London Ontario Family Photography | Melissa, Greg, Cooper & Sawyer

I met this beautiful family on a very foggy and overcast November afternoon, but despite the grey skies, this session was all about fun, laughter and bright colours (loved the bright blues and oranges!). We met at Gibbons Park and explored some of its more rustic areas. The boys were adorable and Cooper definitely kept me on my toes! Coco the stuffed dog, Cooper's beloved companion, came along too.  Here are some favourites from this very sweet family's session.

London Ontario Family Photographer | Jessie, Darcy and Max

If I could only write one word for this blog it would be "FUN". Not only because this was a fun session for me on my side of the lens, but because this family exudes a love of life and play that is contagious and, dare I say, rare. We met at a park for a lifestyle session and our goal was to have fun and capture some real, love-filled moments. Mission accomplished. So many smiles, giggles, hugs and games... Little Max is one of the luckiest boys around to have such an amazing little family, and I was so honoured to spend the afternoon with them.

London Ontario Children Photography | Kingston, Charlotte and Oakley

When Kingston was a baby, his mama (my friend Jen) brought him over for me to take some Christmas photos. He was one of my very first "test subjects" and it's hard to believe he's now a big brother to two equally adorable siblings. I've also had the pleasure of photographing Charlotte on her own as well as capturing some candid moments of the whole family during a recent lifestyle session. These three littles have a special place in my heart - I've had the honour of holding each of them as fresh little newborns and watching them grow up. Charlotte has become a sweet little friend to my own little girl, and Oakley has had to endure my daughter's "hugs and kisses". It was so fun to photograph them all together, looking as cute as can be. It was a chilly afternoon but everyone stayed warm and cozy and we got some amazing shots. Here are some favourites. :)

London Ontario Family Photography | The Charlebois Family

The Charlebois family was one of my first families when I officially started Raw Footage Photography back in 2010. At that time, they only had two children, Andrew and Sophie. I was so excited when they contacted me again this year and told me the exciting news that they had a new precious addition to their family - sweet baby Trevor! This was such a lovely outdoor family session. I met the Charlebois family in a wild field and, despite the chilly weather, we captured the sweetest moments between all of them. I love this session because it really shows the different relationships within the family between both parents, siblings, and each parent with the individual children. You really get a feel for how much each member of this family loves each other. Every time I look at these photos, I feel warm and fuzzy and I can't help but smile! I hope  you enjoy this sampling of favourites.

The Mama Journal | Christmas Tree

I've always journaled in some way, be it with a pen and a diary as a pre-teen, in a never-ending word document that was saved on the old desktop computer that sat in my room as a teenager, through countless photo scrapbooks growing up or, more recently, through blogging. It's always been important for me to relive those moments in my life that take my breath away and reflect on life's beautiful simplicities. Writing and reflecting on life's moments has always been a key component in my quest to be intentionally grateful, and to try and see the good in everything. Writing helps me process, reflect and appreciate. Keeping a blog has motivated me to keep up with photographing my own family and has acted as a way to document the precious moments and milestones of our little life. So when I took an indefinite hiatus from writing my personal blog a few months ago, it felt like something was missing. I would literally lie in bed and "write" in my head about my thoughts. It's different from plain old thinking in a way I can't explain. Everything in me was eager to sit, reflect and write. I longed for a place to share the lifestyle images taken of our simple everyday.   I've decided that keeping two blogs is more work and trouble than I can handle right now. I've come to really love my little space here, and the Raw Footage Photography blog has become more than a place to simply share recent sessions (although there is still much of that happening). The Behind the Lens series has given me an outlet to reflect on my journey as a photographer and has received such a positive response, which I am so grateful for. I've decided to add The Maman Journal to the lineup. A place where I can share some photos of my perfectly imperfect little life at home as well as thoughts on my journey through motherhood, which is essentially what my personal blog had become after the birth of my daughter. I worried that maybe my readers here, clients as well as fellow photographers, might not be interested in a glimpse of personal life. This is, after all, a space previously reserved for my photography business. But the reality is that my passion for photography spills over into every area of my life, and the images I take for me are a big part of my journey as a photographer. And as more and more clients began asking me about me during our sessions, even asking "So, how's Neve?",  commenting on her Halloween costume and on her big blue eyes, I realized that many of them appreciate the opportunity to connect with me on a bit more of a personal level, just as I enjoy connecting with them.  I'm all about building relationships, both on a professional and personal level, so I think incorporating a more personal touch to this blog is really a true representation of who I am and what's important to me.  So here we go. The start of The Mama Journal. I hope you'll join me on this journey! xo

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Last Christmas, my girl was 5 months old. Wide eyed and cute as a button in her Christmas jammies, but a little bit oblivious to everything going on. This year, at 17 months, she is truly living out her first real Christmas, and I'm just a little ridiculously excited about introducing her to the many joys of the season. Our days have been filled with holiday renditions from Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Amy Grant and more modern favourites like Michael Buble and She and Him. Neve loves "Caroling Caroling" by Nat King Cole the best, because she can sing "ding dong ding dong" while swaying her head back and forth from left to right (cute, right?). We've been obsessively baking cookies - trying new recipes at home and whipping up old favourites with Grandmaman and Grandpapa - and I've discovered that Neve has acquired a taste for drops of spilled molasses and fallen brown sugar crumbs.

We recently put up our real Christmas tree and it was so special to watch her reaction. Lots of pointing and exclamations of "wooooowwwww!", followed by her usual monkey-business - getting tangled up in ribbon, systematically removing every ornament I would hang and trying to feed the pinecones to the dog. Decorating the Christmas tree has never taken me so long, but it's never been quite so magical, either. It's hard to put into words the joy it brought me to see the excitement in her face as the lights went on and watching her hold up shiny ornaments in wonder. My husband and I are getting to experience all the wonders of Christmas through they eyes of our beautiful little girl, and it truly is a gift. Here are some shots I snapped of my girl as she decorated the tree for the very first time.

xo 

 

London Ontario Family Photographer | Early Morning Downtown Session

When Jennifer told me she wanted an urban location for her family session, I couldn't be more excited. I love fields and woods and rustic buildings, but there's just something so fun and fresh about the colours, textures and lines that downtown has to offer. We had fun exploring alleys and parking lots, even though it was a rather chilly October morning! Here are some favourites from our session.

London Ontario Family Photographer | Mette, Hubert & Family

I first met Mette in 2008 when I worked in childcare. Her eldest daughter Chloe was starting in my class, and I was immediately smitten with their sweet little family. I met Chloe's sister, Sydney, soon after and continued to see these beauties on a daily basis for a few years before we both left the world of childcare. I am so blessed to still have Mette and her girls in my life and to be able to photograph them as they grow. This year I met Hubert and his lovely girls as well, and had the privilege of photographing two beautiful, kind, fun loving families coming together. Here are some favourites from our session.

London Ontario Family Photographer | The Fox Family

After rescheduling due to rain and almost being rained out a second time, we all breathed a big sigh of relief after this session! October weather can be so unpredictable - sunny and warm on one day, then cold and rainy for the following week. I'm so glad the rain held off for us and we were able to spend some time exploring Gibbons Park. These children are some of the brightest, smartest and friendliest children I've ever met. They had so much to talk about, and thoroughly impressed me with their vast vocabulary! Not to mention, they are absolutely adorable - as is the entire family! Here are some favourites from their session. :)

London Ontario Family Photographer | The Roselle Family

For the most part, October was a dreary, rainy month. But we were still treated to a handful of mild, sunny evenings where the golden sun flooded everything in sight. The Roselle family's session was on one of these nights, and the light was just beautiful. They are such a sweet, fun-loving family, and I loved meeting and photographing them. Here are some favourites from their sunkissed October session!