The Tougas Family / Candid Fremantle Family Photography

Families, Keepsake Sessions

March 17, 2020

I always know a family portrait session will go well when one of the kids starts out by wanting to show me a trick, and that was exactly how it went for the Tougas’ Candid Fremantle Family Photography session earlier this year. We met in front of New Edition book store, on High Street, and the boys kicked it off by jumping off of park benches and pulling funny faces at me and my camera. Where I often spend the first half-hour of a shoot making friends with the kids, these little ones weren’t worried in the slightest! It was the best start that I could imagine.

But what is Candid Family Photography?

Candid photography is all about trying to capture moments as they are, unscripted and without directing specific poses. Showcasing those honest, real and raw moments is exactly what drew me to photography in the first place!

I like capturing people’s personalities, I like telling a family’s story (or a couple’s or a business’s) one frame at a time. I aim to take photos that you can look back at and feel like you’re truly seeing yourself, in all the best ways. This is especially important when photographing families, when your kids are constantly changing and growing and revealing different facets of their personalities. So I encourage the madness, I try to get a moment with each of you, to ask questions or crack jokes while my camera shutter works tirelessly.

Of course, I’ll always work with you to get that shot that you can put on the fridge and send to grandparents, of everyone looking and smiling at the camera, but we won’t stop there!

Documentary family photography is about capturing your family as they are, not just the happy moments. It’s about the frustrations at younger siblings, the laughter, the cheeky antics and the absolute horror of parents who try to steal a lick of your ice-cream!

Fremantle Family Photography

My biannual trips home to Australia never feel right unless I’ve had the chance to do a shoot in Fremantle. Luckily, Fremantle makes the perfect backdrop for Candid Family Photography. Fremantle’s old streets are filled with character while the beach is an easy walk away. There are endless different backgrounds to play with, especially for little people who get bored rather easily.

The Tougas kids had a ball running away from waves at Bathers Beach, rolling down grass hills at the Esplanade and jumping off of stairways in front of heritage buildings. Not to mention, Kuld Creamery made for the perfect spot to pause as they eagerly ate ice-cream that quickly melted all over little faces and hands.

The evening I spent with Bec, an amazing stylist and the woman behind Object Union, her husband, Mike, and their three rumble-tumble kids was seriously lovely. And hopefully, they love looking back at these photos as the years go by, remembering these moments frozen in time.

Why You Should Invest in Family Photos

If you can, I really encourage you to invest in candid family portrait sessions with a photographer who you trust and whose work you connect with. Whether you shoot at home, your favourite park or cafe, or wherever else your family loves to spend time together! Personally, whenever I rediscover old photos of my brothers & I, it always brings on a hit of heady nostalgia and gratefulness for our wild childhood. I just wish we had more photos with all 6 of us, because Mum & Dad were always behind the camera!

If you’d like to chat some more, get in touch via my contact form! Or you might enjoy checking out some more family photos over here!

A family portrait with Mum, Dad, two boys and a girl, sitting on some steps. The boys are hugging their Mum and the girl is sitting at her Dad's feet. Two candid family photos, side-by-side, of a family of five sitting on some steps in Fremantle. A black and white wide family photo or two boys playing on stairs. Their sister stands on the left side of the photo watching on. A portrait-oriented family portrait - the family of 5 are standing in a portico with dark grey-blue walls and patterned tiled floors. Two side-by-side images of a Mum and Dad taken in the porch of a Fremantle building during their candid family photo session. On the left, a wide shot with one of their kids shoes just entering in the frame on the left, on the right, a black & white close up photo of the couple. Three side-by-side images from a Candid Fremantle Family Portrait session with kids jumping off the lower walls of a heritage building's porch. A portrait of a family of five, sitting in the archways of an old building in Fremantle, the two boys sitting with their Mum on the left side, and the girl sits with her Dad on the right. Candid Fremantle Family Photography of a child climbing the metal beams that line a big glass window. His reflection is mirrored in the window. A candid portrait taken in Fremantle of a family walking towards a setting sun, with heritage buildings in the background. Candid family photos of three siblings playing on rocky outcrops looking over Bathers Beach, Fremantle. Landscape family portrait taken in Fremantle of a family walking down a small laneway together. Side-by-side photos of three kids, surrounded by greenery, looking up and laughing at their parents. Natural Family Photos taken on Bathers Beach, Fremantle, of a brother and sister running away from waves. Two side-by-side portraits of a Mum and Dad swinging their youngest son along the beach in Fremantle. Three side-by-side portraits of three siblings, each photo being of one sibling. On the left, the youngest boy stands in shadows cast by a gate, in the middle photo, the middle child looks pensively at the camera, on the right, the oldest puts her shoes on while sitting on a rail. A black and white natural family photo of a girl climbing up an angled limestone wall. Candid Fremantle Family Photography of a Dad sitting on a park bench, surrounded by his three children - one hanging off of his shoulder, on sitting putting her shoes on, and one sitting talking to him. A portrait-oriented photo of a family of five standing on the beach, surrounded by trees, with golden light in the background. Two side-by-side black and white, natural portraits of a Mum and Dad walking through the Esplanade Park in Fremantle with their children. Three photos, side-by-side, of a boy talking and using his hands expressively during a candid family portrait session. A close-up portrait of a young boy looking seriously at the camera, holding an ice cream cone, with ice cream on his lips and melting down his chin. Two photos, side-by-side, of a brother and sister eating ice cream at Kuld Creamery in Fremantle. A candid Fremantle family photo of two brothers eating ice cream from Kuld Creamery in Fremantle, one looking upset and pulling his ice cream away from his Dad, who's reaching over to try his ice cream. A natural portrait of a family of 5 walking through the streets of Fremantle, with two of the kids and the Dad eating ice creams. Black and white family portrait of a family of five standing, leaning against a building. A portrait of a family of five sitting on a grassy hill at the Esplande Park, Fremantle, with a ferris wheel in the background. Four photos, telling the story of a girl crying and being comforted by her parents - she goes from looking sad to laughing at her Mum and Dad over the course of the photos. A natural family portrait of a Dad, hugging his two sons who are both laughing. Two brothers, lie on a grassy hill at the Fremantle Esplanade Park, smiling at the camera. Candid Fremantle family photography of a Mum holding her daughter in her arms, as the two of them laugh.