Meet Life Portraits Founder, Lead Photographer and Hype Woman, Emily MacDonald
Hi, I'm Em.
What does it really take to build a photography business over 15 years? Determination, discipline and a dream were just the start. This is the raw, unedited journey behind my career, the setbacks, and scaling a resilient brand — so grab a coffee and swipe (or scroll) through to hear the real story.
The Beginning: It Started
in the Country
I grew up in Clermont, QLD. My family owned a property near Rocky, and I spent most of my childhood exploring and playing with my nieces and nephew — sliding down dirt piles, swimming in the dam, making friends with the cows, and "helping" Dad build rock walls with the supervision of my cat, Sheila. Can't take the country out of the girl!
I finished Year 12 in Clermont as School Captain, rocking the nickname 'Red.' Then I moved to Townsville for uni, studying New Media Arts and double majoring in Digital Media Design, Imaging & Marketing at JCU — living the full college life along the way. My entire focus was excelling at uni and building my first business, EMbrace Creations.
Stepping on Stage: The Photoshoot I Never Had
While side-hustling EMbrace Creations and working as a corporate image and design specialist, I found the gym — and my love for health and fitness exploded. Inspired by my work friend Jenna, we decided to compete together. From there, I fell headfirst into the world of bodybuilding. I loved the discipline and the challenge.
At the time, I was so caught up in the intensity of competing that I missed celebrating my own milestone with a photoshoot. That regret sparked a realisation: your journey needs to be captured. Photographing my incredible friends in the health industry showed me my true niche. It was never really about the photos — it was about giving others the celebration I missed.
And So, Life Portraits Was Born
In 2015, Andy and I met, combining our skills and becoming business partners to launch Life Portraits. We started our journey capturing the stories of families, weddings and commercial photography, building our foundation as the LP team. We also travelled Queensland delivering photography workshops for rural communities.
We later rebranded into two brands — Life Portraits for consumer photography, and LP Commercial Photography for corporate work. In 2018, our hard work was recognised with a top 5 win at the Telstra Business Awards. After nearly ten years, this year we went our separate ways with the two brands, but we still work together regularly. The Andy & Em duo will always be alive, haha — Andy is like family to me.
The Year That Tested Everything
In March 2023, my life was turned upside down by a serious car accident. I was very lucky to come out of it alive, with just a couple of broken bones and two surgeries — the start of a 12-month journey back to using my wrist fully again. I stayed committed, motivated and positive about returning to my previous strength.
As a photographer, it was devastating. This is where the true strength and support of our LP team, my husband, and my family and friends shone through. While I focused on recovery, everyone held the fort for me — they were my left hand on shoots, and the rock that allowed the business, and most importantly my life, to keep going while I healed. That experience cemented our purpose: we are here to inspire and empower you through your own journey — the highs, the lows, and the strength you find along the way.
Finding Our Niche
As the Life Portraits message spread and our social media presence grew, I made it my mission to help people document once-in-a-lifetime achievements and empower them with confidence. That meant documenting the story of businesses, as well as weight loss transformations, team celebrations, birthdays, health milestones and self-love.
My passion shifted, and I moved from shooting families and weddings to specialising in branding, fitness and boudoir photography. Andy and I continued to run both brands, but as the Life Portraits brand kept growing, we expanded the team.
Your Personal Hype-Woman
My goal on a photoshoot is simple: to be your personal hype-woman. My bubbly, energetic personality is all about making you feel comfortable and confident. My mission is to create empowering photography for your life and brand — photography and mentoring is a fulfilling platform that allows me to live true to my passion, my legacy.
These days I set goals doing fitness photoshoots for my own health and wellbeing, as a form of accountability to my own goals — and I use that as behind-the-scenes content to educate and inspire our clients. Wellbeing is one of my values, not just a service I offer.
Looking to the Future
As I continue to grow, my passion for education is leading me to the next chapter: developing training, workshops and mentoring for aspiring photographers and business owners. I'm narrowing my focus to photographing just fitness teams, portraiture, boudoir and branding, so I can make time for this next chapter — educating our future creatives.
Thank you for being a part of this journey!
