A Melbourne photographer has surprised 30 sick kids with fantasy Christmas portraits.

When Karen Alsop arrived at Monash Children’s Hospital, the patients and their families thought they were getting standard photos with Santa.

But Karen had a surprise in store.

Little did the children know that their photos with Santa would be transformed into magical Christmas scenes that would bring tears of joy to their faces.

‘We wanted to do something special for the children that were stuck in hospital during the Christmas period,’ Karen told Nick McCallum.

‘It took them out of that and gave them some joy and hope.

‘I’ve got two kids myself and I can’t imagine having them stuck in hospital during this season.’

Click play to hear Karen’s chat with Nick McCallum

Here are some more of the finished products:

Brittany’s magical portrait.

Arthur’s magical portrait.