The Romance of Motherhood

I truly believe there are two great loves in our lives; one of them for that special him or her we choose to grow old with, and the love that is born with our children. And for these two loves, there is romance. And as much as I treasure my relationship, I really believe the most powerful romance on this earth is the romance that is born between parent and child.

Because this romance is true, pure, unconditional, completely selfless and absolutely imperishable. This is the romance I look for when I'm photographing newborns with their parents.

Having your child photographed when it first enters this world is about more than photographs of their tiny little nose, fingers, and toes... it's about capturing the days you fell in love deeply with the most precious part of yourself.

I had the chance to meet little Mikaela yesterday afternoon, after having photographed her mum in all her pregnant glory just over a week earlier. This little bundle was nothing short of perfect. Here are a few sneak peeks of this shoot... Enjoy, and congratulations, Anna-Maria & Michael!

To smile, or not to smile?

That is always the baby's question. But in the end, even if a baby wakes up with the incontrollable urge to put mom & dad to work singing & dancing in the photographer's studio in order to get a glimpse of the smiles & giggles they're so used to enjoying, there are always a few that slip out, and I'm usually pretty good at catching them!

But I can't lie; I'm always more interested in that quiet look in children, which I believe is always the most accurate portrait of a child's spirit. There's something about that thoughtful state that reveals the true nature of babies. When I catch those little muted glances, I see a soul that's constantly seeking to learn and absorb the people and emotions around them.

But in the end, I want to catch it all! And I think I achieved that with Liam and his parents this Saturday. Though Liam had his mum and dad pulling out all tricks to have him giggle, the end result of this shoot was really perfect. The quirkiest thing about this little family is that baby Liam found a way to own just about all of his daddy's features! And a proud daddy at that. I'm sure that the tables will turn one day when this little fella winds up with all of mum's best personality traits!

Here are a few of my favorites from that session. Enjoy the sneak peek, Amargit & Neil!

How do I love my job? Let me count the ways...

Let's take this week as an example. First, I get to hang out with Leighton and his parents to celebrate the almost first year anniversary of this brand new family.

The icing on the cake for this session was that at the end, Leighton got to enjoy his very first birthday cake!

Then, I get to spend some time with Claire and her mother to capture their relationship and friendship, which was really special... especially considering that this mum-daughter duo now live in separate countries. I love that when they're thinking about each other, they'll have these wonderful images to look back on.

Finally, I got to meet Rogan, whom I've technically already met... when he was in his mum's belly! If there was something more precious than capturing this baby boy, it was being able to have been there from the very beginning, and having been a witness to a love that was growing for him even before he entered the world. Rogan was a chatter! We had entire conversations today void of actual words!

So why do I love my job? Because in the end, I get to watch and capture families bond and enjoy each other, and I get to be a witness and journalist to the relationships that grow and bloom between them. I can honestly say that I am always smiling when I'm working. What more can a girl ask for, really?

It's raining expecting mothers!

I'm happily drowning in Holiday festivities, but I couldn't help but post a few quick shots from a recent session I had with Rex and Constance, a really sweet expecting couple I met just before Christmas. I'm really thrilled with the moments I captured during this shoot. Here are a few of my favorites...

I hope you're all having a splendid holiday season!

Parent Portraiture

Today I had a session with sweet little Ava and her mum and dad.



And while going over the photos tonight, I realized something... I used to mostly focus on the child in my family sessions, leaving a few shots in the end for a few family photographs and a couple of mom-baby & dad-baby shots; but lately, I've really begun to enjoy and explore family photography and I have to say; in the end, photographs of parents with their children are often my favorites.

I love to study parents interacting with their children. Though there are always conversational tricks and special moves that parents are used to doing to gain the full attention and heart of their children, they're always different, and interesting, and sweet.

Today, Katy whispered secrets in her daughter's ear and I thought it was the most wonderful little trick.... not to mention photogenic! Here are a few portraits from my session today with Ava.

Blue-eyed Doll

I photographed a baby girl today that had these eyes which I thought were stunning in person; but I didn't realize to what extent until I saw the photographs. Stunning, just stunning.

I had so much fun with Caitlin and her mum and dad today... they're going to have a terrible time narrowing down their portrait selections because there is a ridiculous number of irrisistable images that came from this shoot. Here are a few of my favorites so far...

Little Miss Molly

Ever wonder what life feels like through the eyes of a child?

I don't know about you, but it looks pretty sweet to me!

I had a shoot with Molly and her parents this weekend, and fun was definitely had by all! Molly is the queen of smirks, and she gave me so many different great expressions to capture. Here's a sneak peek from this shoot...

A Special Gift this Christmas

And is there really a better gift? On Saturday I had a shoot with Anna Maria and Michael to celebrate the upcoming arrival of a new baby. It was a brave shoot, because this little one is due in just nine days!

The joy and giddiness of this expecting couple was so contagious I carried that happiness with me all the way to the mall, which made my last-minute shopping not in the least stressful! Here is a sneak peek of my shoot with this lovely couple.

Highlights of last week

Well, all weekend appointments for Holiday gift-giving are booked, and I'm working like a busy little elf to get last-minute details together for my clients. But I had to share a few highlights from last week's sessions.

I met with Martha and her little angels on Friday, and I could have gone on all day with these little ones.

It's hard to believe little Jack was terrified when he first arrived for his shoot. It didn't take long for this little firecracker to come out of his shell!

I also met Tiz and Tony last week for a maternity shoot. Maternity shoots have been a little more rare this month, but there are quite a few coming up in the new year! Here are a few snippets of this perfect bump.

Finally I met with Val and her little Elliott. I'm always touched by the relationships between mothers and their babies, but this one was particularly sweet. Elliott was such a cuddly and affectionate little guy, and I love how this came through in alot of his photographs. Here are a few from this session...

I love, love love that last one. It looks like a landscape of love.

I had to save my favorite moment of the week for last. At the end of my session with Martha, out of nowhere, I heard this itty bitty little girl shouting plain sentences. Catching my curious glance her way, Martha told me "Oh. Yes, she's going through a shouting phase." Might sound a little crazy, a little loud, but it was ridiculously cute, and absolutely irrisistable. It may have something to do with the way she squeezed her cheeks when she did it! Check it out in action:

I love it.

A Vice A Versa Sunday

This Sunday was fun and interesting! I had two back-to-back sessions with 2 families of four with a baby and a toddler; the first session was with a baby boy and toddling girl, and the second was the opposite!

My first shoot was with Lauren & Austin, two adorable little stars. My favorite part of this shoot was Lauren, who was the epitome of the reasons I love to photograph little princesses; young girls have this sweet and elegant grace that is just so beautiful. To anyone that asks why I think photographing children is easier than adults, I'd show these shapes and lines to:

The way young girls move is like a subtle dance full of gorgeous moments that could never be solicited by a subject posing. Here are a few more highlights from this shoot.

And onto the next! Little Finn & Margo were just as cute and original as their names! Finn was a boy with moves...

And little wide-eyed Margaux was absolutely irrisistable.

Altogether, gorgeous family!

Things are getting busy, and my blog entries may get a little shorter.. but I'll do my best to keep you updated! Happy holiday shopping!

The Colors of Jaymin

This afternoon I had a blast photographing Jaymin, a handsome and curious little almost-two-year-old. There were alot of things to keep him busy today, so much so that family pictures were not on this little guy's agenda at all. I got this great snap of a runaway in progress that I had to share.

I love that one! His parents shouldn't worry, though... I did get the more traditional family photographs. (And I guess by traditional, I mean everybody's head made it into the frame loud and clear!)

When I get a busy shoot with a toddler that loves to explore and play with what seems like anything that's out of the shooting area, I always get the inevitable "working with kids must be difficult" comments, but I have to say... it's always the ones that make me sweat that give me the most colorful sessions. Here are a few portraits from my shoot with this little guy.

E-mail Issues

I am a near obsessive e-mail junkie. I always answer my e-mails within a few hours, and at most, within a day. So if you've been trying to reach me and haven't heard back, it's not because I don't like the ring of your name, or because I think you have smelly feet. (Hee hee! But DO you??) It's technical.

I've set up a temporary e-mail to try to by-pass this problem, so if you'd like to get in touch with me and josee@joseecaza.com isn't being friendly, you can reach me at portraitsbyjosee@yahoo.ca.

Happy holiday shopping!

Josée