A photographer with a difference!

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from a lady in Melbourne, Australia, named Larissa Hill.

 

Larissa is a photographer, but not just any photographer, she specialises in photographing children with special needs and their families.

I thought this was such a fantastic idea that I asked her to send me some information about it, and I thought I’d share what she sent me with you.

At the end of this article, Larissa has kindly given a very special offer just for My Special Child Readers.

 

Larissa Hill Photography – The journey so far!

Written by photographer Larissa Hill

 

Where it all began

I first discovered photography at a very young age. I was around 13 when my dad handed down to me his very first SLR camera that he purchased with his first pay cheque. Yes this was a film camera and I’ve rarely been without a camera in my hand ever since!

Being a self taught photographer using film I have really been able to explore photography and go where my eye takes me. Back in the day photographing with film, we didn’t have the luxury we have today to check each photo after it has been taken to make sure the exposure is right.

Much of my photography over the years had been of nature, landscapes and environmental portraiture. I photographed for pleasure and mainly for myself while I pursued careers in nursing and science, with quite a bit of travel thrown in along the way.

 

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Discovering my passion as a photographer

When my son was born, I found a new passion – photographing babies and children! I was incredibly lucky to find a wonderful mothers group (and we still see each other nearly 7 years on) who allowed me to photograph our babies at every opportunity.

When my son started kinder, I became the unofficial official photographer for the kinder. I was really able to hone my skills and create my own style of photography and I loved every second of it.

Towards the end of my son’s time at Kinder, I was being approached by families to take family portraits – and they wanted to pay me!

Until this time I had never considered being a professional photographer. I started to formalise pricing and started setting up a few business bits and pieces, initially hoping that my income as a photographer could simply fund my hobby.

That grew to if my photography could pay for a holiday each year too, that would be wonderful. Now it’s grown to if my photography can support me and my family – that is where I want to be.

 

Photographing children with special needs

I had been considering for some time how I would be able to set myself apart from other photographers. I had already decided that I wanted to photograph children and families, but there are so many child and family portrait photographers out there already.

I am already unique in that my portraiture style is very relaxed and informal which really provides an opportunity for personalities to shine through. The result is stunning images of happy, playful kids and parents.

I was finding though that this was not enough.

One day it dawned on me, and ironically it had been staring at me for a few years. I have family and friends with children with special needs and so many of my child portraiture was already of children with special needs and their families.

The moment however, that I chose special needs children as my area of specialisation was after seeing a mother’s reaction to our photo session and subsequently seeing the images.

The photo shoot went really well, but I could tell the mother was quite anxious leading up to the photo shoot. I had frequent contact with the mum in the week leading up to our time together and each conversation was more intense.

I really felt for this woman, although I was unclear where her anxiety was coming from. I continued to reassure her and set her mind at ease.

The time of our photo shoot arrived and we met at the park which was suggested by mum – this park was close to their home and was one they came to play at frequently.

The kids starting running amok and mum was getting more and more anxious and frustrated. Mum had some very clear ideas about the photos she wanted and I could tell that she was not happy that these images may not eventuate.

I started taking some images of the kids and immediately tried to engage with them. In the end we (as in me and the kids!) were doing somersaults down a hill, me still with camera in hand. The kids thought this was hilarious. But now I had them eating out of my hands.

We got the images that mum wanted plus more. As mum could see how much fun the kids were having and that anything goes, she was able to relax. The kids also relaxed and the family just had heaps of fun!

When I showed mum and dad the photos, mum started crying and said “I never thought we would be able to have photos like normal families!” Wow!! That’s powerful.

I knew then in that moment, that I had found my niche. I’m determined to provide stunning child and family portraits for kids and families living with special needs.

Being a special needs photographer is different to a “standard” child and family photographer for many reasons. There needs to be patience, understanding and compassion. You need to have an open mind and just go with it.

 

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There are no boundaries or ‘rules’, we go with the flow and see what happens. A photographer working with special needs children and their families needs to be a great communicator, reassuring, relaxed and ready to catch that moment.

Parents need to know that they, and their children, are being treated with respect and not being judged. Most importantly for me, the children and parents need to feel able to rejoice and be proud of who they are and of their relationships.

Everyone deserves beautiful portraits of their children and family – this is my mission!

I love what I do and find these children and their families to be amazing people who often overcome so many obstacles daily.

I love that I can create memories of laughing and loving for families to enjoy for generations!

By Larissa Hill

Larissa has very kindly agreed to offer all My Special Child readers a FREE 20.5cm x 25.5cm print worth $40. Simply quote My Special Child at the time of booking.

 

Larissa has a website that you can visit for more information at larissahillphotography.com.au

 

You can also click here to join the My Special Child community for free and receive my fortnightly newsletter which contains exclusive information, tips and offers.