with a little of this thrown in…

and some of these on the side…..

Can’t wait to get them finished… Kirsty xx

So, there I am, e-chatting away to Jayme, an amazingly talented designer I’ve ordered sweet stuff from before – and I’m asking if she could run me up something for our forthcoming trip to Morocco, and she gets all inspired, and I get all inspired and before we know it we’re planning a shoot, and a clothing collection and I’m not just having palpitations, but I’m jumping up and down on my desk chair (yeah, kinda like Tom Cruise on that sofa…) and shouting “O.M.G!!!!!!” or words to that effect!!!

Hubby starts having a crisis about how much luggage this entails and how I’ll be bringing the “Big camera” and y’know we usually travel pretty light – just one bag, yes, between 4 of us. So there was another challenge for me – usually for styled shoots I have a big pile of props ready to choose from, and a car to transport it all in – this time I couldn’t do all that – so I let Morocco speak for itself… it was fabulous seeking out doorways and light spots in dark souks, and fun shops, and stunningly restored riads, and beautiful tiles and nooks and alleyways - it gives a much more urban feel to the photos thank I often go for but I LOVED every minute of it…. so without further woffling… check out the amazing Casbah Collection from Lillipops Designs…..After providing us with a wonderful breakfast of bread and olives and fresh squeezed orange juice the Riad Felucia in Meknes made a stunning backdrop.We hit up the carpet souk in Meknes – old winding alleyways lined with carpets hanging from the medina walls or piled high ready to be shown off at the slightest interestThis instrument shop in the medieval trading town of Fez was fabulous – and the owner played drums and sang for us as we snapped!How sweet is this playsuit – it got a LOT of wear on holiday!! The oranges and blues complimented the colours of these doors perfectly (there’s a funny story about Saffy posing in the doorway next to this – which I think I’ll share another time)We saved up the dresses till we got to Marrakech – I just had this feeling they’d be perfect for within the hustle and bustle and colours and smells of the famous souksThe super gorgeous headband was by Cute Loops - winner of a contest Jayme ran to design an accessory to go with her collection - beautiful yes?The girls often look so serious in pictures – this was our next to last day in the seaside town of Essaouira and the pressure was off and they cracked a giggle, or 2 or three – this is actually how they look most of the time – little Indy looking up to and laughing with big sister Saffy!!!!Hope you loved this little taste of Morocco – now head over to check out the Lillipops Etsy Store and Facebook page – this won’t be the last time you see this gorgeous collection on the blog… I’m pretty sure I might have to share some more…

until then, Kirsty x

PS if you want to see more of our Moroccan travels “like” the Facebook page so you’ll know when I post our Moroccan travel stories – and more of our past travel stories can be found here

Thank you for all the amazing entries – we really do have some totally gorgeous children here and I’m so, so glad I’m not having to pick the contest winners. It’s time to go cast your votes.

Do so by going to the Kirsty Larmour Photography Facebook page.

Hit “like” to like the page and then go to “Photos” (on the left menu below the profile badge) to find the folder for “Face of Kirsty Larmour Photography – Boys” or “Face of Kirsty Larmour Photography – Girls” and “like” the picture you want to win – easy peasy! Leave comments if you wish, but it’s the likes that will make up the votes! Click on “Share” at the bottom left of the fan page to share the page on your profile and make it easy for friends to head on over and vote! Or type into your Facebook status and use the “@” symbol to hyperlink to the Kirsty Larmour Photography page. The top 15 girls, and top 15 boys will go through to the final to be judged by an international panel which includes:

Rowe of Rowe Timson Photography - an experienced kids commercial photographer from Australia

Kristen from Kristen Lea Photography - wonder editing and photography whizz

Kati from Kathryn Rose Images - well versed in executing kids model shoots in her area of the USA

Jayme from Lilipops Designs - wonder clothing designer extraordinaire – who will be donating an outfit for the final styled shoot no less – yay, so exciting!!!

And last but not least, Chelsea, of our very own Tiny Bean Events here in Abu Dhabi – kids party planning guru who will be helping to style the shoot for the lucky winner.

In the case of a tie break, I will have the casting vote, so I hope you all play fair and keep me sweet!!!

Winners will be announced on Thursday 30th March, 1011.

And to get you excited about the prospect of a photo shoot here’s some more of a little lady who has featured as a “Face of Kirsty Larmour Photography” since I very first started out – and she is just gorgeous.

Thanks for voting, Kirsty xx

UPDATED March 29th

Saffy’s top was from Zara, her skirt from Next, her leggings from Adams, her shoes and bracelet from Monsoon/Accessorize and her scarf and hairslides from Claires.

Indy’s top was from GAP, her shorts and flip flops from Monsoon, and her hairslide also from Claires.

I think T and I just fitted in with what the girls were wearing – that’s contradictory to my normal advice which is for Mum to pick her outfit so she feels wonderful and to coordinate everyone else around her – I did semi coordinate it around my bracelets which were from Next, H&M and Splash!!! And I do think the colours do match our decor pretty well – which was my aim in this post here (oh yeah, if you’ve not read it I do have a small case of OCD when it comes to things matching!!! )!

And here’s a last 2 of the girls having tickles with Daddy – I ♥ this,As always, I don’t pretend to be some kind of styling guru, but I hope this helps someone with ideas on locations and clothing when planning for your own shoot!

Until next time, Kirsty x

White trousers from Chateau de Sable (local branch in Al Whada Mall – check it out)

Green white and blue hair clip and brown butterfly hairclip from Claires

White dress top from Marks and Spencer

Ruffle Jeans from Eden’s BouquetSunflowers supplied by Oleander Flowers and Balloons from Sparks

Everything else was just stuff the girls had lying around at home – I just grabbed it and went!!

I hope that helps to give a few ideas for your own shoots – happy shopping! Kirsty x

For anyone who thinks their child won’t be in to the idea of a photo shoot, I say get them involved in choosing the outfit, the accessories and planning it all – my kids usually go running when I get the camera out,  but Saffy was so involved in this herself and had all sorts of fun going on a special shopping trip for it that she absolutely loved it when we did the shoot – and played along for me perfectly. Result!!

Anyway, here’s a full run down of everything she wore in the shoot.

Diamante, striped Rock t-shirt – Zara

Striped tights – Mothercare

Biker boots – Mothercare

Black net Tutu – made by Mummy!

Flower in hair – Claires

Black and white t-shirt with waistcoat and leggings - present from Granny and Grandad – from Dunnes

Trilby – Tammy

dog tags – random shop in Granville Road, Hong Kong!

scarf – Red Tag

Guitar – Daddy’s!

Heart sunglasses (pictured here) – Splash

Sparkly silver pumps – Accessorize

Chair, borrowed from carpenters shop. Sofa, found on street. Castle Turret – abandoned on a street corner! See the slideshow in this post to see these!!

Hope that helps with some ideas – you don’t need to shop all at one place to get a great looking outfit – you can take your inspiration anywhere!!

Until next time, happy stylin’, Kirsty x

Match your clothing to your decor??? What??? Hello???? OCD alert!!! Well really, it makes sense -  think about where are you going to display the artwork we create at your photo shoot? If you have some coordinated scheme going on in a room then why mess it up by displaying crazy colours that don’t compliment it?

This has really come to the forefront of my mind as I plan a shoot for my family when we’re back in Ireland for the summer. Our living room here in Abu Dhabi is a collection of things about US – the Larmours  – our little fouresome - it’s a collection of things from our travels and things that mean something to us – and even more so, it’s in colours that soothe and calm us – it’s in neutral tones, browns and blues – earth and sea and sky – and is full of amazing textures. 

It’s not a fancy, schmancy room by any means – it’s got cushions made from old dresses of mine, and most of the paintings were done by me too, but it reflects us.

I know that I want to create a big wall display for this room from our shoot (it’ll be our first ever as a family!!) and I really want to display photos in there that coordinate with and compliment the mood of the room.  Pictures which have texture (even if not physical) to them – important to my very tactile little family, and colour and reflect the elements of the earth we relate to. 

So, for OUR family photo shoot, I’m thinking browns and blues with some silver and whites  and heck, if the girls want to wear pink for some of the photos I’ll just display those pictures in their girly, swirly bedroom!

Just some food for thought, for those of you who might want to match your shirt to your sofa!  Happy stylin’, Kirsty xx

So I thought I’d do a “Real” Style your Shoot edition with some ideas from pictures of my own girls – I hope this helps someone when planning the wardrobe for their own shoot, though I can’t guarantee that all / any of these items are still available, and of course some may have been purchased outside of Abu Dhabi.

This gorgeous dress was from Marks & Spencer  as were the leggings (part of another set) – but I think what really makes these pictures is the accessories (did I ever mention that BOTH my girls love to accessorise? You should see the size of their handbag collection!!!) The necklace and bracelet were from Claires and the shoes are mine!! The hairslide was from a fabric market back in China.

Here, the little net skirts were from Next, as was Indy’s bodysuit saying “Princess”. I really don’t remember where Saffy’s top was from but white vest tops are relatively easy to come by. The hairband was from Claires again (it later broke and is now held togather by a piece of elastic I sewed on – I am the ultimate recycler!!!) Saffy’s flip flops from Accessorize.

Indy’s little outfit was from GAP. Again, the outfit is quite simple, as is the setting so I think the book, one of her favourites, adds interest to the pictures – always remember to bring along your children’s favourite toys and books to a shoot!

I adored how these two dresses worked togather. I usually say not to mix patterns – but these two just break the rules perfectly – the two dresses share the same vibrant colours and the spots and stripes just act as perfect opposites. Indy’s dress was from Marks and Spencer and Saffy’s was a 25AED bargain from Fine Fair!!!

I bought these two corduroy tops about 18 months apart. Saffy’s is from Next and Indy’s is from GAP - paired with black leggings from Adams and shoes by Doodles (Indy) and Shoemart (Saffy) with an umbrella from Esprit.

I’ll be giving more styling ideas for shoots again before too long – including a full run down from Saffy’s rock star shoot!!

Until then, happy stylin’,  Kirsty x

Happy Stylin’, Kirsty x