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 is the power of a candid photography session.

For any parent who is undecided about documentary photos a.k.a. candid photos, I hope this demonstrates why it is so much easier (especially for toddlers) to have a candid session than it is to have a post session.

Toddlers just want to get on with their fun play. They don’t want to be sitting still or being told what to do. They don’t care if there’s a photographer who is taking photos, as long as they don’t have to change what they’re doing for the photographer :) And that’s exactly what a documentary family session is all about. Letting the kiddos play and do their thing, and just going with it, and capturing THOSE photographs.

Now, having said all this, we did manage to get a few photos of Jude not crying in the group photos, an

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.

Wolfe island is a pretty magical place, and as I've learned, there is a long and rich history to it.

Another thing I've learned about Wolfe Island, is that there are the “Islanders”, and then there’s everybody else.

You might have lived on the island for 10, 20 or even to years, but unless you, your parents, and your grandparents was all born on the island, you're probably not really considered an “Islander.” (Right? Islanders, help me out here!)

That doesn't mean you can't have an absolutely amazing experience living there, mind you. Even if you move there later on in life, like Sally and Arnie - the matriarch and patriarch of this family.

This was an interesting session for me, and I want to tell you all about it.

It's not really a typical session.

You see, an old friend of mine from Queens University – a professor in the psychology department - contacted me, saying that because of Covid, the usual graduate photographs for Leahurst families were not happening in 2021.

And could I do a few candid ones for them?

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.

So many memories were lived and captured there.

So it was only fitting that we would be photographing it one last time, as her own son celebrated turning two.

I met them in Newburgh on a beautiful sunny day in June.

Soren was at the age where toddlers are both curious and a little bit shy.

The first photographs we took are of him clinging to mom’s leg, which is completely expected at this age <3 And also adorable.

Picking meaningful family activities to photograph

The first question we always discuss with families is: “what should we do during our photo-session?”

Lots of families already have pretty solid ideas of what they can do to spend some time together, while I snap the photos. Some families aren’t sure. That’s okay, too. This is why we have a fun consultation before even putting pen to paper (by which I mean… booking a session 😜 no actual paper is involved, it’s all online).

Occasionally I take time out from doing family or wedding photography, and I document local events and activities happening around Kingston.

Last year, Kingston-based educator Katherine Morlog began a weekly skateboarding drop-in workshop for girls in Kingston to learn to skate. These sessions were held Thursday evenings at Daly Street Skate park (on Daly St, across from the Rideau Heights Community Centre).

It’s a fantastic initiative for many reasons.

Girls are waaay under-represented in skateboarding. It’s intimidating for girls to get into it, because it’s mostly boys and men who skate.

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.

Right away, I loved this family. I couldn’t stop photographing Leo, this adorable 3-year old with the biggest, gentlest eyes. He was an instant muse. And then, I met his baby brother, Ezra, and I couldn’t believe just how expressive this tiny little baby’s eyes were, too! This obviously runs in the family.

Of course, a documentary session needs to capture the everyday moments. If every single day of your lives, you hop on the subway, then transfer to the streetcar, to get to your favourite place… then it would be a serious error not to include at least a bit of those moments in the Day In the Life session.

For some families, this is just as obvious as breathing. For other families, this idea is a bit more novel. They’re used to more traditional types of photographs, so capturing simple things like walking down the street seems like… photos you would discard.

That’s the biggest lesson by far: that to serve your clients fully, you must stop assuming you know what they want, and really LISTEN and pay attention to what they tell you they want.

No photographer is above their client. We serve people. That is our job. To do a good job, we must listen to people. Not assume.

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.

I got to see these wonderful children for a brief moment in time this year, whereas their parents get to watch them grow each and every day. Day by day, their hours are filled with fleeting moments. But the fact that I only get to see them briefly every year or so, gives me a distinct advantage. I focus on what few other photographers see: the fleeting, unorchestrated moments that make up a life.

This is the magic ✨

Puppies are playful. They make toys out of any old box or blanket that comes their way. They chew on things they shouldn’t, and generally get up to lots of mischief. Luckily for Juno, there were lots of loving hands to guide her into safe and fun mischief, as opposed to dangerous mischief.

Let’s talk about shenanigans now. That first photo of the two dogs whizzing past little Lauren is one of my favourites! And later, when the kids are playing in the deep hole dug by one of the dogs… I have a feeling this photo will be one that will make this family smile in about 20 years.