Melanie + Esker Newborn Session

Esker and Melanie recently welcomed their new daughter, Maeve, into the family. They weren’t planning on getting newborn photos done, but as soon as she arrived, they knew they had to. I get to do their wedding this coming September so I was super happy that I got to have a portrait session with them before then. Plus, I also got to meet Maeve, who might go down as the calmest baby I have ever met.

The session, of course, took place in their lovely new home. It was very casual and candid session, which is my favourite kind. At one point, Esker pulled out his guitar and sang a few songs which was very sweet. I simply can’t wait until the wedding later this year!

I also filmed a bit of video during the session too. You can check that out below, along with some highlights.

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A short little video I did of my recent newborn session with Esker and Melanie. They welcomed their daughter, Maeve to the world a couple weeks ago.

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Amy + Family Newborn Session

I have lost count how any sessions it has been with Amy and her wonderful family, which is a good thing. I look forward to so many more future session, because each one outdoes the last. Case in point, Amy and David welcome Ellie to the family around 6 weeks ago, so it was a no brainer to get some updated family portraits that include the newest addition to the family. 

As soon as I got there we got started immediately. Of course, I focused on Ellie first, and if I'm being honest, for most of the session. That doesn't mean we didn't get the whole family though as you can see from the photos below. Amy and David have such a beautiful house it's hard not to come away with some great backdrops. The nursery was so cute too, with some nice details which I made sure to capture. 

We finished the session outside which was the perfect end to a perfect session. I still can't believe how fast the hour went by. I could have photographer Ellie (and the rest of the family) or another hour or more! 

As I have been also doing more of lately, there is a short video below that you can view showing a few moments from the session. Thanks for viewing!

Jamie + Cory + Sophia + Teagan

My latest photo session was a family affair with Anne's cousin, Jamie. She recently gave birth to her newest addition to the family, Teagan. Along with her slightly older sister, Sophia and of course the man of the family, Cory. Instead of your typical 'newborn' session where we spend an hour or two putting the baby in different positions with different backdrop and outfits, I wanted to treat it more like my wedding photography which leans towards a documentary style. Not to say we didn't pose the baby a few times, but the majority of the shoot was me simply sitting back and capturing normal moments with no direction. I wanted it to be like I wasn't really there, just an observer, with a camera of course.

The results were amazing to say the least. There were so many natural moments and interactions that it was difficult to select the very best photos, because there were so many. It also helped that Sophia was not phased at all by me or Anne. She went ahead and played like she normally would. And of course, Teagan was just fantastic. I think she only cried once, but with that being said, I made sure to get a photo of that. With this kind of photography, it's important to capture the happy, sad and in between emotions. Just like a wedding day.

By the far the highlight of the session was when we just finished wrapping Teagan in a scarf to do a few posed shots. She ended up having a little accident. Not missing a beat, we continued to take the photos as it didn't seem to phase her at all. She was a real trooper. 

After spending some time downstairs, I made sure we got at least a few photos upstairs where the crib was. Throughout the session, I also tried to get some detail photos of personal belongings. After all, all these little things add up to create their beautiful home. We only had an hour or so to work with, but in that time frame, I was able to tell a short story through photos and show just how much joy and love Jamie and her family have for one another.

Thanks for letting me into your home and be a part of it, even for just an hour.

Some highlights from my time spent documenting Jamie, Cory, Sophia and the newest addition, Teagan. John Stockton Slow Drag by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/uvp/ Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/

Ashima + Family Portraits

This past fall I had the pleasure to photograph Ashima and her family at the Tree Farm. It was a wonderful mini-session/maternity and I couldn't wait to do it again. Well, I didn't have to wait too long as they welcomed their newest addition to the family not too long ago, Isla. So, before she got to big, Ashima asked if I could come to their house to capture some candid photos of her and her family, especially Isla. 

It was such a relaxed and fun session, and the 30 minutes went by almost too fast. I could have easily spent a couple hours there following them around, capturing moments. As soon as I arrived, Chase wasn't quite sure what to make of me, but he quickly warmed up and then it was off to the races with him. The hardest part, as it usually is with kids, was getting him to sit still for more then a few seconds. Of course, this day was also about Isla who was incredibly adorable. 

She was the perfect model and I think she only really cried once which was absolutely fine, because I got a photo of it. For this type of session I wanted to get all the different types of emotions. Ashima's whole living room was set up perfectly, and even though she was worried about there being too much blue, I think it turned out fantastic. For Isla, she even had a blanket with her birth date on it. So we laid her upon it and I got a nice overhead photo. 

The entire session was simply capturing a day in the life of Ashima and her wonderful family. It was honestly one of my favourite sessions I have ever done. It reminded me more of a wedding day then it did of a portrait session because it was all candid. I think I may start advertising these types of sessions more, because the photos that come out of them are simply awesome. 

Lastly, as a nice little bonus, I created a slideshow of the session which you can find at the bottom of this post. This is something new I will be offering all my wedding couples and perhaps I'll introduce it into portrait sessions as well. Thanks as always to Ashima and her family for inviting me into their home and letting me tell their story.

Ashima invited me to photograph her and her family at their house. Their newest addition to the family is quickly getting older so it was important to capture some photos sooner than later. All the photos were taken in a candid manner all in the comfort of their own living room. To view the photos from the session head on over to -

Baby Levon

My wife's friend Amy recently had a baby and his name is Levon. He is probably one of the most easy going and calm babies I have ever met. This made the photo session with him the other day pretty easy. Our biggest challenge was just keeping him upright for some of the photos! I admittedly don't do too much newborn photography but it is definitely something enjoy and am currently looking at adding on to my existing services. 

The good thing about newborn photography is that you really don't need that much space. We had a few backdrops and some various props. Amy brought a few different outfits to the shoot along with a couple of different objects that were special to her and her family. From there we just had fun dressing Levon up and taking photos. At one point, our one cat decided to investigate and I think I think it ended up being a great spontaneous photo. 

Of course, because Christmas is just around the corner, we made sure to get a few decorative photos in there was well. All in all it was such a fun session and I'm glad we were able to squeeze in this session before Levon grows anymore! Thanks to Amy and her family for letting me photograph the little guy.

Jen + Baby Felix Newborn Portraits

When one of my good friends Jen asked me to photograph her and her 3 week old son Felix, I jumped at the chance. Newborn photography is something I want to start specializing in. So what better way to get started then by capturing photos of little Felix. 

After arriving at Jen's house we quickly set up a little area where the photo session would take place. The good thing about newborn photography is that you don't need a lot of space. We came with a few different backdrops and some props and this allowed for a variety of different options. We only had about an hour to work with so we only did a few variations but in the end it resulted with some truly great photos. 

Felix was a real trooper. He was very patient and only had a few moments where he needed to be fed or changed. But other then that, there were really no problems. One of the main things I learned from this session was that you have to be really patient and just go with the flow. In other words, Felix kind of dictated what shots we were going to come away with, which kept the photos natural and spontaneous. 

Thank you to Jen and of course my lovely assistant Anne. I absolutely love how the photos turned out and I hope this is the start of yet another facet of my photography business!