Can You Say 'Lollipop'?

Never one to abide by the rules, I've long encouraged the kids I work with to drop the 'cheese' while doing group photos and say 'lollipop!' instead... let's face it, when you say 'cheese' you get CHEESE, and besides, lollipops are a lot more fun (until you're an adult anyway - imagine the confused looks I might get if I encouraged everyone to say 'Jalapeño Gouda!")

Most parents have some form of bribery tucked up their sleeve when they arrive at a shoot so I thought, why not take the pressure off the parents and bring along my own bag of tricks? And what better than for my tricks to be in the form of  LOLLIPOPS! After about six weeks on back order, my shipment of these colorful little treats arrived last week. Yesterday I borrowed my neighbor Hannah  so I could share the news with you. Now I'm looking forward to business picking up again so I can see how my ploy works! 

ps: I promise I will always ask permission from parents before mentioning the presence of lollipops : )

Welcome to the World, Jasper!

Just one week after I'd visited the home of Catriona, Chris and Ruby came their sweet baby boy, Jasper Ian. I returned a few weeks later to find one nap-refusing two-year old, one banished-from-the-house cat, two visibly exhausted parents and one very mellow newborn. Sounds about right, no? I had such fun documenting this family loving on their new addition and just as much fun editing the resulting images. It's not often that I am compelled to create the majority of photos from one shoot in both color and black & white but this shoot worked beautifully in both. Perhaps I will share them side by side on in a Facebook album and let you decide which you prefer! Until then... enjoy!

Last Days As a Family of Three

I had two reasons to be happy when Catriona from Gentle Hands Midwifery called to schedule an appointment for a family shoot prior to delivering her second baby. First, I'd first met her daughter Ruby when she was about 10 months old after a birth Catriona and I had both attended and I knew right then that I wanted to take pictures of that little beautiful girl! Second, I realize the days as a "between pregnancies" family are fleeting and I think it's so important for expanding families to capture that little slice of their life together before the "expansion" arrives! 

A few weeks ago I got together with Catriona, her husband Chris and now two-year-old Ruby to celebrate their last days together as a family of three and had a grand time documenting them in their home. Ruby and I became fast friends and I learned quickly she is every bit as expressive as I imagined she would be. Here are some photos that I love from our first shoot together... I'll be back very soon to meet the baby brother hidden inside that belly!