I had the pleasure of photographing Polina and Andrei’s wedding many years ago and I was happy to see them at Anna and Michael’s Wedding (of course, Andrei is Anna’s sister, so I did expect to see them there!). It was there that I also learned Polina was expecting her second. She contacted me soon after and wanted to know the best time for family portraits. My favourite time is when the baby is around 6 months old, so they patiently waited and their youngest daughter’s 6 month ‘birthday’ coincided with the start of fall, which is of course, a beautiful time for photos.

We started off on the bridge overlooking the duck pond at James Gardens.  Both 3 year old Maya and the dog were very interested in the ducks.  I like how the dog is peeking through the bridge in this photo.

I always love how babies enjoy being carried by their dads.

I also love how babies look at their moms.

By around age 3, they become quite camera aware.

Happy mom, happy daughters.

We got photobombed by dogs!

No dogs in this one.  Nice, happy family.

This is probably what life is really like most of the time.

I love how Maya is holding Zoe’s hand and Zoe is happy that she took this action.  These sisters are already starting to have a great relationship!

I like to ask little ones to play in the leaves.  Maya hadn’t done it before, so we instructed her and she got very into it.

I love it when siblings bond. Zoe is perfectly content with her big sister and her big sister is very interested in her.

We managed to get a few minutes of quiet time while my assistant made sure the kids and dog stayed safe, so that Andrei and Polina could have a few quiet moments together.

It was so great meeting your sweet and adorable children and dog, Andrei and Polina! Thank you for having me back to photograph your family.