ART PARTY: JESSICA CLARK
Art Party is a celebration of the art we create and the story behind it.
Each feature includes a curated list of questions to help you dig deeper into sessions you may see on Instagram and want to learn more about.
If you have a session, series, or collection you would like to celebrate, send me an email with all the details and a link to the gallery.
Meet Jess:
I’m a country gal at heart; I have an adventurous soul that loves to explore, a deeply nostalgic heart that I always wear on my sleeve, and a creative mind that never stops dreaming.
Day to day, you will find me adventuring with my little ones or working on my latest creative project. By night, I will most likely be curled up on the lounge with hubby and a big mug of tea.
My favourite thing to do, besides taking beautiful photos, is travelling. My wandering soul is happiest when on the road with my little fam creating memories.
I am a family and lifestyle photographer, photographing families from across Sydney, primarily within the Hawkesbury and Hills District
A Macaw?
It was completely left field! My beautiful clients contacted me after finding me on Google and falling in love with my work. They let me know they wanted to include their pet macaw in their maternity session and that they regularly free-fly him at Western Sydney Parklands. Would this be something I’d do? It was a quick decision for me, and I said “absolutely, yes!”
Thoughts before the session…
I was extremely excited, although nervous in the lead-up. More often than not, I go into shoots without a set plan. I always have my repertoire of tried-and-tested prompts and poses, but just as kids are unpredictable, so are animals. I didn’t know what to expect, so I just planned on taking the macaw’s lead!
My technical thoughts mainly centred on ensuring I could capture the bird as he was free-flying. I would definitely need to use a fast shutter and back-button focus for the flying shots.
Any surprises?
Mainly, how amazing it was to see the macaw fly and return to his owners! We had a number of spectators throughout the session, just as amazed by him as I was!
I did lose sight of him at one stage while he was free-flying, which led to him circling and almost touching me with his wings as he flew directly over the top of me, giving me a fright, haha.
My clients warned me not to be the tallest thing in his path, or he would land on me. This was definitely somewhat challenging to manage whilst shooting
Flying high…
The flying shots were a little tricky, although the macaw absolutely loved it, so we were able to have a few goes at it.
There was a bit of overshooting with the flying shots, as it was tricky to get the perfect angle of the macaw’s wings as he flew, but in this case, I believe the overshooting was a necessary evil to get the perfect shot!
The changing light is always a challenge, but luckily, I am quite accustomed to changing settings quickly whilst shooting little kids, so it didn’t cause me too much grief.
A calmness…
I honestly did feel calm. Whilst I’m shooting, I am 100% present. I almost feel like I have an out-of-body experience. All that matters during a session is my clients and what I am seeing through my camera.
I wholeheartedly embrace this feeling and believe my calmness brings a sense of peace to my clients, settling any anxieties they may have.
I am an animal lover
I’ve captured several dogs and a couple of cats! Usually, at in-home sessions, although I’ve also had quite a few clients ask to bring their dog along to their outdoor family session. I’ve also captured a few horses across various sessions.
I’m a massive animal lover, and would most likely say yes to any animal!
