Tot Shots Photography » Calgary Newborn

Charmer! | Edmonton and Calgary Baby Photographer

admin — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 15:05:11 +0000

I recently travelled up to Edmonton to meet this little guy. His mom is one of my best friends. We have known each other since elementary school (along with our other girlfriend in the previous post) and we have all been through so much together. She is also my son’s godmother and SPOILS both of my children rotten. I am so excited to now get to do the same for her little one. This little guy who amazingly was supposed to be born on my son’s birthday (at the end of June) decided to make his grand entrance 6 weeks early. So after a little stint in the NICU, charming all of the nurses, I finally got to meet him. He is an absolute doll and definitely charmed me as well:) He is so very lucky to be part of this amazing family (and by all of the smiles that he flashed me, I think he knows it too). His parents are two of the kindest, most grounded, intelligent and loving people I know. He is such a fortunate little man.

Newborn yawn | Calgary Newborn Photographer

admin — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 17:43:05 +0000

One of my favourite things…

The beginning of a new year | Calgary Newborn Photographer

admin — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 21:13:21 +0000

I am so excited to begin another year (Watch Me Grow package) with this family. You have seen them many times on my blog and in my galleries. I will have to add a few of these new ones to my galleries:) This is the first of 5 shoots that we will be doing with this family over the course of this year to coincide with what we did for big sister. C and A, I am so excited to capture this year of change with you again! Congratulations! More soon!

Plus 2 makes 5 | Calgary Newborn Photographer

admin — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 20:02:22 +0000

Twins!! This has definitely been a big year for twins. I can’t recall a year where I have had so many inquiries for newborn twin sessions. It is really pretty fun to have not one but two babies in the studio to cuddle;)

This client came to me from a friend of ours that lives in New York. They are a wonderful family to work with!! I love the feeling that you get from the pictures. Although their 2 year old was missing a bit of the attention that the first children are use to, she was so sweet with her sisters. I loved how gentle she was with them.

N and R it was so nice to meet you. Enjoy your sneak peek and I should have the rest ready soon.

Gorgeous “ink” baby | Calgary Newborn Photographer

admin — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 22:43:11 +0000

I feel so bad that it has taken me forever to get a post up for this family – I was on a commercial shoot most of last week. They have graced my blog many times (and my studio walls) and will continue to through this year. They have recently welcomed their second daughter. I have had the absolute pleasure of documenting their first daughter’s two years and now we are halfway through a second series of pictures for their second daughter. Dad has gorgeous artwork done on his right arm with the names of two of his girls…the artwork for the third girl in his life is in the works. I am looking forward to seeing it all tie together.

Sorry for the delay H and S…I will have the rest out soon!

It was amazing how similar the two girls looked at the same age.

Here is her sister just over two years ago!

Baby details | Calgary Newborn Photographer

admin — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 05:08:38 +0000

I posted a quick peek of this session last week but had not been through all of the images. There were some really nice details shots of this newborn and her sisters. I have been enjoying using my fixed 105mm lens for newborn details as well as portrait shots. The clarity and precision is beautiful.

The tiger stripes in her hair were so unique!

Gorgeous maternity | Calgary Maternity Photographer

admin — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 19:38:49 +0000

I love doing maternity photos! I don’t know exactly why…there is, of course, the anticipation of new life, the parents’ excitement, the unknown (particularly with other little ones involved),… I think that it is a mother’s pregnancy glow though that I love the most. I know that many times it does not feel like a glow but exhaustion and the “glow” is actually the extra effort to carry an extra few pounds (40 in my case;)…particularly when you are running around after one, two or maybe a few little ones already. But EVERY mother I have ever met has a glow and I LOVE that I get to actually capture it. The funny thing about this session is that the mom said partway through that she forgot her lipstick. So I said go put it on and she said no. She totally did not need lipstick and I so glad she did not put it on.

Aren’t their daughters gorgeous? I can’t wait to meet the new little one!

I have to say I laughed a bit at the one on the right…they are going to need some extra hands!

Can’t you just feel the love!

New art | Calgary Baby Photographer

admin — Thu, 20 May 2010 20:31:07 +0000

So in the midst of changing my logo out, I had to change out one of the large art pieces that I had in the entrance to the studio. Since it was a large piece of canvas, I thought about having the logo trimmed off and having it re-wrapped but I also thought that it would be a great memory to keep and it would allow me to start to fill the walls in my own house;) I also decided not to because as I was working with a new vendor for the display for Cherry Four, I fell in love with a sample they had. So I had this 30×40 mounted on a rounded piece of steel. STUNNING! Last year a few client were asking for something new and different and this fits this criteria well. I have a few more things in the works and will share as I get them completed.

Part 2 |Calgary Maternity Photographer

admin — Tue, 18 May 2010 16:42:50 +0000

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I would have a second post with the natural light shots. This helps to show the difference. Now you are going to ask, which do I prefer? I love both and both are very different. I love the simplicity that studio lighting shots offer – I like that they are clean and simple. I like that studio lighting stops the action of little ones. I was always a lover of fashion photography – growing up I had magazine ads posted all over my walls. There is something about a crisp clean catch light that gets me;)

However in the natural light shots, you will get a narrow depth of field (because I tend to shoot wide open – with a small f-stop for those that came last week) thus allowing you to tell a story about what you are focusing on, you can get some awesome shadows that again allow you to focus on the portion of the picture that is lit and you can also show some motion (when appropriate).

Time permitting, I will typically do a combination of both in a session.

Happy Mother’s Day |Calgary Baby Photographer

admin — Fri, 07 May 2010 17:00:53 +0000

I received a handout at my Fitmom class yesterday titled “Motherhood inspires personal growth” by Andrea Page (the founder of Fitmom). Andrea speaks of her story of motherhood and the success of her business, some of which I could relate to. She then goes on to speak about things that she has learned through motherhood and I could relate to lots of it and thought that I would share.

1. We have not been groomed for motherhood. What I mean by this is that unlike other cultures where getting ready for mothering is the focus of a young woman’s upbringing, our culture aims to get us ready for “success”. So I know that I am not alone when I say that I have found becoming a mom is something that I am still learning. The most important lesson of all is that I MUST let some stuff go, I will not be perfect. I also have no desire to prove anything to others. I actually find strength through humility and find my close mommy friends appreciate my honesty about imperfection.

2. Having a child means double duty on all fronts. In mothering you will be conjuring up at least double the energy expended in a day to meet the needs of both you and the child. In addition, your will be facing double the expenses and often half the income. My advice is keep it simple; take really good care of yourself in terms of fitness and nutrition. Use your time as a mom as a reminder that daily personal reflection will help you focus on your personal values and try not to get drawn into the competitiveness our society perpetuates.

3. It’s okay to screw up. Social pressures that define the perfect mother/career woman set us up to constantly be dropping the ball, so to speak. Learn to laugh at this because unless you have a caregiver for each child and a personal assistant you will come up short a lot. Before becoming a mom I was able to control most of my life. Learning that I can’t control a lot of things with my kids has helped me grow immensely as a person.

4. Motherhood changes your life. Although this one is straight forward, I have never seen more blood sweat and tears from the women I know once they become moms. I have seen young teen moms turn their lives around, career women reinvent themselves, women build businesses, grow change and evolve in miraculous ways. Motherhood is a bumpy road of self-discovery I am very blessed to be on.

5. Motherhood Can Change the World I believe that mothers are meant to change the world because their investment in the world around them is driven by a deepened awareness. Once you experience the successes and failures of mothering your own child, the pain of mothers around the world has new meaning. Mothering has taught me that I have the power to make change in myself and in the world around me!!

These are all points that I think about and work on everyday and I know I am not alone. It is always nice to be reminded though…ease some motherly guilt.

This weekend is both difficult and awesome for me having lost my own mother (the person that I looked to to teach me how to be a better mother) but then awesome in that I am a mother with two AMAZING children who continue to teach (challenge) me. I love to learn and be challenged and will continue to grow and develop with my children!

Happy Mother’s Day!