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My current series of portraiture is called Water. The series is a collection of portraits taken of people who use our local beaches. This portrait is called ‘Swim’ and was shot in Byron Bay last summer. All three women swim daily. Since taking this portrait, Sophie has given birth to a healthy boy named, Ocean.

The Olive Cotton Award for photographic portraiture is a $20,000 biennial national award for excellence in photographic portraiture dedicated to the memory of photographer Olive Cotton. The winning work is acquired for the Tweed Regional Art Gallery’s Collection. The exhibition is selected from entrants across Australia and is a significant opportunity for photographers living and working in Australia.

I was stoked to be asked by a local Byron Bay family to shoot their portrait. The brief was a ‘family portrait without being a family portrait if you know what I mean’. The Feldmanns wanted to be depicted at their happy place, Tallow Beach. Tallows is where they hang as a family with their chocolate Lab Gussy, catching a few waves. I swim the bay with Mama Cait and she is a powerhouse ocean swimmer and an awesome hands-on Mama. When Cait asked me to do the commission - the portrait instantly popped into my head. We booked the shoot in several weeks ahead and discussed what colour clothes they should wear - for this shoot they had to wear black to achieve the contrast I needed for the photo. On the day of the shoot I visited their home first so we could choose the best spot for the portrait to hang and also to get an idea of the size of the portrait (90cm x 90cm) - this also let me know whether to shoot in landscape or portrait.

It was a perfect day on the beach to shoot - no wind (which meant no partial faces hidden behind wind blown hair - every photographer’s nightmare unless you have a team of assistants) blue skies, crystal water and perfectly formed waves. The shoot took about 45 minutes. The Feldmanns and Gussy were perfect models. It always helps to be as relaxed as you can as a photographer - that way you get the best out of your subjects. Organisation is another key for a successful shoot - make sure you have all your equipment ready and fully charged, plus at least one back up battery and lots of extra memory cards. Have a game plan on how the shoot will run and the different shots that will need to be taken. Have a time frame for the shoot (I never shoot over an hour as the models/subjects start to get tired and this tells in the shots). Make sure you have a few short breaks factored into the shoot to let the subjects relax and chat between themselves. It also comes in handy if the photographer has a good level of fitness as you never know what may be required to get that perfect shot - in my case the shot I chose for the family portrait I ended up having to climb a tree on the beach to get the perspective I needed.

The Feldmanns love their family portrait as its ‘a family portrait without being a family portrait’ if you know what I mean!