Kalbar Sunflower Festival | A Dreamy Engagement Session

A photoshoot in the dreamy sunflower field with your dearest love – who would say no to that?! This gorgeous couple contacted me wanting to have some couples photos done with the stunning sunflowers. They were engaged for over 9 months, and decided it’s time to do something to celebrate! This engagement photoshoot in Kalbar Sunflower Festival was done in April, and I was honoured to be their chosen photographer to document this special moment in this amazing location!

Where is Kalbar Sunflower Festival?

Kalbar is 1 hour drive away from Brisbane. It is on 56 Warumkarie Rd, Kalbar QLD 4309. The drive there is super easy, not windy, bumpy or hilly. It is open to the public during festival time as a ticketed event.

When are the sunflowers in bloom?

You will need to stay tuned on Kalbar Sunflowers’ social media to know when the dates are. Tickets sell out within days, so be quick, there’s no time to hesitate! Alternatively, subscribe to our email list to be the first to hear about our sunflower minis!

Festival dates are usually on a weekend, and that’s when we will hold our sunflower minis. The festival was planned for end of March however due to the heavy La Niña storm and rain there was a delay in flowering. Please ensure that you are absolutely free around those weekends of festival dates as postponement may be necessary depending on the weather and flowering situation.

Why engagement photoshoot?

Engagement shoots are great because:

• It’s like a fun date with your partner that you don’t get to do every day!
• It’s a great opportunity to test out your hair & makeup artist for your big day
• It’s a great excuse to get photos done with your loved one!

The bride-to-be (who radiates a sweet look like popstar Ariana Grande) told me during our pre-shoot consult, “I’m just really excited about our marriage. The thought of just being able to see him every day, the first person I see when I wake up and the last person I see before I go to sleep. Sharing our lives together and completing each other, while still being able to have a laugh about all the silly things we do. I will be going to Europe for my studies soon, and I will most definitely be looking at these photos whenever I miss him!”

I hope their engagement session is an indication of how beautiful their wedding day will be, whenever that is! 

How is Hikari’s sunflower photoshoot different?

My approach to sunflower portraits is to capture the true colours – bright yellow against blue sky with clear glowy skin tones as shown – very different from dark moody photography that do not capture the true colours of these flowers of happiness.

My goal is to create timeless light and love filled images. Flower fields like this are so dreamy, and it’s perfect for couples, families and maternity shoots. You can see the full gallery of this Kalbar Sunflowers engagement photoshoot here.

Want to see what a maternity or family session looks like? Click on the respective links to check out my other sessions!

Hikari vs Himari

Fun fact: ‘Hikari’ means light in Japanese; ‘himari’ means sunflowers in Japanese. Both are common Japanese girls’ names – it took us the longest time tossing between the two!

As my name suggests, I adore light, so you can imagine how this romantic sunflower engagement session in Kalbar made my heart beat that little bit faster!

What are mini sessions, are they good for sunflower engagement photoshoot?

Due to the fact that I only shoot during sunset hours, I only take on 3 clients per day and they are back-to-back 15 minute sessions all in one afternoon during golden sunset hour.

Mini sessions are perfect for engagement / couples photos – they are jam packed with action and fun! Even though they are shorter than normal, you are guaranteed to receive good variety of poses and shots in the final gallery.

We are very awkward in front of cameras, will you help us?

Of course! As a photographer, I don’t just rock up to a session and click the button. I always say that there’s no one that’s awkward in front of my lens! And that’s because my approach to photography is very relaxed, and throughout the session I will give you plenty of prompts as well as crack a few lame jokes to make you feel at ease. You will be directed on how to pose, and you will hear me say bunch of random things to get that authentic smile from you both! If you read my testimonials, you will see a recurring theme of “we felt so comfortable with Isabelle”.

Ready to book your photoshoot at Kalbar Sunflower Festival with me?

This is a ticket event only and clients are responsible to purchase their own tickets. Mini sessions are $350. These sunflowers are likely to come back November again – please follow us on Social Media to receive the latest news about these mini sessions or submit an enquiry to be on the wait list xx