What to Wear - Outfit Inspiration
What to wear for your Spring & Summer Family Portraits can feel overwhelming.
But I have you covered. I have put together mood and inspiration boards for a range of different colours and tones to suit every family. Whether you are having portraits in studio or out at the beach or bushland, I have pulled together some current season clothes for all the members of the family. All the clothes in these inspiration boards can be found either at www.theiconic.com.au or www.davidjones.com.au in the current 2024/2025 season. When choosing what outfits you want your family to wear for your portrait session, think about the colours that suit your family and the area of your house where you will be displaying your family portraits. From neutrals, to muted pinks, green and blues there is a mood board and colour story to suit everyone.
I always recommend choosing an outfit for mum first, and then building the family outfits around that. My top tips for Mums is to wear a dress, choosing a midi or maxi length dress to allow you freedom of movement. Short skirts and dresses limit the poses you are comfortable in and much of my sessions centre around movement and fun. Make sure you are comfortable and feel beautiful. For dads a collared shirt in beautiful rich linens and weaves can elevate a simple outfit. And for the children, make sure everyone is comfortable and can play easily. Finally, don't forget about everyone's shoes - if we are shooting in a park or bush setting these will be in the photos. If we are on the beach, kick off the shoes and get those toes in the sand. If you are planning to leave shoes on, make sure they match the outfits and are appropriate for the location (avoid hit heels in bushy and rocky areas.)
Enjoy looking through these colour stories and choosing your families outfits for your family portraits, whether it is for a newborn, baby or family session. If you want some more inspiration head over to my Pinterest Board.
Christmas Mini Sessions Are Open!
I am thrilled to announce that Bree Hulme Photography is once again offering Christmas Mini Sessions & Bookings are now OPEN!.
This year we are thrilled to be offering a beautiful new Christmas Tree Farm location for gorgeous outdoor portraits, as well as the much loved Studio sessions.
The Studio sets this year are two gorgeous new themes - Pine Arch & Christmas Wreath. These bring all the feelings and joy of Christmas to your family portraits.
Sessions are 20 minutes and your session fee includes your choice of 5 digital images. Additional images and prints can of course be purchased at our special Christmas prices.
Sessions are $250.
Bookings are strictly limited to two dates in November - Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd! Get in quick to secure your Christmas Mini Session this year!
Book now using our live booking calendar.
For the Christmas Tree Farm location sessions BOOK HERE
For Studio sessions BOOK HERE.
We can't wait to see you all!
Bree & Rachel
Baby Girl Cake Smash Decorations
When planning a cake smash for your little one's first birthday one of the biggest decisions you need to make is about decorations. Decorations, colour scheme and the cake. Of course, the possibilities are endless and once you start searching on Pinterest for some inspiration the rabbit hole you dive into can be very deep indeed. Yesterday I wrote about choosing your little boy's cake smash colour scheme and decorations and today is all about little girls!
When I talk with my clients about the types of decorations and colours I love to see in your portraits, I always start with the premise that your baby is the star, the focus of the set up. The decorations and colours just add a few little details in the background.
I want to keep the focus on your baby, on all the beautiful little details, features, and personality quirks that your little one has right now, on their 1st birthday.
There are generally two styles of decorations that I offer in my studio for cake smash sessions. The traditional balloons and bunting set up, or a more natural, botanical theme. Both of these offer beautiful backdrops for a cake smash, and I love to keep them simple and classic.
Choosing which of these set ups you want to use can be as simple as deciding on what types of colours you want to see in your photos.
For the traditional balloon set ups, the colour palette of the backdrop can vary, and some of my most popular set ups are on white or peach backgrounds for little girls. Choosing one or two complimentary colours of balloons and a simple bunting adds just enough contrast without detracting from your beautiful baby.
I do not very often use helium balloons in my set ups for a number of reasons. The main one being they end up being much higher than the baby and the cake for many of the portraits. That being said, they can offer some beautiful details when paired with either some air-filled balloons or pom poms as in the set up below.
I do love being a little bit creative with the background decorations in a little girls cake smash. The examples below shows some beautiful pink and mauve paper butterflies in the background. This set up is just beautiful and subtle for a little girl celebrating her first birthday.
For the natural, botanical set ups I love shooting with eucalyptus varieties, as they offer a softer, blue-green palette which is less neon green than other greenery varieties. Adding in some flowers to match in with your colour theme gives some beautiful pops of colour and adds some soft texture and contrast. Flowers vary depending on what is available at the market on the day of the shoot, and are chosen depending on what matches best with the colour scheme of the session.
Once you have decided on your background set up, colours and decorations, the cake is the next big decision. There are so many possibilities for little girl cakes, and here are just a few of my favourites from my amazing baker, Jo over at The Bakehouse 698 in Brookvale has created for me and my clients (they are beautiful AND delicious!).
Semi naked cakes are so popular and look amazing with both coloured icing or simple white icing! Using soft (& delicious) buttercream icing makes these cake so easy for little fingers to get messy in! It is just perfect, and the semi-naked cakes have a perfect amount of icing to get covered in!
Adding some texture to the cake with this rosette style cake is stunning as well and so gorgeous for little girls. The beauty of these cake is that the icing can be a few different shades of the one colour. In the examples below you can see 3 shades of pinks.
Jo even makes beautiful watercolour-inspired cakes with a soft mix of colours such as this beautiful pink, purple and white cake with some rice-paper butterflies to finish off the theme for this butterfly set up.
For some more inspiration for your little girl's cake smash head over to my Pinterest Boards, to see more examples of beautiful little girl cake smash sessions we have created here at Bree Hulme Photography. My Cake Smash Gallery also has many beautiful cake smash portraits for you to look through.
I have also put together a little guide in choosing outfits for your little girls cake smash which you can find here. That is another big decision.
So let's create some beautiful milestone portraits to celebrate your little girl's 1st birthday! Book your cake smash session now!
Baby Boy Cake Smash Decorations
When planning a cake smash for your little one's first birthday one of the biggest decisions you need to make is about decorations. Decorations, colour scheme and the cake. Of course, the possibilities are endless and once you start searching on Pinterest for some inspiration the rabbit hole you dive into can be very deep indeed.
When I talk with my clients about the types of decorations and colours I love to see in your portraits, I always start with the premise that your baby is the star, the focus of the set up. The decorations and colours just add a few little details in the background.
I want to keep the focus on your baby, on all the beautiful little details, features, and personality quirks that your little one has right now, on their 1st birthday.
There are generally two styles of decorations that I offer in my studio for cake smash sessions. The traditional balloons and bunting set up, or a more natural, botanical theme. Both of these offer beautiful backdrops for a cake smash, and I love to keep them simple and classic.
Choosing which of these set ups you want to use can be as simple as deciding on what types of colours you want to see in your photos.
For the traditional balloon set ups, the colour palette of the backdrop can vary, and some of my most popular set ups are on white, grey or blue backgrounds for little boys. Choosing one or two complimentary colours of balloons and a simple bunting adds just enough contrast without detracting from your beautiful baby.
I do not very often use helium balloons in my set ups for a number of reasons. The main one being they end up being much higher than the baby and the cake for many of the portraits. That being said, they can offer some beautiful details when paired with either some air-filled balloons or pom poms as in the set up below.
I do love being a little bit creative with the bunting in a little boys cake smash. The two examples below show examples using paper planes and hot air balloons in the background. These two set ups are both very sweet for a little boy celebrating his first birthday.
For the natural, botanical set ups I love shooting with eucalyptus varieties, as they offer a softer, blue-green palette which is less neon green than other greenery varieties. Adding in some gum nuts can add some beautiful texture, and the addition of a hessian bunting can help to just add that touch of natural contrast.
These silver leaves in the set up below are my absolute favourite. When I arrive at the flower market and find these you can see me doing a little happy dance. The colour is just stunning and they have a beautiful soft texture as well. Unfortunately, these are seasonal and not always available.
Once you have decided on your background set up, colours and decorations, the cake is the next big decision. There are so many possibilities for little boy cakes, and here are just a few of my favourites from my amazing baker, Jo over at The Bakehouse 698 in Brookvale has created for me and my clients (they are beautiful AND delicious!).
Semi naked cakes are so popular at the moment and look amazing with both coloured icing or simple white icing! Using soft (& delicious0 buttercream icing makes these cake so easy for little fingers to get messy in! It is just perfect, and the semi-naked cakes have a perfect amount of icing to get covered in!
Adding some texture to the cake with this rosette style cake is stunning as well and so gorgeous for little boys. The beauty of these cake is that the icing can be a few different shades of the one colour. In the examples below you can see 3 shades of green. It also looks gorgeous in blues as well.
Jo even makes beautiful watercolour-inspired cakes with a soft mix of colours such as this beautiful blue and white cake with some rice-paper clouds to finish off the beautiful sky theme for this paper planes set up.
And mixing colours and some stunning custom-designed sprinkles from Something for Cake, can make the cake simply beautiful.
For some more inspiration for your little boy's cake smash head over to my Pinterest Boards, to see more examples of beautiful little boy cake smash sessions we have created here at Bree Hulme Photography. My Cake Smash Gallery also has many beautiful cake smash portraits for you to look through.
I have also put together a little guide in choosing outfits for your little boys cake smash which you can find here. That is another big decision.
So let's create some gorgeous portraits to celebrate the milestone of your babies 1st Birthday! Book your cake smash today!
Family Posing Guide
So you have the beautiful family. You have scouted the perfect location and the best time of day. Now it is time for the session. So how do you pose a family in a variety of fun and natural ways to be able to fill a full gallery, get a variety of shots and angles, and present your clients with the best possible portraits?
Posing!
Learning a variety of poses, learning how to get your clients in a natural, comfortable position to then interact with each other naturally is crucial to running a successful family photography business. And it is one of the harder aspects to learn.
Over almost 10 years in business, and photographing 100s of families, I have 6 favourite go-to-poses which I use in nearly every session. My sessions are fun and natural, with not a lot of "Smile at the camera". But I do still pose my families so that I can capture them at their best. Then once they are posed I set up little games, topics to discuss (& laugh about) and ways for them to interact so that I can capture their natural smiles, their connection and joy, their beautiful family at their best.
These poses are all outlined in my family posing guide which is free to download through my shop.
Get your Family Posing Guide today to take your family portraits to the next level!
What Happens If... Your Questions Answered
So you have booked in for a portrait session with Bree Hulme Photography! Woohoo!
But what happens if......?
I know you have so many worries running through your mind, and what does happen when something does go wrong? Here are all the answers for you.
What happens if my baby gets sick?
I understand. I am a mum of 3 and I know how often little ones get sick. If your baby is unwell we will postpone and reschedule your session. A sick baby is not at their best, even if you can give them some Panadol to help them feel better. When little ones are sick coming to a new environment with a new person and asking them to have photos is just a little too much for them. Let me know as soon as you can that your little one is unwell (or any member of the family) and we will find the next available date for you. Trust me, it is better to wait a few days or a few weeks and photograph a happy and well baby than trying to get them to a shoot when they are unwell. You can always tell in a photo if your baby is unwell.
What happens if I get sick?
If I get sick, I will let you know as soon as possible and we will reschedule your session. I do not want to be sharing any of my germs with you and your family, so I have always used caution, especially with newborn babies, and rescheduled if I am unwell.
What happens if my baby arrives earlier than expected?
This is not a problem. Let me know that your little one has decided to surprise you with an early arrival, and then once you are both doing well we can reschedule your session. Some babies who arrive early need to spend some time in the NICU whilst others come home at the expected time. We can work together to find a new date for your session which suits you and your babies needs. I have photographed babies at every age and stage, even some who have come home from hospital still with a feeding tube. It is completely up to you when you are both ready for your session and I will work with you to find the best time.
What happens if my baby has scratches on their face? Or baby acne? Or a bruise on their face?
This happens more than you may think. Newborn babies are prone to baby acne, milk rashes and scratching their faces in those first few weeks. And older babies manage to bang their heads just in time for the photo session! There is rarely a baby or toddler who walks into my studio who has perfectly flawless skin. The magic of photoshop can help us remove many of those unwanted marks and blemishes. I approach editing with the moto that if it won't be there in a week or a month, then I remove it - pimples, scratches, bruises. But if it is a more permanent mark, such as birth mark or scar, then I leave it be (unless you tell me you would prefer to have it removed). Of course, some of my clients prefer not retouching on their photos and that is absolutely fine as well, just let me know.
What if my newborn cries or is unsettled?
Newborn sessions are scheduled to take between 2-3 hours. This is so that there is plenty of time to feed, cuddle and settle your baby as needed during the session. There is no rush. Whilst some babies are more unsettled than others, some need to be cuddled a little more, or have an extra feed to help them be calm and relaxed, we can take our time and meet the needs of your little one. My sessions are baby-led, so whatever your baby needs is what we do. This means that every session is different and you many get different photos depending on what your babies preferences are. Some babies only want to be wrapped up and cuddled, so we focus on those images within your session. Some babies only want to be on their back and so we focus on images where they are comfortable and relaxed.
What happens if my toddler just won't cooperate or is shy?
Many babies and toddlers who come into my studio can feel a little overwhelmed and apprehensive about this whole photo shoot scenario. As a mum of 3 I know it can take time for your little ones to warm up and feel comfortable. So we take our time, maybe we need to read a book or play a little game before they are ready to get into a photo. I have lots of tricks and games and stickers to help little ones feel more at ease.
I hope that helps answer some of your questions about what happens when the worst happens. Don't worry, we will work out what is best for your family and your photos.
Baby Wardrobe
Are you not sure what your baby should wear for their photo session with Bree Hulme Photography?
At the Bree Hulme Photography studio, I have a growing Baby Wardrobe filled with some gorgeous outfits for babies aged 6-18 months to borrow! This takes all the guess work out of what your baby should wear for their sitter, cake smash or family portrait sessions!
My studio wardrobe is ever evolving, so I have created an Online Gallery to view the outfits which are divided into girl and boy wardrobes.
So if you are not sure what your baby should wear for their portraits, simply have a browse through the Baby Wardrobe and let me know which of the outfits you would like to use. I have taken all the stress out of wardrobe selections, what photographs well and looks adorable for your babies portraits.
Christmas Mini Sessions Are Open!
I am thrilled to announce that Bree Hulme Photography is once again pairing with the amazing Rachel Wildig Photography to bring you Christmas Mini Sessions.
This year we are thrilled to be offering Sunrise and Sunset packages as well as the much loved Studio sessions.
The Studio sets this year are two gorgeous new themes - Snowy Forest and Christmas Barn. These bring all the feelings and joy of Christmas to your family portraits.
Sessions are 20 minutes and your session fee includes your choice of 5 digital images. Additional images and prints can of course be purchased at our special Christmas prices.
Sessions are $200.
Bookings are strictly limited to two dates in October - Saturday 14th and Sunday 29th! Get in quick to secure your Christmas Mini Session this year!
Book now using our live booking calendar.
For Sunrise or Sunset sessions BOOK HERE
For Studio sessions BOOK HERE.
We can't wait to see you all!
Bree & Rachel
Why Baby Portraits are Gorgeous at Every Age
Before the years of Covid-19 Lockdowns here in Sydney, I predominately photographed babies who were under 2 weeks of age. This is the newborn photographers "magic age" as newborns at this age are at their most sleepy, they're most curly, and they're most tiny.
But after a 4 month lockdown all the newborn babies I had scheduled in whilst we were in lockdown and unable to work, grew quite a lot! In the months after reopening and being able to shoot again, I photographed babies aged from 10 days to 4 months old, and every single session was beautiful, precious and so worth capturing. I loved what every baby, every family brought into my studio, and I loved capturing their unique and precious family memories.
