“Thank you Marlene for the amazing photo session!  I loved watching you interact with Kait and have fun with her.  She really felt like a princess and looked like one too ! I can always count on you to give us not only great portraits that capture the important stages in our lives.  You never disappoint us!” Cathy & Tim Friesen, Steinbach, Manitoba

This blog post is so much fun for me.    I had the real pleasure of photographing Kaitlyn for her high school senior grad portraits on June 8th.   I was pleased she had decided to do some casual portraits as well as photographs in her grad dress.   And even more pleased knowing that her dress was lilac colored and my lilacs were still in bloom!

Kaitlyn’s family has been in before.  In fact, I photographed her parent’s wedding in 1988!   I’ve seen Kait and her sisters grow up.  In 2000 I photographed the three girls when they were just 7, 5 and 2 years old.  In 2008 the family came in for photographs and I was happy to see the bright red scarves that the girls were wearing.

portrait taken in 2008

Cathy, Kait’s mom, called me on March 23d and said that there was an important time in their life and who do they call?  Me!    She went on to say that Kaitlyn was going to be graduating this year.  They came in for a consult in April and I was amazed at how mature Kait was and I couldn’t wait to photograph her.   She came in for her session full of energy and enthusiasm.   This is key in getting some fabulous photos.

After the session she wrote:

“I had a great time being photographed by you. I was definitely the princess of the day.  I love your way of seeing things and then making them happen in the perfect way.  It was very hard to choose just a few pictures, I wanted them all!  You captured my fun side, especially when I created the perfect bird shadow upon the wall.  The entire experience was fun, pleasant and overall very enjoyable.” Kaitlyn Friesen, Steinbach, Manitoba

I couldn’t just show a few as there were so many great images!

Kaitlyn has a love of books and globes, so she brought these items in to personalize her portraits.

and she LOVES shoes - aren't these fabulous?

Her beautiful lilac colored dress in front of my lupins…

do you see her reflection in the window?

the scent of the lilacs made both of us smile!

I had such a great time with Kait – I love photographing grads!

When working with young children, you have to work quickly, as their attention span is short.  Emma started out very quiet (she’d fallen asleep on the car ride here) but it didn’t take long for to show me her true personality!  Since we were only photographing the family and no other groupings, we could concentrate on getting a great image!  The session took just 12 minutes!

After they left, I went through the files and picked my favorite 8 images and tweaked them to what my vision was.  Kerri came by a few days later to view and place her order.  I showed her my favorite image and then this is what she told me….

They had wanted a family portrait, but felt they couldn’t justify the price coming to my studio – so they booked an appointment at a mall studio in Winnipeg.  She went on to say that the session at the mall was horrible, and they ended up not ordering any.  While walking the malls, they discussed the disaster of the photos – she said she was mad and it was ‘not pleasant’!  They didn’t speak the rest of the evening.  She said that he left for work the next morning still mad!  But then, she went on to say … he ends up doing something that just makes her melt!   In her words…  “Later on in the morning Stu sent me a text.  ‘I have booked Marlene for next Tuesday – call Heather and tell her what you would like!”  I was blown away and called Stu with tears/laughing and said ‘can’t I ever just be mad at you!”    She went on to say that … “The photo shoot with Marlene was amazing.  Surpassed my expectations.  My husband CAN smile and he looks good doing it!  I look forward to seeing the portraits on our walls for many years!  Marlene really captured the ‘moment’ for us!  Thank you!”

No – Thank You, Kerri for giving me the chance to photograph your family.  It’s because of people like you that I love my job!

I especially love this last little grouping.  When I asked little Emma to give Daddy a kiss – she did it with her whole heart – and the next image is the image right after that!  I love it!

When they arrived for the session I immediately was drawn to the children. Laine, Myles, Owen and sweet little Taia.  The children started off sitting quietly – but it soon turned into… real life!      The children started behaving like all children do – and we got some wonderful personality images!

Okay – lets get to the photos from this session!

My favorite photo of the 4 children together…

Look at the boys in the background – I love it!

Lyndon and Leah…

Owen…

Laine…

Myles…

Taia…

And now for my favorites…

Thanks Leah & Lyndon and family for trusting me to create memories of your children and family!

Darlings – aren’t they?

My first clients were the winners of my Walt Disney World trip last year!  This time they decided to have just the girls photographed.  Piper sat wonderfully still – but Davilyn was loving her new shoes and running around!  It was hilarious – but I did get some wonderful images.

My next client has also been in previously – with her family in 2004.   I had a great time with Rhonda and Kevin – what a wonderful couple!

My last family haven’t been in the studio for years, although I have photographed the kids for their school portraits for the last few years.  Matthew was the easiest to get to smile.  Emily was quite a poser and all of her images were fabulous – and Adam … what can I say?  He was not being generous with his smiles – but he did flash me a beautiful smile on a couple images!   These are my two favorites from that session!

I had a great time with these Holiday Mini-Sessions!  If you’re interesting in having a portrait taken for Christmas – I have two dates left!