Huge overshare happening in this post, my friends. This beautiful family made my job so incredibly easy. Nine month old Grayson was SO charming, I could have photographed that sweet smile alllll day. Rebecca and Andrew were a lot of fun and knew all the best ways to entertain Grayson as we got closer and closer to bedtime. They introduced me to the best kids playlist on Spotify (Upbeat Children's Songs...give it listen, you won't be disappointed!) and showed me how much fun I missed out on by not letting my husband throw Levi in the air! Our session was so fun and it was a joy to capture all the love between these three.
Say hello to sweet Abigail! I first met her parents, Andrea and Joe, at their maternity session back in May, and was excited to find out whether they were having a boy or girl! I have great admiration for those crazy people who have enough patience to wait until baby is born to find these things out ;) It does add an extra fun element of anticipation though, I think! Abigail was sweet as can be and really pulled of some serious modelling throughout the course of our session. I had a wonderful morning with these three, and loved capturing this exciting piece of their family history for them!
Audrey's newborn session was full of some of the sweetest cuddles I've had the pleasure of capturing. This baby girl was a huge fan of snuggling against mom and dad's chest. And while she was not big on being put down, her parents did an wonderful job comforting their sweet daughter and eventually had her lulled off to sleep! I'm always impressed with how new parents to take these things in stride and how quickly they learn the little tricks that work well for their baby. I love capturing the new-ness of the family dynamic with a tiny newborn in the household. I've said it before and I'll say it again...I love my job!
Meet Keiran. He has the BEST baby lips I've ever seen (scroll down a couple for their closeup). This handsome baby boy was such a treat the photograph. He even let us get some nudie pictures to match with one his older sister had done at her newborn session on a chair in the living room. Between that and the way he posed his sweet hands I am still completely smitten over this little man. Having this level of charm with be helpful to Keiran so he can keep up with his charming older sister Lily. She was one of the friendliest kids I've worked with and I loved capturing her fun personality! I think it's safe to say their parents Penny and Phillip have their hands and hearts full in the best possible way. Wishing so many blessings for this beautiful family!
I met this beautiful family on a gorgeous August evening in High Park. Sweet little Sage was incredibly happy and easygoing which was a pleasant surprise since we were shooting very close to his regular bedtime! We wandered around to a variety of spots in the park, but my personal favourite is under the willow trees next to the water. Natasha and Sean came so well prepared with toys to entertain Sage and a picnic blanket to sit on. It was a fun and relaxed evening with these three and an absolute pleasure for me to capture this stage in their family's history.
Baby Jakob. This little man is one of the most handsome babies I have ever had the pleasure of photographing! With an incredible head of wavy, dark hair, his long eyelashes, big eyes and perfect little lips, he was a joy to photograph! Despite some tears and extra feeds throughout our session, Jakob gave us some beautiful sleeping and bright-eyed awake photos, and even let me get some close ups of those amazing lashes. I had so much fun reconnecting with Reshma and Irfan (you can see their maternity session here) and watching them love on their sweet baby boy. We did Jakob's session when he was 4 weeks old, and I loved seeing how they've settled into the rhythms of parenthood and the craziness that is life with a baby. It was such an honour to capture the love between this brand new family of 3.
The first day we attempted to do little Greyson's newborn session the clouds rolled in SO heavily right when I arrived that we ended up not being able to shoot (it pretty much looked like nighttime!). Luckily Amanda and Dan were so gracious and we were able to reschedule for the next day, which ended up being gorgeous and sunny and exactly what we wanted! I had so much fun getting to know Amanda and Dan. They are both teachers with a love of art and music. They are laid back and fun and I had such a wonderful time hanging out with them. Amanda did a beautiful job planning out Greyson's nursery, complete with some beautiful art pieces made by his own mama (go check out @amandasimmonsart on Instagram)! Greyson was the sweetest thing and I am officially obsessed with redhead babies. They are simply adorable! It was such an honour to capture these moments for this beautiful family.
Oh miss Harper. She was the easiest baby I have every photographed! I could move her as much as I wished between poses and she was happy as a clam and would settle right back to sleep. Unfortunately for her parents this was because she was exhausted from being up most of the night! Big brother Preston was incredibly sweet and introduced me to every character from the movie Cars. He also has an amazing pirate ship bed which I can only imagine is the envy of all of his friends! This session was so fun and laid back and I loved every moment. Denise and Albert, thank you so much for trusting me to capture your beautiful baby girl and the love and joy she has added to your family.
I met this beautiful family on a gorgeous summer night for their maternity session. Jenny and Ryan are expecting their second baby boy next month! I had a wonderful time capturing all the love and joy that holds these three together. There was so much laughter, and the many fun antics from 3 year old Justin just brought this session to life. His reactions to his parent's tickling him were so fun! I can't wait to capture their first days with the baby behind Jenny's beautiful bump!
If you are a fan of baby hair swirls, you are going to love Charlie. This sweet man gave me a run for my money for the first half of our session, there were lots of tears, but we worked around it and eventually got him to sleep, and then he pulled out all the stops with his perfect little poses. You may remember his parents, Jill & Jaimie from their maternity session in High Park. It was so fun to get to know them prior to Charlie's arrival and now to see them in their first days as parents. There is a lot of love for this sweet boy, and even his fur-brother doesn't seem to mind the shift in attention ;) Jaimie and Jill, I wish you many blessings as you enjoy life with Charlie!
Hello friends! Things have been a little crazy around here, but I couldn't wait to share this beautiful family with you. Baby girl Emma surprised her parents, Peter and Madeleine, by showing up several weeks early. We decided to hold off her newborn session a little while to give them time to settle in, and when I met Emma she was the sweetest, roly-poly 2 month old. Perfect age for a sink bath, am I right?! Her big brother was so proud and an excellent assistant to dad during her bath time. I loved capturing this little routine and now I'm thinking sink baths may need to become a regular part of my sessions...I'm hooked! I'll leave you to scroll through the images below and trust that you'll feel the love this family has for one another and their sweet new addition!
Miss Audrey's newborn session kicked off my craziest week of sessions to date, and what a great start it was! This little lady was 2 weeks old at the time, and was so calm & alert for the first half of our session that we were able to capture some beautiful portraits of her with her eyes open. When she did fall asleep she was happiest hanging out in mom and dad's arms. Her parents, Patricia & Kevin, were wonderful and I loved shooting in their condo with the beautiful high ceilings and giant windows you can see below. Patricia & Kevin, I had such a wonderful time capturing the love between your new little family and wish you many blessings as sweet Audrey grows!
I had such a fun morning with this little family of three in their beautiful, bright home. They were super kind when I was 15 minutes late because I couldn't find their house (my dear friend Google Maps led me astray)! Matthew found me knocking on the door to the wrong house, where luckily no one was home! When I finally did arrive I met baby girl Kaya, who is only 6 months old and already sitting and crawling...she was always one the move! Her parents certainly have their hands full with this sweet little lady. The combo of giant windows and her gorgeous eyes gave us some beautiful images. Matthew and Vanessa were so full of love for their sweet and spunky daughter, and I just loved capturing these memories for this family.
I'm sure you haven't forgotten sweet little Micah from his Fresh 48 session a few posts back! I spent the morning with Colleen and Eric at home and loved getting to see how they've settled in with their baby boy at home. Micah was not into the idea of lying on the bed by himself for his portraits, so his parents kept him close and we ended up with some of my favourite snuggle shots to date! He even let us get some incredibly adorable shots of him sleeping with his little head resting in daddy's hand (scroll all the way to the bottom for that goodness)! He was not a fan of the diaper change, but I had to document it anyway, since one day he will appreciate that his parents didn't let him sit in his own poo ;) What a joy it was to photography this wonderufl family!
Meet Reshma and Irfan. As soon as Reshma and I started emailing one another, I knew we would be fast friends! Mainly because she suggested we play Friends trivia together (ummm, YES!) and was a fan of Kawartha Dairy ice cream, but also because her kind and laid back personality was apparent even through email. I met Reshma and Irfan on the day of their baby shower at a family member's home, which as you can see was a gorgeous space and had an incredible backyard backing onto a small lake! Such a fun place to shoot! I can't wait to meet the sweet baby boy inside that belly and capture their brand new family love in a few short days!
Brace yourselves, folks. There is a whole lot of perfect, chubby 8 month squish below this text. His name is Abdullah, and along with the cutest role-poly little baby bod, he is also sporting a pair of gigantic, expressive brown eyes. I'm actively holding back from writing all of those adjectives in CAPS LOCK by the way ;) Abdullah and his parents, Daniel and Sadaf, were in Ontario visiting family (they hail from Australia), and wanted to take the time to freeze this adorable and fun stage in their family's life. Like my Levi, Abdullah is (or hopefully was by now!) a terrible sleeper, so Daniel, Sadaf and I bonded over mutual understanding of the tortures of long term sleep deprivation and I tried to pass on some hope that maybe he will start sleeping at 10 months like Levi did! I had such a fun morning with this laid back and loving family, and I'm now seriously contemplating making 8 month sessions a thing :)
Meet this sweet little gentleman, Welles! And of course, his parents Christine and Graham. I had such an amazing Saturday morning with this family. Welles surprised his parents by arriving quite early, and spent some time in the NICU, so he was several weeks old when we met, but slept like a dream and also had the smoothest baby skin! He was so wonderful to capture, and Christine and Graham just added to that. Their home was FULL of books, and we got to connect by trading recommendations and sharing our favourite novels. Welles even had Harry the Dirty Dog on his bookshelf, one of my childhood faves! Along with great taste in books they have excellent style and it was so much fun to shoot in their gorgeous home. We even got take some outdoor shots on their front porch since the weather was beautiful, which I have been waiting all winter to do! It was so much fun to capture Christine and Graham's love for their little boy and I wish them many blessings in the days to come!
Hey guys! I'm in a great mood over here because I have had a bunch of Fresh 48 sessions lately and they're making me SO happy! Baby Micah was only 10 hours old when I met him (I know, his mama Colleen looks amazing for having given birth that morning!). This little man arrived a couple of weeks early, and was 6 lbs of total sweetness. New mom and dad, Colleen and Eric, were tired from being up all night, but so full of joy at finally getting to meet their baby boy. I've posted way too many photos, but I can't help myself. What an honour it is to witness and document these life changing moments.
It's been quite a while since I've posted any personal photos, so here is a little glimpse into our spring! I haven't felt super motivated to shoot in our home since finishing my 365 in February, but I think the warm weather and spending time outdoors is bringing that desire back to me. Watching Levi discover all the things the outdoor life has to offer has been a lot of fun, and has also had the added benefit of exhausting him so we are getting some good naps these days! Also all this humidity is making his curls just amazing! This spring we celebrated our second Father's and Mother's Days, took Levi bowling for the first time, spent the long weekend at the cottage and (one of us) started falling asleep in strange places. One of my goals this summer is to learn to do video on my big camera, so stay tuned for some super amateur vides of Levi ;)
I had the pleasure of meeting Andrea and Joe in early June, on a gorgeous golden evening, to capture their maternity photos. They are one of the few couples I've worked with who are saving baby's gender for a surprise, and I can't wait to meet him or her when baby arrives this summer! These two were very patient with me as we navigated some seriously gross mud (thanks to a rainy spring!), and when I had to take my sandals off to shake out all of the bugs. I think it may be time to invest in a good pair of rubber boots! But this beautiful couple and the gorgeous light more than made up for all that. I look forward to the arrival of their baby and capturing their first days as a family of 3!