These pictures were taken at Xavier’s dedication ceremony. We photographed Xaviers mum’s pregnancy & then Xaviers newborn shots, so it was fitting to be asked to photograph his dedication. Quite possibly this could turn into ‘project Xavier’ – a life in pictures

For those who don’t know what a ‘dedication’ is, I will attempt to explain it in my own words: A dedication is a Christian ceremony, where parents promise to raise their child in Gods ways & pray for Gods guidance in doing so. Along with thankfulness for their child, the parents recognise their responsibility in raising a child to know God and his ways, until the child can make their own decision . The people present are usually asked to be a source of guidance to the child over the years. The formalities are not over the top other than some words from a pastor or minister, a pledge from the parents and some prayer for the child. It is not a required ceremony, but more a personal choice and sometimes they take place in a church, but they also happen in back yards or parks. One of my favourite shots is one of all the guests where you can see that all the children sitting on the ground have their eyes closed praying.

We doubled as guests at this one, so you may recognise my children in the ‘crowd’, including Anouk working hard as my second shooter. Funny story…. during the ceremony, I turned around & she had the back up camera in hand & she was snapping away intently. When it came to editing the pictures, I forgot that a bunch of the pictures had been taken by my 3 year old & I actually had a moment scrolling through where I couldn’t believe how bad my photography was! I was seriously questioning my ability, until I finally saw myself in the pictures & remembered that Anouk had taken them…… well at least I hope those blurry shots of peoples knees were hers! … I was drinking some bubbles.

Liv & Mike, thank you for the honour of photographing such a special day. Xavier is adorable!

This was an interesting job, with a couple of small challenges. Firstly I am allergic to dogs, but that didn’t stop me attending woof-fest 2012 when Western Sydney Parklands  hired us as the official photographers for the event. Also it had rained heavily in the week leading up to the event and the grounds were wet and muddy, but that didn’t stop me getting down on the ground to get close to our little subjects, so lets just say that the shoes and the clothes I wore to this job had to make their way to the bin the next day. Also it was extremely bright & sunny which was not ideal for photography. Thankfully I love a challenge & I enjoy documenting events. My sneezes aside, the dogs were adorable all basking in their very own day out. There was puppy face painting, dog washing, stalls with dog related products, fun competitions and demonstration teams. RSPCA inspectors & education officers also attended. Surrounded by over 1,000 people attending the event, aimed at raising awareness of Western Sydney Parklands off-leash area available to dog owners, I felt a little out of place holding a camera instead of a much loved dog. At one point Pete & I walked past a stall and we were offered a ‘Pet Barn’ promotional bag & Pete said, “No thanks, we don’t have a pet”, I think the lady was speechless. It probably wasn’t a line she expected to hear at woof-fest. I quickly covered by adding, “but my mum does” & took a bag so we didn’t look too strange. Honestly I thought this event was a great idea. I am a fan of anything that brings people & community together. I think these dogs will happily bring their owners back next year.