Some children take a while to settle into a session.
Anneke did not see the need.
By the time everyone reached the grass at Botanic Gardens, she already had the whole thing under review. Not in a difficult way. More in the manner of a small executive who had arrived on site, assessed the adults, and decided the operation would be better if she stayed involved at every level.
She was right, obviously.
Gabriel and Xander had chosen a different approach. They were calmer, quieter, and far less interested in treating the session like a personal leadership opportunity. Anneke had the main-character energy. The twins had the energy of two people content to let somebody else handle publicity.
Very workable family structure.
Anneke Was Not Here to Blend Into the Background
Some older sisters drift quietly through a family session. Anneke was not pursuing that path.
She had presence. Proper main-character energy. The kind that changes the shape of the shoot in a useful way, because once one child is fully and unmistakably themselves, everybody else usually relaxes and stops trying to manufacture anything tidier.
She did not need help being expressive. She did not need much warm-up. She looked entirely comfortable taking up space, changing the mood, and occasionally reminding the grown-ups that the day was not exclusively theirs.
Which, in fairness, felt accurate.
Gabriel and Xander, Happily Avoiding the Drama Department
Meanwhile, Gabriel and Xander were handling things with far less theatre.
The twins had that very useful sibling quality where they did not appear overly troubled by Anneke running a parallel government. Matching outfits, steady expressions, no visible panic. They seemed content to sit, watch, get carried, and let the afternoon happen around them.
There is always something helpful about photographing twins. Some of the symmetry is built in before anyone has done anything clever. And when they are this relaxed, the job becomes mostly not interrupting them with too many ideas.
A strong workflow, honestly.
Nicole and Jamie Had the Correct Approach
The useful thing here was that Nicole and Jamie did not seem especially interested in forcing the children into one polished shared mood.
Anneke was allowed to be Anneke. Gabriel and Xander were allowed to stay on their own quieter frequency. Nobody wasted the whole session saying some version of “just one nice photo” until language stopped meaning anything. The family simply moved through the gardens like themselves, which is generally a much better plan than trying to turn everyone into catalogue people for twenty minutes.
Nicole brought warmth. Jamie brought calm. Anneke brought the agenda. Gabriel and Xander brought a pair of small, steady counterarguments to all that energy. Between the five of them, it balanced itself.
Botanic Gardens Knew Better Than to Get in the Way
Botanic Gardens did what it usually does at the right time of day: looked excellent without behaving like it deserved billing above the family.
Big trees, soft light, enough room to move, enough texture to keep things interesting, and enough space for one daughter to run the narrative without the whole place turning into a theme park. It gave Anneke room to be fully visible, gave Gabriel and Xander somewhere calm to just exist, and gave Nicole and Jamie a setting that didn’t require any extra effort to look good.
That is really all a location needs to do.
If you are thinking about a family session in Singapore, Botanic Gardens is still one of the easier ways to let kids move properly without giving up the light.
If that sounds like your kind of session, get in touch.
Want to see more family work? Browse the Tribe gallery or check out our indoor family session in Singapore.