Kapiti Coast Photographer Tara Lemana

I’ll do it next year, you think.

And next year becomes the year after that, and the year after that, and before you know it your youngest is 12 and the most recent really nice family photo you have doesn’t have him in it because he wasn’t born yet. And you have another twenty or thirty more grey hairs.

It’s my mission to make family photos fun and relaxing. I come to you at your home, where you’re most comfortable, or we meet somewhere that’s comfortable and fun for your family. I don’t pose you or ask you to smile; instead, I hang out with you and photograph what happens naturally.

You will spend the time having quality time with your kids – baking, building sand castles, crafting, having water play, anything goes. The only rule is that it has to be something fun you already love to do together – no putting on a show for the camera, it needs to be authentically YOU!

The session will be over before you know it and you’ll realise you just spent three hours laughing and having fun with your family and forgetting all about the camera. Camera shy kids (or parents) need not worry, eye contact with the camera is not required!

My other “baby” is my Couture photography. I’m a big believer that women of all shapes and sizes are beautiful, and it hurts my heart to hear or see the way anyone who doesn’t fit some fleeting social construct of what beauty looks like is treated.

It may not look like it right this minute, but I’ve spent the past 25 years struggling with weight, losing and gaining the same 30 kgs several times over. I understand that it takes a lot to hold onto confidence and self esteem in the face of a constant social and media barrage telling you you’re not good enough if the body you were blessed with doesn’t fit some social construct of what’s beautiful.

There are not many of us who fit those ideals, and in my book, all of us, ideal or not, are equally beautiful.
My small way to try to balance the scales and remind women they are perfect just as they are, is through my couture sessions. These sessions are all about making you feel beautiful and appreciated.

My team and I are are on a mission to pamper you and make you feel relaxed and comfortable. You have your make up professionally done by my make up artist, your hair styled, we serve delicious treats and spend the better part of a day just focusing on YOU.

You get to choose multiple outfits from my beautiful studio wardrobe to wear for your photo session, and together we create some truly stunning portraits for you that will forever remind you that you are every bit as beautiful and as much of a treasure as the so-called “ideal” you get bombarded with in the media.

If you are a woman, regardless of your age, shape, size, colour, sexual persuasion or whether you’re a cat person or a dog lover, if you would like to spend some time being pampered and to have beautiful portraits of yourself to remind you you’re amazing, this is for you.

Thank you for stopping by and visiting my page and portfolio. If you’d like to exist in photos, I would love to hear from you!