Replicating Photos Taken Many Years Previously...or trying to!

September 23, 2019

You’ve seen the photos where siblings - many years later - get together and try to replicate photos from their youth? Where they try to match the outfits, the decor, the posing…all with hilarious results due to the fact that they’re all much bigger now, the decor is outdated, and polyester is no longer an option when it comes to clothing?

Well…this isn’t quite like that!

Last fall, we got the opportunity to photograph Caroline’s crew again; the first time was 14 years previously, almost to the day. It’s always amazing to see somebody that you first had in front of your camera a long time ago, back in front of it again! Except for the fact that it makes one feel old, it is one of the intangible benefits of the job - and the process we’ve undertaken lately of looking back after #15years of our business has given us so many examples of people that we’ve seen grow up that we’ll be sharing a few of them in the coming weeks…but back to this family!

In the process of photographing all large family groupings, we always do a bunch of combinations of people - and especially when dealing with multiple generations. We had the whole family positioned in a field and did a bunch of these combinations, breaking it down to the point where we got to just the kids set up. One of them said “Let’s do that picture from when we were kids!”, so they all sat down and tried to recreate the shot - who was on what side, where the hands were and whose expression was what - was all earnestly discussed for quite some time between them.

Mom jumped in there, too, and started positioning them!!! No one could quite agree on what was right…

And I was no help at all! I really wasn’t sure what was going on while it was happening, and I couldn’t remember the photo in question, even though I took it! But we just kept taking pictures. It wasn’t until after we got back from the session and saw the original that it all came flooding back.

Thankfully, the 2018 version did not include tears like the 2004 one did!

Here’s some of the other shots we did from both sessions. Enjoy!

Our First Experience Photographing Twins

September 5, 2019

The conventional wisdom on having more of any one thing could be positive or negative, depending on your perspective.

And this is certainly true when contemplating Twin Children!

The details are a bit foggy, but I recall the first time we took photos of these twin boys in Milton. It was the first time that I went to the Town Hall courtyard; it felt like I’d stumbled upon a secret garden oasis! We’ve done photos there a few times since, but it has been a while.

What we’ve come to appreciate over the years is that toddlers are busy - and when there’s two of them, it can feel like more than double! The last family photo of the slideshow below proves that - on the run the moment the feet hit the ground!

I’m not sure how we managed to get these two to look at the camera, while sitting still, AND having a pleasant expression all in one moment…but there have been times that we can use a little trick, and I suspect that may have been the case…

When photographing a very active toddler, we’ll let them tootle around a bit to see if we can get them positioned where we want them. More times than not, they won’t stop moving - who can blame them when there’s soooo much to do! - but sometimes, if you pick them up and place them on a stool or chair, or bench, like the photo above, they will stop completely and look right at the camera! It’s usually most successful when there’s a bit of danger involved - if the object they sit on is just a bit taller than they’re used to, a bit of fear kicks in and they don’t move!!!

(a bit of a disclaimer on the above - they will move eventually, so photos need to be taken quickly, and an adult needs to be close by to step in and catch them if they start to fall!)

The above photo was a very large sample for years in our office…we just loved it! What do you think? Leave us a comment below, or reach out on social media!

Jeff

Fall Family Photo Sessions with Thanksgiving Around the Corner

September 28, 2018

I was in for a shock when I realized that not this weekend but NEXT weekend is Thanksgiving here in Canada! Is it just me or did that sneak up really fast? It seems early this year and I am not ready. I mean, I am ready for pumpkin pie (I am always ready for pie), and I am ready for fall weather, I am also ready for all the family photo sessions that we are doing and will be doing as the leaves change colour. What I am not ready for is that after Thanksgiving comes Halloween and after Halloween comes Christmas... and now I am going into a coma! I guess that was a very roundabout way to say that I am not ready for Christmas! So let’s not talk about that.

Thanksgiving weekend is always a busy one for us. Not only because we are taking the time to give Thanks with the ones we love, but we also get to capture all the other families who get together to spend time with each other. Big family groups are very popular this time of year, with gorgeous weather and often family is in from out-of-town! You can't beat that...especially if there’s pie!

If you’re planning on having your fall family photo done soon (and you should be) I would recommend reading one of our most popular blog posts titled “Tips & Tricks for a Smooth and Inspiring Fall Photography Session” which you can read here.

We still have a couple of spots left, so grab your closest family member, and their pumpkin pie, and get some memorable photographs taken!

Here are some sessions from this past weekend!