Win a Family Photo Shoot worth $450

I got an email from a reader Katherine (or as she likes to be called, Pez) a few months ago. She’s a photographer and a Mum and had her third baby (a beautiful little girl) the day after Maggie was born. We finally got ourselves together (no mean feat with TWO baby brains at play) and met on Sunday morning at our place on a miserable, cold Highlands morning.

Pez takes photos of people. She documents the beautiful in the ordinary and everyday, in the mundane. She also undersells herself. She took some beautiful photos of us all that I will treasure forever. When I was filling out the form telling her a little about the different members of our family she asked if there was anything particular I wanted to capture. For me, we are slowly coming out of the fog of a new baby. Our home and family have been in hibernation mode since the 16th May when sweet Maggie arrived, spending our days inside but the fire keeping away from the biting winter we’ve had. We’ve spent time reading, drawing, crafting (gasp) and baby gazing on the couch. The miserable day was the perfect example of what life has been like for us this winter.

The winter we got to know Maggie.

BabyMac-13 BabyMac-36 BabyMac-28 BabyMac-7 BabyMac-35 BabyMac-54 BabyMac-41 BabyMac-88 BabyMac-81 BabyMac-113 BabyMac-72 BabyMac-102 BabyMac-84 BabyMac-69 BabyMac-58 BabyMac-44 BabyMac-146 BabyMac-149 BabyMac-134 BabyMac-121 BabyMac-182 BabyMac-171 BabyMac-180 BabyMac-154

Pez, these are such beautiful images. Thank you. They have captured this time in our lives perfectly, now in pictures as well as in my heart.

Now that’s all very good and well but we have something for YOU! Pez wants to give away a family shoot to one of YOU guys! She is willing to come and shoot your family for 4 hours (worth $450) just because she is awesome!

Now there’s some fine print of course. She’s willing to travel 90 minutes from where she is based in Shellharbour NSW (so we’re talking Sydney CBD to Penrith to Highlands to Ulladulla for free) anything outside of these areas you would have to cover her travel expenses. So this is for peeps within these areas (or if outside please enter just allow travel expenses from your end). You can read all the T&C’s here.

To enter all you need to do is tell us why you need a family photo! Got a bad one? Show us and tell us why you need this. Or just tell us why you need this wonderful gift of capturing a moment in time for your family.

For the rest of you, you can nominate someone you know who is going through a tough time or needs a shoot like this through Pez’s website under her Grace Project which is such a wonderful thing she does as part of her business.

So over to you guys! Comment away and good luck for this awesome giveaway. Thanks Pez for this generous offer and of course for our beautiful shots!

Comments

  1. I’m too far away for photos by Pez but just wanted to say how much I love this pics. My fav is the one of Maggie with Rob leaning over her. So sweet. Big tough man with his bubba.

  2. Not for me but for my cousin, she has just had her very first baby last week at 19. A beautiful squishy baby boy! Photos of baby Zac and her now beautiful little family would just be the biggest thrill for her.

  3. Hi Beth! Always a lover of ur giveaways!! Very generous! I would love this for my new little family. After 4 rounds of ivf we finally have our family, however she decides to come 12 wks early. I am based in the shoalhaven, but currently in the NICU at randwick hospital. Our home is currently flooded, so my husband has had to go home. I would love this as welcome home gift when our little angel gets discharged from hospital and we can start life as our family of 3, also to revamp the walls of a flooded house!! Xx

  4. Such beautiful photos! You’ll all treasure them as the years go by!
    I would love such photos. We have just moved back to Australia after almost four years living in the Middle East and have just had a second baby. It would be wonderful to capture this time in our lives….. The first time our older daughter has lived in Australia and getting to know our younger daughter. When life is so busy the small details are easily lost in the day to day. Capturing it all in these photos is a wonderful way to make sure you never forget!

  5. I’ve never been great at writing for give-aways or for anything in fact but this would be a blessing if won. Usually I’m a very camera shy person, especially since gaining some baby weight and because of this I hardy have any photos with my two children or even my fiance.
    When my daughter was born I managed to take one photo of us which I absolutely cherish and hold close to my heart but now my son just turned 5 months and I still don’t have any photos of us together.
    I always see those beautiful candid moments captured between families and feel envious and guilty that our family doesn’t have them and a selfie on my camera phone just won’t cut it haha.
    Thank you to you both for this opportunity.

  6. Your photos are amazing and captures priceless moments. My older girl will finish high school and leave home for uni. We’ve never had professional family photos taken. Before the year passes, it will be wonderful to capture special moments to keep and cherish before she moves out. Time flies and being able to freeze these moments in photos makes special treasures in years to come.

  7. Melissa Steep says

    Hi Beth & Pez,
    Firstly what beautiful candid photos these are. I love that these feel like natural shots, like they have been taken by hidden camera during day to day life,

    Like Beth, we have also spent the winter bundled up getting to know our newbie Lucinda. At 2 months she really starting to lose that squishy Newborn look and we are starting to notice her true features and characteristics. So now I feel the time is right to invest in some proper documentation of this moment in our lives.

    We have taken a billion photos of Miss L, but the only family photo we have of the three of us was taken a few hours after birth. While the photo is beautiful filled with exhausted bodies, ecstatic smiles and pyjamas it would be lovely to have an updated photo (maybe where we don’t have that “just been hit by a train” look).

    Also, if Fez is up for a laugh/feeling adventurous, we have 2 hyperactive Spaniels that would no doubt love to get in on the family photo action (but only if she is game).

    Mel x

  8. These photos are just beautiful, capturing the everyday memories of life that when we look back on them, are the most precious. Harper and Daisy completely in love with Maggie..so gorgeous x. Medical conditions and tablets have seen me pack on the weight in the last few years and I’ve avoided photos like the plague. Now my kids are getting older and I find myself not caring that my face looks like a full moon in a fog, I just want to capture the beauty that is my children and maybe Pez’s camera can capture how beautiful they make me feel. Xx

  9. Hi Beth (and Pez),
    This is our confessional that we have never hired a professional!
    We have never hired a professional photographer for the major moments in our life – engagement, wedding, pregnancy etc. because we don’t want photos of us feeling uncomfortable and not looking natural / being ourselves. As a result we have ‘nice’ photographs but absolutely NOTHING like the photos of the MacDonald family that are absolutely stunning…you have captured the true beauty of love, family and life.
    We would love ato change our ways and to win a photo session would be wonderful to capture life as a family of three following the arrival of our baby girl (Grace) six days ago!

    Ps – the Grace Project is a very generous program that would be a great blessings to so many (also love the name!)

  10. The best kind of photos – nothing staged, just something to remember what life was like at that time. Love it!

    I’d love to have similar photos of my family! We’ve recently had our second baby (a little boy about a month older than your Maggie), and in typical second-child fashion, there are very few photos of this little fella. As a second child myself, I’d love to give him some of the photo love that was doted on his older brother and rectify the imbalance!

    I also only have 1 (one, singular) photo of me with my eldest son and 0 (none, zilch) with the second. Not to mention bugger all photos of the whole family! Man I feel guilty just writing that.

  11. Sarah Coughlan says

    As a blended family, including my partners 9 yr old daughter and my 6 yr old son and with our newest member our little baby boy now 8 months , we would love a family photo that really shows what it is that makes our family. I so agree that the fog of a new born has lifted we have all got thru this positive change in our lives time to celebrate it !! Ps please ??

  12. We tried once for a family portrait. Of the three men in my life, only the littlest likes having their photo taken. So if Pez is up for a challenge we are your family. The photos we had done professionally ended up being 2 separate photos, one of me with the kids and one of my husband with the eldest son looking into a rock pool. So we are yet to have a family portrait.

    Beth and Pez, I love the natural family shots on the lounge – simply gorgeous.

  13. TWINS!!

    Also, I’m not clever enough to upload our awful wedding photos, but rest assured they’re cheesy, unflattering (I was pregnant and puffy), and make us too sad to do anything with (they’re still just on a disc the photographer gave us).

    We have the most beautiful rambunctious two year old boy and brand newborn twin girls. We have an alright camera and took loads of very unprofessional shots of G as a bob, but looking after three kindles we barely have time to snap a quick shot with the phone let alone lovingly set up shots with good lighting etc.

    We always said we’d get family photos professionally done to rectify the wedding photography disaster and yours look incredible. Just casual candid shots, capturing your lives together, how perfect.

    With the sudden increase in family numbers we couldn’t really afford someone as great as Pez right now so to win this would be brilliant.

    Loving on your pregnancy/newborn/baby files also, Beth, keep them coming…. xx

  14. #bub not bob, der.

  15. Hi Beth & Pez

    Your natural photos in a warm family environment would be exactly what we need. I am recovering from a significant breakdown back in February I am told, this has left me with impaired memory and I have lost most of the last few years and day to day memory consolidation.

    I would love nothing more than a beautiful set of photos of my gorgeous family who have all grown up significantly from where I remember them being. Hopefully this would help me to place and remember at least my children on a day to day basis!

    In addition to this significant issue the last time that we had a family photo was I am guessing from the photo on the wall at least 7-8 years ago! Beth – I am having a bad tech day and can’t work out how to put my picture here so I will put on Facebook under this post as Cathy O’Brien

    Thank you for the opportunity to enter and good luck to everyone!!!

    Cathy

  16. Hi Beth and Pez,

    We’d love some professional shots taken of our family! We have one family photo on the wall – but it’s from when we were a family of four! Now we are a family of 5, and my baby is now four, so I’ve been terribly slack about getting a family portrait done! I love the candid black and whites on the lounge, they are really beautiful.
    I’ll have to get some done before my poor daughter notices she’s not on the wall!

  17. Gorgeous piccies Beth!:)
    Lovely work Katherine!

  18. Lisa Mckenzie says

    These pictures are stunning Beth ??

  19. Gorgeous! Love the everyday moments captured and so wishing I lived in the travel zone so I could enter.

  20. Karyn Smedts says

    As the “official family photographer” I have loads of photos of our family….I’m just not in any of them!! I would love to get some family photos. I just love your photos, they look so relaxed and candid and happy.

  21. Beautiful photos. Lucky you!
    Help us …… We have four children, ages ranging from 16 years to 9 months old and are yet to get a photo with all 6 together – not even one with all 4 kids together. How slack are we! We in Shellharbour so Pez would know all the great places to go for a shoot.

  22. Hi Beth,
    We have three girls like you, also with a similar age spread. When our youngest, now five arrived I kept meaning to have some photos done. Except I just couldn’t. Because our middle daughter has RETT syndrome, and was diagnosed a few years before her little sister was born. Despite wanting to have a family picture after her little sister’s arrival I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I have worried about the awkwardness of explaining my daughters disability to a photographer, of feeling like I should apologise for the clunky wheelchair that might ‘spoil’ the photographers vision. And maybe also thinking that a camera lens would only see the disability and not capture the joy and beauty that is actually our daughter. But I have to, because RETT syndrome is degenerative and I know that we need a photo of our family, warts and all now, because one day a family photo will look very different. I don’t want to kick myself for missing the moment when our family was whole. Pez seems like she captures who a family is, not just what they look like. I feel like maybe she is the one to give us a permanent memory of now, when our family is all of us- whole and complete.

    • Oh goodness you don’t have to explain anything to a photographer! If the photographer cant see your daughters individuality and beauty then run them over with the wheelchair and be gone!! I have two kids with Down syndrome and I never explain them to anyone, and they make for the most beautiful photographic subjects as I am sure your daughter would.
      Good luck, hope you win!

    • Nellie,

      I would love to capture your family’s unique story, just how they are through the Grace Project 🙂 Send me an enquiry at http://www.katherinewilsonphotography.com/the-grace-project/#make-contact and we’ll chat soon xx

  23. How generous of Pez, would love to win this photo shoot. Our family has not had any photos done since before my daughter was born – she’s turning 6 in December. You see our son has some issues so therapy has always had to come first. Photos of us as a family just don’t exist so the walls of our home are still bare – criminal I know. Would love to win the shoot and fill our walls full of beautiful family pictures.

  24. A very talented photographer + a very loving family = simply beautiful pics!
    <3
    Pia

  25. We have just had our second and final baby on July 21st. I had placenta previa during my pregnancy which meant I had 4 bleeds and spent 5 weeks in hospital away from my husband and daughter in case of a big bleed. Hubby took time off work to be stay at home daddy for which I am forever grateful! I would love family photos as a reminder of the strength and resilience of our little family. A reminder of how we will stand by one another in tough times and be able to come out the other end. We live in the beautiful Blue Mountains and would be happy to cover travel. Those photos are absolutely gorgeous of your family Beth! Congratulations on making beautiful babies xx

  26. Hi there Beth and Pez (or as I personally know you as Kath or Katherine),
    I have known you for a lot of of years, and I was so sad that I missed you last time you were in Parkes. I live a long way from where you guys are, but I’d be more than happy to pay her fuel expenses to come and take pictures of my family (me, hubby, and 3 little boys under 5). Pez you do an amazing job, and I loved these photos you took of Beth. This is exactly what I’d want, natural (not posed) photos of us that I can be proud of
    Would love to see you all again, and meet the rest of your beautiful little family, as I’ve never met Ethan or Gracie

  27. Warmth. That with love, happiness and the beauty of the everyday is what I see in these photos. Pez has beautifully captured your family and to me these images feel like modern day Shirley Hughes or Brambly Hedge illustrations. Pikelets on the stove, cosy fires, chubby cheeked bubbas, attentive older sisters, flowers and cushions. Need I say more?! You see so many layers of love in this home.

    PS. I am the photographer in my household, so it would be lovely to have some of our beautiful everyday captured with me also in it!

  28. Love these beautiful pics that capture the every day gorgeousness and rhythm of life with 3. x

  29. Yeah great shots! So much nicer than a normal family portrait :-0 (not saying you aren’t a normal family Beth !!)
    Love the different settings and shots of your home. The girls can look back on them when they are grown up and reminisce about the furniture, their clothes etc. We love doing that with all our old photos. “Remember the purple lounge, we used to hide behind it”, you know, that sort of thing.
    I prefer shots when people aren’t looking straight at the camera, unless they are cracking up laughing or doing something funny or different. It is so nice to capture the pensive moments too.
    Alas I am too far away to enter. Good luck everyone else!!

  30. Dakota Morgan says

    I would love to nominate my beautiful friend who lost her Mum four weeks ago she is 19 years old and just took over full custody of her 10 year old and 17 year old Sister. She truely deserves this. They have no family photos. Only photos on their phones.

  31. What a great opportunity! I’d love to win this photo shoot to share with my parents-capturing photos of professional quality of my mum and dad with my two little ones would be absolutely priceless. My mum and I are also notoriously phobic of photo shoots (we seem to morph from relatively normal looking people into flushed, red eyed puffy people with all the chins!), so Pez’s candid and relaxed style would really suit our family. Thanks BabyMac and Pez!

  32. Sharon Butcher says

    I hate photos of me, and as a consequence there are very few photos of myself with my family. I would love some carefree shots that show how much I love me kids without thinking about how I would look in them. Keep up the good work Pez!

  33. These photos are fantastic! They really capture and show some wonderful fun filled, & everyday life, moments. I would love this for my family as we have such busy lives it’s hard to find fun family time let alone capture it. Such a gorgeous family – well done to you both (Pez & Beth) on some great photos!!

  34. Peri Whitehead says

    Wow, what lovely natural photos, would love to win for my daughter’s family. She just been blessed with a beautiful son Max. little brother for Lucas. Unfortunately while visiting mum in hospital on day 3 of recovering from Caesar delivery (Max was breech) Lucas had an accident and broke his leg. So now they are all recovering at home new bubba 2 weeks old, 3 year old in full leg plaster wheelchair bound and a mum that cannot lift him for 6 weeks. what an intro to ife as a family of four.

  35. What gorgeous photos! I have watched you welcome lovely little Maggie into your family and it reminded me in so many ways of when our 3rd child, a daughter was born just a year earlier. The rhythms of life with a winter baby in the cold old Highlands meant we too were tucked up at home, snuggling in with our delicious newborn. Well that little newborn is now 14 months old and on the go! She’s been the biggest blessing and the perfect part to complete our family. We haven’t had any family photos done for years now and I would dearly love some beautifully candid shots that capture our family life as it is now with 3 small children… Crazy, chaotic, tiring and fun 😉

  36. Fantastic photos Beth, I wonder if Pez would come up to Woop Woop? ha ha ha

  37. My third, and youngest, child just turned 1. We had photo shoots done when our first and then second children were one, and love the photos. A photo shoot now is just not going to happen – money money money! We have a few family photos with the 5 of us, but they are all selfies! A professional family shoot would be such a lovely gift to give our kids, to have those photos for life. Thank you 🙂

  38. Thank you Beth
    These photos made me cry.
    That’s what I call family and love!
    MWAH!
    Thanks for sharing all of you with me, with us

  39. Hi Beth and Pez – what a lovely giveaway!
    I’m a girl from Wollongong living in the North West of England with my wonderful man and our 3 year old daughter. We will be home in December for a holiday. This will be my first Christmas home in 8 years and I can’t wait. I try to incorporate as much Aussie-ness as I can for my little girl in our day to day life – it’s important to me that she knows where her Mumma came from and I can’t wait to show her the beauty and magic of Australia. It would be lovely to capture some of our time at home with beautiful pictures like the ones Pez takes.

    Also, I’m a long time reader, first time commenter on your blog Beth – my parents live in the highlands and reading your posts about places familiar to me is more comforting than you could know when homesickness hits me in the guts. Thank you x

  40. Beautifully captured! Happy to just appreciate great photos. Well done Pez!

  41. I would love a family photo shoot, we have never got around to doing the professional photo thing as I really am not a fan of the “pixie photo” look but these photo’s are AMAZING!!!! So natural and gorgeous – it would be lovely to have photo’s like these while my kids are still little enough to agree to it! x

  42. What an absolutely beautiful keepsake for your family Beth. It is in the simplest of moments that the most beauty lies! I would love to enter for the chance to win a photo shoot with the talented Pez, thankyou for the very generous giveaway!

    The story of us:
    My partner and I have been together for over 15 years and in that time we have welcomed 4 children into our hearts and our lives. As a same sex couple our family is often not recognised or accepted as others are, and although we try and remain optimistic of what the future holds for us and our kids it can at times be very disheartening. Two of our beautiful kids have special needs and we find ourselves knee deep in the trenches of early intervention and therapy. The constant focus on helping and correcting and learning and training can leave us seeing only the negative and difficult parts of our life. How wonderful it would be to have someone capture the positive part of our family, the part that at the moment we have trouble seeing, the part that is there now but is hidden beneath meltdowns and psychology appointments, sibling support groups, stress and medication plans. To be able to see the joy, the happiness, the compassion and the love that is our family. To have photo’s around the house as a daily reminder of the beauty and love within my family, that would be the most wonderful gift.

  43. Everything is very open with a really clear description of the issues.
    It was definitely informative. Your site is extremely helpful.
    Thank you for sharing!

  44. I can’t enter because I live too far away, but I just wanted to say how gorgeous these photos are. Pez is indeed talented and has done a wonderful job of capturing some wonderful moments of your family’s life at this time. Whoever wins will be extremely lucky x

  45. Hi Beth and Pez,
    What a beautiful moment in time those photos capture. I live in WA so slightly out of proximity, but my little Bro and his wife live close by and are due to have their first bub in a few months. I know they would adore such intimate shots that could include their fur babies too.

  46. Wow, Pez what a hidden secret you are & now your secret is out!!!
    What gorgeous memories you have to look back on from the winter you welcomed Miss Maggie into your family – they are nothing short of magical. Thank you for sharing these with us Beth.
    I would be thrilled to win a Family Photo shoot with Pez as 2016 will see my husband Brian & I celebrate 40 years of marriage ( we were married at 19 & 22 years) and this would be a perfect way to capture the essence of our family of five which has now expanded to 11, including beautiful three grand babies in 3 years. We packed up & left our lifelong home in the Central West NSW and moved to the Southern Highlands 18 months ago to be closer to our three children & their growing families and it was the best decision ever.
    We have had family photo sessions over those 40 years but there was always something missing when the proofs came back and Pez’s photography shows that missing element – SPONTAIETY!!!!! I will definitely be following her work as she deserves to be a great success.

  47. Natalie Robinson says

    Olivia is 5 months today. While Olivia will happily smile at anyone, the Handsone One will not. It would be good to get some family photos with Olivia where he looks as relaxed as Rob does with Maggie. We’d have to take a trip to visit the grandparents to be close enough but I don’t think they’d mind

    I’ll email you the not so Christmas card worthy selfies we have of the three of us.

    As a side, I love the black and white pic that Pez took of the whole family (well minus Frank). You can really see everyone is happy and coordinated with their patterns x

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