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!
You have to check out this little redheaded beauty! Her name is Emily is she was simply a dream to photograph. She slept so well, and then pulled out the cutest, over-the-shoulder pose you can ever imagine, all on her own! You may remember her parents, Wes and Margaret from their maternity session back in the early spring. I so looked forward to getting to hang out with them again and meet their sweet little girl. Margaret only almost cried once, when Emily stretched her little hand out and rested it on her daddy's face, and baby Emily barely cried at all the entire time ;) I just love getting to capture a family's first days after that sudden change that throws you headfirst into parenthood. It's lovely, it's messy, exhausting and thrilling all at the same time. Wishing this special family many blessings.
I met little miss Ada when she was only 24 hours old for her Fresh 48 session, and what a bright eyed little thing she was almost our entire session! She had the most lovely dark eyes and hair, and her parents Gonca and Yalcin were completely smitten with her already. Her daddy is a talented photographer himself, so Ada will certainly grow up to be as comfortable in front of the camera as her mom and dad! I had such a wonderful time capturing her teeny tiny details, especially those sweet feet and eyelashes. Also, is it just me, or is there something so wonderful about those blue and red hospital blankets? It's certainly not that they're soft (ha!), but I like to think that generations of babies have been wrapped in these same blankets in their first hours. I mean, that's probably not true since people apparently take them from the hospital regularly, and they get washed hundreds of times a year, but I'm just going to let myself think that ;)
After having to cancel our original session date due to thunderstorms, we ended up with a gorgeous evening in May to photograph Jaimie and Jill's maternity session. We wandered around High Park with their handsome fur baby, Benson, and got some beautiful shots while also managing to stay away from the terrifying Canadian geese that were nested everywhere! These two were so relaxed and fun to hang out with, and Jill even kept her cool when some random teenagers decided to park themselves directly where we were shooting and watch her model. This girl has nerves of steel. I can't wait to capture their baby boy who is due to make his appearance any day now!
Oh heavens. I apologize in advance because this is a LONG blog post!!! This family allowed me to capture so many beautiful moments that I just couldn't choose. Between a gorgeous old home, a spunky and fun 2 year old and an incredibly sweet newborn baby boy, this session was what dreams are made of! Little miss Millie (the cutie in the pigtails) was so much fun to hang out with. She didn't hesitate to warm right up and enjoy her time in the spotlight, which I think is very evident in the photos of her below! She was a darling big sister to baby Woodrow, giving him lots of kisses and trying to calm him when he cried. Woodrow was the most adorable little squish, with plenty baby chub since he arrived 2 weeks past his due date! He slept so well and was such an easy model. Niki and Chris (parents to the two cuties) were so incredibly kind and seemed to navigate life with two littles with and admirable amount of grace and humour. If you haven't gotten the gist, I really enjoyed my morning with this family, and I hope you can feel the love they have for one another in these photographs!
I just loooooved photographing this new family. Jérémy & Cécile were incredibly natural and relaxed and gave me a beautiful peek into their little world and their first days with their newborn daughter Sophie. This girl got a record number of kisses and snuggles in our two hours together, and it is just so obvious how much she is loved. Her nursery is fully of beautiful, carefully handcrafted items made just for her, including the sleep sack and 'Sophie' sign on her nursery door that you'll see below, and the cozy grey blanket knitted for her by her grandma. She also had the sweetest little wisp of dark hair over her forehead that I just loved! Wishing Jérémy & Cécile many blessings as they raise their darling Sophie!
At the beginning of May I had the pleasure of meeting the two cutest little brothers, Darius and Alexander. Two week old Alexander just had the most serious look in his eye the whole time, and was happy as a clam looking out the window as I took his portraits. I had to work hard to coax him into closing his eyes for a few shots, but this little man didn't want to miss a thing! Big brother Darius was soooo much fun and gave us some wonderful candid and joy filled moments in the the way only toddlers can. He was so careful and gentle holding his baby brother, and giving his mama some sweet kisses. Judy and Cyrus, you certainly have your hands full with these beautiful boys, but in the best way possible! It was an honour to capture these memories for you.
Little miss Georgia had her newborn session one day before her due date! She surprised her parents by showing up a month early, and one big advantage that gave us is that this little peach slept so well for us! The bright sunny day paired perfectly with her cheery white, pink and gold nursery that Georgia's mom, Kate, did a beautiful job designing. I think my favourite thing in the nursery was the amazing window ledge filled with books (which will be no surprise to anyone who knows me), although the cozy blue chair takes a close second. I had such a great time getting to know Kate and Andrew and enjoyed listening to them chat away to their baby girl! Wishing this sweet family many blessings in the days to come.
You know you have a photogenic child on your hands when a 15 minutes session produces basically an entire gallery! This is what happened when I got the beautiful miss Lainey in front of my lens! Lainey's mama is my cousin Katelyn (the other beautiful lady in the photos), and we got to see each other for a family baby shower, so we just quickly took a few minutes to do a mini 7 month milestone session for Lainey before the festivities got started. Honestly, I could have captured this girl all. day. long. I mean, look at those baby blues! And that smile! Stop. I can't even handle it. And this was right before nap time, which as we all know is not when most babies are at their best. I'll be quiet now and let her sweet face speak for itself. Scroll all the way down, you won't be disappointed! Have a happy Friday friends!
I met miss Caleigh when she was 3 months old, and I definitely forgot what a sweet stage this is! She's as beautiful as baby girls come, with a beautiful head of hair (complete with an endearing little bald spot in the back!), some gorgeous long eyelashes and cheeks for days. I have to say I have been getting so lucky with all of the older babies I have photographed lately...they've all given me the sweetest sleeping shots, which are much harder to come by once the newborn days pass! Caleigh was in her Fisher Price lamb swing when I got there, the same one we have, and it brought me back to the days when Levi was tiny enough to fit in his (insert crying emoji). I never felt like each stage was passing as quickly as it did, and I still find myself thinking that the current stage will be much longer, but it never is! Natalie and Justin, I hope you treasure these photos of you baby girl and that they will bring you right back to the days of bald spots and chubby cheeks.