Kisschasey is born!

Hi gorgeous clients and followers of mine (mum...i know you are out there!)

Fifila Photography has been undergoing a little facelift of late and finally, after months of tinkering, today I would like to introduce you to our new business venture: Kisschasey Photography

So, why the change from Fifila Photography?

First a little background info: Fifila Photography started from a nickname I used to set up my flickr account in 2005.  My hilarious work colleagues in my past life as an IT consultant labelled me with various nicknames along the lines of  Fifi, or Foofi, or Fifi La Foofinator to name just a few on that theme. So naturally the first username popped into my head was Fifi La Photographer.

At the time, the thought of running a full time photography studio was not even a whisper in my imagination. I just loved taking photos and did it pretty much ALL day long given the opportunity.  But as Flickr became my springboard into taking photos professionally, it felt it apt to give my schooling in this artform a little nod within my business name… et voila…Fifila Photography was born.

But time has worked its wonderful magic on me over the last 6 years, I’ve evolved but I felt stuck with the old name. It didn’t seem to really describe me or my work, and to be honest, no-one really knew how to pronounce it!

I wanted a name that people could remember easily, that might even be memorable.  I wanted a name that described my style of naturally fun photography.  I wanted something that could be as applicable to the work I do with kids and families with the work I do for my wedding clients.  I wanted something that could evoke a feeling of nostalgia of the innocence and free spirit of the young at heart…  and et voila…Kisschasey was born!  The quintessential childhood game of youthful exuberance. Perfect!

There are also two other BIG bits of news to go with this launch:

We are  expanding our horizons and are now offering sessions on the South Coast, from Wollongong to Nowra; as well as Sydney. The family and I have recently relocated to Minnamurra; about 1 hour and 40 mins south of Sydney. Although our connections in Sydney are still as strong as ever (we will be visiting our old stomping grounds weekly for shoots) I would dearly love to grow a body of work that shows off this most beautiful part of the country that has captured our hearts! My next post will be an announcement all about how I plan to do this : ) xx

This is also our official launch the wedding arm of our business. My partner Paul and I adore shooting weddings together! With two distinctive styles and skill sets, we mesh together beautifully to  deliver a diverse spectrum of images for our clients. We lucked upon the discovery that we LOVE to shoot weddings when both our best friends got married with the same week and we offered to do their photography as their wedding gifts. We had never imagined working together before, but the results we so surprisingly good that we did a quite a few more, for friends of friends and past clients, till we got to where we are today – officially offering wedding bookings to the wider world!

So…without much more to say…welcome to the world Kisschasey Photography –  Capture the moment for keeps!

At home {Sydney family photography}

I spent a delightful saturday afternoon hanging at home with this family in Greenwich.  The kids read books in their bedrooms, indulged in a game of chess, impressed me with amazing gynamastics skills, went for a stroll in the bush behind their house, all before before heading down to the wharf to catch the sunset!   Such a pleasant way to end a beautiful Sydney day.

A new baby in the house {Newborn Photographer, Sydney}

I visited this gorgeous family at their home in Annandale last Saturday morning.  All was quiet and calm; the baby was sleeping peacefully in her grandmother's arm, enjoying the long cuddle with her newest grandchild.

Then the front door burst wide open and in comes a whole different whirlwind of toddler energy with her delightful older brother : )  I remember this time so vividly with my own two children so it was wonderful to photograph it for these guys!

Enjoy your preview Judy, i'll be in touch soon with your full gallery xx

Friends {Balmoral Family Photographer, Sydney}

Katy and I have been hanging out a lot over the last 6 months or so. My boys and her boys are similar ages so at least one morning a week we congregate at a local park to run some of their boundless energy out.   The connection between the two of us was instantaneous and I can say it has been a special joy to spend this time with Katy and her kids. She is seriously the easiest person to talk to and we've shared so many of our ups and downs of the last year together.

We are both moving in different directions over the next few months but I just know we will keep in touch. Friends like these don't come along every day now do they?  We'll miss you guys but already looking forward to the next time our destinies collide : )

My baby is TWO {My family memories}

At the moment i'm wavering between "the fist pump" of joy at the achievement of getting to this point in one piece; and breaking down in sobbing tears that my last baby is really really no longer a baby anymore.  

Finn is such a beautiful cheeky character and he fills my days with equal measures of laughter and 'steaming from the ears' frustration at his TWO'ness.  

I truly love him with my whole heart. It is wonderful to stop for a few minutes each day and appreciate how blessed we are to have this happy healthy kid as part of our lives. A good time to do this might be when I walk into the family room and find his latest artwork all over the walls; or his breakfast catapulted over his disgruntled brother; or the time he (helped by his cheeky brother) launched himself out of their bedroom window and the first I know about it is a little knock at the front door (thankfully we live in single storey house). This practice of gratitude just about stops me from totally losing the plot!

Sugar and spice, and everything nice {Rozelle Photographer}

FOUR beautiful gorgeous girls : )  So delighted with this session!  These girls are cousins and obviously adore each other to bits. It was so beautiful to watch them laugh and play together, and a privilege to be allowed to record this time in their lives for them to share for many years to come.

Louise, please enjoy your sneak peek at your session...I'll be in touch very soon with your full gallery!

xx

Berry Family Holiday {South Coast Family Photographer}

We were so fortunate to have chance to spend a leisurely Christmas holiday with my parents-in-law at the most divine farmhouse just outside of Berry. There was a creek running past the house, chickens running amok laying the most beautiful fresh eggs and the hugest, best maintained vegetable garden I've ever clapped eyes on; with fresh strawberries, raspberries, bountiful rocket and more tomatoes then you could eat in a month!  

The kids, as I'm sure you can imagine, were in heaven.  Loving adults all around giving them lots of nourishing attention, chickens  to feed, eggs to harvest and strawberries to snack on!

My dearest sister & her love {South Coast Engagement}

We had a double celebration last week when my sister turned 30 and her beautiful man asked her to marry him

: )  : )

We spent the week down in Kiama with my folks and had many happy days lounging by the pool and hanging out at the beach!   I'm so in love with the locations in his part of the world...and the wow light...and capturing the people I love, oh my goodness...a happy and fulfilled photographer here!

Just how gorgeous are these two. Congratulations guys... can't wait for the wedding fun!

xx

Treasure hunting & rock-pooling {Balmoral Beach Photographer}

A beautiful morning on the beach with a mother and her daughter. Vivacious and full of life's energy we explored the rock pools, went on a treasure hunt for chocolate gold in the weathered crags of the shoreline, and ran along the beach doing hand stands, launching huge jumps of the jetty.  My kind of girl!

After some time with just us, their cousins joined us for a more traditional extended family portrait as a present for Grandma for her birthday. Such a lovely idea.

Kylie, I've got the rest of your shots ready too. I will be in touch soon with your full gallery!

Callan Park wedding {Sydney Wedding Photographers}

This wedding was the culmination of years of planning, hours upon hours of hard work to make all the finer details sing, a triumph of love.

Dave and Rowena, I take my hat off to you both! What an amazing day : )  The photos are evidence...just look at your gorgeous smiles.  It was an honour for us to share your day with you. Thank-you!

Family of four {Sydney Family Photographer}

Oh Balmoral, how I love thee!  I just keep getting drawn back to this beach because it is just so darn beautiful. Yesterday I went for a swim here, on my own with no kids, and just marvelled at how lucky we are to live in a city with these amazing beaches right on our doopstep!

This lucky family also won a gift voucher I donated to KU West Pymble Preschool for their charity auction night. I'm an avid and willing giver to help the local Lane Cove/North Shore community and people in need so please, do contact me if you have a cause I might be interested in.

Now, back to this beautiful family...just how gorgeous are these two kiddies??? So full of life's energy.

Charlotte, I hope you enjoy your little preview and I'll be in touch very soon with your full gallery.

xx

Adored {Vaucluse Family Photographer)

This dear child is SO adored by her family. These photos are the evidence : )  

We had a wonderfully relaxed session in Vaucluse, down at Strickland House. In between the rain showers, we got the most beautiful light filtered by the heavy clouds with magical breaks of pure gold sunshine.  A light lovers paradise as not often you get these kind of conditions in Sydney (although this year there is a glut of it with all this rain!!)

Enjoy your preview Frances and i'll be in touch very soon with the rest of your shots!

xx

A special Christmas present {Rose Bay Family Photography}

This beautiful family won a gift voucher I donated to Kambala School for a fund raising event. I was excited to learn that they planned to use the voucher to capture some photos of the grandchildren as a present for their mother-in-law for Christmas! From my personal experience, Grannies do just adore photos of their special grandkids : )

Recording the family milestones {Balmoral Family Photographer}

This dear family asked me to photograph them all together before the older kids went overseas for an extended period. Mum wanted to capture their family unit before the chicks wandered from the nest : )  

It is such a pleasure for me to photograph these different stages in a families life, rather then only the first 5 or so years, which is most usually the time when parents think to get professional shots done.  What a fabulous way to celebrate "a job well done", for parents to give each other a high five and some photos of their grown up kids on the walls to remember them when they are gone!  Little windows back into a couple of decades of experiences and memories shared as a young family.

 

A special gift for Grandma this Christmas {Sydney Family Photos}

These two sisters and their beautiful families decided to get something special for Grandma this Christmas.  Such a fab idea as know my kid's grandparents just adore photos of their little grandkids!  I think she will be delighted with these...

I hope you enjoy your preview guys...will be in touch soon with your full gallery!

xx

Beautiful light, beautiful people {Balmoral beach photographer}

I was supposed to just post a couple  of shots as a sneak peek but couldn't stop myself : )  I've spent all day editing this gorgeous shoot when really i'm up to my ears in getting orders out the door in time for Christmas. But you know, sometimes I've just got to sit back and enjoy the process. Today, sitting at my messy desk in my home office, kids in daycare, husband out on a shoot, rocking tunes on low, coffee and biscuits in hand, tracky pants on, I had a blast today working on these photos. I love this process of whittling down 100's of shots into an awesome story of the afternoon...you never quite know what is going to pop out of the process.

 

The energy, happiness and love radiating out from this story is just gorgeous!  Thanks for being so lovely guys : )

My knight in shining armor

My dear boy got my genes and has been blessed with a beautiful pair of red "super sight" glasses!  

I took these snaps just before he battled me to the ground with his sword and then rescued me right back :)

I adore this kid.

The calm before the storm {Sydney Family Photography}

This family and I spent a beautiful Saturday morning exploring the Newington Armory for all sorts of cool photo spots. It was baking hot, sunny and deep blue skies!  I'm very thankful we organised the shoot for the morning as mid afternoon the most awesome thunderstorm drenched Sydney!

Little baby O is such a delightful little character. Full of energy and independence, giving us all plenty of exercise with chasing her around!  So many beautiful expressions too.

This is just the tip of the iceberg D & J... Will be in touch soon with the full slideshow!

xx

Callan Park on a monday morning {Family Photographer}

A lovely early morning photo shoot in the glorious  sunshine before heading off to work. Not a bad way to start the week : )

We had to reschedule this shoot due to some pesky rain...lots of pesky rain...over many many days. The bane of an outdoor photographer's existence!   

The eyes on these boys - simply mesmerising.  Just a quick sneak peek for you guys, C & R. Will be in touch soon with the full slideshow!

Sunday Morning Goodness {Balmoral Beach Photographer}

I photographed this delightful little man just over a year ago and, goodness, how quickly they grow!  We got the most gorgeous spring morning on a practically deserted Balmoral Beach, the Sunday after the crazy freezing cold day we had last weekend so I think everyone was staying away.... awesome for us!  This is just a tiny taster of what we got and I'm so chuffed with the images : )

Walking along the beach with my friends that morning, I felt so grateful to live in this amazing city doing the work I do. Pristine beach with beautiful blue skies, crunchy sand and warm sun. Great coffee, tasty muffins and a fun filled morning of laughter and play. Grateful...that I am!