lindsay + mike + spencer

I was so happy that Lindsay + Mike invited me over to their place to take photos of Spencer. Hands down, he is the jolliest, happiest, smiliest baby I have yet to photograph - an absolute dream! We got some amazing shots from our session and I'm really excited to share some of my favourites here. Thanks again for a great morning of shooting!

ben + maria {in love}

Hi! I'm home! Cuba was absolutely amazing and I can't wait to go through all our photos and share what we saw. New posts will be appearing soon. :)

Although traveling is an incredible opportunity to learn about the world (and yourself!) I'm really excited to be home and am looking forward to a fun spring of shooting. I'm working on launching my website and have all kinds of awesome things planned, so stay tuned!

The week before we left, I had the opportunity to do an engagement session with Ben + Maria. Two awesome (very photogenic!) people that were a lot of fun to work with. And troopers too! It was windy and cooooold on the waterfront but you wouldn't know it from their photos. My three favourite images are the close-up of Maria's eyelashes (so intimate and romantic!), the one of them kissing with the light shining through, and the one of Ben giving her a piggy back and her hair is blowing wildly in the wind - awesome! I love unruly hair!

Thanks for letting me capture this special time you two - and all the best this summer. Your wedding will be beautiful. xoxo.

on the grow

Remember sweet little Olivia? Well she's growing up and looking like a big girl now - toddling about and exploring the world around her. It was amazing watching her pick things up and examine them... I could just see the wheels in her head turning, trying to figure out what's what. As you can see below, she's just as sweet as ever with her gorgeous baby blues.

It was an absolute pleasure to be invited back to Garett and Kristal's home to capture this special time. It was great to see you all again - I had a lot of fun and hope you did too! Enjoy your sneak peek!

a day in the life

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about how I take photographs. More specifically, I've been thinking about what I take photographs of. I love doing portraits. I love getting those shots of perfectly sharp eyes and genuine expressions. I like cropping out the details so that the image is not about a time or place, but about who a person is.

But, I think I've discovered something I love doing even more. I think more than anything, I like telling stories. I like taking photographs of not just an individual but of an individual in a particular time and space. Because I think the time and space helps us, as a viewer, understand the people in the image by providing better context.

I know that as I browse other photographer's portfolios, the images I tend to bookmark and revisit time and again are those with a journalistic slant - the story-telling shots that are immediately relate-able and give me goosebumps.

One of the reasons I fell in love with the art of photography was because I wanted to be able to document people's moments of love. When people asked, "What do you take pictures of?" My cheesy yet truthful answer was, "love." Because really, what's more important in this life than the people we love and our relationships with them?

So with that in mind, I started taking pictures. And originally I felt the best way to do it would be to take portraits - capturing the essence of who a person is and preserving it for generations to come.

But, like all things in life, ideas and approaches evolve. And over the course of time I've started to realize that my most favourite images from every photo session that I do, are not actually the ones with tack sharp eyes and perfect expressions, but those that tell a story of how the people in the image relate. The odd shot where I catch a man looking lovingly at his wife-to-be or a mother's patient yet weary smile while holding a squirming two year old. It's these images that I treasure the most.

This evolution of thought does not come as a surprise to me, as I've always said that if I were to win the lottery, I would make documentaries. And I often think about going back to school to take journalism.

I'm not really sure where I'm going with this... other than the fact that I want to tell you that I've been doing a lot of thinking about photojournalism and in particular, family photojournalism. I passionately believe in family and believe even more firmly that it should be documented.

So yesterday I started practicing. I went over to my brother's place and while I got some really nice portraits of Hannah and Joshua, I concentrated moreso on taking environmental type shots that told a really good story about what a day in their life is like. I concentrated on preserving the light and shadows to tell a better story of mood and I didn't photoshop out any of the "imperfections" that I would normally deem distracting (such as a corner of a picture frame on the wall).

Even though some of the images are not perfectly exposed or perfectly sharp, I am in love with the results. It's got me wondering how I can do this for other families. Wondering how plausible it would be to spend an entire day with a family from breakfast to bedtime and how easily and quickly could I melt into the background as they went about their day? Am I able to get these shots just because it's my brother's family? I don't know, but certainly, someday, I would like to try.

dreaming of...

...warm breezes, walks on the beach and the company of a best friend. come on spring!

on black & white images

I cannot get enough of these kids! For those of you who know me, you'll also notice that little miss Hannah is conspicuously missing from this series. I happened to land at their house smack dab in the middle of her nap. But no worries, she will undoubtedly be featured soon.

It was brought to my attention last night (by a super awesome someone) that I've been tending towards black and white in my photos. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, just an observation. And it was interesting that it was brought up last night because yesterday, my sister-in-law asked me for a colour version of a photo of Joshua that I had originally sent only as black & white. And it made me go, "Hmmm... why colour? The black & white version is obviously superior." (Just kidding Kelly!) But it did tweak something in my brain that perhaps other people don't swoon over black & white the way I do.

So... why all the black & white? I couldn't put my finger on it immediately but after mindful consideration, I realized a few things.

1.) I think colour can overwhelm the eye and draw a viewer's attention away from the intended purpose/message of the photograph. The emotion/action of the people in the image can easily escape a viewer's eye if all they see if the hot pink Barbie convertible in the foreground.

2.) A black and white image depends more strongly on the content of the image - how an image is "constructed" becomes more important - all the things you think about in every art form: lines, form, light, texture, shape and space.

3.) Most importantly, a black and white image is timeless. The colour choices of clothing, decor or even post-processing provide clues as to when an image was taken. Strip away colour and you're left with the pure emotion of an image. The viewer's mind fills in the details and the image instantly becomes a more personal experience. For example, the image of Rhianna below was originally her showing me her new shirt. The black and white image is not about Rhianna's new shirt, it's about Rhianna - her beautiful spirit and crazy energy. Take out colour and it's a documentation of childhood exuberance. It's a piece of childhood that potentially engulfs the viewer in nostalgia. To me, a black and white photograph is instantly relate-able.

4.) And that's why I tend to black & white, in case you were wondering. :)

charlie turns one

I love birthday parties! And this one was especially fun because it was held at On the Grow in Bayer's Lake and the birthday girl was the cutest ever! There were cupcakes and cake, slides and things to climb on and of course, proud grandparents with cameras.

This was my first time shooting a party and I thought it was super fun. Thank-you Lindsay for inviting me to share this special day with you and all your lovely family and friends!