up and lacks authenticity. These types of portraits can pale quickly, often because they aren’t natural. Your Family Story is about capturing your special family moments and connections in timeless photographic art.

How will you photograph my family?

Every photo session is different since every family is different. As a professional photographer, I inspire interaction between your family members and capture the special connections.

What will I experience at the photography session?

Relaxation, fun and a genuine family experience.  Before long you’ll forget you’re being photographed. It’s the best way to create natural images.

Where will my Family Story be captured?

During your pre-booking discussion I’ll help you to discover the best place to capture Your Family Story.  The place that you choose will be a backdrop to the memories that you wish to preserve in photographs. I suggest choosing a place that inspires and relaxes you and your family.

When is the best time for our session?

It depends on your family and the moment of Your Family Story you are marking. If you have young children, morning is often best, when the little ones have more energy. Late afternoon or early evening can be a good choice because the light is softer and beautiful. We’ll work out what’s suitable for you.

What should I wear?

Wear what makes you feel comfortable, in clothes that represent who you are. It’s good to avoid white, stripes and logos since they compete with your face for the viewer’s attention. Colour is dynamic. Select colours that harmonise, like blues and yellows, or greens and reds.  Bring items of personal significance such as toys, your favourite hat, jewellery, sports gear. There is no need to be conservative, unless you want to be.

What do I need to know about selecting my favourites?

After Your Family Story photography session we’ll get together for your relaxed presentation and selection session. You’ll view Your Family Story collection in cinematic style.   Your story book is the best presentation option to showcase all your special family moments. Individual images can also be presented as stunning wall art.

Will my photographs be black and white or colour?

I select what works best after carefully considering factors such as lighting, mood, tones, textures, movement, feeling and energy. I apply my creative and technical expertise in building Your Family Story collection to its finest presentation. The result will be uniquely yours.

What does it cost?

The deposit of $1000 goes towards your product purchase and is paid before your family photo session. Packages begin from $5745 and there are payment plans available. To place your deposit click here.

Do I have to sign a contract?

We both sign a form outlining the terms and conditions of our agreement. This is standard professional practice for professional photography studios.

Can you use my photos to promote your business?

The agreement we both sign includes a copyright clause and a clause stating I can use images at no cost on the BJP website as well as in exhibitions and other promotional material. BJP is also free to use the images for professional photography competitions. As a courtesy, I’ll always let you know in advance when I’ll be using your images.

Trish, Piers, Madeleine and Ella
2001-present        

Part 1 – Trish and the Girls at Home
2001

Part 2 – Madeleine and Ella
Weston Park
2006

Part 3 – Trish, PJ, Madeleine and Ella
New Parliament House, Canberra
2008

What will your Family Story be?

Trish of eat.shoot.blog fame approached me back in 2001 to have some images taken of her girls Madeleine and Ella. It was all very innocent in those days, we had no idea really what we were doing in terms of the quality we’d produce and the impact of the images over time in their lives. Their house is filled with my photographs! But more importantly, their house is filled with their family story. It’s just a small grab, a couple of hours, every few years, but done right, can have such a strong impact. It’s quite amazing, how a still image can be so powerful and emotive.

Trish, PJ, Ella and Madeleine are really becoming a very special part of my life, because as they’ve grown, so have I as a photographer. I love meeting with them every so often, I get to see how they progress, I hear about Madeleine starting high school and Ella winning races. Truth is I’d love to be there to capture m0re of those significant times for them. Lordy the magic of being able to hold time! I just love it, I really do. It’s a mystery every time, a creative challenge and a surprise every time.

If you would like to talk with me about capturing your family story, then please be in touch, I’d love to get started!

Contact me:

61 (0) 450 692 599
beth@bethjennings.com.au

I always conduct a face to face consultation first, before you book, so we can work out how to create your unique family story collection.

B

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Thank you for reading, it means a lot to me that you’ve stopped by. Please leave a comment, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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Beth