It has to be the beach!  There are so many great things to do at the beach and it is so much fun.  

Having said that the photo above with Dad and his two girls was taken in the most uninspired place and it is one of my all time favourite shots.  We had gone to the local park for our shoot but the sun was right above us and we were getting some gnarly shadows.  The only place that had shade was this little patch of long grass by the path - not great to look at!  But the pictures - divine!!

I have some tips on this on the website but basically what ever you feel most comfortable in.

I'm a bit in love with denim jeans and white t-shirts at the moment for family shots but that only works if you feel good in that too.

I'm pretty loud and a little bit silly (my children will attest to this).  I have silly things like noise makers and shutter buddies to put children at ease and I usually start by making friends with the children first.  

The other thing you will notice about me is that I talk a lot!  Pretty much the whole time I am taking photos!!  It helps me to get to know you and it helps break down some of those barriers and uncomfortableness that you feel when someone is taking your photo.

Most of all I try to have fun and not rush things!

That's a tricky one because I genuinely love photographing babies and children of all ages.

If I had to pick a favourite age it would be around 8 months to 15 months.

They are so full of wonder for the world around them that it is just impossible not to capture some amazing moments.  They are sitting or standing by themselves and their little personalities are just bursting through.

It's a strange one to lead with but I got asked this question about 3 times while photographing a naming ceremony last weekend.

The lens in question was a Canon 70-200 2.8 (for those of you into photography look it up - it truly is incredible).  It's not my regular lens, in fact I only hire it for special events.

And yes, it is a monster and really heavy so my arms do get sore!!

The great thing about this lens is it allows me to shoot from a distance - that means at an event like a naming ceremony I am not disrupting the view of the guests when I am getting my photo's.  It also creates beautiful bokeh (lights in trees and the like) and depth of field (nice blurred backgrounds).