Photography Blog
Oakville Family Portraits
Friday, January 27, 2023One thing I love about being a photographer is reconnecting with people. Jess and I went to high school together. Now she is a doctor in Michigan! I was thrilled when she inquired about family photography for her mom’s birthday and I also loved seeing her, her parents, and her brother again, meeting her new girlfriend, her brother’s wife, her aunt, and her niece and nephew.
I love it when couples who have been together a very long time get their photos taken. Often the only time we take professional photos is when we are engaged or getting married, so it is nice to do them on other occasions. Family portraits also include couples photos!
Jess and Jen have lots of fun together!
These two communicate volumes with their eyes.
Another photo I am glad we got before the storm hit! We only had about 10 minutes outside.
I am so happy we got this photo before the storm hit!
We walked away seconds before the lightning and downpour.
Sisters on couch.
Brother and sister.
Sometimes you can’t help but smile when you look at your loved one.
Extended family photo in the new Oakville house. Congratulations!
James Gardens Engagement Session!
Friday, January 13, 2023Kim and Kristjan are always up for adventures, so I was delighted to photograph them because they were willing to try just about anything! They met riding dune buggies and sandboarding in Peru! He works as a pilot, so they both really get around. They are also both nature lovers. I think Winne the Pooh’s saying applies to them, “As soon as I saw you I knew a grand adventure was about to happen.” After all, they were on an adventure when they met, and to quote another children’s author, Lewis Caroll, “Actually, the best gift you could have given her was a lifetime of adventures!”
The bright yellow leaves of the tree behind them definitely caught my attention!
The light really changed when the sun started to set.
I love how Kimberley climbed a tree and Kristjan happily joined her.
This photo worked best in black and white, but please pay close attention to the ring in the next photo.
Check out the colour of her ring! It’s turquoise.
Getting ready for the dip at the end of a dance. The view behind them is why James Gardens is one of my favourite places to do photos in the fall.
They are smiling because the tree branch they are sitting on is still holding them (just kidding).
I love the way they are looking at each other!
Reflection.
Sometimes it’s fun to do something you did as a child with your future spouse. This is another reason I love doing fall sessions at James Gardens!
Love this natural laugh! I also love following your Instagram pages and finding out about all the exciting parts of the world you are discovering. Thanks for sharing your adventures and thanks for being so open to trying new things during your engagement session.
Wonderland Winterfest Engagement!
Friday, December 23, 2022I was pretty excited when I met with Lais and Andris and we started talking about how we all had Canada’s Wonderland season passes. We then discussed doing their engagement photos at Winterfest! Anyone who knows me knows that amusement parks are my happy place, and I was eager to do a nighttime engagement session with lights, carols, and rides in the background. You don’t need to wait until winter is over to get great photos!
Congratulations again on your engagement!
I love how they decorate for Winterfest at Wonderland!
Wonder Mountain.
Isn’t window shopping in December romantic?
I love the bokeh of the Christmas lights!
We loved this arch in front of one of the stores.
Many of the rides were still running and they looked really neat with the lights on!
Photos in front of one of the biggest Christmas trees I’ve ever seen.
I always wanted to get a photo where the couple was in focus and the people on the carousel were not. Thanks for indulging me Lais and Andris!
A little romancing before the ride started.
Where are the chestnuts? Everyone enjoyed the warmth of this fire!
Multigeneration Family Portraits in Milton
Sunday, October 16, 2022I have been photographing Melissa’s family for years as part of Joanna’s multigeneration family photos, (since she is married to Joanna’s brother), so I was delighted when she gave her parents a Rabbat Photography gift certificate for Christmas so her side of the family could do multigeneration family portraits! Thanks so much for having me photograph your family!
Grandparents with grandchildren.
Multigeneration family photo at Kelso conservation area. It isn’t easy to coordinate this many families, but they did it!
This is the couple that started it! Thanks again, Melissa for thinking of gifting your parents this session for Christmas!
Dad did photos with his daughter, so mom got with one her son. He and his cousin then requested a photo together.
Dad and daughters.
Hugs between parenting.
Youngest family members.
Happy couple.
Family of four, plus an individual photo!
Grandma asked for a photo of their matching eyes, but this happened instead and made for a funnier photo.
Sisters piggybacking.
Cousins, siblings, grandkids, sons, daughters.
D and L Engagement Session in the Scarborough Bluffs
Friday, October 14, 2022This is the first couple from my engagement session promo and they were so wonderful! They told me I would have to pose them, since they were not familiar with posing and then they put themselves in all these magnificent poses and I only needed to direct a few. They live in the east end, so I suggested we do this session at the Scarborough Bluffs, which is one of my favourite locations in the city. It is totally worth the drive from the west end!
Making each other smile at The Scarborough Bluffs
Joking around in a romantic way
Loving smiles
So happy together
Check out the ring!
Making each other smile and laugh.
I love this background, even though it isn’t the Bluff (but it is close to them)!
Engagement ring!
Holding on tonight before the rain comes.
A litte more romancing on the walk back to the parking lot.
Look at how the look at each other filled with love in their eyes.
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Lizzy and Bob’s Wedding – Mississauga City Hall
Thursday, July 21, 2022Thanks to my friend Dave Chang-Sang of Memento Photo Works for referring me to this wedding!
Bob and Lizzy met on the website 2RedBeans. Lizzy was living in China when they met and Bob was here in Canada!
The happy couple about to get married at Mississauga City Hall.
Lizzy smiles at Bob as they say their vows.
The vows made her laugh.
Bob reacts to Lizzy’s vows.
Ring exchange.
Her parents watched the whole ceremony over FaceTime, since they are in China. They all enjoyed a laugh together after the ceremony.
The happy couple enjoyed a laugh together after their ceremony
Mississauga City Hall, Wedding Guests
Bob and Lizzy with his father and son. Three generations!
Couple photos!
Playing games
Just married!
We had such nice light for the romantic couple photos!
Nose to nose.
Keeping up a Korean wedding tradition! Lizzy took her shoes off and Bob carried her over the rocks. Then he told us that it a Korean wedding tradition, which worked out well since his background is Korean!
Thanks so much for having me photograph your wedding!
Family Portraits-Three Photo Sessions
Wednesday, February 23, 2022My favourite clients are clients who come back and the Miron family keeps doing that! My associates, Janette and Sarah, photographed Joanna and Alain’s wedding. Their family grew and I have had the privilege of photographing them over the years. These photos include Joanna’s parents and her brother’s family. I am looking forward to photographing the Armstrong family soon too as they purchased a gift certificate to do a similar type of session with Melissa’s side!
We did our first family session at James Gardens, in Etobicoke.The five cousins are always delighted to see each other. The best thing about fall family photos is playing in the leaves. The baby was a bit young to do that this time though. Multigeneration Family Portrait at James Gardens. We did the next set of family portraits in Oakville, at Gairloch Gardens.
The baby is no longer a baby! We were lucky to get another nice sunny day for these portraits at Gairloch Gardens. These are everyone’s favourite photos of the five cousins, because they are loving each other’s company in front of this beautiful Lake Ontario background. Notice anything different about these kids? The most recent photos were done at Sheppard’s Bush Conservation Area in Aurora. Photos with the grandchildren (or grandparents depending on which generation you’re from) are always cherished. Check out the new four-legged family member! They weren’t the only ones to have a dog join their family! The happy parents/grandparents.
Thanks again for having me photograph your family! I love seeing the kids grow up, even though it happens way too quickly.Family of Four Fall portraits
Tuesday, October 27, 2020I was delighted when Lara asked me if I was available to photograph her family of four this fall. We moved from Etobicoke to Toronto over the past few months and she was the first person to find me on my new Google Maps listing! We decided on James Gardens for these portraits as it is my favourite place for fall photos, since it is very big with many options, beautifully landscaped and the fall colours are spectacular there this time of year. Turns out Lara also likes to go for walks there and she introduced me to a new (to me) part of the park.
I was also very happy to be contacted by Lara, because I get a lot more family portrait inquiries for families with young children than I do for families with teens, but I think it is equally important to freeze those teen years. They are both 16 years old and I think that is a great age to capture.
Thanks again for having me do your family portraits!
Family of four at James Gardens.
Family of four in front of the red sumac tree.
Lara introduced me to this part of the park, which featured a ravine.
We were walking down this path, looking for our next spot and I realized this was it!
I love being able to use a tree as a posing prop.
It’s funny how couples usually only think to get this type of photo taken for their wedding or engagement photos. I like to incorporate a few romantics into family photo sessions too.
Romantic fall photo.
Mother and daughter.
Father and son
James Gardens Family Portraits
Tuesday, October 27, 2020I was delighted when Phil contacted me to take his family portraits this fall. Phil has gotten really into photography himself and I have seen many fantastic photos he has posted of his family. He wanted me to capture his ‘white whale’ which was a good photo of the four of them. The other ‘want’ was a photo of the kids looking good together. For families with very young children, my advice is to go for candids. I did get some nice family portraits of the four of them!
This photo session actually took place the day after the one I posted yesterday, but it was a sunny day, so it almost looks like they took place in two different locations.
My husband has known Phil since 2002 and I met him shortly after we got married and I moved to Waterloo in 2005. We didn’t live there very long as Phil got a job in Toronto, Vu wanted to come to Toronto and shortly thereafter, they were working at the same company downtown! We used to go to concerts together at The Starlight together and then we went to Sneaky Dee’s or The Rivoli. Phil introduced us to By Divine Right.
I photographed Phil and Yi’s wedding at Sunnyside Pavilion way back in 2009! 11 years and two kids later, here we are.
Romantic photo at James Gardens.
Recreating their wedding photo, which is still on my business card!
Family of four at James Gardens.
A fun place to take photos.
Sibling photo #1.
Dawn was happy to let her brother squeeze her cheeks. She definitely looks up to him, even if he loves her too much sometimes.
Happy siblings.
Playing in the leaves
She had her own ice cream, but she still wanted some of her brother’s popsicle and he was happy to share.