by Marianne Drenthe | www.marmaladephotography.com

Rachel Devine.  Quite honestly her name may as well be “Superwoman”.  Rachel is a very talented children’s portrait and commercial photographer, if you haven’t heard of her work – www.racheldevine.com – than you may as well be  living under a rock.    She has done commercial work for a number of recognized household companies (the list is massive), has a flourishing photography business, had been chosen by Nikon USA as one of their spokespersons in a very cool ad campaign.  She is also an avid Flickrer (her stream is one of the first that sucked me into the world of Flickr), and a busy wife & mom.   She juggles all these career cool things with three kids and a recent move from her native Los Angeles to Melbourne, Australia.  If life wasn’t crazy enough – during the move her family was featured on a recently aired episode of HGTV’s Househunters International.  I extend a huge thank you to Rachel for taking time out of her busy (new) life in Australia and answer some questions for our readers here at Portrait Allure.

Portrait Allure: Hi Rachel, thank you so much for this opportunity to sort of pick your brain.  Your style is completely colorful, vibrant & modern, so beautiful.  It’s a pleasure to be able to talk with someone who’s fresh take on children’s photography has become synonymous with lifestyle photography.

I remember back a few years ago, I saw some images you created of colorful cityscapes, scenery and Harajuku girls taken in Japan, images of your husband and Gemma in Bangkok and some stunning images from Australia. How do you feel your trips around that time influenced your photography style early on?

Rachel: I think that my style has always been split between my client work and my daily life photography. When I would travel with my family, the work that would I would show would only be the photojournalistic documentary style that I would normally do of my daily home life. When I started sharing images online, I shared a lot of my client work which is more styled and deliberate. It was only when we started traveling with Gemma that I really shared much of the other side of what I do. Now, the focus of what I show online has shifted, I rarely share client work on my blog or flickr. Maybe it seems that those early trips were influencing the style of my work now, but really it was just me showing what I have always done…documenting my life through photographs.

Portrait Allure: Your move to Australia from L.A. must’ve been stressful! Now that you are settled in what do you enjoy most about your new life in Australia?

Rachel: I don’t think I noticed the stress of the move because it was such an emotionally overwhelming time. The only way to get through it was trust and go. I remember weeping when I said goodbye to my friends, weeping when I turned my mobile phone off for the last time at the airport and weeping as the plane took flight. I allowed myself to feel all of those emotions but I never let them hold me back. I was confident that it was the right move for my family and I knew that we would all be just fine. My friendships were solid and I knew that my family and friends would always be in my life no matter where I lived. Armed with that strength, I was able to just concentrate on the wonders that were to come…the new babies. We had the twins just a few short months after moving to Australia, so life was never quiet here. By the time I had a moment to stop and think about all the changes, the twins were toddlers and we had been here nearly 2 years. I think that helped. I really love it in our new country. Life is easier here. I feel safer than I did in Los Angeles. The train system is safe and clean, so I can go into the city by myself or with the kids and that is so exciting. I have always wanted to live in a big city and I feel like I do here. There is so much art and great activities. It feels right.

Portrait Allure: I can imagine how hard it was to leave your friends and family, what an amazing outlook to just focus on the good!  What do you miss most about Lalaland?

Rachel: I miss my friends and family though. I often feel very far away. I also miss my regular clients. I started my business in Los Angeles in 1995 and had an amazing roster of clients. It is hard to start over and it is hard to have to say goodbye.

Portrait Allure: On Househunters, the home that you and your husband chose is so beautiful and modern. Before the big unveil you had mentioned that you wanted a more traditional home. I peeked at your blog back in December when you showcased the kids’ rooms (which, btw, is one of my fave posts ever) and it amazed me that the modern style wasn’t what came so naturally for you. You did such a flawless job with their modern spaces. Do you have any style inspirations you’d like to share with the readers?

Rachel: I grew up in Virginia, so I do have a love for antiques and generations old hand-me-down nicknacks. I still have a few collections of vintage pottery pieces and furniture from my family home, but as I have gotten older, my likes have changed. While I am not one for stark modern, I do like clean and clutter free. The rooms, especially Gemma’s, are actually quite a mismatched collection of stuff. Gemma has my old wrought iron bed and tends to be a collector like I was. I have said that all the kid clutter, like stickers and Barbie posters can go on the INSIDE of her closet doors…that way, she has some control of the junk she gets to put up in her room and I can just close the doors and not have to see it all. With the twins’ room, I had big plans to make it a funky little carnival inspired place, but I have not had the time. I like to check out ohdeedoh.com for all things kid room related and Junior Magazine, Small Magazine, LMNOP and Paper-Mache for the latest in kid fashion. I have a number of style blogs that I try to keep up with as well…

Portrait Allure: Stylistically your work is very vibrant, clean and modern. In your day to day life, do you see the world as a palette of vibrant colors or do you think you are more subdued in reality?

Rachel: I wear brown a lot. Brown and black…I don’t think I have a lot of bright color in my life on a regular basis. Our house has very simple and muted colors, even the purple wall in Gemma’s bedroom is deep and dark. I love clean whites…especially in photos. I guess I need to counteract that with a splash of color, but I think some of my favorite shots of mine are very “white” in tone. My studio work tends to have a lot of color, but that is usually geared more to what my clients wants. I would always have a selection of backdrops (fabrics, rolls of seamless, wallpaper scaps and even wrapping paper) on hand to compliment the clothes we were shooting. I look for the quieter spots in life, so the muted colors…I am drawn to that. All things soft, quiet and cozy.

You can find Rachel’s work at her blog: www.racheldevine.com/blog and her newest project beyondsnapshots