TITLE: Sophia's Gaze

Sophia is an intriguing eight year old with a penchant for vintage things. She has never modelled or had her photograph taken in a studio before. Sophia does not like combing her hair so a battle ensued when her mother informed her that I had requested washed and tidy tresses. She won and unsurprisingly, her best photos were the ones where she wore a hat!

AUTHOR: Catherene Cook (New Zealand)

I love creating images and have dabbled in photography for many years. This year finally, I decided to take the plunge and start a business as a children's portrait photographer. Even though I have always been drawn the portraiture, it really came together for me when I discovered strobes and light modifiers. The ability to manipulate light allowed me to be even more involved in the process of creating images of people and deciding how I wanted them to be portrayed. Together with lightroom and photoshop, I am able to create the exact colour, texture and tone that I desire my images to have. These are aspects of photography that I really enjoy. What I like about working with children is the challenge of coaxing something unexpected; perhaps profound or fathomless in their expressions. Aside from portraiture, I enjoy taking moody compositions of flowers and nature.