Annie la Rue Photography

happy birthday zo bags!  I can’t believe you have been shining your gorgeous light for two years already… all I can say is “ohh wooooow”!  you will always be my second favourite subject!   see you soon and be good to your mummy, she deserves it….

Lots of hugs and kisses from freya frog & annie. xxxxx

The name sounded familiar but when I walked through the door I instantly remembered…I had met Tilley’s mother a long long time ago…a lifetime really, I had worked with her for at my very first interior design firm.  It was only a short time, it was work experience whilst I was still at uni, so yes a lifetime ago!  one thing I did remember is how lovely she was,  so sweet and kind.  Well as they say and in this case it’s true…the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree…

This is Tilley…you just spend a little bit of time with her and soon see…she has such a lovely spirit.  So tender and sweet.. she’s a gentle observer, taking the whole world in with those beautiful big blue eyes, that darling smile and her serene little soul.

After Charlene’s session I received an email from her mum, Patricia saying… it was lovely to finally meet, it was like we were long distance penpals who finally got to meet…and that’s exactly how it was.  I received my first email from Patricia many many months ago, well last year in fact; she wanted to buy her husband a gift voucher as a surprise gift for their baby who had not long arrived…and that’s how it started.  We had a few failed attempts at meeting up and many emails across the seas and from there a lovely friendship formed.  I really do have the best clients in the world!  and in truth as much as I love photography, it’s the people that get me every time!

And so this is Charlene…those beautiful brown almond eyes and perfect skin and  let’s not forget about that dribble…I love it!  I have many parents asking me…can you clean up the dribble…and i will reluctantly do it… I love baby dribble.  To me it’s so what a baby is all about, when will you ever again have the excuse?!…so dribble away young things, It’ll always make my day.

Oh my how I love brunette girls in red dresses… if you are into girly girls the clothes at Chateau de Sable are too gorgeous.  Just like this little number Charlene has on… Oh they also have divine winter coats!

Oh If your looking for me I’m in Singapore… x

I love a birthday bash and loved Hana’s.  I last photographed Hana when she was an itty bitty newborn and it was amazing to see how she had grown in a year.  You can see a little glimpse of her on the right here…

Hana delicately ate the strawberries from the top of her cake and then required a bit of encouragement of the mummy plough her hands into it kind before she got the idea but I think you can see she got there…

If your wondering where Hana gets her divine looks from her mummy is Kiwi (New Zealander that is…) and dad Japanese… both talented architects but Hana is their best creation so far!  I mean seriously she is dee-vine and a sweetie to boot!

Love the icing you can see flying here…

…and the salute to the cake gods!  hooray!

This post is a bit of a tease as sadly I no longer offer this type of first birthday bash in the pink palace as I no longer shoot in a studio but if you have a nice plain background and lots of light you could give this a go anywhere like we did for Finn here.

(Yoshi and Yvette it is WAY overdue but hope you finally enjoy, before Hana turns two! xx)

from the minute I walked in the door these guys were funnnn!  I mean like crazy fun! I think you only have to take a look at their session to get the idea.

The problem (I should say challenge…) was it was pouring rain this afternoon… good ole Singaporean tropical down pour but that didn’t dampen these guys spirits.  This family is just full of happy juice, it was oozing! We laughed, we jumped, they tickled, they rumbled…and we even manged to break a bed…oopps!  it was madness…just like any good family session should be!

hello how gorgeous btw are these children…..?? something tells me it’s in the genes…

thanks guys for bringing the magic, I had a ball!  I hope Olivia found somewhere to sleep!

I meet these gorgeous two in Canberra.  Kate and Christine; only 3 & 1 but already best friends for life!  Kate and I had a ball playing little people while we were waiting for Christine to wake up… I thought I was a good playmate but turns out her little sister is the one that really makes her laugh!  These two together are a like a perfect ying and yang, two halves of the team.

Couldn’t you just fall into those beautiful brown eyes…? they are just like pools of milk chocolate!

Thank you Kerrie for being soooo patient!

oh my, prepare to fall in love….  Meet James jnr or Pan Pan as he is known to his nearest and dearest…what a heartbreaker.

I had the pleasure of meeting this little man just as he woke up for a day of ….well whatever one and a half year old little boys do…enjoy some cuddles; some rumbles; tickles with daddy; cuddles with mummy;  watching out the window for a bit of truck and bus spotting and just generally keeping busy…and not in the one spot for very long….  His mum told me his smiles are very hard to capture on camera…I think I must have caught him on a good day this day….

He is as beautiful in spirit as below and I have high predictions for this little man; he is going to break some hearts!

I LOVE this shot when Grandma came for a family shot!  It tells all…

Ok, I’ll admit as I drove away I did my sums to work out if one day Freya could be Mrs Pan Pan but maybe that’s one heart I should save!

whaa these two were just too cute!  I was so lucky to spend a Sunday morning hanging out with Olivia & James; brother and sister, so obviously from the same gene pool of gorgeousness.

I am coming back to write more about these two cuties but am running off to catch a plane to Singapore and rushed this out as a special surprise for their mum and nanny.

btw….warning slow posts for the next two weeks… be back soon!

It’s something you grow up thinking, wow wouldn’t it be great to have twins??…well I did…as I’ve mentioned before, my childhood best friends were twins, so I definitely thought it was pretty cool.  But when you have your first child you realise your insanity!  Wow, if I could have a dollar for every time I have thought whilst battling my lone child, oh my, imagine if I’d had twins! Parenthood gives you a HUGE admiration for any parent of ANY combination of multiple births!

But I must say…with flashes of insanity… these two did really made me think again…and wow they are soooo worth it!

Sophie & Rebecca were one day short of their first birthday… they are twins, of course they do everything together but I was amazed…  These two share more than their identical blonde locks and baby blues;  they amazingly seem to even achieve their milestones together; sitting on the same day and taking their first steps together.  But it is amazing the different personalities that shone through.  They are just a delight.

I was so thankful Sophie and Rebecca were dressed in two different colour dresses and Caroline, I apologise again for the number of times I had to clarify…now Sophie is in blue…? no pink!   But I something makes me think you might get used to that question…  Twice blessed, double delight!

for those of you who haven’t been…Singapore is green… and lush… nearly everywhere you look.  It’s one of the things I love about it.  But of course, the other things that go hand in hand with green and lush are HOT…and HUMID!  And if you want to hang outside you know you need to  do it EARLY…  there is not better place to hang out early than the Botanic Gardens.  I love going early in the mornings on my morning walk and watching all the oldies and no so old doing their morning tai chi (taiji) and wushu, (I’m always so inspired by their fitness and flexibility, sickening really…!!), maids walking the dogs, aunties out for a stroll 5 abreast the footpath, and the super fit joggers leaving a pool of perspiration with each plod…it’s a real melting pot.

That was the scene this early morning;  but I have to confess in the serene surroundings I was struggling…I’ll admit it was the first time in a long time but I was…to the point of near panic!  Sweet Shirlyn was a very tough nut to crack.

I sung, I danced…it sounds a little crazy but I will do whatever it takes… (let her pick the botanic garden flowers! living by the photographers mantra easier to ask forgiveness than permission…).  It took what seemed like for ever for her to warm to this strange person following her family around with that big camera.  So I called in the reserves, mummy & daddy… and I have to say it works every time…

These are the photos I just love capturing…the interaction…the connection…the sheer joy… the magic of family.

…and when it happened it was a smile worth waiting for!