Miss.Maria: Family Session

Sandy and Brita are a part of our 'second family,' as I like to think of it - which includes a core group of friends we met at SFU and have stayed in close contact with over the past 10+ years. It has been so fun watching them become a family of three over the past year and their beautiful little girl, Maria, has such an amazing personality already. I had so much fun capturing her expressions and we treasure this whole family so much that time slipped by and, before I knew it, we had a ton of shots. Enjoy!

 




Love this one :)






The bottom photo makes me smile because it reminds me of one of the things I love about this family - they are 'real' and we can be real with one another. That bottom photo is 'real' life as a parent :)



Pretty sure Maria's laugh is right up there as one of my faves!






What a beautiful girl!

Love these ones of Brita and Maria!



Maria was really into the ducks which worked in our favor :)






Sandy and Brita, I hope you enjoy these photos and that they would make frequent reminders of the amazing blessing you have as parents of this gorgeous little girl. It's not like there was any doubt that you'd make amazing parents but, let me say that I can see both of your best qualities in the way you interact with Maria and show her love. You balance each other out so nicely and we so enjoy sharing in the ups and downs of parenting with you both.

Lots of love and blessings in Maria's second year of life for your little family!

Rogers Family: New day, New faces

I have had so much fun reaquainting with old friends, through this little venture, but the Rogers family was referred to me through another friend so this was the first time I had met them. I love spending a good amount of time with a new family, or even people I've met before, as it gives us time to connect and for them to relax and feel comfortable with me so that, throughout the shoot, I can capture those 'real life' moments happening between all the family members.

 Steve had purchased this session for Danielle as a birthday gift and I was most impressed! Steve, if you are anything like my husband, an hour + of photo taking is not your idea of a good time but, you are gauranteed to have received some brownie points for surprising her with this session and having a smile on your face throughout.

 As you'll see, I had no problem busying myself during our hour and a bit shoot in Richmond
and, in the very first set of photos, you'll see why. Beyond Steve and Danielle being great company, their daughter, who is just under a year old, is ADORABLE. Here are a few of the little cutie to get us started!

 

Love the bottom one of Danielle and Addison (I hope I spelled that right, Danielle ;) ) - I couldn't believe the smiles Addison was giving me right out of the gate!




I think someone walked behind us and had Addison's attention so I waited until they were directly behind us a got some shots! Helpful to use passers-by!






Last time I was at this location, it was way too sunny to take shots that weren't in the shade of a building, so I thought I'd test out a few other backdrops at this gorgeous spot.




Love the 'throwing' shots and the way her curls bounce all over the place. So cute!









A few of the little walker :)





Wardrobe change and off to some new locations :)





I'm pretty sure this sequence below might be some of my favorites! If I had to pick what I love about these photos so much it would be a tight race between her expressions and her curls :)




A few of mom & daughter :) They're both gorgeous!





I couldn't resist posting these ones!










So, we had definitely been shooting for an hour by the time I took these shots and look at Addison's smiles - look at everyones' smiles for that matter. What a beautiful family!



A few fun shots before we started to wind down!



One of the joys of being in a place with wide open grassy areas is that we could just put Addison down in the grass and take some time to get some shots of just Steve and Danielle. I totally understand what it's like to have very few pictures with your spouse once kids come along so I always try to take a bit of time for this in each family shoot and these two are photogenic, to say the least.



Another fave :)



And, one last one of little Ms.Addison :)



Steve & Danielle, it was an absolute pleasure meeting you and your beautiful daughter and spending the morning together. I was so lucky to be a part of the birthday celebration and hope that you have a wonderful year together as a family. 

Willms Family: Extended family shoot well worth the wait!

I had the pleasure of meeting Kristen at a 'mom and me' bootcamp through the rec centre when she and her family of three had just moved here from the island. Now they are a family of four and I was so excited to meet the rest of Kristen's family just a few Sundays' ago.

Kristen and her 2 brothers and sister had purchased this as a Christmas gift for her parents a few years back but, as I greatly understand, had a hard time finding the perfect time to get the whole group together and finally the stars aligned and I got to meet the rest of the Willms.

 I had such a wonderful time with this family exploring some different areas of Campbell Valley Park, including a tall grass area that I may have to return to for future shoots, and generally enjoying their company.

 As with a lot of extended family shoots, it was really hard to decide on which photos to post as there were so many fun interactions to capture and, with such a photogenic group, my list of 'favorite' shots needed to be paired down quite a bit. But, after a bit of hmm'ing and haa'ing, I've got it down to a manageable amount and am excited to share them with this family and all those who have already had the pleasure of knowing and being a part of the Willms' families lives.

Enjoy and thanks, Kristen, for allowing me to be a part of your family for a few hours!

Here are a few of the whole family to get started...
    

I can't believe how good the kids were for the whole shoot! Stuart, being just a day older than Benjamin, was awesome considering how hard it is for me to get Ben to look at the camera for a few shots and Heidi was a trooper too. The adults are always a treat to photograph because they listen so well ;)



The girls, the guys and the whole family!






And now for siblings as they truly are and a funny shot of the guys orchestrated by the ladies!



Stuart was really into these shots where he got to be in the center of attention and I love how they turned out. He's such a little ham!







Kristen's sister hadn't really had many photos of her and her husband since they were married and I think he endured the camera clicks quite nicely :)



A few of the Bylengas :)



You can just tell how much fun Grandma and Grandpa have with their little grandkids. So fun to see!



Next, off to the tall grass for some more fun! At this point, we were probably already an hour into the shoot and every one was up for having more fun so I tried to get every possible combination. I completely understand that it isn't very often that you get this many people in one place at one time!




Now for some of the couples... First off, Kristen and Eric!









And last but not least the two that it all started with. I love the way he still looks at her with such love. Family dynamics are wonderful to watch and it seems like the kids in this family have been given a great pair of role models to learn from.




Some more sibling shots! I've often wondered what it would be like to be from a family of four who are all close in age and hope that I can negotiate my husband into at least letting us have one more if not two more kids so we can find out. Though I sense that it would be crazy when they're all young, I love the idea of having a crew of best friends to grow old with. Looks like you have that, Kristen, and I can tell you appreciate it.



Dad & his boys and Mom and her girls...



Even though I already captured some of this couple, I had to put this photo up because this dog is too cute not too. He was such a great poser and I love the way his ears perk up!



A couple more of Mr.Stuart




Last but not least, one more shot of all the 'kids' and what's a family shoot without a fun jumping shot. These 7 took the jumping shot very seriously and I love how it turned out!



Thanks to everyone in this wonderful family for spending some time with me. I had so much fun getting to know you guys and take it that Willms family gatherings would be a lot of fun. Hope you enjoy and have a blessed year ahead.