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.

  • 5 star review  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

    thumb Chantal Ellen
    6/12/2017

  • 5 star review  We had family photos taken by Nick and it was such a great experience. Communication was great and he was very accommodating. We all felt very comfortable and relaxed during the session. The photos are amazing ! Nick was able to capture lots of beautiful moments for us and they all look so natural and perfect. Highly recommended and we look forward to having more photos with Nick in the future.

    thumb Annabelle Goh
    5/23/2017

  • 5 star review  I loved working with Nick… he truly has a great talent. My toddler is not a huge fan of ‘strangers’ or being that comfortable in front of the camera so he was constantly hiding behind me, however within 5 minutes of the session Jack was jumping in front of the camera, climbing, roaring like a lion and having a great time! My daughter absolutely loved it too, she said Nick was so fun & loved telling our family & friends how Nick got her & her brothers to lick mummy’s face  Nick captured beautiful moments of love & laughter with myself and my kids and it was such a special day making new memories & photos that I will treasure forever. It was a great morning & great experience! Thankyou Nick!

    thumb Bel Maree
    3/01/2017

  • 5 star review  We could not be happier with the photos Nick took. He managed to capture the unique personalities of our children in a fun, creative relaxed yet professional way. Never an easy task keeping 3 little boys on track and interested but this was the most fun my boys have ever had being photographed!! Nick didnt just take photos he captured the story that is our family a little crazy but full of love. Thanks Nick.

    thumb Rochelle Woolley
    9/29/2015

  • 5 star review  Working with Nick was incredible. It was like he was a fly on the wall, my girls and I went about our afternoon playing at the beach and in the rock-pools, not even noticing that Nick was around snapping beautiful shots for us.Nick was very friendly, the kids really reacted to him well and he encouraged their “fierce” side to come out to play. When I saw the photos, I cried tears of joy. Nick condensed all the love, emotion, and warmth within my family into pictures that I can keep forever. I will highly recommend Nick from Barley Monk Photography to anyone who's wanting an outside-the-box family shoot.

    thumb Jamie Watman
    3/26/2017

  • 5 star review  We are so happy with our family photos - they are exactly what I'd hoped for and I know we will treasure them for years to come. Highly recommend Nick as a photographer.

    thumb Sarah Newlove
    11/16/2015

  • 5 star review  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 �

    thumb Diana Mason
    8/30/2017

  • 5 star review  I got one word to say about your photographs. AMAZING! ..Whoops that's 9 words

    thumb Joel Bennett
    6/18/2016

  • 5 star review  Nick is brilliant at his job! Exellent and easy going with kids. Beautiful natural pictures. Highly recommended.

    thumb Jaroslava Henning
    10/18/2015

  • 5 star review  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.

    thumb Melissa Ford
    2/07/2016

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