Our photographer was Kate Vickery. She takes newborn photos, maternity shots and family portraits.
She also does 'Shine' sessions.
Kate's Shine sessions are for families who have someone with special needs.
Kate's sister has Angelman's Syndrome. She has very few family photos from her childhood. When she asked her mum about it, her mum explained that with her disabilities, Kate's sister might not have smiled at the camera. Having so few family photos made Kate sad. As a professional photographer, she noticed she rarely got asked to photograph families with someone who has special needs. She noticed no other photographers seemed to have many photos of people with disabilities.
And, she wanted to change that.
Kate wants everyone to have beautiful family photos, whether there is a disability in the family or not.
From Kate's website:
These sessions will be called "Shine Sessions" in the hopes to shine a light on photography for those with special needs. My aim is to also raise money, while raising awareness... every little bit counts.
75% of the session fee, and a portion of the print sales will go to the charity that is the closest to your heart (you just need to let me know which one.) Family members can also book a Shine Session, and take advantage of donating to a cause, and getting some beautiful photos while they're at it.
The Shine sessions will generally allow for any special considerations that may need to be made, to take into account the health, safety, happiness and well being of all involved. As these families generally have higher needs, these sessions work around your time frames.
~ We are able to have several meet and greets in the lead up to the day of your session, to plan the finer details and to create a familiarity with me.
~ Unlimited session times. This is to allow for a very relaxed, slow paced session to make sure everyone is comfortable and to allow time for any medical treatments, medication breaks, rests or meal times.
Getting good photos of me takes a lot of time. (And, dozens of attempts!) My cerebral palsy means I have trouble smiling. My smile doesn't look like most smiles. I often have trouble keeping my head still and usually can't 'look' at the camera. I often have trouble keeping my head up, too.
Working with Kate was amazing. Everyone felt so relaxed. She didn't care what we wore, and my Noisy Sister chose our clothes. Kate played with the girls and made them feel safe. She also let them play with her cameras, checking out all of the photos of themselves. She made sure there were photos of all of us, in all combinations; just the girls, the girls and Mum, the girls and Dad, Mum and I, Dad and I, the three kids and all of us together. She was amazing with me. She cheered for me, when I was standing and she was proud when I held my head up... So, I tried even harder to listen to her.
We didn't know Kate before this. Now, we think she is amazing and we love her Shine Sessions idea. If you are in the Illawarra and have been afraid to get family portraits, because someone has a disability and might not want to sit and smile, contact Kate Vickery Photography. Kate chased after my sisters, following their lead, playing hide and seek and being so patient. She made me feel proud. And, from the few photos we saw on her camera, we know she got some truly beautiful photos.
We will definitely share some of them with you.
Until then, head over to the Kate Vickery Photography website or facebook page. She is on instagram, too. Give her a cheer, look at her photos and perhaps you will book her for a photo session, too.
Mobile: +61 424 333 763
Email: [email protected]