Angela Higgins – Lifestyle Photographer » Lifestyle Photographer of kids, babies, families and weddings

I am sure that Grant is tired of it. Of me declaring nearly every afternoon, “Tomorrow. I’m doing it tomorrow. Promise.”

Whether its paying the power bill, cleaning out the spare (aka junk) room or getting in a workout, there are so many things on my to do list that I’ve started to become the queen of tomorrows. I just think of pushing it back a little but before I know it my Things list is reminding me that finalising our wedding budget is 39 days overdue. 39 days! I mean, come on! There is so much to fit in that it becomes overwhelming and of course, responsibilities and unfortunately sometimes dreams and wishes get pushed aside as we move from day to day. The fact is that there are only so many tomorrows in our lives and they pass by way to quickly. Before you know it, tomorrow is here and the next one on the horizon.

This morning I was up at the god-awful hour of 4am to take Ben to a triathlon. It should be illegal to be up that early. However, as a result I found my silver lining of being on the beach in North Coogee during sunrise on this amazing autumn morning. I’ve experienced many sunsets on the beach but not often a sunrise so it is one of those moments that I acknowledged as being special and made the most of it. It was the most peaceful, serene and humbling moment as I meandered along the beach as the sun peaked over the sand dunes. We collected shells and beach glass and basked in the light pink glow of the morning.

Take the time today to do what you have been putting off until tomorrow. For me, I’m getting the chores done early and blowing of the afternoon to spend some quality time with those I love. I’m going to make their day just a little bit more special.

I was casually browsing through my blogroll one August morning last year when I came across a blog post that was almost too good to be true. Cathy Crawley was going to host Jasmine Star in Sydney as she conducted one of her workshops. My heart skipped a beat and I think I forgot to breathe as I feverishly put in my application to attend, hoping against hope that it wasn’t already sold out as I knew it would in record time.

I came across Jasmine’s work early on in my photography career and she has been more than a subtle influence in my own emerging style. I instantly fell in love with her work, her spirit and her candour as I read her blog from start to finish and then found her previous blog which I devoured much too quickly. Her work as always been a source of inspiration for me and to know that I would not only meet Jasmine but be able to get insights into her thoughts and then to watch her shoot was almost too much for me to bare. The workshop has come and gone far too quickly and as I begin to process what I have learnt and how I am going to implement these tools into not only my business but my life, I feel incredible blessed.

Here are some of my favourites from our shoot that are only possible because of the incredible work Cathy put into organising it. She sourced the best vendors in Sydney for the outstanding couture gowns, incredible bouquets and boutonnieres and the most beautiful hair and makeup.

Models – Lacy and Evan, Kristie Jane
Flowers – Daisy Chain Florist
Dresses – Catherine Colubriale
Hair and Makeup – Elle Vierboom

A huge thank you to Cathy Crawley and to Jasmine and JD. Your incredible hard work and effort was above and beyond my expectations and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the opportunity you have given me.

xoxo

Two thousand and nine.

I began this year with hope and peace in my heart at my decision to leave the corporate world behind me and pursue my passion. Photography was calling to me and as I look back over my years work I feel I made the right decision. It has been a hard journey, one that is often fraught with self-doubt but I remain sure that the images I am crafting are making the world, and my clients lives, just a little tiny bit more beautiful.

I am proud to now call myself an artist as I felt I was unable to before. I am finding my feet as a photographer and have gained the confidence to be more experimental in my approach to my work. I have learnt to follow my instincts and they will usually pay off. I see the world with an artists eye and am now documenting weddings and life honestly with this viewpoint. I can see how my work has evolved and how my journey to develop my own style is continuing to evolve with it as I follow my heart.

I set out this year with a goal of documenting 10 weddings. I have surpassed with a total of 12 wonderful clients that opened their hearts and welcomed me into their lives to document their declarations to each other. I am pleased to report that a few of these couples are expecting new additions to their family in 2010 which makes me so happy for them. There are also my portraiture clients (20 of you) who allowed me into their homes to document their lives and their relationships which I am so grateful.

2010 is looking to be just as beautiful, if not more than 2009. The next 6 months will see me document another 5 weddings, travel to Sydney for a photographers workshop, open my residential gallery to my clients and begin the planning stages of our own wedding we are scheduling for April 2011. I am developing a new found respect for my brides (and grooms!) and the effort and time they invest in crafting a wedding.

In the meantime, my resolution for 2010 is to make each day more beautiful than the one before. I have plans to refine my currently mediocre french, experiment more in the kitchen and enjoy the small moments that make life beautiful. I have a couple of other personal goals which I will wait just a little longer to share.

Happy new year!

The following four weddings were just this month and I will share them over the next few months. The last two were actually in the last 4 days so they are very hot off the press

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to spend 3 days with 4 other photographers in Dunsborough. We had all taken part in Jesh de Rox’s workshop last November and decided to have a getaway to just shoot from the heart and spend some time together. I appreciated this so much because I have found that when you find you can turn your passion into your career you still need to take the time to still ignite that passion for no other reason than your own desires. We experimented with a few techniques and equipment and I managed to shoot some film which I am excited to develop in the near future.

We had a very courageous couple join us for an engagement session in Dunsborough and Busselton for us to experiment with. Despite the wild weather and 5 crazy photographers vying for prime position, Cara and Chey were absolute stars and kept their composure remarkably well. I was fortunate to have a moment to test out a tilt shift lens and had a lot of fun with it. Considering the workshop was named Tilt Shift and Tiaras, it only seemed fitting.

A big thank you to Arlene Bax, Samm Blake, Kirsty Aksentiew and Lauren Waye for their never ending generosity and openness. I appreciate it more than I can say.

This week I was so fortunate to have been commissioned for a portrait session all the way up in Broome.

It had been far too long since I had seen that vibrant red dirt and its contrasting blue skies. I have spent more than half of my life in the north-west of Western Australia and even thought this was my first time to Broome, it kind of felt like coming home when I saw that familiar sparse landscape and felt the heat when getting off the plane onto the tarmac. I couldn’t help but smile to myself as we landed.

One morning, I packed up my gear and hit the road to explore a little and scout some potential shoot locations. This is what I saw.

Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback I have been getting for the new sites! It makes life much easier having a specific location for each portraits and weddings for me and I believe for my clients

I have a few posts in the works including a birthday, another dog portrait, a few slideshows from weddings recently that I never had the chance to put up and a few other things so keep an eye out.

In the meantime, I thought I would share a quick shot of my mothers day gift from Lily and Lulu. I couldn’t believe it when I saw these yellow tulips that I nearly squealed with delight! All those years living up north with nothing but spinafex have given me a greater appreciation for seasonal flowers and especially bulbs. These would make anyone happy

This is one of a few projects I have been working on recently and it is finally ready to share with you. Head on over and have a peek by clicking on the image below or visiting www.angelahiggins.com. Let me know what you think

Taken back in January. I felt I need something reminiscent of summer on this cold, wintery day.

Being a photographer it at times a curse. I see things with an artistic eye and find so much depth now in the things that used to seem ordinary. Its hard to turn it off and just “see” things. Then again, perhaps I am “really seeing” things because I do have an artists eye . . . the way the light drapes across a piece of fabric, the texture in a leaf, the contrast of colours that break all the rules yet are strangely visually pleasing. I don’t necessarily see the object as say a leaf, but rather what makes up the leaf with the colour tones, the softness or roughness, fresh growth and old growth, etc,  (Jesh would be so proud that I am letting go of the labels

I saw this bowl when I was in Fremantle the other day, quite by accident. I was scouting for some props for some upcoming concept shoots I want to do in the upcoming months and stumbled across a little store in a side alley that sold beautifully, organic looking products. Handmade, recycled and oh so pretty products. This particular egg-shell blue bowl caught my eye and I just had to have it. I could visualise a simplistic canvas with the bowl and something in sharp contrast such as lemons or limes. Well I decided to go down the lemon path for a much needed injection of colour and loved the results from an impromptu still life session today.

So I thought I would share my latest personal project that resulted from this impulse buy – The Lemon Series. I have heard for a while of other photographers talking of their concepts and realising them. These images are exactly as I saw them in my head when I saw the bowl and its a strange feeling to be able to realise it. Even something so simple as this.

I am definitely going to trust my instincts and follow my visions for concepts in photography. To be able to photograph for my soul.