A monumental birthday and a thoughtful present lead to beautiful family memories.
Monique made a long-time wish of her Mum's come true when she organized a Travelshoot experience for the whole family. We interviewed her to find out what it's like navigating a photoshoot with three generations, ten people, and four miles of a picturesque beach in Tropical North Queensland.
Tell us about your family! How many of you are there? Do you have any pets? How do you like to spend your weekends?
We're a family of five. There's myself, my husband, our two sons (five and two) and our daughter (one). We've also got a little Jack Russell named Eddie. It's a very busy household! A lot of our weekends are taken up with children's activities (swimming lessons, birthday parties, etc.) but we do like to visit museums, zoos and exhibitions when we can, or even just visit a park. There's a lot of fun things to do in Melbourne with a young family. Also in our photoshoot were my parents, my brother and his wife, and their two-year-old daughter.
What do you love about your shoot location? Why did you pick to have a photoshoot here?
Four Mile Beach is just so picturesque. It really looks like paradise there. The beach was a perfect setting for tropical holiday photos, plus it meant all the kids could run around and have fun!
Why did you decide to arrange a family photoshoot? To bump up your family album? To mark a special occasion? Or maybe just to make sure you have some photos of you all together?
It was my Mum's 60th birthday and we all decided to celebrate by going to Port Douglas for a family holiday. My Mum has said a few times that she would love some family portraits with all of us, so when I saw that Travelshoot does photo sessions in Port Douglas I knew it was perfect! Not only was it a lovely memento of our holiday, but it was also a great birthday present.
Talk us through your Travelshoot experience and how it all went down! What were your favourite parts? How did the children find the shoot? Did you all have fun?
We were initially meant to have the photos done on the Friday but it poured with rain! Lucky for us, Rian (our photographer) called and said he was more than happy to reschedule for the next day. Thank goodness because Saturday was a much better day. We met Rian at the beach and told him the different combinations of photos we wanted. The afternoon was a mixture of posing for photos and playing around – especially for the kids! The kids ran around the beach, played with coconut husks and tried to jump into the water (all while Rian took photos of them). They had a great time and so did we!
What would be your advice to a family group thinking about booking a shoot?
Don't expect to get a lot of posed shots, especially if you've got young children. Instead, it's better to get lots of natural photos of them playing, and you playing with them. They're the most beautiful photos you'll get because every smile will be happy and genuine.
What’s your favourite shot from your Travelshoot? Why do you love it?
My personal favourite is a close up of my daughter's face while she's snuggling into my shoulder. She's covered in sand, and looks tired but content. It was a perfect sweet and intimate moment that we were lucky to capture. It makes me smile every time I look at it.
There's also a beautiful photo of my brother holding his daughter up in the air. It's a great shot because you can see all the joy in their faces – just beautiful.
