Lauren Jones Photography ~ Sydney Newborn & Family Photographer

1. Family
affairPhotographing kids at play is all in a
day’s work for Lauren Jones.
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2. W
hile photography may not
have played much of a
role in her life growing up,
these days Lauren Jones rarely goes
anywhere without her camera. The
sought after family photographer has
turned her snap happy hobby into a
profession that sees her capturing
everything from baby’s first steps to a
family’s special occasion.
Jones tells Better Pictures she first
started taking her hobby seriously
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3. around six years ago when friends
began to encourage her to do more
with her photography.
“I had been to a friend’s wedding and
taken lots of pictures on my average
pocket digital camera,” Jones says.
“After receiving their professional
photos back, my friends were more
impressed by many of the photos I had
given them. That left me wondering,
what could I create if I actually had a
good quality digital camera?”
Soon after, Jones bought her first
digital SLR: a Canon 500D. After
assisting a photographer friend
on a few wedding shoots, and
finding herself more taken with the
expressions of the pageboys and
flower girls than the bride and groom,
she realised her interests really lay in
capturing children on camera.
“Young children really captured
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4. my imagination, their big inquisitive
eyes and their innocence really shone
through,” Jones says.
“Then not long into my photography
journey, I stumbled across some
newborn photographs of a friend’s
baby, which were so well done they
instantly grabbed my eye. I couldn’t
stop thinking about these photos, and
how they were set up and achieved;
they were not just your ordinary ‘put
baby on a couch and take a photo’
pictures,” she explains. “I sought out
mentoring with a Melbourne newborn
photographer, and from there I was
hooked on mastering the art of
newborn photography.”
Several years later and Jones is an
expert at snapping newborns. Her
images deliver a mixture of the candid,
cute and posed.
She suggests her success lies with
her ability to create a rapport with her
subjects. Being the mother of twin
toddlers, she’s also something of a
master when it comes to swaddling a
baby and getting it to calm down for
the camera.
“I find it easy to connect with my
clients given that I have experienced so
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5. much of what they are dealing with as
a new parent. Having such a big thing
in common with my new mums I find
automatically puts them at ease, making
the whole experience enjoyable and
stress-free for them. Sharing stories
throughout the session is a really nice
way of getting to know each other.”
Nonetheless, studio sessions are
not without their challenges. Children
by their very nature are unpredictable
creatures, but Jones says she has a
few tricks up her sleeve to ensure she
gets the ‘money shot’.
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6. “Every single child I work with is an
individual. What works with one child,
generally won’t work with the next. The
biggest challenge I face is that most
of my young clients are only meeting
me for the first time at the shoot.
Given that I often have a very short
timeframe to work with them before
they get tired, we often get started
shooting straight away, but I do try to
make the start as playful as possible to
gain the child’s trust.
“The challenges of children’s
photography can make some days
very difficult for photographers.
Knowing how to interact with children
can make the job much easier. I like to
get down to the child’s level to shoot,
and to be prepared to move a lot to
get the best shots. Being able to work
with the child’s natural inclinations
can make for a much more enjoyable
shoot for everyone involved. Children’s
photography can be challenging, but
the rewards – getting that perfect
shot – are huge. Being a mum of twin
toddlers is definitely an advantage.”
Being a mother also lends Jones an
abundance of patience, which comes
in handy when her tiny subjects fail to
comply with directions or lose focus.
“Knowing the things that get my kids
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7. co-operating the most, I am armed
with at least a few tricks up my sleeve
to get me through some challenging
situations. Being a mum also gives me
a different perspective on the kind of
photos that matter most to parents,”
she says.
Jones suggests that no matter how
great the photographer is, you can’t
fake a connection on camera.
“A great family photo honestly comes
down to the connection the family has,
and the ability for them to relax and
enjoy what they are there for. Other
factors include the location, lighting
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9. and the photographer’s ability to
position the family well so that their
connections shine through.”
When it comes to shooting newborns,
Jones has plenty of props on hand to
assist in setting the tone, whether it’s a
flowered headband, an old apple crate
or the typical white fur throw.
“My studio is equipped with hundreds
of props: outfits and girly accessories,
wraps, woodland style nests, baskets
and beautiful backdrops. After the
shoot comes many hours of selecting
the best images for edit, and the edit
process itself using Lightroom 5 and
Photoshop CS5. I like to keep my edit
style crisp and clean. [I prefer] soft skin
tones, sharp details and vivid colour.”
“I like to
keep my edit
style crisp
and clean.
[I prefer]
soft skin
tones,
sharp
details
and vivid
colour”
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10. If she’s shooting outdoors, Jones
says she likes to recce a location prior
to the shoot.
“I like to be familiar with the best
areas within that location before
the day, have all of my equipment
primed and ready to go, and more
importantly, have my clients armed
with all the tips they need to make
the shoot a success. This can include
what to wear, advice on preparing
the kids, styling and location advice,”
she says.
The end result: a beautiful family
portrait that captures a family’s
precious memories.
To see more of Lauren Jones’ work visit
laurenjonesphotography.com.au
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