Blog | Contemporary Family Photography

Adult Cake Smash – Lauren’s 40th birthday – Ashgrove Family Photographer

I remember clearly receiving the email from Lauren asking if I did ‘Cake Smash Photoshoots’ … for adults.

Pardon? Adults?

To be honest I had only ever seen them done for babies but I was intrigued and looked into it a little further to find that it was a fairly new and fabulous thing to do to celebrate an adult milestone birthday in the US in particular. So a ‘cake smash’ session is where you get to eat your birthday cake with your hands, make a mess, have crazy fun and basically act like no-one is watching – it’s like you’ve stepped back in time to when you were little again.

Well we chatted on the phone, brainstormed some ideas and set up a Pintrest board where we could bounce ideas off each other – it was so much fun!

On the day of the session, Lauren arrived with a car full of goodies and her family – it was like having a team of personal stylists with me and we laughed and laughed while I took the photos.

All of the beautiful props were either hand made or soured by Lauren who is incredibly creative and talented. Enjoy this selection of some of my favourite photos.

“Leanne was fun and easy to work with and her photography skills were excellent. I chose her because of her relaxed, candid style of photography. I would recommend her to families or anyone wanting to have photos of a special occasion or milestone.” – Lauren

Shane + Katrina + Kai + Zane + Joel – Manly West Family Photographer

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I just loved hanging out with this family of boys – they were easy going, playful, crazy funny and we had lots of laughs. I’m not sure who had the worst jokes – although those of you who have had me photograph them will definitely agree it would have to be me!

We spent a fabulous afternoon at Wynnum beach and stayed there until the sun was setting in beautiful shades of pink.

Enjoy this small selection of some of my favourite photos.

Paul + Lorraine + Brendan + Ted + Henry – Bridgeman Downs Family Photography

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Family portrait sessions aren’t just for families with young children. I love photographing families who have adult children like these guys do. I had such a great time getting to know them all especially since Lorraine and I had attended the same high school years and years ago and by chance found each other again on Facebook through a mutual friend. This family was a joy to hang around with and photograph and I loved that they brought their Japanese Spitz, Emi, with them to be part of the session.

Here are a handful of some of my favourite photos from their session.

“It is obvious that photography is a true passion and joy for Leanne not only in photographing families and individuals but also in getting to know their story – it truly shines in all her work. We loved working with Leanne and were truly overjoyed with all of the images that she took of our family. It will be an absolute pleasure to recommend her to anyone considering a family photography session.” – Lorraine

George + Rachel + Mila + Manny – Camp Hill Family Photography

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What a joy to hear the news of the birth of baby Emmanuel (Manny), little brother to miss Mila who I photographed only 2 years ago. I was thrilled to be asked to come and photograph him with his adoring family in their new home. He was simply perfect – the sweetest little face and the most amazing big smiles. I couldn’t get enough of him! And I just loved seeing how big Mila had grown – she had me on my toes from the moment I arrived.

Enjoy this handful of some of my favourite photos of this very special family.

“Not only do I think Leanne is the best, but I loved that she could come to our house. It made it very convenient for the newborn shoot and I also love that the baby will see where he grew up. This is special. We couldn’t be more pleased and can’t thank her enough.” – Rachel

Mal + Rina + Elliott + Bella + Pepper – Wilston Family Photography

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It was a beautiful morning for a family session at the Brisbane Powerhouse. It’s always such a fabulous location and it was made even better by hanging out with these guys. I loved that they brought their dog, Pepper, with them – the much loved 5th member of this family.

Enjoy this selection of some of my favourite photos from their session.

“Leanne is really casual, which is great, but not at the cost her professionalism or the quality of the photos. Everything was so easy and she managed to glean some great pics out of all of us.” – Rina

When deciding on how this family wanted to enjoy their favourite photos from their session, I sent them a ‘mockup’ with a suggestion on how they could create a beautiful wall gallery using both their existing images and their new favourite images. They already had the vision to start a ‘family wall gallery’ but seeing an actual ‘mockup’ made it so much easier to visualise how the finished product might look. I recommended Andrew, from Art of Hanging, who is fabulous at perfectly hanging art and I love that the finished result is uniquely them. Take a look at THE BEFORE, THE SUGGESTION and THE AFTER photos.

BEFORE – a handful of photos from previous sessions

SUGGESTED MOCKUP – using the old photos plus the new photos

AFTER – how fabulous is this! Both old and new photos hanging together.

Ronda Zatorsky – Children’s Interiors

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I adore beautiful interiors so when the talented Ronda Zatorksy contacted me to photograph some of the amazing spaces that she’d recently decorated and styled, I was thrilled and couldn’t wait!

She has a fabulous eye for detail and also for creating spaces that are not only gorgeous to look at but they are highly functional with spaces for storage, spaces for fun, spaces for learning and spaces for quiet time.

Here are just a handful of some of my favourite photos from this session.

“Leanne’s portfolio speaks volumes about the type of photographer she is and how magical her photos are. She is a complete professional with what she does, from the initial phone calls, to the shoot, to the delivery of the photos. Leanne is beautiful, the experience was beautiful and the photos are beautiful! I’m so happy that I’ve found her.” – Ronda

richard + tania + will + jack + matthew

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We live in the most beautiful city, don’t we!

Brisbane city was just glorious this particular Sunday morning as we went for a stroll along the river’s edge. I loved that this family brought their dog, Bundy, with them – such a precious part of their lives.

Enjoy this handful of some of my favourite photos – especially the ‘crazy faces’ shots at the end which required no encouragement from me – these guys were naturals!

“The photos of my boys really capture their individual characters and their lovely quirkiness . I just love them so much. The photos are gold and the ability to capture that is a god given talent. Leanne is also very good at dressing a room with beautiful photos. Her ability to identify the photos that were keepers, guide me to what products suited my space and place them thoughtfully in my home was really the full service and invaluable. She kept me within my budget and with a sense of wanting to do it all again in a few years.” – Tania

aaron + melissa + harry + carter + sam

• leanne •

I loved hanging out with this beautiful family – so easy going and relaxed and up for anything.

We went for a stroll through the gardens and discovered all sorts of little places. We threw leaves, had running races with Mum, tackled Dad and sat under the most beautiful big tree and had a few giggles. It was a lovely afternoon.

Enjoy this selection of some of my favourite photos.

“What a wonderful experience! Leanne was so friendly and relaxed from the beginning and we loved all the candid shots she took of our family. The images are a true reflection of our family, which is exactly what I wanted.” – Melissa

Adrianne – Styled Personal Branding Photo Shoot

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Adrianne is passionate about empowering women with knowledge so they can lead a healthy lifestyle, giving them inspiration and also providing a place where they can network with other like minded women. She recently started up her business, FITISH WOMAN, and came to me requesting a Personal Branding session to create some contemporary images for her new website www.fitishwoman.com

Besides setting up a private Pintrest board where we could share our ideas and be sure we were on the same page with the look and feel of the images Adrianne was after, we also discussed ideas on what to wear, professional hair and makeup and locations for the session.

Adrianne was a joy to work with. She has a great passion for what she believes in and is constantly holding events to support important causes. Head on over to her blog and you’ll see the latest High Tea of Hope with proceeds going to Save The Box – gynaecological cancer research.

Enjoy some of my favourite images from Adrianne’s styled business shoot.

“Leanne Stamatellos Photography is the epitome of exceptional customer service and professionalism and I highly recommend her and her team who make the magic happen for a photo shoot such as this.” – Adrianne K.