I’ve owned a camera ever since I was a kid. At the age of 12, my walls were covered with photos I had taken of my friends and family. And I mean COVERED. Of course, I had no technical knowledge of cameras and photography, no thought of composition or angle, and no “eye” to speak of. But I loved it and dreamed of being a photographer one day. That dream was eclipsed by many others including lawyer, author, public speaker (which is hilarious now!), until I finally landed on journalist.
My Reasons Why
So in 2008 I started my journalism degree. One of the first courses I had to take as part of my degree was Photojournalism. I was handed an old Nikon film camera, taught about shutter speed, aperture and ISO, as well as composition, and given homework assignments to capture certain things. I fell in love. I took a second Photojournalism course and got acquainted with DSLRs the following semester. Less than a year later I bought myself a Nikon D90 and never turned back.
Fast-forward 10.5 years. Aside from a couple other blog posts throughout the years, I never write anymore. But I take photos every single day.
I’ve dabbled as a hobbyist ever since, had one failed attempt at going professional that I’m embarrassed to speak of, and had a few opportunities to work with a professional as a second shooter for weddings. Somewhere along the line, I forgot to pick up my camera unless I was travelling or attending a special occasion.
Then in 2016, Paisley was born. The first five months, I spent each day attempting to capture her tiny features with a cell phone camera, and then I remembered… I have a semi-professional DSLR sitting in my room. So I pulled it out, dusted it off, tried to remember what I had learned in photojournalism all those years ago and started taking thousands of photos of her. Now I have more than 20,000 photos of her first two-and-a-half years of life taking up space on my iMac.
After about a year of taking her photo daily, I thought to myself – hey, I’m getting pretty good at this. So I decided to start my business. It began as a creative outlet and a way to make a little extra income on the side while I worked part-time for an amazing non-profit organization. My portfolio was ninety-percent her to begin with, so naturally, I started booking family sessions and lots of young kids. And while I loved (almost) every minute of it, it wasn’t until my son was born that I found my true love – newborn photography. Seth joined our family in December, 2018. I didn’t make the same mistake this time – my camera came to the hospital with us and the pictures of his first three months of life are professional quality. While I’m still thrilled when a family contacts me to get some updated photos, it’s capturing the the tiny details of newborns – their itty bitty toes and fingers, the way their lips smoosh against their cheeks, their tiny yawns, which all disappear so quickly, that makes me come alive.
These two are why I do this. They’re my inspiration and my muses. They’re the reason I wake up in the morning (usually because they’ve woken me up!) and the reason I pick up my camera each day. Paisley’s playful and outgoing personality inspires me to capture the magic of childhood, and how quickly she’s grown and changed reminds me to capture Seth in all his tininess. Knowing how much joy it brings me to be able to look back at my photos and see the days past, how they’ve grown and developed as people, makes me want to do this for others. These days when our kids are small go by so quickly. Someone recently said to me “Newborns don’t keep.” Neither do babies, or toddlers, kids or teenagers. They grow so fast. Suddenly today is yesterday, and then a year ago, so we have to capture these sweet moments before they slip through our fingers. I fell in love with photography years ago, with that first Photojournalism course, but my love for it has grown and become stronger; it helps me document and remember the little people I love most. Years from now I’ll look back on these days and our 100,000 photos and be so thankful I was able to capture these moments.
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My Reasons Why
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You want to find the perfect photographer for your family - one that will make your kids comfortable and capture all those expressions and moments that make your heart burst, without the frustration and stress usually associated with a photo shoot.
I help take care of every detail from helping select outfits, to directing you so your family doesn't feel awkward, and assisting in selecting the images that make your heart the happiest. My goal is to give you the stunning images you want of all your favourite parts of your beautiful life, make them into gorgeous artwork so you can enjoy them daily, and make it a fun and stress-free experience for the whole family!
