Little Oliver: Vancouver Newborn Session

Well, to say that the last two weeks has been stressful is an understatement! A few Saturdays ago I had the pleasure of photographing a beautiful little 4-week old, Oliver, at his home in Downtown Vancouver with his parents, Kerri and Jeff and their chocolate lab, Leah. I made a whole day of it, going to the Aquarium with my husband and boys before and after the shoot and the shoot itself went so well.

Oliver took a bit to get settled, but once he did, I was actually able to get some of those precious 'newborn poses' that I've always wanted to capture on camera and I was so pleased with the results. All in all, it was a great day and so nice to meet this little family of 3!

Two days after that shoot, I experienced the dreaded 'white screen of death' when trying to boot my iMAC up and, since then, it has been a bit crazy. My iMAC was out of commission for a week or so, then in the shop for a week, then alive again for two glorious days and finally, it bit the dust completely! Thankfully, through all of this, I do have a laptop and all of my photos double and triple backed up but all the drama cut into my editing time significantly and I am so thankful for Kerri and Jeff's patience as, normally, even though I say it will take up to 2 weeks to receive your photos, it usually is only 1 week tops and they have had to wait the full two weeks.

Kerri and Jeff, you have a beautiful little guy there, as you know, and I really appreciate the opportunity to spend an afternoon with you three in your gorgeous home. I am really pleased that our paths crossed. Once again, thank you for patiently waiting for this post. I sincerely hope that the results were worth the wait! Enjoy!

As with most babies (and surely as has been the case with my boys) Oliver was quite hungry even though he had just eating so we got a few of him and his parents while he was somewhat awake and then Kerri put him into a nice milk coma for the rest of the photos and it worked like a charm :)

I love how he's looking up at his mom and dad in the picture above :) So precious.

And a few with dad :)

Kerri had a great idea for a photo that she had seen on Pinterest and she had a lot of the props so we stuck little Oliver in this baseball mitt and hoped for the best. He didn't seem to mind at all ;)

Get ready for a whole lot of cuteness! This little man was so co-operative and allowed us to make multiple hat switches and position changes for quite some time. As a result, this amazing stage where infants are so tiny and fragile was really captured and, Kerri, I hope this helps solidify these moments in your memory forever. What a precious little life.

 This adorable brown toque was kindly provided by Mad Madison designs and made an amazing prop, adding beautiful texture and neutral tones to these photos. Thank you to Ashley Reynolds for sharing your talent!

 Time to get some shots with the fourth member of the family :)

I"ll end with one of my favorites photos from the day of this little angel. I think it's a far better note to end on than any words from me. Big thanks again to this family for opening their home to me for a few hours. It was such a privilege!

Twins Session...No, they're not identical ;)

Twins session with two best friends and their little babies, just 3 months apart? Don't mind if I do :) I was so thrilled to be able to hang out with Steph and April and their little babes, Nate and Addyson, on another beautiful fall morning. You can take a look back at Steph's Maternity Session and Addyson's newborn session as I have been spoiled with lots of QT with the Maitlands recently!

We were a little skeptical of the weather forecast but, even though there were a few rain droplets as I drove to this new little spot, the rain held off and it was incredibly warm out considering it was early November.

I love doing group sessions like this, especially with babies, because, if one baby is fussy or feeding, we can just take some shots of the other and, in this case, April's mom also came along, and was a huge help! Both kids lasted for more than an hour at this spot through multiple poses and at least two wardrobe changes each.

Here are some shots of these gorgeous mama's and their beautiful babies!



I LOVE Nate's hat so, while Addyson had a bit of a top up of milk, we got quite a few of this cute little 3 month old!



Next cutie in line.... is her outfit not the most adorable thing you've ever seen? I would be broke if I had to buy clothes for a girl (let's be honest, I already have a tiny bit of a shopping problem having two boys in the house :) )






There were just a few too many adorable shots of Addyson to pick only one so here are six of my faves. My favorite is the one on the top right. I have a bit of a soft spot for those chubby little cheeks :)






Best Friends and 'best-friends-to-be'






Too cute not to post!



One of my favorite sequences of 'best friends' shots. We were having so much fun! I may have even suggested that, in one of the shots, it looks like they're using their babies as weapons.








Wardrobe change and Grandma Ethel could not have come in more appropriate clothing!



Mr.Nate and smiles all thanks to Grandma!





Wardrobe Change #2 for Addy and out come the Naslund Jersey's. Love how tiny she looks and, Steph, you look amazing for just having had a baby!



Little Festive Babies!



After the park, we headed back to my house for a few indoor shots with the little buddies and the beautiful little cherubs co-operated quite nicely! Huge thanks to my Nana for sewing me some swaddling blankets for this little ones.











Steph & April, when I watch you two together, I'm reminded that, we are so often blessed, in life, with best friends who end up being more like family. It is so clear that you two have a special bond that cannot be easily broken and will now only be stronger as you get to share in the journey of motherhood. Life is so much richer sharing it with others who love you for who you are and the fact that you love each other in that way is also so clear.

Your little ones are so blessed to be inheriting a best friend in one another and an aunty in each of you (oh and uncles in your significant others - can't forget them!).

May you both have such a blessed year, skyping, visiting, laughing and crying together through the ups and downs of this crazy adventure. 

M Family: Ladner Newborn Photos

I must say, first of all, that, beyond being incredibly happy for this family and their beautiful little girl that  they've welcomed into their family, I'm also selfishly happy because it has meant I get to spend a lot of time with them over the past few weeks.

I did some maternity portraits for this couple back in October and then, when Addyson made her appearance I was more than happy to come back and spend the afternoon with her and her awesome parents and capture this beautiful girl at just under a week old.

She went through the whole range of awake/dozey/sleepy and never really fell into the grumpy phase so we got a lot of shots in our afternoon together. The light was being a bit tricky as there was bright sun for a 10 minute window and then we had to rearrange a good portion of their dining room/living room to find the one patch of natural light but Steph and Eric were super accomodating and I really hope they love the results. Here it goes....We'll start with the cutie herself...







Look closely at the photo on the left and you'll see the fourth member of their family :) Love you, Maggie!



Let the 10 minute window of gorgeous light commence... I think Addyson is even smiling in the one on the left!



Father and daughter... Eric was so patient as I made him scoot around the floor until I found the light I wanted. You're a trooper and you now officially get a break from photos (at least for a little while!) :)



We took a quick break to take a few outside before Eric had to head off to work and then it was back inside for some more pics of this beautie and her momma.



Love these ladies!



I got this prop awhile ago from an online store and was so excited to use it for the first time! She looked SO cute!






I can't believe how strong Addyson is already. Love that she could just hold her head up and look right at me for these ones!



Steph and Eric, you already know this, but you have a beautiful little gift in your arms and I have been so blessed to watch you transition effortlessly into becoming her parents. I can only imagine life will get better and better with each coming day, as has been my experience, and I look forward to watching you experience blessing after blessing from having her in your life. Love you guys and God Bless in your journey as a family.

A beautiful Lily: Ladner Newborn & Family Portraits

I was so excited on a somewhat cloudy morning to head to my old stomping grounds for a newborn photoshoot right near my old high school. Becca and I went to high school together and, funny enough, are both teachers now only Becca teaches at our old high school and, after having her second little baby, is on maternity leave again. Her oldest, Logan, is just a bit younger than Ben and I was so excited to have a chance to photograph their newest addition - Lily!

Here are some of my favorites pics of her gorgeous little family! They picked some beautiful colors for the photos and had a great home with just the right amount of natural light.

Logan was amazing for the entire shoot and, it definitely helped that he could settle in with dad and watch some Nemo while Lily had her photos taken.

I absolutely loved the light in this particular spot and the way in which Lily looks so little when held in her mom and dad's hands. She's so precious!

Father & Daughter.

Some more shots of this beautiful family. I love the colors in Lily's dress and how she's just sleeping so peacefully through it all.

Now for the star of the show. She was so amazing throughout the whole shoot and endured a number of wardrobe changes. I had a bunch of new fabrics to try out and she was happy to oblige :)

Lily has such beautiful hair for a little newborn - hair that a lot of kids don't even have at age 1 or 2!

I got some gorgeous hats from a store on etsy, KnitWitWoolies, and had a lot of fun trying them out on Lily. I love how the pom pom on the bottom rests on her little bottom. So cute. Richard and Logan were enjoying some movie time while Lily was getting her photos taken and I love that you can see them blurred out in the background of the bottom photo!

A few of mom and dad with their little princess. Check out her smirk as she lays in her daddy's arms. Love it.

I love the little one-eyed look in the bottom photo. She looks so happy to be hanging out in that bucket :)

Becca shared with me that their beautiful little girl is named after the flower that Richard always buys for her so she had a few on hand for the shoot. I love it when clients come with creative ideas like that - it makes my job even more enjoyable than it already is. As you can see she wasn't too into this hat at first (another etsy find!)  but, a pee and a poo later and she was good to go :) All in all, considering that was the only drama of the photoshoot, I'd say we fared pretty well!

I know from experience that, when the older sibling is only 2 and a bit, it's hard to get a good photo of baby and big brother but we got a few in this spot and then some more later when we were outside. Logan did really well and Lily looks so contented with him snuggling her.

A few more faves of this little beauty.

While Lily got a bit of a milk break, I headed outside with Rich and Logan for some father/son time. I love how much air Logan is getting in the top picture!

We even took some at the park right across from their house where Logan loves to play. What an awesome place for a kid to grow up and Logan was so good about coming back into the house. Such a great little guy.

A few of Lily and mom and dad. Have I said yet how amazing Becca looks? Such a beautiful mom.



Such a fun family. I love how Lily has her eye on the camera in a lot of these pictures.



Becca & Richard, thank you for inviting me into your home to photograph your beautiful family and precious new addition. I had such a great time and it was wonderful to reconnect with you, Becca, and meet your other half and kidlets! I hope you enjoy your photos and maybe we can even find a time to get our boys together while we're off on leave together :)