Hey, I'm Nick 

I'm a father of 4 insane children and love it! Chaos is just the norm in our family, so much so that it feels weird if I'm not walking around the house with someone hitching a ride on my leg, or having my eye lids pushed open while I nap on the lounge to check if I'm actually asleep. I love the energy that comes from the chaos and that's why I love being able to capture it. 

Photography for me has been such a great way to be able to create those memories and seeing the look on other parents faces when they see their kids as they truly are is an awesome thing. Kids weren't meant to sit, behave and smile at the camera. That's not who they are... they're nuts! So I let them be nuts in my family photo sessions. I generally set up a few photos looking at the camera to begin with, but after about 5 minutes of that they generally want to break free, so I let them and actually encourage it. Just when you start to worry that the perfect family photo shoot you imagined isn't going to plan, that's when I find that the magic starts to happen.

Embrace the chaos …

Ha! Kids are fun aren’t they… except for when they’re not, but anyway this is Ayden, Charlotte, and Jacob. They love me capturing every moment of their life. Can't you tell?

Looking at this pic you'd think butter wouldn't melt in their mouth. Seriously though, they're pretty good kids... Except for the youngest Jake. I think he's probably destined to be a super-villain. Check out his evil laugh below.

See what I mean! He's lucky he's cute... and the other 3... well, butter wouldn't melt in their mouth it seems.

Of course I couldn't handle these 4 punks all by myself, which brings me to the love of my life, the one who keeps us all under control, my beautiful wife Hayley... She wouldn't let me post a photo of here

I've done a lot of things in my working life from burger flipper to cement renderer. However the majority of my career has been as a producer/director for network TV. Now I love TV, I love watching it, editing it and shooting it, but over the years my passion for photography has been so persistent that I needed an outlet.

Family photography is my thing, since kids are my life. It has shown me just how much love you can have for your family, so being able to capture those moments for other couples and families is something I enjoy.

My photography style is candid, natural, modern, in the moment. and never forced. As you know telling kids to do anything they don't want to never gets the desired result, so I like to go with the flow and capture them as their normal chaotic selves.

It's all very relaxed, so even dad won't feel too awkward. I'm a dad myself and so I get not wanting to be in front of the camera doing silly poses. That won't happen in one of my family photography sessions.

Anyway, take a look around and see my portfolio here.

  • We were so happy with the photos from my Grandfathers 90th. Nick captured beautiful moments and everyone's personality. I will definitely be contacting Nick in the future to take our family photos!

    Rebecca Whitehead Avatar Rebecca Whitehead
    March 18, 2017
  • 10/10 for shots and service. Barley monks have taken many photos for my family and we have been nothing but over the moon with the results. If your looking for someone to capture that moment in time to have on print forever Barley and Monks photography are your people. Thanks Nick for giving us amazing photos to keep forever.

    Katie Peel Gleeson Avatar Katie Peel Gleeson
    September 19, 2015
  • We had such a fun time shooting our family photos with Nick. The kids instantly warmed to him with his fun, relaxed manner - resulting in beautiful natural photos. Nick certainly has an eye for a great shot. The photos are everything we had hoped for and we couldn't recommend him enough.

    Melissa McBride Avatar Melissa McBride
    July 19, 2016
  • I got one word to say about your photographs. AMAZING! ..Whoops that's 9 words

    Joel Bennett Avatar Joel Bennett
    June 18, 2016
  • Have not seen any pics but it was such a relaxed morning Even though my eldest was a little annoying and awkward it was just a lovely morning did not feel like a stiff boring photo shoot Can not wait to see photos

    Trudi Fryer Avatar Trudi Fryer
    April 23, 2017
  • The request was for crazy ! I can do that ! We met Nick, and instantly the girls were having fun. They got to run through the forest, run up the paths, climb all over the fort, and run through the fields - you couldn't ask for more. And then - the finale included water pistols!!! Magic! The memories created are so treasured. Thankyou Nick for choosing us to be part of the crazy :-) We will forever treasure these memories <3 xx

    Chantal Ellen Avatar Chantal Ellen
    June 12, 2017
  • We the best time even in the rain and mud our boys loved it! Nick was extremely easy and fun to work with and would recommend him to anyone. Thanks again nick looking forward to our next session.

    Melissa Ford Avatar Melissa Ford
    February 7, 2016
  • Best photography ever. Thank you for the best time at the setu wedding

    Courtney Iafeta Avatar Courtney Iafeta
    January 24, 2016
  • Leading up to the day of the shoot I was so anxious about how crazy my boys are � but as soon as we met nick they all started asking questions about his camera and random things. Then we all just went about exploring the beautiful area and Nick worked his magic �

    Diana Mason Avatar Diana Mason
    August 30, 2017
  • If you are the kind of person who prefers photos that are different and dynamic over the typical sterile-starchy-say cheese-smile-portrait type, then search no further. Nick has been very accommodating and understanding of infants' needs, making the session very relaxed, as it ought to be! We had a sleep-deprived, borderline-to-cranky infant on the day of the photoshoot (Murphy's Law anyone?) and yet Nick still managed to get amazing shots taking into consideration the baby's needs. Whilst different, his photos harness energy, spontaneity and most importantly: PERSONALITY.

    Carolina Ou Smolinski Avatar Carolina Ou Smolinski
    January 16, 2017

BARLEY MONKS BLOG

Menu