I was fortunate enough to attend a high school where a photography program was offered in lieu of music or visual arts. My technical skills were developed with a twenty year old SLR that travelled the world with my father before I was born, and I spent endless hours in the darkroom producing my own negatives and prints.  On my 25th birthday, I took the leap from traditional film to digital photography.

Although photography is my career, my love for the art form is stronger now than it has ever been.  The more I learn, the more I want to know, and like a lot of people I’m constantly faced with not having enough hours in the day to do everything I want.

Every year I have countless ideas for creative sessions I want to photograph.  But the reality of a busy session schedule, three kids, editing, book keeping, writing, cleaning, planning, more editing, teaching, designing sets, after school activities, and frankly, life, means that my creative ideas are often first on the chopping block.

And while I’m not a fan of New Years resolutions because it seems like a guaranteed way to set yourself up for failure, I decided that 2018 is the year I’m going to break my own rule and make a resolution for myself and my business.

Every month in 2018 I will be looking for babies and expectant moms for special themed sessions.   Occasionally I will use these sessions to photograph new props and backdrops but the purpose of these sessions is ultimately for professional development (experimenting with different light set-ups and poses) and creative fulfillment.  I could easily photograph 10 creative sessions a month with the backlog of ideas percolating in my brain but I feel like 2 is a reasonable number if I want to get any sleep in the coming year.

If you are expecting a baby in 2018 or have a little one at home (under 8 months old), please sign up to my special model call list so you don’t miss out on all the details: http://bit.ly/SMP2018ModelCalls

The theme for my sessions in January was winter white.

For the newborn session I knew I wanted to create a winter scene to commemorate the epic weather we’ve experienced so far this year.  It seemed fitting to photograph these sweet little polar bears in a winter snowstorm, especially after the holiday season where we had some of the coldest temperatures I can remember.

For both the maternity and newborn sessions I chose to incorporate one prop: a single white balloon.  The image below was inspired by the Dr. Seuss book “Oh, the places you’ll go!”

Because of the special bond twins have I thought it was important to also capture images of them curled together, as they were in the womb.  If you’re curious to see some Behind the Scenes video footage of these adorable brothers, head on over to my Facebook page.

During the maternity session I used the same white balloon to create a whimsical photograph of the mama-to-be wearing one of my white gowns.  The final image was created using several photos where I placed the balloon in different locations on the backdrop.

Because the creative process doesn’t end in the studio I always love to share the behind the scenes editing for my photos: if you’re curious to see a time lapse of the editing video, I’ve shared it below

Much like the final photographs of the twins, I also wanted to create a portrait where the sole focus was on this beautiful mama-to-be.  Without colour or props, the simplicity of the image brings all your attention and focus to her.

I already have a plan for my February sessions (hint: it involves red) and will start the model call for both sessions next week.  I can’t wait to share the behind the scenes footage and final images with you in February!

 

 

 

 

 

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