A Beautiful Evening By the River | Chilliwack Family Photographer

I really enjoyed catching up with this lovely family again, last week. (I last saw them just under 2 years ago, when their little lady visited the studio for her Newborn Session.) After a few days of gloomy, wet BC weather, we were a little worried about our photo session being washed out, but Mother Nature came through for us - the sun came out just in time.

Once again,  they were a real pleasure to photograph. With 2 children under the age of 4 and a nervous doggie in the frame, this family session could have been a real challenge, but Mom & Dad were totally on board with keeping the experience relaxed and fun for all. They were wonderfully patient, and completely went "with the flow" - even if that meant stopping multiple times mid-session to collect leaves, find cool rocks or take a quick snack break. The result was a relaxed shoot with great memories and great images to keep.

Handsome Little Dude #2! | Chilliwack Newborn Baby Photographer

When this tiny little man was booked in for his newborn photo session, I prepared for a lot of mess. You see, his big brother still holds the studio record for the most destructive bum, and giving me the biggest ever pile to clean-up afterwards. (All part of the job, of course!)  However, it seems that these boys aren't too competitive yet, and I was pleasantly surprised with only one blanket falling victim! 

Mom and I were both surprised, though, at how much he wanted to check out what was happening - he is normally a big sleeper that often has to woken for feeds. I guess I must be more interesting than I thought! Well, after an extra tummy top-up and some gentle rocking, he was out and became the perfect little model. Welcome to the world, little man!

Where Did the Last 6 Months Go?! | Chilliwack & Mission Baby Photographer

Wow... I honestly can't believe that I am blogging this muffin's 6 Month Baby Session already - it seems like only 5 minutes ago that I was photographing her gorgeous mama for her Maternity Session!! I have a favourite quote for times like now - “A photograph is the pause button on life.” (Ty Holland). It is so true... and makes me so grateful for each of my own children's photos, and the ability to be able to relive those special moments. 

This little lady was such a good little lass to shoot, staying exactly where we put her every time. She made me (and Mom and Gramma!) work for those occasional, coy, little smiles though! 

You Can't Forget Dad! | Chilliwack Family Mini Session Photographer

With all the chaos of "back-to-school" finally settling, I can now catch-up on my blogging again... and to start, here is a little mini session that I captured a few weeks ago.

As, "Milestones Memories Members" (with maternity, newborn and 6 month photo sessions under their belt), I have had the great pleasure of getting to know this lovely family and fully capturing their journey into parenthood. Unfortunately, Dad's busy schedule meant that he missed out on the final session, so when they came to hang their beautiful images on the wall, Daddy felt a little "under-represented". Well, we certainly couldn't let that happen! We soon fixed this decor in-balance with a Daddy-Daughter Mini Session... and like every session before, they knocked it out of the park!

Waiting For Baby #2! | Chilliwack Maternity Photographer

I'm not sure if anyone else has found this, but my 2nd pregnancy seemed to go so much faster than my 1st. And that certainly seemed the case for this gorgeous lass,who happens to be my "bestie".

We usually do maternity photos between 32 and 36 weeks, but in this case, a busy family & work life had simply just got in the way. With the due date rocketing towards her and worried that the only photos of pregnancy #2 would be bathroom selfies, this momma-to-be asked me to squeeze her in for "just 1 or 2 photos". Of course, she knows me better than that... 1 or 2 photos?! I don't think so.... Cinderella, you shall have a full gallery!

2 Weeks Old and Ready to Take On the World! | Chilliwack Newborn Baby Photographer

This cheeky little man came to visit, last weekend. (You may remember his ridiculously-good-looking parents rocking their Maternity Session back in July.) He is quite the personality already and really wasn't too interested in going to sleep for his newborn photos. Thankfully, I am just as stubborn as this little guy, and managed to get a few gorgeous shots during his brief napping moments.

For anyone wondering why a sleeping baby is so important in a Newborn Session, there are a few reasons. Newborns have very little muscle control, resulting in some crazy facial expressions, and wildly moving hands and limbs - neither of which usually giving cute, flattering photos. They also have far less control over their eye muscles, so occasionally going cross-eyed is fairly common... and again, not very flattering for junior! On top of that, at this very early age, they really only want to do one thing when they are awake... and that is feed - perfectly natural, but not helpful for taking photos! 

 Since, he was so keen on staying awake though, and was actually pretty calm about it (a rarity at this age), I decided a few awake shots would be pretty cool to grab too. Here is a little taster of this cute little guy's gallery...

Meeting a New Family Member | BC Newborn Photographer

I love meeting new little people, but this one was just a teensy bit more special than normal - this brand new little person is my brand new niece! That wasn't the only thing that was different about this newborn session - we had to travel over 7000km to meet her! Her arrival was the perfect excuse for a UK holiday, and we enjoyed the baby snuggles along with 2 weeks of family visits and sightseeing.

Of course, being away from my studio brought a few challenges. I had to convert my In-Laws' living room into a make-shift studio, and was limited to only 1 blanket and 1 basket. Thankfully, my awesome Mother-in-Law happens to be the person who makes most of my wearable props, so came to the rescue with a cute pair of pants and bonnet... and my fantastic husband jumped into the role of assistant - spotting baby, moving furniture, converting couches into posing tables, and helping me tame some difficult midday sunlight. Oh yes... and my daughters were only too happy to jump in as models for a cousins pose! All-in-all, I think we make a good family team!

6 Months and Already On the Move! | Vancouver & Chilliwack Baby Photographer

I was really happy to see this little lady again recently, when she visited for her 6-month Session. She was SUCH an adorable newborn, I was excited to see how she had grown... and to see how her little personality was developing.

Well, I wasn't disappointed! Still ridiculously cute, but extremely keen to get moving on those little legs already. Normally, a 6-month-old will just happily sit there for me, but not this one! I had very few seconds to get each shot before she went off exploring again. Mom & Dad are going to have fun with this one!