Celebrating the Miller Family :: family photography sydney

At the end of last year, I had my ‘Celebrating Families Christmas Giveaway’ and I put a call out for people to nominate a family that inspired them and who could use a little extra joy at Christmas. I was blown away with the number of responses, and the beautiful and inspiring stories people shared with me. It was such a difficult decision to make, but after reading all about the Miller family from their dear friend Petra, I knew I wanted to bless these guys with lasting memories.This is the Miller Family - Leigh, Sarah, Max and Mia. A little over a year ago Leigh was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma. He had cancer in his brain, liver and pretty much all over and was given 4-8 weeks to live. With the wind knocked out them, Leigh and Sarah found themselves suddenly planning a funeral and were left completely devastated.However, Leigh was given the opportunity to undergo a clinical trial which also involved many surgeries, treatments and long stays in hospital away from the Sarah and the kids, and after a year of fighting for his life, his prognosis is looking fantastic and like so many other brave fighters, he’s looking forward to receiving the news that he will soon be cancer free.Petra, who nominated the Miller family, also added that Leigh is always putting others’ needs above his own, even on his worst days.This, to me, is why photography is so important. It’s not about getting the perfect pose or waiting until we’ve lost that extra weight. It’s about telling your story. Your story as a father, or a mother, or as a grandparent. Who you are, who you love, how you love. Documenting those moments in life that are most important to us. Just like Dr Suess says “You never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.”In the questionnaire that I have my clients fill out, I ask them to tell me more about themselves and the moments that mean the most to them. Leigh said he loved how Max and Mia follow him around the yard with their little lawn mowers. Such a simple thing, yet such a beautiful memory that I knew I just had to capture it for them.So we started the session in their home and made memories of everyone out in the yard, and also of the kids playing with their favourite toys and reading their favourite story. As they get older, Max and Mia are going to love looking back on when they were little and how they use to play.Then we made the most of a beautiful summer evening and headed down to Yarramundi Reserve in Western Sydney to make some beautiful portraits and enjoy some fun family time playing down by the river.Thank you so much, Leigh and Sarah, for trusting me to make these memories for you. I don’t take it lightly and I’m truly honoured. All the best to you all - here's to enjoying many more years of making memories. - Janelle. x