I have found that when people are in their own environment they tend to be more relaxed!  These portraits also showcase their home – their personality in furniture and decor and they also have their wardrobe handy to change if they wish!

Here is a session I did this past September.  I photographed Cheryl & Jeff for the first time in November 2005 for their engagement portraits (you’ll see their portrait on display in their home!).  I then had the privilege of photographing their wedding in January 2006.  Now there are a few reasons that Cheryl and Jeff are special people.  One is that Cheryl is my niece and one of the best Massage Therapists around!  Cheryl is an outgoing bubbly person and Jeff is this serious man – but with a great sense of humour!  They make a perfect couple and I love photographing them!   I would say that 3½ years after their wedding they look as much in love as they did on their wedding day!

What fun!   There were so many areas to photograph in and around their home!  Cheryl was a bit reluctant at first as she said they wanted to paint, replace baseboards, flooring, etc.  But I told her that this was the first house that they bought and these would bring back great memories of what it looked like!   When they viewed their images after the session she exclaimed, “Wow – our home looks pretty good!”      Thank you Jeff – for being a good sport in allowing me to invade your home – especially since you’d just come back from several days on the road and were hungry and tired!  You don’t look it!  Cheryl – keep smiling!  I LOVE your smile!

First we have Auriel… her mother was my office manager for a few years and I’ve see Auriel grow up into a beautiful young lady!

Jillia had a gorgeous olive green dress and, as all my seniors – was so easy to photograph!

Landon preferred not to smile in his photos – but that was okay – he could be a model!  He was also very easy to photograph and relaxed in front of the camera.

Kaelyn is a very tall young lady – and the gown she chose to wear looked very medieval and I tried to photograph her with that style of posing and lighting – although I deviated from that, as you can see in the first image.  We also did some photos of her with her volleyball uniform – look at those legs!

I love it when these seniors are open to trying something fun! 

Kahlia was a dark haired beauty and her gown was a gorgeous pewter grey color – it looked great on the background we chose!

A very popular item that I was offering this year was the 4 image Storyboard…

Please note the middle image – my newest background in the Studio!

Then Kahlia changed into casual clothes and this was one of her favorite images – she loved the original piece of art on the wall over the sofa (it’s a photograph I took several years ago that looks like a painting and I had it mounted on a stretcher canvas gallery wrap – the image is titled “Timid Tulips”).

Next came Chelsea.  She brought in her boyfriend, Clifford – I really liked the way they’re interacting in this photo!

She had this awesome pink streak in her hair – I love it when girls make a statement with their hair! 

The last Grunthal Grad I photographed was Caden.  Wow – what a gentleman!   He chose a great light coloured suit and it looked stunning on him – he could easily be a fashion model – he’s a natural in front of the camera…

I love this shot of him on my outdoor “Western” set!

This is another favorite of mine (and his) …

He then changed into an outfit that his mother said is ‘totally Caden’ – doesn’t he look great?

Then he changed into his hockey jersey for a few shots.  He’s a great goalie (I’m told) and totally loves hockey.  You should have seen his face when I was ready to photograph him in this outfit and his mom said to him… “Oh, by the way, did you know Jonathan Toews is going to be at the event tomorrow night?”

Then we did one last outfit – love those shorts!!!!

Congrats all Grunthal Grads!

So enjoy these images from this wonderful family.

It was so special to see the bond between father and son… I love these!

Another two of my favorite images…

Look at the expression on Mom’s face – priceless!

When Brad played with Asher and threw him into the air, I wished I had a video camera to capture the laughter and giggles from Asher!  You could see that Brad does this a lot.  I was told that when a baby tucks into himself like this – they are relaxed and enjoying this – when their arms and legs flail about – they’re not!  Asher LOVED it when Brad tossed him up!

Now this is my FAVORITE image.  I had such a great time photographing this small family and I am so grateful and humbled that they chose me to capture this wonderful time in their lives.  I hope to do so again in the future.  Thank you both! (and Asher, too!)

When Micheline came in for her personal consultation she told me that her two boys, Alec, 4 years old and Jesse, 2 years were very active and she wanted to capture their liveliness and personalities.

At the session I spent more time watching their antics than concentrating on photographing…but I must admit the images were wonderful. After viewing the Slide Show of images at the Premiere Showing, Micheline said that I had succeeded in showing her boys personalities! What a compliment!

Here are some of my favorite images from that session…

Little Jesse was distracted by my background light.

I just love this family shot – it’s probably my favorite!

And when it was time to photograph the boys individually, Jesse picked up my green chair and said he wanted to go first.

Once again – he was mesmerized by the background light!

Then it was Alec’s turn – and he picked the blue chair – and he gave me these awesome silly expressions!

He played peek-a-boo by hiding behind the chair…

I just LOVE this image!

Alec did give me some sweet expressions as well!

And then it was time to photograph the boys together. For any of you that have boys – you know that what one does – the other one has to copy. You can just see how close these boys are and I loved watching the interaction between them.

Thank you Ray and Micheline and boys! I can’t wait to watch your boys grow!