about me.

I started out leaving School determined Law School was for me. It wasn’t long before I realised I needed to express my creativity and law just wasn’t going to cut it! I went on to complete a degree in Fashion Design and Textiles at the Whitehouse Institute of Design in Sydney which lead to me working in a Fashion PR Agency managing the showroom and chatting with amazing photographers, stylists and models all day! This is where I fell in love with the magic of visual creation. Creating worlds and capturing different imaginative ideas from concept to completion was an exciting start to my creative journey. However, I wanted to fully immerse myself in the expression of these ideas and felt fashion was still ‘not quite it’.

I went on a bit of a journey of self discovery and found myself auditioning for the prestigious acting school NIDA…. and I got in! I loved it, I worked in LA, NYC, London, and performed in theatre productions in Australia, short films, television commercials, I performed as a Burlesque/Cabaret dancer with my own show called ‘La Femme Boheme Burlesque’, and I danced on the bar at The Zeta Bar at The Hilton Hotels, as well as performing for VIVID Festival Australia. It definitely wasn’t boring. In fact, it was probably too much fun and by the time I hit 30 I was exhausted. Looking for a less intense lifestyle my brother and I decided we would open a cafe (Obviously very naive. Less intense ha!) it was a busy little place in Ultimo Sydney and I was the chef. . . . Yep never cooked professionally before but found myself the chef of our little cafe. It was a challenge to say the least. About that time my forever man and I decided it was time to have a baby. We literally had the conversation and I fell pregnant. It all happened so fast but it’s been the best. She’s a wild child and I love her dearly. It was at this time I knew I needed a creative outlet that would allow me to slow down a little but also give me freedom to express my ideas and thoughts. So I started to take photography (something I’d always mucked about with) a little more seriously.

My modelling agency started to send me beautiful models to shoot to build up their portfolio and before I knew it, all the teachings from my life on-set came flooding in and I knew it was the right fit. I’ve been a professional photographer now for about 5 years and it’s been an incredible way for me to view the world. It’s taken me overseas, into families lives I’d never known, back into the fashion world. It’s also allowed me to meet some pretty special people.

Life is an adventure and I want to experience, learn, laugh, eat-well stay healthy, drink a bit, dance a lot and just enjoy this magnificent ride we call life.

I started my blog ‘People behind the Portrait’ in 2018. Staying curious and creative with my camera in hand has given me the opportunity to meet some very interesting and inspiring people and instead of just writing about it in a journal at home I thought I’d share it with all the other curious cats out there because conversations and stories have always helped me feel inspired, uplifted and in love with this wild ride we call life.

Enjoy!

Penelope x