Busy, busy, busy...

Every year it amazes me that my busiest time in photography is always my busiest time in my full time teaching job. I always think it'll be a piece of cake balancing the two jobs...but it really isn't! It's a lot of long hours and missing my family! This year I booked up faster than ever...but fortunately I got a chance to squeeze in this shoot with little Evangeline because of a cancellation! I am so glad I got to meet this little darling, she is such a sweetheart! Even better I got to officially meet her mama...someone I recognized instantly from one of Alliston's local hot spots!

It was a great morning and Evangeline couldn't have been any better. Take a peek a some shots from our session!

Baby Bump!

When Jen and I first stared emailing it was all about weddings! She was looking to get some details so she would be ready to start the official planning in the near future! Well, looks like the near future brought a fantastic surprise! A baby is on the way and instead of meeting to shoot a wedding it was a belly session!

Despite the fact that Jen has been taking it easy (doctors orders) she was excited to do a shoot around town.  I think she was just so happy to be out of the house that she would have done anything I asked! What a great time I had with this couple...we strolled around town early Sunday morning before everyone else was up and captured some great moments and fun shots. 

So Jen, this post is for you...while you are resting at home in bed or on the couch you have something new to do...even if this post will only keep you occupied for a little while I hope it is the bright spot in your day!

The UNposable Baby!

Typically when I shoot a newborn session my only goal is to get the baby to sleep...after that it's easy (...well, not easy...but easier). It can take quite a while to achieve the pose I want, but if the baby is asleep it usually can be done. Hudson however was the exception to this rule!

Hudson was very fresh (6 days) when we met, which is a fantastic age for newborn photos and he did sleep for me...but the posing thing, well he had other ideas! I had a ton of props, backdrops, and ideas for the session but Hudson was by far one of my most challenging newborns. He fell asleep after being fed, but he basically hated every position mama and I would put him in. But the funny thing was he would get into the position and then, just as I am ready to snap he would create his own NEW position! Despite the curveball he threw we still got wonderful shots...and it made it a little more fun! Mom and I would just laugh every time Hudson came up with a new pose.

Hope you enjoy your preview Mom and Dad...and thank you for trusting me to come in to your home and (try to) pose your little guy in all kinds of positions. It is such an honour to be part of those early days...and a big responsibility to capture a day when Hudson will never be that small again! :-)

Let it all out!

So, I have been thinking about a post like this for a while and decided during my CRAZIEST week of shooting I would share what I have been thinking about.

Some of you may not know or realize that photography is not my first job. I have a full time teaching career that keeps me exceptionally busy during the school year. I am fortunate that one of the perks of teaching is having a summer off, but trust me when I say the last couple years my summers haven't been vacations! As I have been growing and evolving with my photography my summer has been one of the first things that has started to slip away. Now, I understand that it has to happen and it has allowed me to follow my passion for photography in a way that not many other careers would allow, but it is still my vacation that I am letting go of. Just like during the school year my photography takes me away from my family. Those weekends, breaks and summer holidays that are meant for my downtime and family time are eaten up a great deal by photography. Now, I could stop at any time if I wanted too....but I LOVE photography! I live to capture a perfect moment, create a memory to look back on but I also don't want to do it at the expense of my family.

So, for those of you who aren't aware that this is a second job for me I really encourage you to consider my perspective. I tend to book sessions on select days and book multiple sessions in a day. I do this to ensure I can meet with as many clients as possible but also to minimize the distruption to my family routine. When I book studio sessions not only am I away from my family but I also have to kick them out! A home studio is great....I can work from my living room...but the downside is that it is my living room! Studio sessions mean I need upwards of an hour just to set up! Then I have to pull props and prepare camera equiptment. All this takes time, so please, when you book your session consider how much effort goes into setting up (and the take down too). I have had cancellations as late as the morning of a session - when all the work to set up has been done the night before, which becomes really frustrating.  I know life happens, but please be considerate, if you cancel with enough notice I may be able to fill your spot with someone I have had to turn down (and yes, I have to turn down people because as I mentioned I only set up on select days). I really do not want to charge a deposit fee, but it is something I am considering if cancellations become a bigger problem. 

Because I book multiple studio or on location sessions in a day it is really important that you arrive on time. If you are late your session time will not be extended and I will shoot until the time needed to prepare for the next sessions arrival. I want to make sure we get the most out of your time...please try and be ready to go at your session time.

Another gentle reminder I wanted to pass on was that less is better. Both in a home studio or on location (especially when shooting a little ones session) the more people around the more distracted the subject gets. In addition to being distracting my home studio is in my home, so my space is limited - if I have to ask people to move or trip over them to quickly get in position to get a shot the likelihood of great shots goes down. Plus, this is a new situation for your little one so I want to keep it low key so they can warm up and have a great time.

Lastly I wanted to share a little bit about my process. You now know a bit more about me personally,  the work that goes into setting up/preparing for a session but here is a bit more behind the scenes info. Another part of my work (usually the most labour intensive and definitely the most time consumsing) is all the computer work. Answering emails (which sometimes can take a day or two), sharing sneak peeks, blogging, ordering prints, researching and editing are just a few things that keep me attached to the computer (these are the things that lead to my husband saying "when are you going to get off the computer and relax" or cause my kids to say "mommy stop doing picture stuff and come play with me"). So when I say it takes up a lot of my time it actually takes the majority of my time. Again, I know that is par for the course when you take on a second job, particaualry one that can be done in your home but it still hurts to think that sometimes I am missing out on being with my little ones (2 and 4) because I am busy creating memories for someone elses family. However, despite all of that my hubby still does more than his fair share by spending Saturdays with the kids when I am oout shooting, takcles bath time alone so I can edit and indugles the numerous prop shopping trips. If it wasn't for his support I know this wouldn't be working at all!

Lastly I wanted to share a little about my editing process. Unlike those big photo studios I will not just hand you a disc of images or a few prints. I will custom edit each session to make sure I am giving clients what the are looking for. Each session is backed up, combed thru so any "bad" shots can be eliminated, and then edited. I take upwards of 20 minutes on a photo to get it just the way I want. So consider how much time went into your disc! Each photo spent time in front of me getting special treatment (not something you are going to get from Zehrs). 

Here is a quick peek at a shot from a recent session that I love. The exposure if fine, the composition is good but it doesn't pop the way I want it to! So...after brightening, popping the colour, warming up the image, vingetteing and editing out a wire between fence rails (which is hard to see in this shot) you have the finsihed product. As much as I wish it would, the images just don't come out of a camera this way...it takes work to take a good photo and make it better with the editing process.

SOOC (straight out of camera) on the left and post process on the right.

Like I said, this post has been on my mind for a while. I was really hesitant to share my thoughts for fear I would upset past or future clients but I think being honest and letting everyone in on the behinds the scenes stuff might actually help my clients see my perspecvite a bit better.