A “year in the life” photography package isn’t for everyone.

It is an investment, for sure.

It means that we can get together multiple times a year (12 is the suggested amount, once per month, but really any amount works!) and document the growth of your children, especially if they’re in particularly dynamic parts of their childhoods (e.g. transition from toddler to preschooler, transition from early childhood to adolescence, etc).

During family get-togethers, there’s often someone within the family who takes photos… but it’s more awkward because they never get to be in the photos themselves (trust me, I know… this is why this year, we’ve hired Tim Forbes to be our family photographer so we can all hang out and ALL be in the photo)

So I jump at the chance of being the photographer to help the family all be present with each other.

Now, for the Solc family, it was important to take a few traditional photos.

Candids were great, they said, but we also want some of all of us all together, and a few of each family.

Well, of course, we can take some time to do this, I said!

There is nothing wrong with taking group photographs at a family gathering, and a first birthday party is the ideal occasion for that.

The only thing to keep in mind is that sometimes - if you have a large group - the group photos can take the focus away from getting truly candid moments, and capturing everyone’s true spirit and essense.

As long as there is enough time, though, group shots absolutely CAN happen :)

I’ve done more posey family photoshoots, and it’s been stressful. Stressful for the people involved, because they were too concerned about looking “just right” and smiling to the camera. But also stressful for me, because I knew that those smiles would never be as genuine as we could get if they just relaxed.

So over time, I’ve made it so that I mostly work with families who really and truly care about their real lives. Families who are not ashamed to post real photos. Families for whom family photos are not used to brag on social media, but rather - to cherish and relive, for years and years to come, with other family members and friends.

In March, we decided to go to Maple Madness at the Cataraqui Conservation Park. Maple Madness, for the uninitiated, is when the temperatures are just right in late winter/early spring so that the maple trees can be tapped for sap. I don’t know the ins and outs of it, but you can learn a LOT if you go for yourself. It happens in early spring (early March until early April).

The sap is tapped and it fills buckets. Then, it’s made into maple syrup, by boiling out the water.

It’s an indigenous practice, and Maple Madness offers an opportunity to learn all about the history and traditions from indigenous people. There are live demonstrations of how the water is boiled away using a hot stone.

Here is our first session: it was during the darkest days of winter, mid-January. I went over to their house on a school-night, and the session was about capturing their dinnertime together. Jacklyn made some chicken and rice, the boys played some games on their tablets while dinner was being made, and then everyone sat together and shared stories from the day.

This is an oldie but a goodie :)

I drove to Ottawa in early May of 2019 so that I could meet this beautiful family and take some candid photographs of them doing their thing.

They have three daughters, and we had already settled on a one-hour session in their home, during which time we would be able to take some photos both inside and outside.

I have been photographing Tiiu and Dale’s family for several years now. The very first time I saw them, Tiiu was still pregnant with her daughter.

It's been a joy to watch the kids grow, and develop personalities. So much personality!

This is a family you might have seen on my social media before, or maybe even on the blog.

You see, I've been following the Timmerman-Veley-Halladay family for a long time now.

I've been their family photographer for years, in fact.

You’re heard about family doctor, family dentist… family therapist… what else?

Well, family photographer :)

This was a really fun session with a really amazing family who have a cottage on Wolfe Island just a hop away from Kingston, on the ferry.

I've actually been photographing this family for quite a few years.

One of the first times was when Patrick and Kay were getting married, after which we did a "Day In The Life session” at their Cottage.....

This photo session was all about capturing moments with Grandma.

The girls have an amazing grandma.

She lives out in BC, but often spends weeks at a time travelling to Ontario to be with her granddaughters.

Some of the awesome activities that they do include swimming in the backyard pool, learning about flowers and gardening, eating yogurt together, and just enjoying each other's company.

I'll always remember this photoshoot.

A couple of months before the session, Lauren had been given the news that her beloved pup Moe, had a very aggressive type of cancer, and was only expected to live a couple of months.

Lauren hoped for the best, but feared for the worst. So, she wanted to make sure that she could preserve some memories with before he passed.

She rented a cottage with her sister at Rideau Ferry.

Today I’ve got a super special story for you!

The kind of heart-melter that you can’t help but get a little emotional about.

It’s the story of baby Leo, born during the pandemic, the second sibling to be born to surrogate mother Kera, and to be joining the family of Uli and Alex, two fathers from Italy.

It brings the term ‘blended family’ to an entirely different level! 😍

Here’s how documentary newborn photography is different from the traditional studio newborn photo experience:

• it can be done anywhere - especially in your own home!

• there’s no baby ‘age limit’ - babies can be just a day old, or they can be a few months old! Each phase of a baby’s life is precious and can be documented to preserve cherished memories for a family. Whether it’s those baby wrinkles when they were just hours new to the world, or the chubby thighs as they started to fill out from all that yummy milk.

• it doesn’t take nearly as long - candid photos of babies and their families enjoying their time together don’t have to take hours. Some families choose to document a “Day in the Life” with their baby, so that we can capture many activities, especially if they have older children, too. But many families with a newborn and no older siblings are perfectly happy to spend just an hour swooning over their little one, and we get dozens of beautiful memories captured from this experience.

Today’s story is about the second time Marco and Damian traveled to Kingston from the Netherlands, in times of Covid, no less - having to adhere to very strict quarantine protocols. It was all so that they could welcome their *second* baby boy into the world, with the amazing help of the same surrogate mom.

I really count myself among the lucky ones to know this family, and to be able to capture their memories for them as they show us that anything is possible when there is enough love.

They landed here in Kingston, on the shores of Lake Ontario and got on with the business of building a life for themselves. And what a life they made! In the same house for 38 years, a treed and waterfront lot, perfect for raising their two kids and hosting their pack of grandchildren.

When I was nine, a boy who liked me (he was 13) trekked through half of Sofia in the pouring rain to knock on my apartment door and hand me a bouquet of soggy purple irises. I looked at him suspiciously, I took the flowers... and I said

"Thanks for the flowers. That was really nice of you… but you shouldn't have wasted all your time."

Over the years, you have learned - without realizing it - that your real life is ‘ordinary’. You have learned that the everyday moments, those regular things that happen daily, are less than ‘special’.

What you have learned is a lie.

Insofar as social media exacerbates social isolation because of feelings of inadequacy (think of all those ‘perfect’ people, places, lives), documentary photographs offer a way forward. They offer honesty. They tell a story of each person and each family just as they are, in all that makes them human, flawed, relatable.

You've heard me say it before and I'll keep saying it just as often as I can: every family is different, and the activities that fill your days are unique to your own family, and you should never ever try to compare yourself to any other, because comparison is the thief of joy. But all strong families have one thing in common and that is...