Baby Session: Sebastian at 6 weeks old

Sheena contacted me through email to set up a baby session with her newborn Sebastian at 6 weeks old, and yesterday was my first time meeting the happy family at my home studio! My camera and I fell in love with Sebastian's infectious smile :) He's simply adorable and was such a cute baby to photograph! Thank you for allowing me to capture such precious moments that will be remembered for a lifetime to come!




I love baby bottoms and feet!



Like father, like son :)


Baby Sebastian's hands with older sister, Sunshine


Caught in mid-stream!


Be prepared for baby body fluids!

Cathy + Randy = P.E.R.F.E.C.T.

I'm so excited to show off a few pictures of myself + my handsome hubby that we took a few months back :) I can't believe I forgot all about these pictures that were so kindly taken by my friend rmhprintz. http://www.flickr.com/photos/rmhprintz/ Take a look at his picture albums on Flickr! He's an awesome sports bike and car photographer, and I volunteered ourselves to be his "models" for the day so he could practice on HUMAN subjects rather than his usual fave of inanimate objects (besides his interest in photographing birds and other animals)! I think he did a great job, and with a bit of my photoshopping skills on CS3 and color correcting in Lightroom, these were my favorites during our own personal shoot!

My New CD packaging!

They finally arrived!! What do you think of my new client CD packaging!? I've been waiting patiently for the past couple of weeks to receive seperate orders of my personalized sticker labels and silver tin CD cases! I really think the final product looks very classy and elegant, and I'm really excited to give these out to my clients who book photo sessions with me!

Newborn Session: Baby Gavin at 3 weeks Old

This was my first opportunity to use my home studio to photograph a portrait session, and I'm very happy with the results! Meet baby Gavin, he's simply an adorable newborn to the proud new parents of Ian and Justine :) We spent close to 3 hours for this photoshoot, mainly because baby Gavin needed to be soothed and comforted so we could take his pictures while he was asleep. It usually takes more time to photograph baby sessions because it's important to work around the baby's schedule, they are very unpredictable!

Here are a few TIPS: make sure your baby is well fed prior to the photoshoot, bring extra formula if needed, also bring diapers, wipes, and a change of clothing for YOURSELF! Ian and Justine were happily peed on, regurgitated on, and best of all---pooed on! The mustard looking smear on Ian's forearm is an example of newborn baby poop! LOL!




Here are some of my favorites below, enjoy!












I'm not a huge fan of selective coloring, but this was Ian's and Justine's request! Too bad we didn't have a blue satin ribbon instead!

My Fun New Toys!

Canon Speedlite: 580EX II




Now that I'm more serious about photography, and increasing number of friends and referrals are asking me to shoot different photography sessions, I've decided that it's a good time to buy some additional "toys" to add to my gear collection!

Thinking of an umbrella for studio lighting or a softbox? Why not buy the Lastolite Umbrellabox for portability, and you get the best of both worlds? My second newest addition :)


I can now convert my dining room area into a small home studio in addition to my background support stands :) I will post more pictures of that soon, stay tuned...




Current gear list for the photog geeks :) BTW, I shoot exclusively with Canon:
- 5D
- XTi backup body
- 24-70mm f/2.8L with UV polarizer
- 70-200mm f/4L
- 60mm f/2.8 macro
- 18-55mm kit lens
- Speedlite 580EX II *NEW*
- Speedlite 430EX
- Ebay triggers for off camera lighting *NEW*
- Manfroto mini tripod
- Generic tripod
- Lastolite Umbrellabox and light stand *NEW*
- Calumet background stands x2, 9ft black seamless background paper *NEW*
- 18 gigs of memory
- extra batteries (A MUST!)

This may sound like a pretty long list to a newer newb than I! But I have more in mind that I would like to buy, even though my husband thinks I have enough stuff! In my defense, I'm investing in better gear so I can "give back" to my clients :) Don't get me wrong, it's not the gear that makes a good photographer, but its an extension of what we can do for our client!

Now to learn and PLAY...!

The Many Faces of Nancy =)

Nancy is my crazee, caring, spunky, and spontaneous BFF, who was my Maid of Honor for our wedding :) She came from Vancouver to visit this weekend, and we had a blast as always! I'm so thankful to have her in my life, and now that she's on her way back home, I will miss her tremendously and all our goofy times together :( I LOVE YOU EMMERS!!

I love colorful walls full of grafitti!


Me' n my BEST FRIEND!



Get ready for some of Nancy's hysterical pictures!












THE END!

The Final Product

In my opinion, post processing pictures is equally important (if not more) as opposed to creating a good photograph. In fact, I probably spend more time in front of the computer playing with my photos in Lightroom and Photoshop CS3, in comparison to the length of time it takes to do a photo session with my client! Is it true that a better photographer should need to spend less time on his/her photoshop skills? Most likely. But it's difficult to get the perfect exposure and lighting in a picture especially when time is usually against you, and there's only that one window of opportunity to capture that specific moment.

Here is a "BEFORE" picture of Barbara, notice how it lacks contrast and color:



Now, compare the above picture with the following:


This photograph is just an example of what Lightroom can do. I adjusted the contrast and curves, and the picture looks so much more outstanding than the original! I shoot exclusively in RAW format so I have total control when I'm post processing.

So there you go!