family portraits

Stephen Walker

Hi everyone, I am the owner and lead photographer at Family Portraits Brisbane. I picked up my first camera when I was 13 in junior high school and with the exception of a few detours along the way have been a photographer ever since. I worked in a commercial studio in Vancouver, Canada for 5 years before going out on my own. After immigrating to Brisbane in 1994 I shot commercial work for 10 years before I decided that my real passion lay in photographing people. Portraits and weddings became the focus of the business and I haven't looked back. As Grapeshot Studios I shoot over thirty weddings a year and FPB shoots portraits pretty much every week of the year. I can't say I have had this much fun making photographs since I started over thirty five years ago. Thanks for checking out the page. 69,109,97,105,108liamE if you have a question or would like to have a chat. I am always keen to talk to people. Cheers, Stephen.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Katharine, Cameron and Will

I met the Lanham clan out in beautiful Samford Valley a few weeks ago for their portrait sitting on a sunny March afternoon. The weather was perfect with a few clouds scudding across the sky and the ducks and geese walking along the water’s edge. The three of them wandered through the field and sat down by the lake and chatted away while I snapped a few frames off. We continued on our merry way up through the path to the forest and continued to make some magic images of the family, each of the individually and Kath and Cameron as couple for their engagement sitting. The day ended with the loving couple standing in the sun by the lake just cuddling. Aaaah – isn’t love grand! Hope you like the pics. Cheers, Stephen

no comments

add a comment

link to this post

email a friend

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Beautiful Ella

She just keeps getting prettier by the day. Beautiful Ella is the first born of one my wedding clients, James and Sarah from a couple years ago. We have the pleasure and honor of making family portraits of her. I am constantly amazed at how kids grow and change so quickly. These shots of Ella show how much she transformed from the bump in Sarah’s tummy to the sweet little girl she is now. Hope you love them. Cheers, Stephen

no comments

add a comment

link to this post

email a friend

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Pet portraiture or petraiture

Recently we had a model come into the studio for a portrait session. Summer had never been in a studio before, but she was a natural. Her golden hair shimmered under the lights as she tilted her head slightly and gazed at the camera with those wide, shining hazel eyes.

Perfect!

Afterwards, I went to congratulate her on a great session. She turned her head and licked me from my chin to my forehead…. and then began to wag her tail.

Whoever said you should never work with kids and pets obviously had a bad day. Since Grapeshot Studios started its Pet Portraits photography sessions, we’ve had a ball photographing some amazing pets and their owners! We’ve met Lola, the curious rat; Louie, the one-eyed shop cat; the aforementioned Summer; and many other lovely, loving pets and their owners.

Our Pet Portraits started after a client requested it for her spoodle Pepsi. We were delighted –and a little surprised! –it was a fun, happy session. It left the humans with faces smiling and the canine with tail wagging.

It got us thinking: to many owners, a pet is a member of the family. Some people I know even call dogs ‘furkids.’ We decided they should be honored the same way. After all, most people are proud to display a museum-quality portrait of their kids…why not their ‘furkids’?

Each Pet Portraits session is just like a photo shoot with humans: we do a little grooming to make the ‘model’ looks his/her best, choose a backdrop, and find the ideal lighting. Then we’ll use our expertise (and a little bit of magic) to capture your pet’s personality and charm…and sometimes a bit of drool.

We encourage pet owners to get in there, too – it’s a lot of fun seeing a happy pet and owner exchanging hugs and kisses for the camera!

Back in the studio, Summer’s owner was so thrilled with her Pet Portraits that she had them framed and hung over the sofa in her living room.

But for me…well, that final wet kiss was satisfaction enough.

Tags: family, pets, portraits, studio

no comments

add a comment

link to this post

email a friend

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Caitlin and Jacob

Russell and Jacinta came in with their two beautiful children, Caitlin and Jacob for their first portrait sitting. The kids were great considering it was their first time in a studio. I grabbed this shot just after Russell lay Jacob down on the pillow and the look on Jacob’s face is priceless, “Do I have to be here?!” This is going to be a nice big print in the kid’s playroom. Maybe it will come out at a 21st?