Tanvi
This Is Me
I Couldn’t be More Excited!
Forty doesn’t feel like starting over. It feels like arriving. These photos are about honouring who you are right now, in this season of your life, with all the experience, strength, softness, and growth that brought you here. They’re not about perfection. They’re about presence. About showing up for yourself and choosing to be seen.
I talk about photos as timestamps. Tiny anchors in your life that say, “this is who I was then, and this is what that season felt like.” These images hold space for that. They recognise the woman who has lived, loved, worked hard, rebuilt, learned, laughed, and kept moving forward, even on the days that felt heavy.
The intention of this session is simple. Slow down. Honour where you are. Let softness and strength sit together. Create images that feel calm, grounded, feminine, and real. No performing. No pretending. Just you, fully present in your own skin.
This isn’t about becoming someone else. It’s about finally seeing the woman who’s been here the whole time.
This is me.
How It All Feels
Let’s talk about how this session is going to feel, because that matters as much as the photos themselves. My goal is for you to feel comfortable, seen, and at ease. This isn’t about performing for the camera. It’s about creating space for you to arrive, breathe, and be yourself.
The first few minutes always feel a little strange. That’s normal. We’re settling in, finding our rhythm, warming into the space. It won’t stay that way for long. I’ll guide you through everything, from how to stand and where to place your hands, to small movements that feel natural and look beautiful on camera. You don’t need to know what you’re doing. You just need to show up. I’ll take care of the rest.
I’ll guide the posing and movement in a way that feels natural and true to you, so you can relax into the process rather than thinking about what to do next.
The session will feel calm and unhurried. We’ll move between stillness and gentle movement, moments of quiet confidence and moments of softness. I’ll chat with you, check in often, and adjust as we go so the experience always feels grounded and comfortable. Nothing will feel forced or overly posed. Instead, we’ll build moments that feel real, honest, and true to who you are.
In the studio, the light will be intentional, soft, and flattering. The backgrounds and styling are chosen to support the mood of the session, not distract from you. If it feels right and the conditions allow, we may step outside for a small part of the session, bringing in a sense of openness and breath to balance the indoor portraits.
By the time we finish, you won’t be thinking about the camera anymore. You’ll walk away feeling steady, proud, and connected to yourself. And your gallery will hold that feeling — strength, calm, depth, and a quiet kind of confidence that belongs completely to you.
I’ll check in with you as we go, but the focus will be on staying present in the experience rather than stopping to assess every frame during the session.
You don’t need to arrive perfect. You don’t need to come “ready”. Just come as you are. That is always enough.
Boss That Prep
Lay your outfits out on the bed before you pack. Check for missing pieces like jewellery, underwear, shapewear, strapless bra, shoes, or layers. Bring options if you’re unsure.
Wear comfy clothes for the drive and change into your session outfits when you arrive.
Drink water during the day and eat properly beforehand so you feel steady and relaxed in your body.
Bring anything that helps you feel comfortable: lip balm, hairbrush, deodorant, touch-up makeup, spare hair ties.
Line up a playlist that makes you feel confident or calm. We can play it in the studio to help you settle in.
Give yourself a gentle day leading into the session if you can — something grounding like a walk, coffee, stretch, or quiet time.
Check traffic and leave a little earlier than you think you need to, so you arrive feeling unhurried.
Your session is timed around the best light. If you’re running late, there’s no pressure, but it may shorten the shoot slightly.
Scenes and flow
We’ll move through a small number of intentional scenes, each creating a different mood and feeling in the images. Within each scene, we’ll also shift the lighting slightly to change atmosphere and emotional tone, without needing to move far or reset the whole space. Everything stays calm and flexible, and we’ll make decisions together as we go.
Once we move into a scene, we’ll stay with it long enough to explore it fully, rather than jumping back and forward. This keeps the atmosphere calm and helps the images feel intentional and cohesive.
Scene 1 — Fabric backdrop, soft + sculptural
We’ll begin with the fabric backdrop. It has texture and gentle folds that create softness, depth, and a slightly more art-driven feel. I’ll have this set up before you arrive so we can ease straight into it.
We’ll explore slower movement and still poses, letting the fabric and your body create shape. By adjusting how the light falls, we can shift the emotional tone within the same scene:
Side lighting — more depth and quiet intensity
Soft directional portrait light — calm, steady, and confident
Flatter light — open, gentle, and understated
This scene pairs beautifully with outfits that have drape and movement — flowing skirts, silk or satin fabrics, soft sleeves, or pieces that fall gently on the body. Anything that shifts when you turn or breathe will photograph beautifully here. Avoid very stiff or structured fabrics in this setup, as softer materials allow the light and texture of the backdrop to work with your body rather than against it.
Scene 2 — White studio backdrop, clean + confident
Next, we’ll move to the white backdrop and studio walls. The space feels clean, minimal, and timeless, with the focus entirely on you.
This is where a more structured outfit really shines — a blazer with trousers or a skirt, tailored lines, clean silhouettes, and a softer layer underneath like a cami or silk top to balance form and femininity. Strong, simple jewelry can work well here, as long as it doesn’t dominate. Neutral tones, black, ivory, camel, or muted earth shades will keep the look timeless and refined, while small details like rolled sleeves or an open jacket help soften the edges when we want to shift the mood.. We’ll move through sitting and standing poses, and I’ll guide you into shapes that feel natural and flattering.
We can shift mood within this same setup through small styling and lighting changes:
Even, flatter light — open and approachable
Soft sculpted portrait light — composed and self-assured
Remove the blazer or introduce dried florals for a softer tone without a full reset
Same space, different emotional language.
Scene 3 — Darker tones, deeper + more expressive
From there, we may move into a darker setup with richer tones. This adds contrast to the lighter images and brings depth, reflection, and quiet strength.
Here, the lighting becomes part of the emotion:
Side lighting — shape, shadow, and introspection
Soft backlighting — subtle glow and atmosphere
This setup pairs well with outfits that have movement or texture, and we may explore showing a little more skin in a way that still feels elegant and intentional — bare shoulders, an open neckline, or soft fabric against skin. Deep or muted colours such as charcoal, mocha, plum, or forest green tend to sit beautifully against the darker backdrop and add richness without overpowering the frame.
This part of the session is optional and flexible. We can lean into the darker tones here, or choose another backdrop and outfit direction if that feels more aligned on the day.
Scene 4 — Stepping outdoors (weather and light permitting)
If the weather and light allow, we may step outdoors for part of the session. The farm offers a completely different feeling — open, natural, expansive — which sits beautifully alongside the studio work.
Just a few steps from the studio are soft, open areas that create calm, spacious images with a sense of breath and openness.
If you’re happy to travel a little further on a farm vehicle, we also have access to:
rustic farm sheds
tree-lined avenues
native bush
rolling paddocks and wide open vistas
Outdoor portraits will still feel intentional and grounded, but it will be time, weather and light dependent. We can work with natural movement and light, adjusting gently to make the most of side light, glow, or soft even light.
This part of the session is optional, and we’ll decide together on the day depending on conditions and how you’re feeling. We’ll keep an eye on energy as we go. The most powerful images are almost always created within that natural 1–1.5 hour window, so we’ll prioritise depth over stretching the session.
Alternative options — colour, contrast, and personality
Alongside the core scenes we’ve planned, we also have the option to explore some alternative backdrop and styling combinations if they feel aligned on the day. These are great for adding variety, contrast, or a slightly different emotional tone to the gallery.
The candy pink backdrop brings a brighter, more playful energy. It works well with simple, modern outfits in neutral or monochrome tones, or with soft textures that balance the colour rather than compete with it. This option can add a sense of boldness and personality while still feeling refined.
The mocha and grey backdrops offer a softer, earthier alternative. These tones feel grounded and calm, and pair beautifully with warm neutrals, soft knits, layered fabrics, or outfits with gentle texture. They create images that feel warm, steady, and quietly expressive.
The black backdrop is the most dramatic of the options, and is best used sparingly for strong, sculptural portraits with a sense of presence and focus. Simple silhouettes, darker tones, or skin against fabric work particularly well here.
These alternatives aren’t extra scenes we have to tick off. Instead, we’ll treat them as creative options we can dip into if time, energy, and flow all line up on the day.
Finalising these decisions before the session helps everything feel grounded, prepared, and creatively focused. We’ll commit to a single direction for Scene Three so we can prepare it properly and give it the attention it deserves, rather than spreading the energy across too many setups.
Your Plan
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Try on everyone’s outfits, make sure it all fits nicely and works well together. Send me some pics!
Start thinking of where you would like to hang your images or what print products you would love in your home. -
Start drinking water. Hydrated skin looks a lot better. You should absolutely use some moisturizer but being well hydrated not only makes your skin look better but your eyes will look brighter too.
Mens / boys haircuts should be done now to give them time to settle before the day.
Set aside any items or props you might like to incorporate,
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Check your facial hair, if you have it, now’s the time to tidy up. If you are usually clean shaven try to do this a few hours before the shoot to avoid any irritation. Or if you need a tidy and trim the day before is best.
Get some sleep! I know, I know, easier said than done, at the very least try creating a relaxing environment where no one needs to stress.
Styling Your Session
Styling plays a huge role in how your images will feel. When you imagine these portraits printed large or used across your website and branding, so much of that impact comes from the colours, fabrics, and silhouettes you choose.
This isn’t about fashion for fashion’s sake. It’s about choosing clothing that supports the intention of the images, complements your skin tone and surroundings, and works with the light rather than competing with it. Small details make a big difference — colours that complement rather than match, textures that add softness or structure, and fabrics that move beautifully when you shift or turn.
I’ve put everything I’ve learned through years of photographing real people, plus my training in light and colour, into a style guide designed specifically for photography sessions. It walks you through colour theory in a simple, practical way, shows examples of fabrics that photograph well, and offers outfit direction for each scene we may explore in the studio. You’ll be able to download it, revisit it while planning, and use it as a reference as we refine outfit choices together.
For this session, think in terms of tone, texture, and variation rather than lots of completely different outfits. Structured pieces work beautifully in the clean white scene, softer fabrics and drape pair well with the fabric backdrop, and deeper tones or bare shoulders can add expressive contrast in the darker setup. We’ll also keep things flexible so we can mix and match pieces and respond to what feels right on the day.
Bring a small selection of options you love, and we’ll choose what works best for each scene rather than changing outfits too often.
If you’d like help deciding between options, feel free to bring a few choices with you. We can lay everything out, look at how it works with the backdrop tones, and choose the combinations that feel most aligned with the mood and story we’re creating.
Think About Print
Printing your images and having your memories right there on your walls or in an album is the best way to get true value from your session. Every gallery is filled with images that tell a story — hugs and tickles, close-up smiles, and quiet moments of connection. I also love to include a few wide, scenic images with your family nestled right into the landscape. These look incredible when printed big and displayed in your home.
Once your gallery is ready, you’ll have direct access to my professional print store. The difference between professional print products and quick over-the-counter printing is massive. I’ve built close relationships with my print labs. I’ve tested their products, calibrated my systems to their printers, and made sure the colours and tones you see are printed exactly as intended. They use museum-grade papers and inks that are made to last a lifetime. No fading, no dullness over time — just beautiful, lasting prints.
There are some really fun options too. Think glass display boxes for loose prints, buttery soft leather pouches that invite you to peek inside, and custom-framed pieces ready to hang. I’m also happy to design a bespoke album, carefully laid out with your favourite images, so you can relive this time again and again.
You’ll receive a print release too, so you’re free to print your own images if you’d like. Just a heads up — I’ve had my fair share of disappointments with over-the-counter printing. Colours can be off, skin tones can look strange, and the quality just doesn’t hold up. For that reason, I can’t guarantee prints that aren’t ordered through me. But when you do print through the store, you’re getting exactly what I intended when I made your images.
