Investment
Most photographs show how it looked. Mine bring back how it felt.
Beautiful enough to keep. Honest enough to matter.
You are in the right place
Maybe you thought you just weren’t family-photo people.
Fair. A giant canvas of your faces above the sofa has never exactly called to you. Nor has dressing everyone in beige and pretending to be the Von Trapps when your family gives off much stronger Huckleberry Finn energy.
You want something from this part of your life before it changes again. You just don’t want to perform it for the camera.
I build the shoot around what your family actually enjoys. Sunday waffles. Pottery taking over the dining table. The veggie patch that has somehow become a second job. Something that belongs to you, not a Pinterest shoot with your faces dropped into it.
You are not booking me to record everything. You are booking me to know what deserves to remain.
Sittings
The Motherhood Sitting
Motherhood, and you with your children, in the middle of it all. For the woman who is usually making the memories and missing from the record of them.
The Family Commission
Your family in this season, built around a place or activity that is already yours. This is the commission most families choose.
The Maternity Chapter
The last weeks before your family changes shape. Less about the bump, more about the quiet of what is about to begin.
Session fee
$550
Secures your date and includes creative planning, clothing and location guidance, your session and private reveal. This does not include digital images or products.
Wall portraits
From $295
Individual fine-art prints made for your home.
Collections
From $2,900
Most families invest between $2,900 and $6,000 in their finished photographs and artwork.
You see the finished work first. Then you choose what you want to keep. There is no minimum spend. You only buy what you can't live without. Payment plans available.
In their words
“Nothing was staged or awkward. She just followed us around in our natural habitat, barefoot and in the garden doing what we would do as a family.”Lisa Messenger
Questions
The things you may be thinking but haven’t asked yet.
What if I hate being photographed?
Most women tell me this. You do not need to arrive confident or mysteriously aware of what to do with your hands.
I will direct you properly. I will not say “just be natural” and document the resulting distress. You do not need to be good at being photographed. I do.
What if I care about how I look?
Of course you do. These photographs may live in your home for decades. You are allowed to want to like yourself in them.
I pay attention to light, clothing, posture, movement, hair and the hundred small things that make an enormous difference. I will not turn you into somebody else. I also will not photograph you badly and call it honesty.
What if my children are completely feral?
They might be. I have photographed Country Road campaigns and, let’s just say, the clothes were not always returnable afterwards. Children are still children, even in very expensive knitwear.
That is why we choose something your family genuinely enjoys doing together. I photograph the children you have. That is the point.
What if my partner hates photos?
There will be no frolicking, repeated fake laughter or prolonged staring into each other’s eyes. I give clear direction, keep things moving and avoid making grown adults visibly regret their life choices.
Why does it cost more than some photographers?
Because this is not a volume service.
I photograph no more than twenty families a year. Each commission is built around one family and finished as a body of work.
If you are comparing photographers by the number of files, I am probably not the right choice.
If you want photographs that could only belong to your family, I might be.
Do you travel?
Yes. I have travelled as far as Spain and France to photograph families and am commissioned throughout Australia.
Please get in touch for a tailored travel quote.
Why is your availability so limited?
I photograph no more than twenty families each year. That is an intentional choice. I approach every shoot like an art director, and the thinking begins well before I pick up the camera.
I also coach photographers, founded RARA Summit and, between all of that and being the mum taxi, my life is beautifully full.
Enquire about a session
Tell me about your family and the life you would like me to see.
Prefer to start with an email? hello@bridgetwood.com.au
Not ready yet? See what I’m photographing lately on Instagram.