Danielle + Family Mini Session - Centennial Park

My first of many mini portrait sessions to come over the next month or so took place earlier today with Danielle and her amazing family at Centennial Park. It had been a while since she last had portraits taken of her family and their parents were in town, so it was perfect timing.

Going into any session I have an idea of what I want to capture but all bets were out the window once I met Rosie. She dictated the entire 30 minute session, and it was so much fun. I have never gotten so many photos of a child running away. She just never stopped moving! But, I also got so many great candids of her and everyone else too, in the process.

It was also their parents anniversary so, we also made sure to get at least a few formal portraits. I still can’t believe how fast the session flew by. I’m just happy I was able to keep up and capture some memorable photos of Danielle’s family.

Kim + Curtis Wedding

My day with Kim and Curtis started with Curtis and the guys at their house. It was a nice way to ease into the wedding day for me because I essentially documented the guys getting ready. They were all pretty laid back, as is the case with most weddings. I spent about an hour with them. We eventually made it outside for some family portraits and even more great candid photos. It also gave me a chance to meet all the guys in the wedding party, as well as a lot of the family too.

I then made my way to the girls at Valhalla Inn. They were having a good time getting ready and there were a lot of laughs. It was a bit hot in the room so I felt bad for Kim getting into her dress but she had one of her bridesmaids fanning her with a magazine so that helped! Eventually, Kim’s mom and dad arrived for the first look. I think that was one of my favourite moments of the day.

The ceremony took place at St. Patrick’s Cathedral which is a very beautiful church. I especially like it because it is quite bright and well lit on the inside. As most photographers can attest to, churches don’t always have ideal lighting. It was a beautiful ceremony and I had plenty of time to move around and look for unique angles and moments. As the ceremony was finishing up, I took a quick peak outside and noticed the weather was holding up. This was great news because it meant we could go to the Tree Farm to do all the wedding party portraits. That is exactly what we did.

The Tree Farm is by far one of my favourite places to do portraits. It’s almost impossible to not come away with great photos there. It obviously helped that Kim and Curtis are an amazing couple too. Plus, the entire wedding party had a great sense of humour. We did a mix of fun and serious photos out there.

It was eventually time to head back to Valhalla Inn for the reception. Upon entering Kim and Curtis had each guess get their photo taken with a polaroid camera and then had them place it in the sign in album. I wish more couples would do that, as it’s a great idea. Plus, it allows me to get a lot of candid photos of guests arriving. From there the ceremony flew by, and as you can see from the photos below, I’m pretty sure everyone had a good time. I wish Kim and Curtis a long and happy marriage!

Sydney + Curtis Portraits - Crescent Lake

Yesterday I got the chance to photograph yet another amazing couple, at a location I had never even been to. Sydney and Curtis approached me quite a while ago to set up a portrait session at Crescent Lake, which I had definitely heard of before but never been. Well, what better excuse to go there then to photograph two extremely easy going and fun people in Sydney and Curtis.

Once you arrive at the toll booth on Mount McKay, all you need to do is ask the lady there if you can get a way without paying because you are just heading down the trail. It worked for us, so you never know. So we made our way down the trail and I would say it's about a 10 minute walk depending on your pace. Even though it took a bit to get to the lake it did give us a chance to talk and get to know one another along the way. I did learn that Sydney and Curtis are going to be adopting a dog soon. Even though, dogs don't supposedly like Curtis so we will see how that goes. We also learned that if a bear did jump out and attack us, we were pretty much screwed. 

In any case, nothing out of the ordinary happened and we arrived at the lake which was absolutely beautiful. Since it was just a mini session we didn't spend too much time at the lake but we did come away with a ton of great shots while we were there. Before we knew it, we were heading back down the trail, but I made sure to capture some photos along the way since it was such a nice path. Plus, by staying ahead of Sydney and Curtis a bit I knew I would be able to outrun them if I bear did attack us. :)

There is already talk of an engagement session in the future so I can't wait for that. Both Sydney and Curtis are avid hikers so I would be excited to see what kind of location they come up for that session!