Meet Zara — Gold Coast Family & Brand PhotographER

Capturing Real, Honest, Chaos-Loving Moments

Gold Coast I Brisbane I Byron Bay & beyond

I’m Zara — a family and brand photographer based on the Gold Coast, originally from Berlin, Germany. I live here with my Aussie husband, Shaun, and our three wild, wonderful kids.

My path to family photography didn’t start with a camera. It started with a deep longing — for presence, for proof, for something real to hold onto.

I lost my mum when I was 21. She had been sick my entire life, and when she passed, I was left with heartbreak… and barely any photos of the two of us. That absence lives in me — and it’s what drives everything I do.

Woman in a white flowing dress and large sunhat carries a young child on a sandy beach with rocks and tropical plants in the background.

When I became a mother myself, I started photographing my kids obsessively. The funny faces, the clinginess, the light in their hair. But I quickly realised: if I was the one taking the photos, I wasn’t in them.
And if I wasn’t in them, would they remember me the way I remember them?

That question is the heart of my work as a motherhood and lifestyle family photographer.

I work best when things get a little chaotic: snack bribes, sparkly jumpers, tears, laughter, wild kids, real connection. I blend into your family like an old friend with a camera, gently guiding when needed, but mostly just holding space for the love that’s already there.

Because years from now, it won’t matter whether your toddler smiled at the camera. What will matter is that you were in the frame. That you showed up. That your kids can feel you in the photos.

And that the memories you’re holding in your hands… match the ones in your heart.

A person with long, wet hair being embraced by a child with small hands on their shoulder, in black and white photography.
A woman and a young child sharing a joyful moment together, with the woman cuddling the child and both smiling.
A woman with two children sitting on a sandy beach with green bushes behind them, all smiling and hugging each other.

Before photography, I spent years studying dramatic arts, acting in theatre and film, and traveling the world. (I’ve lived in Berlin, Portugal, Spain, India, Vanuatu, Bali, and now Australia.)
Storytelling, creativity, and emotional truth have always been my compass.

Now, I get to bring all of that into my sessions — whether I’m working with growing families or playful kids’ brands.

I don’t just want you to look good in photos. I want you to feel seen — as you are. Messy, magical, alive.