I (heart) Shaan

It'd only been three months since I'd last seen Shaan, so I didn't realize how much I could miss him. I DID! He'd grown so much, and he grew the most fantastic head of hair to go with those amazing big eyes of his and is accumulating the most irresistible baby chub!

I adore working with Shaan, he's so expressive, and his mom is always really great at giving me these really great affectionate moments that are just eye candy. Here are just a few of my favorite shots from my session with Shaan...

Shooting the Gods

I met Godric and Godfrey not long ago for a maternity session. They were referred to me by Amanda & Greg, who told me that they refer to these two as "the Gods"; so when Godric and Godfrey are throwing a dinner party, how could Amanda & Greg not dine with the Gods? It's hilarious, I love it.

And I loved this couple, too, and their adorable little Charlotte who's one of the most affectionate and cuddliest dogs I've ever met. Here are a few of my favorite shots from this session.

The Prettiest Belly

What can I tell you about Eliza that you won't already think when you look at her portraits and think "Wow..."? She was positively radiant! I met her and John just a few days ago and was smitten with this couple from the start. I have to admit, I have a weakness for maternity shoots with blondes. It's because I'm a light junkie, so when everything on my subject glows, including hair, I'm in heaven! Have a peek at these favorites of mine, I dare you not to "awe!" :)

And the award for Most Romantic Daddy goes to....

Jacen, hands down. The same dad who brought us this shot:



makes a comeback with this one:



I just have to tell Jacen where to be and let him be, and he gives me the sweetest most loving moments to shoot.

I've been seeing the Baxters since Ava was just a baby and I absolutely adore them... they're a beautiful family through and through, and I'm always moved by the images that come from our sessions together. Kudos to them and especially Katy for bringing me little baby Evy at just four days old! I know it's terribly difficult to plan a photography session so early in a baby's life but I think (and hope you'll agree when you see these images) that it's so, so worth it! The newborn stage of a baby's life is such a fleeting time, I believe it should be documented in a beautiful way. Here are my favorite moments from my session with one of my favorite families. Look at these kids... could they be happier??

Introducing Max!

In all his itty-bitty glory! Usually it takes a while to wait for a newborn to fall asleep during a session for a few of those angelic sleepy shots.. but Max wouldn't wake up! He came over out like a light, and a good half of the session was done with him dozed off. I can't complain, sleeping newborns always make for beautiful photography. Many parents are concerned about not seeing their baby's eyes when they're this young and tiny, but I think it'd be a shame to miss capturing this time in a baby's life over a detail that will change in time, anyway. I think newborn photography is about capturing the most precious and tiniest time in a baby's life, as well as capturing bonds that are so new and so charged with emotion.

I loved my session with Max and his parents. You know that sleep you get on a lazy Sunday, and you wake up and the stretch is just as delicious as the sleep itself? Newborns look like they get this sleep every time they go down... it's so beautiful.

HAH-PITCHOOO!

I love catching a good sneeze... they're so cute and funny in photos!



Sometimes the most gorgeous babies show up at my door and I see them and think "Oh my word, really??" because they feel more like little gifts than work! Isabella was absolutely one of these cases. Look at those eyes!

No Such Thing as a Bad Day

Yes it happens, sometimes babies are just not happy about being disturbed for a photoshoot. But when parents are trying not to stress and are panicking about the possibility of their session going way wrong, I'm busy shooting what have to be the best parenting portraits I could get. Because while baby is fussing, mom and dad are at their parenting best, soothing & cooing their babies with all the love and tenderness only a parent could have.

My session with Jude was one of these sessions, and I'm completely thrilled with what I captured that day. We of course got those golden moments were this little man was at his best... but we got these parenting shots more beautiful than I could ever had hoped for, too. Some of these I just don't think I would have gotten if Jude had been all peachy keen for the duration of the shoot.

My very favorite is the long shot of mom cuddling Jude to sleep. It's just sooo romantic, it feels like poem about motherhood.

Joanna's Angels

Meeting and photographing Joanna's little cookies was all-around fun and almost too easy... both of them took to me really quickly so we had a whole hour of just fun & games, and I got some really precious portraits of them. My favorites? The upside down "I'm the Big Brother" shot, of course...



Even better is the classic baby-new-to-walking stumble-strut... look at that tiny toe touching the floor, does it get cuter than that?



But the best has to be this one, for me:



It's warm, intimate, there's so much love in it, and it's the moment just before Jasmine takes that little teddy bear and rubs her nose in it before dozing off for a nap. There are some things I'm not able to capture in children because two hours isn't enough to catch every habit and quirk, but I'm so pleased I caught this one. Gives me warm fuzzies to look at it.

Here are a couple more stars from this shoot...

Have you been?

Hello Sunshine is a fantastic and clever little store at the corner of High Park & Bloor St West. When I ventured in to see if they might be interested in hanging some of my work in their store, I was pleased to find out it's not just the store that's cool; the owners of the store, Christina & Delko, are awesome, and their kids are a joy! I got to photograph them together on a beautiful afternoon.







So I'm thinking, if everything that is inside Hello Sunshine is cool, then I'm cool by default now, aren't I? (hee hee!) If you haven't been to this place, you're really missing out. And the next time you do go, tell Delko & Christina I said "Hi!"

Happy, Happy Mother's Day!

Click Here, all you beautiful Mammas!