Mandi Lynn's Fashion Work featured in this months Simply You Magazine

How Exciting.  This month some of my work featured in My Wedding (back cover) and Simply You.  I am rapt and over the moon.  The content was fashion work I had done for Basquesse fashion house in Wellington.   Thank you so much Vivianna for your belief in my work.

In Honour of my Student and Good Friend Tanja Tress

The picture to the left is my favourite picture I have taken of my dear student Tanja.  Tanja came to my studio in January of this year to study photography with me.  What I didn't expect was that we would become such amazing friends.  Tanja and I sometimes are like an old married couple that can finish each others sentences, and are very comfortable and happy chatting or just sharing each others company in silence.  The funniest thing about Tanja and I are that we both are incredibly reverent of humanity and think people are absolutely amazing but our visions are completely and totally at polar opposites.  This is what keeps things interesting in our teacher student relationship.  I have taught Tanja the mechanics of photography but I have left it wide open for her to develop and explore her own unique style.  I have pushed her boundaries and encouraged her to trust herself, laugh at herself, and be courageous for her vision.  But she has motivated herself, dug deep and found her true passion in photography.  I just pushed her.....but she had the courage to fly.  Her style is beautiful and edgy, a bit dark but in a way that leaves you thinking.  She has made me look again at the ugly that I would have not considered in the past, to see through it into its own unique beauty.  Sometimes the student can become the teacher as well.  I would like to share with you her blog and website.  She will leave me soon for new adventures and a very promising career in photography.

Mask of the Moon

This little darling knew exactly what she liked and how to carry and present herself.  I felt like I was in the well rehearsed production of a play that had been scripted by her for years.  There were so many images from the shoot that I loved but there was something about this one that required me to push it that much further. 

New Zealand Breastfeeding Campaign

I was given the coolest commercial job I could hope for, which was working for the Ministry of Health on their Breastfeeding Campaign.  I got to fly up to Auckland and meet with the women who were featured in the video and get some lovely portraits of them.  Here is one that is being used in a Breastfeeding Promotion booth that travels around the islands.

Beautiful Zuzana | Wellington Fashion Photographer

My favourite shop in Wellington is Basquesse.  I absolutely adore it.  The clothes are sumptuous and beautiful and designed and handmade here.  When I imagine what I want to be dressed like in my dreams it is Basquesse style.   Vivianna the designer has had me do the photographs for her last range the Mara range.  But this weekend I raided her shop and dressed up beautiful Zuzana to do a shoot I had had in my mind for a while.   Here are my favourites from the shoot.

Blueberry Farm Kids Book Angel | Wellington Children's Photographer

Isn't She Gorgeous! There are still spaces available in the Blueberry Farm Kids book.  We will continue to take images until October when we will stop and then produce the book in time for Christmas.  The farm is rich with colour at the moment and in the Wintertime there are wonderful opportunities for images with fun coats and gumboots.  There is also a lovely warm studio for indoor portraits as well, completely kitted out with heaps of dress ups. 

Chairs for Special Care Fundraiser

If you don't know me yet you will soon find out that I am mad about babies and new families.  It is all of that unmanifested potential, all of that anticipation, and at the same time the complete grounding into the here and now that a baby creates in a family.  It is a huge time of growth for both the baby and the parents.   It is challenging at the best of times but throw in a baby who is born early or sick or both and you have the recipe for a very challenging time.  Sometimes it is the simple things that make the biggest difference.  For the baby, the very most important thing that can be done is to be held naked (except for a nappy) skin to skin with its mother or father.  My years working as a Lactation Consultant taught me the following things about the benefits of skin to skin care.

Baby
Cries 10x less than bassinette babies

Better Sleep

Temperature is warmer

Heart rate is more stable

Breathing is more regular and more reliable

Stress Hormones are Lower

Stimulates feeding instincts and increases the chance she will be breastfed.

Introduces family bacteria (this is a good thing) not hospital bacteria to the baby

Decreases hospital stay (for prem babies)

Helps babies better learn to deal with stress as they grow older

Decreases pain experience if baby has had a traumatic delivery

Is the perfect place to recover from a painful delivery or procedure

Teaches intimacy

Mother

Kicks in Endorphines makes her feel good

Encourages bonding with baby

Stimulates milk supply

Helps her learn how to read her baby

Removes the clutter that can sometimes get in the way of a good latch

Takes her mind off of the pain of labour or surgery discomfort

Encourages "let down" of milk.

Support Person

Helps him/her to bond with baby

Gives them something he can do to further support mum

Can help him learn to be responsive to baby

So now imagine your baby was born early and you had to spend all of your time in a hospital with them.  The most basic thing you would want would be a comfortable chair so that you could hold your baby close and help heal them faster so that you could get home right?  Unfortunately due to budget constraints the chair situation in the Special Care Unit at the Hutt Hospital is in a sad, sad, state.  They are cracked, dirty, and down right falling apart.  Adele Sullivan the head of the Unit has been trying to find ways to get the funds for the chairs but her hands are completely tied by the budget.  So we are trying to help raise money for these chairs.  At the moment there are only 2 comfortable in good nick chairs on the unit.  The rest are in various states of falling apart and at anyone time there up to 15 families sharing the two good chairs.

So here is how you can help:

For $75.00 you will get a voucher for $550.00 for my studio.  There are only 5 of these vouchers available each month.  We will continue this special until we have replaced all of the chairs on the Unit.

REGISTER for the SCBU Chairs Special Here

Bump to Bounding Special Exclusive to Egg Maternity members

If you are on the mailing list for Egg Maternity Wellington you would have received a link that is exclusive to Egg Maternity store members.  Wow is it a doozie!

What you get:

A pregnancy portrait session
A newborn portrait session
4 month session
8 month session
1 year birthday session
+ $500.00 worth of prints
Value of $1550.00
for only $499.00

Special is only available to the first 10 Egg Maternity database members who sign up with the coupon code.  If you are not on their mailing list then contact Ann or Victoria to get on their list and get your code emailed through to you.
This is a wonderful chance to make sure that you record your baby's first year in complete style by an award winning photographer.
To sign up go to the following link!