Avery, 3 Weeks Old.

The most successful time to do newborn sessions with props and posing is when baby is 5 to 12 days old. But sometimes people are unable to do a session so soon after birth, or sometimes you don't think about it until after baby arrives. And that's totally fine! This was a sweet Christmas gift to these new parents. They contacted me and a couple days later we did the session. Avery was 3 weeks old. And even though by this age they are less sleepy and less curled up from being so fresh from the womb, there is still so much newness to capture. They are so teeny tiny for a short time, they grow and change really fast! So even if it's technically past the 5 to 12 days, your baby will never be teenier or tinier then they are right now.
And just a side note, the bears in the picture below are Avery's parents childhood bears. Adorable!

*

Thanks for stopping by!
To see more blog posts, head to the Blog Archives.

Contact me for more information about sessions and collections.

My Winnipeg

Most people go somewhere warm in February, but not us. We flew to Winnipeg which comes by the nickname Winterpeg quite honestly. If you have ever had a session with me we probably talked about my love and hate relationship with this city because that's where I am from. My family and I moved to Toronto 5 years ago and we go back to Winnipeg once or twice a year to visit our parents and siblings and friends. Because we visited in winter, we brought our ice skates (which if you follow me on instagram, that probably doesn't surprise you.) Normally we wouldn't visit this time of year, but my father-in-law and his wonderful partner of 16 years put on an epic party with so many of their loved ones and then surprised everyone with a pop-up wedding! Now, I don't normally shoot weddings. I have only photographed 12 in fact. But of course I was gonnna document their big day for them! It was pretty casual with a touch of class and super fun! Right up my alley! The flower children (my kids) loooved getting their hair done with their Grandma and Aunts, which shows in the pictures, and hilariously they got in to the photo booth costumes just before walking down the aisle which couldn't have been more perfect.

Here, press play!

In all honesty, I didn't appreciate this city enough when I lived there because the long cold winters were intolerable by January, and I had these understandable fears that came with living where I did along with the experiences I had. But mostly, I love this city. It's really beautiful, with big open skies and fields, lots of sun that give the most beautiful sunsets, and mostly, because that's where my people are. People we love so so much. Our families, our life long friends. So many of my friends have kids now who I just need to snap photos of every time we visit. They grow so much in a span of a few months! Sadly we didn't even get to see everyone this time, but we'll be back in the summer, and while I am there something awesome is happening. Really awesome! But I'm gonna save that big announcement for another day, when everything is finalized. In the meantime, scroll down to look through these pictures of how Winnipeg knows how to do winter like nobody's business!

*

Thanks for stopping by!
To see more blog posts, head to the Blog Archives.

Contact me for more information about sessions and collections.

Hello Sage

{birth story}

Even though birth, in general, is predictable, it's very unpredictable on an individual level. As a birth photographer I never know how long I will be when I head to a labouring mama. On average, I'm gone 14 hours. Sometimes 6, and sometimes 26! When I arrived at the birth of Sage it was 10pm. These two were calm yet eager yet patiently going through the motions as baby was slowly making her way down. Things were moving along nicely. This totally supported Mama laboured at home for a while before we made the move to the hospital. She wanted to make the transition before she got further along because as many mama's know, the car ride isn't so pleasant when you're in labour. It's very normal for things to slow down or even stall after a transfer, but she was deep in labour that things really didn't slow down too much. Things were going so well and she was embracing every contraction as they came. She was doing everything in her power to help baby down. But after the sun came up, exhaustion hit. Things slowed down. Rest is very helpful and can become quite vital at this point, and sometimes that's when epidural is recommended. After she was connected, she napped. Her partner napped. I napped. The midwives napped. We met back in the room a few hours later and found there wasn't much progress. But this mama was determined. She wasn't done. Her baby wasn't done. Her partner was the best supporter. So they sailed on. She laboured through a whole other day. Sometimes, you can do everything in your power and things just won't progress. Baby just gets stuck. And when heart rates start dropping, baby needs to come. So they made the very emotional decision to have a c-section before it turned in to an emergency. Their midwives stayed by their side and helped them with a gentle c-section so when Sage was born she was passed to her mama from under the surgical curtain! It was unbelievably emotional. My words don't really do this birth story justice. It was definitely a birth I will never forget. And I am so grateful to be sharing their story with you today. Just look at these images below and of course watch the birth documentary at the bottom of this post. You'll probably cry.

***   now press play to watch this beautiful powerful birth story   ***