set your alarm to go off every 30 min from the moment you wake till the moment you go to bed…

each time the alarm goes off photograph what you see…

it was a very interesting project, a little snippet of all the day to day things that happen around here that seem so insignificant at the time.  definitely something i will be doing once a month, and i have a few little variations i am going to try out…

if you give it a try, please be sure to check back with me and let me know so i can check out your pics
(all these pics were taken with hipstamatic for iPhone and originally shared via instagram.)

Jen is a Newcastle gal, studying Nutritional Medicine and writing a very informative blog along the ways…  check it out here…  she is also a lovely past bride of mine from a few years ago

floral art by Sapphire Designs

hair and makeup by Tranzformations

a collaboration of some very wonderful people…

model: my gorgeous daughter Liana

photography: renee bell | photographer (that’s me!! lol)

floral art: Rach at Sapphire Designs

hair and makeup: Josie at Tranzformations

Liana’s clothing:  pettiskirts from Princess Ratbag, singlet from eeni meeni miini moh, belt from Allanah Hill

big thank you also to Jen and Bec for helping out on the day!

and a little behind the scenes action…  little models get tired sometimes!!

do you want to collaborate on our next project??  looking for clothing and accessory designers.  please email studio@reneebellphotographer.com.au to chat

here is what Kathryn had to say!

Wow, wow, wow, you are a magician Renee! Realistically, I have grey hair, wrinkles and a little extra padding and on most days feel frumpy and ‘just a mum’.

However, these images made me see the part of me that I rarely feel or see - the happy girl inside. I don’t look at my flaws in these photos, but the great feelings that you helped invoke. I love them so much, and I know that Linden and the girls will love them too. Thank you so much

view Kathryn’s slideshow HERE

from her 12 week announcement shoot, right up until 38 weeks… check out Kate’s journey through pregnancy below…

and then meet her new little bundle, Spencer!

and the little man… Spencer at 4 days old…

and 2 weeks old…

here is an email that Kate sent me just after her last maternity shoot…

Just want to say a HUGE thank you Renee, for capturing one of the most special times in my life ? It’s hard to believe it’s been 9 months since we started this journey and i’m so so so happy with the results of all of photos. I really think every woman should do this when they are pregnant. It’s amazing to look back on and i’m sure in the years to come i will appreciate it even more!
You have been an absolute pleasure to work with, both professionally and on a friendship level. Your work is quick and amazing and i cannot wait for you to capture our new baby when it’s time xoxox

are you interested in documenting your pregnancy journey in this way??  i am currently looking for 1-2 ladies to take part in this project in 2012 so please get in touch to discuss details if you are in the early stages of pregnancy and almost ready to make your announcement at approx 12 weeks…

contact me here ~ i look forward to hearing from you !!

madly scrambling to work out a wall that i can have a massive print of this on.  canvas or metallic print i wonder?

and… i have an idea.  a big idea!  stay tuned

happy monday, friends!

you can view Anna’s full slideshow here

and here is the text message Anna sent me after viewing the slideshow the first time…

Renee… OMG these are so incredibly beautiful! I am lost for words!!  Yep me = no words, unusual

Seriously, I am sitting here with the hugest smile and tears rolling!! You have captured me I think perfectly!!!  Not one is my favorite – they all are!!!  Wow!!  This collection is going to be so treasured.

I think my favorite of favorites is the 1st one of me with blue scarf in the doorway of that room.  Stunning.  I think I’d be happy to see myself in that pic everyday large on the wall.  I really love the colour, the way I’m sitting, the shadow, the feeling.

Oh Renee – you are incredibly talented!!!  Bloody awesome xxx

chatting about love, life, and everything in between… a fabulous meal, exploring The Rocks in Sydney, a beautiful view and some photos…  i couldn’t have asked for a better night, or a new friend who was more fun, funny, and fabulous!  what a way to forget my jetlag!

i got home the next day to this email from Lisa.  it is long, but well worth the read!  i love that i can allow a space for such amazing people to see their own beauty.  to document their lives…  Lisa says how she felt much better than i can, so take a read, and check out the images at the end…

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello hello hello! You are fast becoming my very own personal photographer and I am loving it!  Mostly because it is not just about the camera, not just about the photo, not just about whether my crazy hair is sitting in just the right place.

As I am sure most women feel at times, placing ourselves firmly behind the camera becomes a safe place from which to capture the world around us.  Life experience, a little wisdom and a lot of self love has allowed me to venture out from behind the camera lately.  I knew that I would only want to venture out in front of the big scary lens with the right person, with the photographer whose style and depth of talent I felt a sense of connection.

Renee your style has always ‘spoken to me’ and the world of social media, blogging and connecting online (where I spend most of my nights whilst my toddler is tucked in bed and dreaming) is where I first came across your work.  As a bit of a fuss pot with most things in life, including champagne, music and photography – there are only a handful of photographers who I took the steps to make contact with when I first decided to be brave and get in front of the camera with my little man.

After taking that first leap into our beautiful Mother/Son Beloved shoot late last year and spending the weeks following in awe of our images I was SO excited to explore a little further and have a solo shoot.  (Excited plus slightly scared, thoughts running through my mind included ‘how on earth was I going to cope on my own in front of the camera with nobody to distract me from my nerves!)  But then there was the thought of having my 38 year old self frozen in time, in a way that I knew would truly show ME, and that was quite serendipitous, and a little bit spooky as well. 

Losing my Mother when she was only 48, and in fact actually only 38 when she had the car accident that changed my life forever, has been on my mind a lot lately.

On my mind because I am that exact age that she was when the accident took her from us for the first time through her brain injury.

On my mind because the accident happened in the month of December.

On my mind because her 60th birthday would have been this Boxing Day.

On my mind because she died in the month of January.

Spending the hours that we did together in our beautiful city last night was a little bit surreal.

When you asked me to describe myself with words that started with each letter of the alphabet I instantly knew that this shoot was meant to happen at this exact moment in time, in my life.

One of the ways that I have always dealt with anxiety and in particular at night, is to do just that, think of a word to describe myself using each letter of the alphabet.  It was as though I had been practicing for your question all this time…

A is for authentic, B is for brave, C is for compassionate, D is for driven…

There were moments as your questions lifted the edges off my firmly guarded thoughts when I instinctively prepared a response in my usual orderly style.  I loved the chance to sit, stare and speak when prompted…  The story of my life is usually written in my own words, carefully crafted with accompanying images mostly of others.  Thanks to you I now feel much more at peace with including pictures of myself in the story!

Lisa xxx

if you want to watch Lisa’s slideshow – you can see it here

follow me on facebook here

hairdresser, brunch, an inpromptu photo shoot, shopping, and pedicures…  perfect day!!

[both wearing our new christmas sunglasses too ]

all images shot with Fuji x100

view Lennox’s slideshow HERE

a little behind the scenes action from a shoot a few weeks back… Liana being photographed by the fabulous Elise from LeCoco

see Benjamin’s full slideshow here

though i do have plenty of stories to tell, i very much prefer to tell them in person, or even better, just in my own head

so, i have been wondering what to write as a prelude to this slideshow of images and ~~~ i got nothin!  i honestly think that there is nothing to say other than please sit back for a moment, the video will take about 5 min to run and just watch.  feel.  experience. listen (there is music, so check the volume of your speakers before clicking!)

get to know Elise.  a wonderfully amazing, beautiful person – inside and out.

and if you have a moment, please stop back and tell me what you think.  how would you introduce this set of images?  what do you see in Elise?  i would absolutely love to hear from all my lovely friends out there watching, reading, listening…

you can view Elise’s slideshow here

do you want to find out more about these [indulge] sessions?  the new website is coming soon, and in the meantime you can contact me here to chat!

this little guy was in no great hurry to enter the world, arriving well after his due date and delaying his family’s plans to move to another town… from what i hear, all settled now in Mudgee and i am excited to get their print order to them ready to hang in their new home

an adventure to get to this place… in many ways.

excited to share more of Elise soon…

UPDATE: see the full slideshow here

anyways, back to the point!  christmas is coming! well apparently so, according to all the facebook status updates i keep seeing…   facebook now groups the news feed to all the people who are currently talking about christmas (and other ‘important events), in case you were curious to see at a quick glance who is ready and already relaxing with champers in hand, who has brought themselves more presents than the rest of the family and who is currently cursing A Post for delaying their present deliveries (and causing much stress for those who thought that online shopping was going to be the easy way out), and those who cant believe it is possibly close to christmas since the current weather would have us assuming it is July…

i am still in denial that it is even december. let alone the 9th of deceber.  which means only a week left of school. 16 days till christmas. the shops are already too busy to even consider that a park might be available by the front door. or on the top floor in the sun.  christmas cards – well, lets say that i will order them soon for 2012.  in about september i thought about them… had some fantastic ideas for photo shoots and very fun cards from Liana and i… but crazy to think about christmas then – too far away.  and i forgot about it till now.  whoops!

so, back to the taurus thing…. usually, if i find something i like i’m a little bit stubborn and i stick to it… like forever.  so we have had aqua and silver and purple christmas for a while now… i like it.  it’s pretty.  it’s not red and green (because that would be too predictable – i like a bit of random..) and i have all the stuff.  those tiny little tree decorations are pretty pricey so i’m not real keen on buying a new set every year just to change colours…  so aqua/ silver/ purple it is

that said, it’s december the 9th right… 16 days till christmas. probably should think about putting the tree up soon-ish.  before there is no point…  which reminds me – is there a service to come and hang lights out the front?  because Liana would like them up apparently. and i would like to click my fingers and have them appear, just like magic!  and no, i’m not the christmas grinch.  i quite like christmas.  just this year i am not ready yet!  and untangling chrismtas lights is never fun.  ever.

so, for all my lovely readers – a peek at some of the christmas goodies i have here… maybe if you aren’t ready, and you are looking for some ideas they might help.  if you are organised, then feel free to take a peek anyways…

these adorable xmas tree lollipops to use as out place settings are from Lily Chic and they smell DIVINE.  strawberries and cream flavour!! i wonder if anyone will notice one is missing, i may need to sample one very soon…  sugar swizzle sticks from sugar rush and the silver tree and reindeer embellishments are from spotlight

i’d love to hear what colour themes you are all planning for christmas this year… post below in the comments if you want to share…

happy friday friends!!