DJ and Erica were coming up on the due date for baby #3 and couldn’t decide whether to get maternity photos or newborn photos.  So in the end, we did both!

You’d think the first session would be all about the belly, but their two little daughters – Becca and Bella – had different ideas.  Bursting at the seams with energy, ideas, and just awesomely crazy hair, it was hard not to make them the stars of the show!  But we did get manage to get some pics of the belly, and even squeezed DJ in for a shot or two.

It wasn’t long thereafter when news came that the Seales had welcomed a little boy – Andrei – into their family.  Within a week, we went back into the studio so that we could catch Andrei while he was still in the “brand new baby” phase.  Brand new baby he might have been, but this little guy was unreal – lifting his head and looking around like he was already a 2 month old.  Both DJ and Erica are avid volleyball players, and naturally wanted a shot of the little guy with a ball.  But his strength of neck + his strength of will made it super difficult to get the shot, as he kept pushing himself or the ball away (ironically, he had no qualms about hanging about with a football though…).

Between the fun shots with the girls, to the cool maternity and newborn shots with DJ, Erica, and Andrei, it was a tremendously enjoyable shoot.  It was also neat to witness/be part of what sometimes feel like the overnight transition from big belly to little, new baby.  Congrats to the Seales family!  Only a handful of many, many shots I liked:

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Even though they moved away shortly after their wedding several years ago, it hasn’t felt like I’ve been all that removed from Deepak and Michelle.  Whether it’s working with their extended families for portraits, or seeing them again at Deepak’s cousin’s wedding, or bumping into their families at weddings because the East Indian community in Winnipeg is so tightly knit, it just seems like I’m never more than a few degrees of separation away.  This time when they came back to town, there were no degrees of separation at all as I took them down to the studio for a shoot of their new little boy Rayan.

Like most babies his age, Rayan was extremely tactile.  It was fun just watching his extreme fascination with the red wicker stools and the fuzzy orange chairs that we have in the studio.  I’m sure they look better than they taste, but he didn’t seem to mind their flavors either way.  Between the furniture and his chewy giraffe, he couldn’t be bothered with the green stuffed animal/monster that his parents have been using as the unofficial “reference chart” for his size.  Another thing I thoroughly enjoyed was this little lick of his hair that would casually flip up during the shoot (I still find it hard to believe that Rayan was apparently one of the “balder” babies in the family).

It was great working with Michelle and Deepak again, and if they stay true to the patterns in their families, I can’t help but wonder if Rayan will soon have a sibling in the family portraits…?    But before we jump ahead of ourselves, let’s share some pictures from this session:

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Having just gotten married last fall, I figured there might be something of a break before I evolved from being Devin and Julie’s wedding photographer to being their family portrait photographer.  Turns out they didn’t waste much time at all!  And just a couple of weeks ago they welcomed little Jasper into their world.

Since they knew ahead of time they wanted baby pictures, we planned to do the session while Jasper was still very newborn.  With my wife being Caucasian and myself being Chinese, I always have a personal interest in seeing what other mixed babies look like.  Right away I noticed that Jasper seemed to favor a more Asian look than my kids did at birth. And I’d forgotten how peely newborn skin could be!

With a huge bank of soft window light and this great big green circular couch at my disposal, their house was pretty much a perfect setting for taking pictures. We managed to get some really nice shots with mom, dad, and grandma, although poor little Jasper had his nap interrupted a couple of times by all the transferring between arms holding him.  I certainly appreciated Julie and Devin accommodating all my requests to jostle the baby back and forth – I just hope they didn’t pay the price later on with a cranky and sleepless baby!  Hopefully the pics were worth it:

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The past year or so has given me the distinct pleasure of seeing a lot of my wedding couples from the past and photographing them again as they transition from a couple to a family.  I fondly remember working with Tiffany and Ken on their engagement shoot – it was one of the very first times I’d ever pulled out lighting for an on-location shoot and I recall fumbling around a bit and smiling politely as I did a little “learning on the go”.  I’d like to think I’ve since gotten a bit better with my lighting, and though I’m sure I had my share of bumbling around again, hopefully they found the shoot a little smoother this time around!

At least Emily didn’t seem to mind – for being just a little one, she was amazingly patient with me as we started out shooting at the St-Boniface Basilica and ended up in the studio.  From what I could tell, Emily seems to take after her mom’s sunny elegance and her father’s cheery expressiveness – she had some of the most expressive eyebrows I’ve seen on an infant, and she would made this great little face every time she was anywhere near facing the sun (with Ken’s acting background, I’m sure she’ll have no shortage of inspiration for expressions).  It was great to meet you Emily!

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Every spring, I look forward to the opportunity to work with the wonderful Sareen family and their two little ones: Mya and Aidan.  It was a bit of a revelation when it occurred to me that this was my fourth annual portrait session with them – how time flies!  With last year’s shoot taking place in the studio, we changed it up this year and I eagerly headed over to their home to chase after the kids with my camera in their own environment.

While there’s the usual surprise in seeing how much they’ve grown every year, the signs of change were rather apparent this time: you know time is passing when they’re out of diapers and have moved on to losing teeth.  But some things remain the same and as always, the kids were super excited, falling over each other to show me their latest toys, and all-in-all just a blast to be around. I spent some time following them around the house as they showed off their rooms and newly found piano skills (I don’t recall my kids being quite so focused as Mya was on the keyboard).  And with it being a bright and sunny afternoon, we headed out to the park, running after them as they pedalled furiously away on their little bikes.

Always a joy and a pleasure to work with – thank you to the Sareens for sharing your lives with me!  And some of my faves from the session:

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