I also became a finalist in the West Australian Professional Photographer Awards for the Family Portrait Category.

I can’t wait to see what 2012 brings for me and for Krystal McGee Photography.  There are plans afoot, including a new studio!  Stayed tuned for this new development.

Enjoy the Year in Review and some of the background stories behind the shot.

Hyde Park

These boys had so much personality and energy and their own individuality

Shot at Hyde Park, one summer evening.  The youngest brother asks me very nicely if he could take a photograph of his brother – and I thought, yeah why not?  I love to foster as much enjoyment and creativity as I can and what if he picks up the camera and that’s the beginning of an amazing love of photography?

Mt Lawley Golf Club

I’ve been photographing these gorgeous girls for four years in dancing and finally I got to photograph them outside of the dancing world!  Their entire family were gorgeous people and I’m hoping that I will get to shoot them again.

Shot at the Mount Lawley Golf Course

Peel Manor House

Right from the beginning Kelly told me that she wanted a picture of her dress and the stairs at Peel Manor House were perfect for this shot.

Couldn’t have done this without my mate Holly from Holly Netto Photography, who set up the flash in front of Kelly on the staircase and to Kelly who was patient so that I could get the shot that I knew I wanted.

Lazy River B&B

Lazy River B&B, Pinjarra

Such a gorgeous couple.  Thier wedding was a mix between vintage and just plain old fashioned.  They had set up this amazing Tent fashioned with LED lighting and games, lots of old fashioned games.

Wedding shots taken at the Lazy River B&B, Pinjarra.

Tom in Bayswater

I’ve known the smart and amazing kid since Pre-Primary and my god, like my child he’s growing fast.

Photographed down my rear lane.  I swear every year I’m going to give it a fabulous clean-up so that I can use it more!

Swan Valley

The crazy and lovely Evans Family.  We started the shoot at their property but then moved on to the Swan Valley to get something different.

The weather just held out.  It’s been an amazing year for weather!

Mulberry Farm, Swan Valley

Mulberry Farm, Swan Valley

Talk about the Swan Valley, this gorgeous wedding was held at Mulberry Farm and boy talk about a hot hot day.  It was one of those small, quiet  but very special ceremony – so full of love and emotion.

Again, I had the help of Holly and we got the most beautiful images.

Mt Lawley Golf Club

Again, a beautiful family in which I have photographed the daughter several times in Dancing.

I took these at the Mt Lawley Golf Club and the conditions were so beautiful that day.

Bunbury, Western Australia

This is my youngest angel and she has this amazingly complex personality.  She has a quiet contemplative nature and she’s

sometimes a complete mystery to me.  Teacher’s come to me and tell me that she is a darling at school.  I giggle sometimes

with that, because sometimes at home she can be a complete PAIN IN THE ASS {but then aren’t we all at some stages of our lives }

Nusa Dua, Bali

So this was our much much needed holiday in Bali.  A word to the wise, JetStar goes on sale on Boxing Day & we got a fabulous flight deal.

Bali was wonderful, 10 days at a gorgeous hotel – a little bit of shopping, a lot of good eating & heaps of time to play and rest.

Northbridge

Northbridge

Michelle organised a surprise for Justin and had a 1 yr Anniversary shoot – which we did in Northbridge.

This is a lovely doorway in Northbridge (yeah, it stank a little )

Swan Valley

I have been photographing this lovely lady for four years in the ‘Dancing World’ & she is lovely.  My daughter loves her to, because she also teaches at

Cathy Crooks Dance Center.  I can’t wait to photographer her at her wedding!

Swan Valley

Rachel has this internal beauty and it shines here.

Dancing Portrait Session

 This year I decided to do something different in the dance.  I held an entire day session at a studio, where my dancing clients booked in for

their half hour session.  So many of these gorgeous girls have up to 6 costumes that need to be photographed and they never seem to

get all of them done on the Dance Concert night.  So on an early Sunday morning I began.

I had so much fun!  I’ve decided that I should have been a dancer …. I knew all of the moves, and I’m sure I could get as high as Megan did (photograph below)

The ever talented Megan

My amazing relationship with Cathy Crooks started when I photographed her gorgeous daughter at First Holy Communion.

It was a snapshot moment when all the other girls had thier hands in prayer and looking towards the alter and she suddenly looked at me and smiled.

What a gorgeous shot it was.  I then went on to photograph Cathy’s new neice in her Christening and four years of Dance.

This is one of her daughters – but really, she has three beautiful children who are all individual and talented.

Cathy Crooks Dance Center

Mulberry Farm, Swan Valley

Oh my goodness, I loved this car – so much fun and so very very hot!

The Evans Family, Swan Valley

You would think that I must live in the Swan Valley, I don’t – but it’s so rich in places to shoot in.  I love this shot – it’s quiet and it’s full of love and companionship.

My new niece

I found something out this year.  You can have babies, but it’s not the same as being there when a baby is born.

I was lucky enough to be my SIL’s birth partner and what a beautiful experience.

Forever more, I will know that I was the first person to know what this little girl’s hair colour was going to be.

It was an amazing, enriching experience.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In the arms of her Dad

Sisters

The Parents

and .... The Dog

This was a gorgeous family from my local School Community.  They had won a sitting and I was very very lucky to have photographed them.

Such a beautiful family.

Amy

Amy + Dan, Riverbank Estate Winery

What can I say about this wedding in a few words.  Firstly the big question of the day was the weather, of course.  We had just had this huge amount of rainfall only days before and the worry was that the outstide Ceremony was going to get washed out.  How different it turned out!  It was a hot and sunny day and the clouds like above came in late in the afternoon creating a beautiful and glorious sunset.

Amy was the Blonde Bombshell with a dress to die for and a pair of sparkly heels.

Thier wedding ceremony was so full of emotion of love and tears from both of them.  Dan looked completely captivated by Amy.

Again, Holly – as always, an amazing second shooter.

My first born

My first daughter is so very different to my second.  Her emotions are all out in front and on display.  She is less complex but is far more emotional and intuitive.

"Yeah ... life is going to be different"

This image is probably one of my favourites because the dog looks so ….. mournful It’s like he knows that his life is going to change with this tiny sqirming little human that Dad & Mum gives all the attention to.

Brand New at 9 Days

What a darling little soul this was.  She didn’t fuss and just sat back and watch me take the images.

Parasols in the Park

Half of these girls are mine and the other half are my neices.  I love this shot!  Every single child has the perfect expression on her face and it’s so JOYFUL.

Blessed

I took these shots of my daughters one week before Christmas in my new Studio.  I can’t wait to actually start using it properly – it’s been a long journey with this studio due to multiple building problems { i.e. the builder taking our money and running} – but you get that and it’s almost finished now.

Good Luck to you all for 2012 and I can’t wait to see all my old clients and hopefully lots of new in the coming months.

Krystal

It was a lovely afternoon spent photographing these two people who are so obviously in love – thanks guys!

Your gallery will be up later today.

Krystal

Thank you to Holly from Holly Netto Photography – as usual Holly you were on your game and took some amazing images (one which I have included in this post)

Thank you to Sarah and Chris – your Gallery is HERE

This was Holly’s rocking image – she took some amazing stuff!

The gorgeous cake was made by Helene from Sweet Things Cake Couture

Michelle decided to surpise Justin with session just prior to thier anniversary 2nd honeymoon and we all decided a re-visit to the Graffiti wall in Northbridge that we went to on thier wedding day.

Yup, Michelle is still sexy and sassy and Justin is checking her out!

Yeah a bit of offbeat and I just felt like it!

Ah the romance and the beauty – you can almost forget that it smelt like vomit and stale alcohol

This wedding was like a big beautiful picnic with a wedding thrown in for entertainment.  There were games on tables, picnic blanket’s and a beautiful  and very much in love Prue and Blair.

Thank you for letting me share your lovely day!

Your Gallery is HERE.

There were gorgeous details everywhere like Scrabble tiles (my absolute favourite game)

I love the Fedora, it suited Blair down to the ground!

Prue  .  . . so beautiful.

This was their first look after getting into their finery.

Before the wedding, Prue & Blair did something unusal and fun – they went out and chatted with their guests.

It was such a casual and happy day.

After the ceremony, Prue & Blair and their dear friends went for a walk to get some gorgeous intimate photos.

A few of the ladies checking out the gorgeous 30kg cake.

Kelly’s place was much more bridal, dress hanging up, lip gloss being applied and beautiful hair in place.  Kelly has the most beautiful hazel eyes that want to be photographed.

Off to Peel Manor House for the ceremony and reception!  It was hot, very very hot by then – but Kelly remained beautiful throughout the ceremony and both of them looked very nervous

I hope that you both are having a brilliant time in Hawaii . . . why, oh why didn’t you want a photographer for the ‘after’ shots in Hawaii?

Thank you so much to Holly, from Holly Netto Photography.  One of her images is in the video below, and I loved it so much, I had to add it on (clue B & W at the sort of end)

Enjoy.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Krystal

I recently had a conversation with a Bride who said to me:

“I don’t know why photographers charge $1500 for one day’s work.  As soon as you put ‘wedding’ before anything, then they overcharge.  I don’t earn $1500 for my one day of work”

I had a feeling right there and then, that this is really the perception of the average person booking a wedding photographer.  And why not?  They don’t see any of the behind-the-scene’s- work and because they only see you on the wedding day then the perception becomes a reality.

So what do wedding photographers do then to earn all that cash?  Here’s a working wedding timeline for me (bearing in mind that I have no employee’s and all the work is done by me).

• I receive an inquiry, I answer it and then emails may go back and forth for a while:        1 hour
• I meet with my potential Bride & Groom                                                                                       2 hours
• Paperwork back and forth                                                                                                                 1 hour
• E Session shoot location scout                                                                                                          2 hours
• E Session                                                                                                                                                2 hours
• Proofing and Online Gallery Prep/Blog Post                                                                                4 hours
• Printing images                                                                                                                                    2 hours
• Wedding location scout                                                                                                                     2 hours
• More emails                                                                                                                                          1 hours
• Wedding Day                                                                                                                                       9 hours
• Blog post                                                                                                                                               4 hours
• Proofing, Proof Book, Online Gallery                                                                                            10 hours
• Viewing of images                                                                                                                               2 hours
• Emails                                                                                                                                                    1 hours

This equates to around 43 hours work = wait a moment, isn’t that now an entire weeks work in an office job?

I would now be paid $43/hr.  You might think . . . that’s not bad at all!  But wait, it doesn’t end there.  I might get paid $1500 for that time, but I have to also provide $20,000 worth of equipment, professional indemnity insurance and equipment insurance, internet, website, fuel, car, professional body fee’s, my assistants wage and so forth.

I’m now down to $20/hr . . . . . hmm . . . . what did you just pay your plumber to come and fix those leaks you had . . .$160 per hour?

So the important questions you need to ask yourself is this:

Do you spend money on a reputable and professional Wedding Photographer vs Spending $1000-1500 on a wedding cake? (where only half your guests will eat and no one will remember it)

Do you want beautiful photographs that even your Grandchildren will see and love vs Spending $4000 on a limo that you will have for four hours and then will never see it again (and in 50 yrs struggle to remember what kind of car it was)

I want to finish with a conversation I had with another person a little while ago:

I was asked my profession and I happily told her that I was a Wedding Photographer and immediately her face darkened and she replied,

“a wedding photographer? There are some seriously shonky wedding photographers out there!”

Uh oh, I thought, there is a story here that she needs to tell me, so I asked gently if she had had a bad experience

“oh yes!” she says “my sister paid $1500 and the photographer was completely unprofessional and the photo’s were terrible, she cries every time she looks at them”

My case in point.  Do yourself a favor and don’t make your photography budget $1500.

Emma’s house was similiar with activity, but instead of the Cricket they had Twilight {double yawn!}.  Emma is so photogenic and has this beautiful huge smile which lights up her entire face and eyes.  I loved the simplicity but elegance of her dress and with the touch of vintage with her Grandmother’s pearls.

The Church at Santa Maria’s College was brimming full with guests and beautiful young bridesmaids waiting for their turn to walk down the aisle and for a moment to be the center of attention.  We went on to Point Walter to the park above Point Walter at the Nurse’s Memorial Park.  Again beautiful, but boy it was hot hot hot.  Our final location took place in Fremantle and then it was onto the Fremantle Sailing Club for the reception.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day and a big thanks to Nils from Fig Tree Photography {as usual you were a star!}

Thank you also to my gorgeous couple Emma + Ben for being so patient – Christmas got in the way!!

Ben’s Dad quickly catching up on his speech

I love this one of Ben, he’s got his back to the Cricket and looking very pensive.

Handsome gorgeous men!!

Yes, I know . . . back to the Cricket!

Ahh the proud Mum!

Look at that amazing painting . . . it’s done by either Emma’s Mum or Grandmum (I’m sorry I honestly can’t remember which one – they are both very very talented)

The bracelet was a gift from her darling Ben.

Isn’t she amazing . . . her smile lights up her face and makes her eyes sparkle.

Sorry, I couldn’t help it – she needs another to image just to prove I’m right!

{Ben I’m sure you will agree!)

Can I just say how much I LOVE buttons – god it’s just so much easier than lace-ups!

These little girls looked so hot and yet no tears – they were absolutely fantastic!

OMG . . . blown away with yet another huge smile!

This was the moment when Ben saw Emma . . . . you can see the amazing intensity in his eyes of viewing his beautiful bride for the first time.

Thank you to my gorgeous and amazing assistant Nils for taking this image.  It’s hard to be in two places and that’s why I make sure I have someone who is an equally talented and professional photographer helping me.

What a gorgeous ceremony at Santa Maria Church.

Thank you again to Nils from Fig Tree Photography for taking this amazing image!

This was taken on the grounds of Santa Maria College.  I loved the arch ways!

The park at Point Walter is beautiful.  Some of it is dedicated to the nurses that fought in the WWII.

Oh lordy it was getting hot at the park and it wasn’t because of all of those gorgeous men to the left of the screen, although I’m sure at least one of the girls above would disagree!

So it was getting a little to hot, so we headed down to Fremantle to photograph in the lovely buildings owned by Notre Dame College.

What can I say . . . I told the girls to grab Ben’s bum and the boys to kiss Emma.

This was taken at the Fremantle Sailing Club.  The function room was gorgeous and the view was the above.

All of these girls were so lovely and helped make the day really special and fun!

The Chocolate Cake which was masquerading as a wedding cake was the most luscious cake I think I’ve seen.

Every.Rose.Swirl.was.Chocolate

Yum

Amazing

Tempting to steal one of the roses, if I could have got away with it.

I didn’t….

Thank you to both of you – it was a beautiful day!

Krystal

I had some beautiful and varied weddings last year and I wanted to show you a glimpse while I’m on holiday!

Happy New Year to everyone!

P.S. Watch the movie big, it’s even better!

Click here to view the embedded video.

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