More Boys Should Wear Pink

You can't deny how cute this look is! I love pink, and I love a man who can wear it, big or little! :)

Secret

I swear that this little guy had the best secret. He couldn't stop smiling to himself while he was sleeping.
Thanks for a great morning - you made my job very easy!

Daddy Played Bass

I had a session yesterday with such a cool and fun family. Dad is a bass player for some great bands and wanted to incorporate his bass with his new daughter. It was hit and miss for awhile, but with dad spotting just to the right and wielding a bottle and soother, I think we got what we were after. :)

belly=beauty

In recent ads, I used the phrase belly=beauty, and never has it been more evident than during this session.
The lovely mom-to-be just had a radiance about her, and it sounds cliched, but she really did glow.
She looks beautiful, and I can't wait to meet her new little one.

It's been awhile since I've posted here, it's because I'm getting old. I woke up Sunday morning completely unable to move my neck and head. I guess I slept on it funny? It took 3 full days of being on my back to finally start feeling better - but I'll be roaring to go for the sessions this weekend!

Slideshow

Back in November I was graciously invited to speak at the Foothills Camera Club about infant and child photography.
I had no idea I had a fear of public speaking until about 45 minutes before I was scheduled to go on, lol!
I had a great time, and met many wonderful people that evening. If you're interested in photography, I'd highly recommend that you check them out, they have a lot of interesting outings, contests and guest speakers.
Foothills Camera Club

I prepared a slideshow of some current work to start off my presentation with, but actually forgot it when I was hit by a sudden urge to start talking about what I do, and keep talking for 45 minutes. So I thought it would be fun to share here.

SLIDESHOW

Defined.

I'm excited to show you some sneak peeks at one of the new products for 2008. Defined Collages.
They are 20X20 collages mounted and laminated - they look absolutely amazing! Clients are eating these up, and I'm ordering a ton for my own home. You can even order them without the text if you prefer. Every client will have one sample in their gallery in 2008.

Good egg.

Hee hee. This little cutie made me start thinking . . .maybe it's time to have another baby? She was so sweet and what a beautiful little temperament! I had previously met the mom during her friend's newborn session, so it was great to come and do the photos of her own little one. Congrats again on your beautiful little girl!

New

There are a million reasons why I love what I do, and this is #547. This little cutie is my friend Yolanda's new baby girl. Yo and I used to work together at CMT, what seems to be a million years ago, but I guess was only 7. Thanks to the powers of Facebook, we reconnected and I got the pleasure of taking photos of her new little one and meeting her new husband Dave, and seeing her daughter Tay looking gorgeous and GROWN UP! It was a great day, and I am so happy the document this new stage in their lives.

On the topic of new, there are going to be a lot of new changes for Fresh Sugar in 2008. A new look, new products and new pricing. The new pricing starts February 1st, but if you book before January 31st you will receive current prices. That means you can book a session for May, and still have 2007 prices. If you want a session soon, please email me as I have only one session left for January!

My Favorite 2 Year Old of 2008

Ok, so she's been my ONLY 2 year old so far this year, but she's still my fave. This little beauty was so sparkly and fun, I could have stayed and played for hours. She was a little shy at first, but I managed to break the ice by pretending to be afraid of things. Hey, I'll do anything for a laugh. I had so much fun meeting this family, we laughed, the baby cried, and I got to show off some of my rad moves a la Backyardigans. Awesome!

Also, the Fresh Ideas session for January is still up for grabs, email me now if you're interested. It's a $250 value!

Fresh Ideas from Fresh Sugar

I'm so excited to implement this new promotion this year! Each month I will be posting a Fresh Idea. These are concepts that I am personally and professionally interested in. It may be that I have a cool idea, or something I would like for the Fresh Sugar website or advertising.
Each month will have a new idea, and a new winner. The winner receives a FREE session and a FREE 11X14 of the shot that I was trying to achieve with my Fresh Idea.
I can't wait to get started, January's idea is for a buff shirtless dad to do some newborn photos. If you know a dad or dad-to-be that fits this bill, email me at info@freshsugar.ca. There's only one winner a month, so act quickly if you want a free newborn session!

Happy New Year!

Well, the holiday season has come and gone and 2007 is being rung out tonight. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who made this year so wonderful for me: my clients, my blog readers, and my friends and family.
I'm excited to start 2008 with a bang, I'm starting a new year-long promo called Fresh Ideas. I'll be giving you the full scoop in the next couple of days!

This gorgeous little baby was one of the many Christmas presents that I was lucky to photograph this December. I had tons of fun at the session, it's fabulous when the parents are willing to try anything, and have some ideas of their own - which this shot was one of!

Happy New Year everyone! (don't forget an Advil and tons of water before bed tonight, lol)

Christmas comes this time each year

Whew, what a hectic couple of days!
I managed to sneak out this morning for some Boxing Day shopping at Holt Renfrew, (Merry Christmas Brandy, Love Jimmy Choo) and now I'm back on the computer to proof some more sessions. I've been so crazy busy lately, I haven't blogged as much as I've wanted to, I have tons of sessions that I haven't shared here. Maybe my New Year's resolution will be to be a better blogger? ;)
I hope everyone had very, very Happy Holidays and you all got what you wished for. My girls cleaned up like bandits, but I really need to buy more for the baby and less for the 4 year old. A bit of a lopsided Christmas here due to Second Child Syndrome. (ie, she gets the shaft, lol)
I'm just going to quickly share a few from some recent sessions, and more in the next week as I try to catch my breath!

.miracle.

This tiny little one is such a miracle to me. She's gone through so much in her short life and her parents completely amazed me with their strength and passion for their daughter and life itself. Thank you so much for inviting me into your home and making me part of this beautiful story.

The sweetest holiday gift

This new family has just welcomed home this little sunshine. One of the most peaceful newborns I've had the pleasure of meeting, she was just a total doll throughout the whole session. She was so patient with me, letting me play with some of my brand new and exciting newborn wraps. I'll be previewing more from different sessions this month, I'm excited to add this new look to my newborn photography. Congratulations again Mom and Dad, and enjoy your first holiday season as a family.

Holiday Deadline is this week!

To get your prints in time for the holidays, I need all orders placed by 12:00pm on Thursday, December 13th.
Anything ordered after that time will be available after January 1st.
This is a great opportunity to do some easy Christmas shopping.

Another cool thing I keep forgetting to mention, Calgary's Child is having their annual Parent's Choice Awards. You can win a weekend for your family at the fabulous Sheraton Eau Claire. (Or have a night away from the kids, which is what I would pick today, lol)
You can vote HERE for your favorite local businesses.

I met this wonderful new family last month, and as what usually happens at my newborn sessions, the baby didn't want to sleep.
Of course parents are usually mystified, because baby ALWAYS sleeps. Except when I come over. LOL!
I'm cool with it when babies don't sleep, I love to see their gorgeous newborn eyes, and I know if we all have a little patience, that baby will get sleepy and we can get those scrunchy shots that we all love.
Now, it's easy for me to say, because having patience usually involves mom nursing baby, while I sit and chat and drink coffee and socialize. Fun job, right? ;)

Having patience does work though, because even though most of my clients feel worried that it's only their baby that is awake and/or crying, I'm here to reassure you that it happens. A lot! :)

Pregnancy never looked so good!

I had the pleasure of photographing this gorgeous mom-to-be a couple of weeks ago.
We had rescheduled the session due to snowy weather, and I'm so glad we did!
We had the beautiful backdrop of Eau Claire and while it was chilly, it was nothing like a normal November afternoon.
One of the best parts of this shoot was that mom-to-be was so stylish, she had a TON of awesome maternity clothes that I got to pick for the photos. I totally want to raid her closet if I ever get pregnant again.
Thanks for a great day you two, I had a blast.

Uh, sorry about those shelves . . .

So once in awhile I do stupid things at sessions. One time I was joking around with a family and told their mother:

"you're just not a pretty face".

Oh. Dear. God.
I meant to say "you're not just a pretty face". I'm pretty sure I heard crickets after that comment. And a couple of tumbleweeds bounced on through the room.

So today was another entry in the my own Hall of Shame. I sat on a shelving unit while taking photos of the baby.
Not realizing the shelving unit was bolted INTO the wall, and not actually on the floor like I thought. So when the whole thing came crashing down, me included, I could have died. It's too bad someone wasn't taking MY picture at the time.

So again, to my fabulous, wonderful, amazing clients: forgive me. please. I'm an idiot.

Hey, at least the shots were great today! ;)

Honey, I'm home!

We're finally back from our trip to Disneyland. We had a great time, but now it's back to the camera and the computer!
I have a lot of blog posts to make, so stay tuned this week as I catch up!
Here are just a few shots from our trip, the weather was wonderful, and "it's a small world" is still pretty good after the 10th time. :)

Awake and Sweet

This little guy was wide awake for this session, but he was one of the most peaceful and relaxed babies I've ever seen.
No matter where we put him, or how we moved him, he was just mellow and happy. Congratulate yourselves Mom & Dad, I think you've got a keeper! :)