We love photographing babies and kids but we are defiantly not a “boutique” baby studio.  You will not see kids in buckets, babies in cocoons or toddlers in  tiaras as I usually like to photograph the baby as he or she is.  Simple. It’s jus the way I am I guess.  Fortunately many of our clients appreciate this so we are still busy with babies and kids.  Thanks again Paula & Lucas, see you soon.

They are flying off to St. Lucia first thing in the morning and staying at a resort that is IMO one of the best on the island.  Joce and I visited the same resort the second time we were there.  I sure hope they have as much fun and excitement on their honeymoon in St.Lucia as Joce and I did.

Thanks again Ashley and Chris for an amazing day with you, your family and your friends.  See you when you get home.

I have to chuckle now that the session was over as Laurette was SOOOO nervous about having her photos done that Steve and I stopped by their house after a bike ride  to calm her nerves and reassure her that she and Roger would have a great time.  Even as you watch the slide show you can see how quickly Laurette relaxes and she starts to get that sparkle in her eye.  I will admit to all of you now, these two were as much fun as a young couple in love.  Walking, holding hands, hugging, kissing, laughing, they did it all, and most of the time without  prompting, I even had to break up a kissing session by yelling “I asked you two to kiss, not make out” LOL.  FABULOUS!!!!    Just posting one image of these two would not do this session justice so I put together a quick slideshow for you all to watch.  Looking back, I wish I had something like this of my Grandparents so I could remember exactly how they were.

We had the most amazing couple from Toronto that volunteered to model for us today so we quickly went into the 5 essential poses (which can be done in 5 minutes), right into a wedding dress to show some quick off camera flash teqniques, and then right into a studio for a quick portrait.  Ashley & James were amazing being very patient with our whole group and allowing each of the students to get the shots they wanted.  Most of the time I didn’t even have to pose them.  I was talking to my students explaing what I was going to do next, I turn around and there we have it, they were in a perfect pose without even posing, without even knowing we were looking at them.  This couple were the PERFECT fit for each other.  James is Firefighter for Brampton and just finished his photoshoot for this years Brampton Fire Fighter Calendar.  Ashley owns and operates her own business  www.stage-of-art.ca Toronto Interior Designs, Home Staging, and Decorating Ideas in the GTA with great success but both managed to find the time and accomadate me and my students here at NSI.  Thanks again Ashley & Jamie, it was VERY much appreciated, and the both of photograph amazing well together.

Here are a few images from todays class folks.  It’s 1:00 am, and I need to get some much needed sleep.

Jamie didn’t have an outfit to wear with the wedding dress that was provided for Ashley, but he did bring his bunker gear, so we I offered to photograph him in the gear for something different.

And of course…..the gang

It was a pleasure Tyler and Mandy and we are truly thankful that you chose us to document your day.   We were honored to be a part of it and look forward to photographing your future events (like your Trash The Dress/Bass Derby we are going to plan hahaha).

Just for the record everyone.  Tyler had one of the best lines I have ever heard live in a wedding speech.  If you ask, I will tell you.

As the sun was fading fast in the horizon and the clouds rolled in, we headed down to the lake to take advantage of the lovely waterfront creating some stunning images of  Nik & Andrea.

As Joce and I were leaving to head back home, I remembered Nik’s bike under the tarp and quickly asked “would you like a cool photo of your bike?”
Of course he said YES PLEASE.

EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE A PICTURE OF THEIR BIKE.

So for you Nik, even though you have crossed over to the darkside and bought a PS3

We had a blast guys, and your family is wonderful.  Looking forward to seeing you this Saturday.

Mike and I watched the DVD and I have to tell you that it brought tears to my eyes.  You
captured so many heartfelt moments throughout the day.  We truly don’t feel as though we
even needed a videographer as the photos told our entire wedding story.

You truly captured all of the tiniest details that we may have otherwise forgotten and
I know that our families are going to be ecstatic about all of our family pics as well.

I just wanted to say thank you for documenting our day in such a magical and artistic way.”

Cheers
Melanie Squarzolo

I headed back out to my cottage yesterday to photograph my other cousins little one Sadie.  We photographed Sadie last August in our Studio using lights and softboxes but yesterday I did not have that equipment with me, all I had was my camera and lens and therefore opted to use natural light.  Now with natural light you can’t just expect to place your subject anywhere and have flattering light.  You need to “find” the light, know the quality, the direction and where to put your subject so that the subject can benefit from that light.

The below image was created using some open shade that was created with a bank of trees behind Sadie.  Lighting was coming across the tops of the trees but giving a soft even light in the spot where I wanted to photograph.  She was sitting on the side of a small fountain which had a very light bottom, reflecting light back up into my subject acting as a natural reflector.    Sometimes Natural light is the easiest light to use, but it does require some technical thought to get the most out of it.

After the wedding was all said and done we agreed that we would get together another time and “just hang out”.  It’s hard you know, to find the time.  We are busy, they are busy (running a successful dairy farm and raising 3 wonderful children) but we seem to  make time at least once a year.  It isn’t a lot, but we do jam pack it with memorable experiences.   The next time we met was at their farm where Cindy & Gaston took us out horseback riding on their property.  I can ride a motorcycle, a horse?…………..not so much, but it was fun, and after that we photographed their family portrait as the sun was setting and the wind was dying down.

Here are some images of the from the wedding, to their family portrait to our recent  fathers favorites event.

It’s amazing how they change in such little time.  These girls are growing up to be beautiful ladies.

You never know, I might be in this business long enough to photograph their weddings, wouldn’t THAT be something?  It’s amazing how we get to see these ladies grow up year after year, and Jocelyne and myself feel very privileged to be the ones to capture those transitions.  But let’s not forget about Cindy & Gaston eh?  We had a great ride yesterday checking out Bridal Veil Falls, having fish ‘N’ chips of course and let’s not forget Farquars ice cream “TIGER TAIL” (that’s my favorite), finishing it off with some Hodgy’s Famous BBQ and Cindy’s famous Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips.

Luckily I remembered to pack the Canon G11 in the saddle bag.

Let’s hope that year does not go by between visits OK?