Barrett arrived for his newborn baby session just before Christmas. This was a perfect excuse for his grandparents to visit for an early holiday! They were great helpers in the background, assisting with changing him and taking care of his big sister Addison when she needed a break.
I visited their home for his newborn photography. Each family member got to take turns snuggling him in photos, though Addison quickly decided it was more fun to go party with grandma and grandpa downstairs. Barrett flashed us his big, vibrant eyes through the whole photoshoot.
Rory’s family were the runner up winners of my Awkward Family Photo Contest earlier this year with their head to toe in denim Sears photo from the 90s. Lucky Rory didn’t have to wear any denim at all! We did very heavily guitar themed newborn photos since her mom and much of her extended family are all musicians. Rory spent much of her time before being born listening to her mom play guitar and it immediately calms her down to feel the vibration of the strings.
Her mom and dad are also big Disney fans, frequently travelling to the theme parks for marathons. Rory’s room has a fun Pixar blue sky wall and we included all kinds of Disney items in her newborn session.
Maybe one day she’ll think it was awkward she had to wear Mickey Mouse ears on her bum while she was naked. ;)
I met Richard through my BNI networking group and it didn’t take long to see how much he cares about his work. Richard runs Empower Potential Coaching and his passion for helping people is obvious in everything he does. He needed a business branding session for his new website so we brainstormed the feeling he wanted to convey and worked from there!
The rain forced us to stay indoors, but the new science building at the university provided the bright, welcoming feel I had wanted to capture in Richard’s photos. We started by staging a few photos of Richard working with clients. Freeze frames of people speaking can capture a lot of awkward moments, so we did a lot of gesturing with hands without actual speaking!
Another important element in Richard’s life and the inspiration for the work he does is his family and relationship with his wife. They agreed to model for us too! I wanted to show the connection and joy they feel together, and the kids all did fantastic (thanks to some bribing and a stern talking to beforehand, according to their mom).
In between the guest appearances, we were able to get a number of headshots of Richard himself with a variety of looks. Once he put his suit on at the end and we really worked with the architecture of the building, he looked like he was transformed into a high end CEO!
Lochlan’s newborn photos were very special to his parents. He was their rainbow baby, a term many families know all too well. (A rainbow baby is a baby born to a couple who has experienced a previous pregnancy loss.) We celebrated this adorable boy by including a rainbow cloth in a few photos, as well as a special bear in honour of his sister.
This adorable red head had his newborn session at his grandparent’s house in a beautiful bright room with sunlight streaming in. The warmth from the sun had him peacefully sleeping the entire time! Big brother Bodhi helped grandma and grandpa make dinner during the photos, taking a few breaks to come hold his new brother and get some special photos together.
Lochlan notoriously never kept his eyes open during his first few weeks home from the hospital. His grandma lamented that she never gets to see his beautiful eyes! At the end of the session we had a big surprise when he opened his eyes long enough to get a few different photos! We were still using the rainbow cloth at that point, and the colours really made the blue in his eyes vibrant.
It’s a big deal when Bob and Linda come to visit! These sweet grandparents live in northern Canada, but their grandson and his family and sister are in Lethbridge while he completes his degree. Bob and Linda planned a special trip to see their great grandchildren and have a family photo session while they were in the city.
We picked the University of Lethbridge as our backdrop both because of the wind and because the location is meaningful while Ken goes to school there. (Usually my clients get a little worried about getting lost on campus, but Ken easily knew his way around!) We explored the new Science Commons building and the kids loved all the elevator rides!
Bob’s great grandson is named after him, so he brought along special matching embroidered hats for the two of them to wear. I’m only disappointed the elder Bob didn’t have bright green hair like his great grandson ;)
This year was a time of huge change for Erin and Ross. At the same time they welcomed their new baby girl into their home, their beloved dog Lazer received a disappointing diagnosis from his vet. Lazer has been with them for years so he was like their first child before the kids arrived. They wanted to make sure their kids would remember what an important part of the family he was, so he became the centre point of their newborn family photos.
Newborn Mae was, of course, the other focus! Mae had arrived home only a few days before and had quickly settled in. She calmly slept through all of the noise and commotion of photos, including a very curious cat (we tried to get the kitty in the family photos, but she was not having it!) and her older brother loudly watching the Lion King. Big brother Kieran did great through photos and loved posing with his sister. This was his first time getting to hold her because he had just gotten over his cold. The Lion King was a great reward for his awesome modelling!
Lazer also did fantastic and loved snuggling with his family, though he was confused as to why he was suddenly allowed on the couch!
