Blog

Darien - In Home Newborn Lifestyle

I had the absolute honour of capturing part of Julia and Kevin's newborn story. I was able to photograph in their home (while I wore a mask)and capture these incredibly special and fleeting moments of Darien's brand new life.

Little did I know that it was one of my last in home sessions of 2020 as with Ford's announcement that came shortly after bringing us back to stage 2, we are now no longer able to work inside when all parties can't wear a mask.

So I hold on to these incredibly beautiful images so close to my heart and feel so grateful. Thank you Julia & Kevin, for inviting me into your home and trusting in me. It means the world to me.

The Sauls - Extended Family Lifestyle Session

The largest Extended Family Session to date and I must admit, definitely one of my favourites! We had booked the session a month prior, thinking we'd all be in winter jackets and mittens in the month of November and here we were under the warm sun in t-shirts and sandals. Thank you Mother Nature for this incredible day and thank you to the Sauls for trusting in me to capture all this amazing love you all have for each other.

The Juteau's IN-Home Extended Family Session

Over the holidays I was honoured to be invited into the Juteau home. Typically when I photograph Extended Family Sessions ( grandparents, uncles, cousins etc), we focus mostly on portraits while getting some moments in between as that is what I used to think people wanted . Although, I can take a great portrait, portraits do not set my soul on fire. What gets me so incredibly excited to shoot is real, genuine feelings and moments, the in-betweens. Those images are the ones that will bring in a flood of emotion and feelings when you look through your photos years from now. Those moments fade over time, but having the ability to capture it on camera, freeze it in time forever is so incredible special. A simple kiss on the forehead, playing hide and go seek, pillow sights, sharing special treats with your family, snow man building competitions, THESE are the images that fuel my passion for photography. I will be using this incredible session that I had with The Juteau’s as a new model for future sessions to come. THIS is what I love and this is what I want to provide to all of you.

*please note that two members have requested I not share images on them on social media which I absolutely respect. I have taken the images of them out of these sneak peeks (mostly group photos).

Suzie & Aaron - Family Session - Ottawa Christmas Market

We were supposed to go sledding but Mother Nature had other plans and boyyyy am I sure glad!

Such a fun session chasing this little beauty around with her amazing parents at the Landsdown Christmas Market! We even got to visit Santa!!

Ardis' 5th Birthday Party - MacSkimming Outdoor Education Centre - Forest Edge

This past Sunday, my family and I were invited into the forest to celebrate a very special little girl’s 5th Birthday. Ardis is one of my daughter, Piper’s friends. They met at forest school when they were only 2 and half years old. Their friendship is now the length of half their beautiful lives and Ardi’s mom gave me the honour of documenting this incredibly special birthday party hosted by their loving forest school teachers’ from Wild Roots Nature and Forest School. There was a scavenger hunt, followed by a cozy camp fire with hotdogs and marshmallows and then we headed into the cabin to warm up, drink hot chocolate, eat cupcakes and open gifts. It was truly a wonderful morning and all the children and parents had an incredible time. Here are just a few sneak peeks.

Matt & Ann - Family Session - Stanley Park

Every year I reach out to another photographer whom I admire and ask for a family session swap. Where I photograph their family and they photograph mine. We get a chance to watch how each other work, pick up a new trick or two and we have a chance to ask each other any questions that may have been lurking at the back of our minds regarding camera gear, business etc. I ALWAYS learn something new. This year I asked Matt from Green Tea Photography. He and his wife, Ann, are a crazy talented wedding photography team! Like legit, so incredibly amazing! I was soooo damn nervous to shoot this session, so much so that I sat and meditated in the park while I waited for them to arrive.… TWO photographers who I admire so very much bahhh. But I am sooooo happy I asked and it actually happened!! I’m an introvert and asking and following through was mentally tough. I have grown as a person and a photographer from this session alone. No kidding.

Here are their sneak peeks among 100’s I still haven’t had a chance to look through yet!

Gill & Geoff - Engagement Session - Gatineau Park

Gill and Geoff both travel a lot for work and only had two days available this month to meet up for their engagement session.With all the rain we have been getting we soooo lucked out! The combination of weather, location and this friggin’ beautiful couple made for one of my all time favourite engagement sessions to date. Please scroll through to check out their sneak peeks!

See you in June beauties!

Ovie Kauai's Birth Story - Ottawa Birth Photography

I have been sitting for the past hour staring at these images of this amazing, emotionally overwhelming birth story. I have been putting off sharing them because I feel I just don’t have the right words to express how I feel about it all. I have never photographed a birth before. I have been wanting to, but I felt that each time I was asked, it just wasn’t the right time in my life. But ever since I had my girls, my only regret was that I didn’t document their births. So I have been really wanting to do this for someone, but just waiting for the right time.

Tina, who is one of my best friends, asked me months ago whether I would be interested in photographing her son’s birth. Yes, yes my heart said yes. I was ready.

Fast forward to October 14th, 2019 at 4:34am, I received a text from Guillaume telling me they have a room at the birthing centre. “I know it’s early…only if you want to” he writes. I sprung out of bed, brushed my teeth and was on the road within 9 minutes.

I’m going to let my images tell the rest of their story but before you start to scroll down and see this incredibly strong woman go through over 24 hours of labour, I need to say that I am beyond honour… I’m not sure there is a word in the dictionary to express it. It’s such a vulnerable and private experience, the birth of a child and to have been asked to be part of it fills me with so much overwhelming emotion, I am brought to tears each time I think about it. I feel so connected to this beautiful family of three and I am so looking forward to watching Tina and Guillaume grow as parents and to watch Ovie grow into a beautiful little person. My heart is incredibly full.

Jane & Ben - Strathmere Wedding - Ottawa Wedding Photographer

A beautiful November wedding surrounded by an incredibly loving family. The speeches got me bad at this one, I laughed, I cried and felt all the love. It’s strange when I really start to think about what I do, spending an entire day documenting all the special moments of such an incredibly special day and how connected I feel with all the people I spent that day with by the end of the night. I wish Jane and Ben all the love and I’m excited to spend another beautiful day with this family in August of this year when Jane’s brother gets married.

Jess and Alan - Strathmere Wedding - Ottawa Wedding Photographer

Jess and Alan were married on September 21, 2018 which was the same day a tornado hit down in the Ottawa area. There were talks of moving the ceremony indoors but Jess wouldn’t have it and because of this I was able to capture the epic wind that day. Power was lost later in the evening, generators kicked in and the celebration continued.