Heather Lynne Photography Blog

Reminder

2010-02-12T09:43:00.002-05:00

This is just a friendly reminder that this blog has moved! If you're getting this update in your Feed Reader, then you need to update it!

Head on over to www.heatherlynne.ca to see the new blog, bookmark it, or add the new feed to your reader!

It's My Birthday & I Have an Announcement!

2010-02-06T07:41:00.003-05:00

I promised news on my birthday & here it is. I've been thinking about changing my blog for a while and I've finally done it. Some of you know that I also have a blog called "Raising Memories" where I post about some of the things that I do with my girls. I used to have a family blog but it sort of died out. While it's been fun having each of these blogs, I felt it was time to combine and have one.

However, if you are only really interested in my photography, don't worry- you can still subscribe to the RSS feed for just photography posts. (You don't have to get updates about my life, my thoughts, and my kid-focussed activities if you don't want to!).

So, head over to my new blog and check it out. Click on "Subscribe" and choose which feed you're interested in (Photography, Raising Memories, or the whole blog), and we can all resume our regular blogging :)

www.heatherlynne.ca

(You may notice that my photography website used to be at www.heatherlynne.ca, and now that's where my blog is. My website is in great need of updating, so I'm gonna work on updating my portfolio and getting it up eventually, but for now, just enjoy the blog- it's the most current thing I have to offer for now! :)

Tomorrow

2010-02-05T09:28:00.001-05:00

Well, tomorrow's my birthday & I'll have something new to tell you about.

First though, let me just say that a number of people (including my own mother) have contacted me, to see if my announcement is that I am pregnant!

No! That is not the announcement.

But continue guessing, it's kind of amusing! ;)

Our Family Photos

2010-02-04T15:08:00.007-05:00

Psssst.... My birthday is on Saturday!
I'll be announcing something new that day, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, here's a picture of what I've been dreaming of doing in my living room since before we had a family of 4!!! I've had it up for a while now, and have been meaning to post a photo:

Isn't it wonderful? :) Well, I think it is! Thanks to Amanda Stratton, I now have some fabulous photographs of my family that I will treasure for the rest of my life!

When I entered her Mother's Day contest last year, I sent her this photo of our living room wall:

Isn't the "after" so much better than the "before"?

Oh how I love this type of photography and how I love the opportunity to preserve and cherish fleeting moments!

My family is the most important thing in the world to me! (that's sort of a clue as to what's coming on Saturday ;)

Baby Laura ~ Parts

2010-01-28T14:12:00.002-05:00

Just finished Baby Laura's Parts Poster & thought I'd share.

Baby Laura

2010-01-16T14:25:00.003-05:00

Laura June
January 13, 2010
At Home
3 Weeks Old

My friend Frieda had her second baby girl last month and I was excited that she wanted me to take photos of their new arrival. She's a sweet, tiny little thing, and I'm looking forward to watching her grow up, and getting some more photos along the way :)

For whatever reason, I just love this shot. There's something about that little baby head being cradled in a parents' hands that I love.

It doesn't seem like too long ago that I photographed Laura's sister, Grace, when she was just 2 weeks old. Look at her now!

Well, I'm off to work on a Parts Poster for Laura now. I just wanted to share a few of my favourites first. I'll be back with a few before & afters to share from this session in a day or two.

Personal Reasons

2010-01-13T16:31:00.005-05:00

If you've contacted me in the last few months about booking a session or a wedding, you've probably received the response that I am not booking any new sessions right now, for personal reasons. Now that I've got some of those things figured out, I thought I'd explain a little.

Personal Reason #1: Sometime in July of 2009, I started waking up with sore fingers and wrists. I had had some joint issues in the past, so I was just concerned about them getting worse. Then one day I woke up with my hands very stiff, and was unable to do simple everyday things. That's when I started turning weddings down. I didn't know what was wrong with me and I didn't know if this would happen on the morning of someone's wedding.

Personal Reason #2: I had a baby at the end of 2008, so 2009 was our first year as a family of 4. I wanted to pull back a little from photography and do a bit less so that I could free up the time that I spent processing images, and use it for playing with my girls. The issue with my hands sort of forced me to stick with this.

Since the summer, I have seen several doctors including a Chiropractor and a Rheumatologist. I have had more tests done than I can count, and spent months believing that I was an appointment away from being diagnosed with Lupus. It's been a challenging time!

I am happy to report that I do not have Lupus, I do not have Arthritis, nor anything else with a name that we know of, thus far. It's a relief, but it's frustrating because I don't know what's going on with my joints.

The other good news is that I have found ways to relieve a lot of the pain and stiffness that I had been experiencing and while I am not back to normal or perfect health, I am doing way better.

So, while Personal Reason #1 is fading, Personal Reason #2 remains. So, I've been thinking about 2010, and for now, I'm thinking that a good plan is to do roughly one session per month. I may squeeze an extra in during nicer weather- we'll see how it goes.

Anyway, that's what's been going on with me, and that's why you haven't seen too many posts in the last few months!

Stay tuned though, because my first session of 2010 took place this morning, and I'll have images of someone cute and little to share with you soon!

Mary ~ Portraits

2009-09-10T18:36:00.003-04:00

A few months ago I held a contest for a free session and Heidi won. We finally got around to doing this session last week and got some photos of her youngest daughter, Mary. Here is a sneak peak for Heidi, of a few of my favourites.

Mary
September 5th, 2009
Kitchener, Ontario

Hope you like them, Heidi!

Emily

2009-09-03T13:13:00.000-04:00

For whatever reason, I ended up with qhite a few of Emily that I wanted to share. We tried quite a few different things with her that I liked the result of.

Emily wanted a picture to show the back of her dress, and this one is a definite favourite of mine:

Emily
August 29, 2009
Kitchener, Ontario

M Sisters

2009-09-03T09:27:00.001-04:00

A few photos of the sisters, in groups before a post a bunch of Emily:

M Sisters
August 29, 2009
Kitchener, Ontario

It was a lot of fun to go out and experiment with some different ideas for this session. Thanks for a fun evening, girls!! :)

Amber

2009-09-02T20:36:00.003-04:00

Here are a few of the lovely Amber at the train tracks:

Amber
August 29, 2009
Kitchener, Waterloo

She's so cute! :)

Katie

2009-09-01T14:19:00.002-04:00

I went out a few nights ago with Emily, Katie, and Amber, for a fun shoot that I've been wanting to do for quite a while.

They got dressed up and we went out to a couple of locations to play and take pictures :) It will probably take me a while to get through all of the photos, but I've gotten through the first few of Katie and thought I'd post a preview for her before I start on the next bunch, of Amber.

Katie
August 29, 2009
Kitchener, Waterloo

HLP Online

2009-08-29T11:11:00.002-04:00

There are so many ways to communicate and share information online!

So far, you can find Heather Lynne Photography in the following places:

HLP website: http://heatherlynne.ca/

HLP blog: http://heatherlynnephoto.blogspot.com/

A Note: If you haven't already gotten an RSS Feed Reader, you should look into it! Especially if you're checking multiple blogs for updates! I currently use Google Reader and I really like it! It's kind of like checking email, but it checks for blog updates :) (That way you don't have to visit each blog individually to look for new blog entries- it's a definite time saver!) It's free and it's as easy to set yourself up with as signing up for an email address.

HLP Facebook Fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/HLPhoto

At this point, I haven't really gotten into Twitter- I already have enough things online to take up my time!

Are there any of you reading this who use Twitter? Do you love it? I'm curious to know what others think of it! If you've got a minute, leave a comment & let me know your thoughts on Twitter!

Ava's Tea Party

2009-08-19T10:20:00.007-04:00

For a while now, I've been following Sheye Rosemeyer's Blog . I am drawn to not only her fabulous photography, but her truthful and wonderfully written posts about her family, her friends, and her experiences.

If you have never heard of Sheye or visited her blog, you should check it out! When I first visited her blog, I clicked on a link called Ava and read about Sheye's Super Princess. I was touched and deeply affected by her story and many entries that I read in the archives of Sheye's blog.

That day I did a lot of thinking, some praying, and some reevaluating of my life. That day I changed my desktop photo to one of pink balloons, to remind me of the priority in my days- my own little princesses.

Today Sheye's blog is about celebrating Ava's birthday, and everyone is invited:

I intend to take time on Saturday to have a pink milk tea party with my girls. For Ava, for my girls, and for the reminder that I continually need, to treasure each moment, to live in the moment, and to make the moments beautiful.

Because I don't have photos to share from Ava's day, here's one from another tea party on Talia's birthday:

Leia

2009-07-08T15:51:00.007-04:00

I had so much fun photographing Leia & her parents! She was so cute! She wanted to share everything with me- from her toys to the dirt from the garden! :)

I had a lot of favourites from this session, so I'll just get straight to the photos now!

Leia ~ One Year Old

June 27, 2009

I love her adorable curls!

...and I love this shot of her climbing up the stairs.

We got some great family photos thanks to Leia's grandma juggling behind me- I'm only sorry I didn't get to see the show! ;)

Talia's 3rd Birthday Party

2009-07-06T09:14:00.005-04:00

I'm finding lately that I really enjoy running around at events, capturing the meaningful moments and the special details.

Back in January, my daughter Talia turned 3. I planned a "Fairy Princess Tea Party" for her and a couple of her little friends, and took pictures of it all.

If you're on my personal facebook, then you may have seen these back then, but I thought they might be worth sharing on here as well. They're another example of a type of event that could be covered with photography.

Talia's Fairy Princess Tea Party
January, 2009

Talia and a doll, before the 'real' guests arrived.

At the end of a treasure hunt around the house, they found their treasure (chocolate coins, bracelets, and crowns) in the chest, along with their own tutus.

I made the tutus & bracelets! I felt so "Martha"! ;)

Each guest had a little bag of "pixie dust" to sprinkle on her cupcake

This one was taken by my husband- one of the rare pictures featuring me :)

Frosting was by far the most popular part of the cupcakes ;)

I have to give credit to No Fuss Fabulous for some of these party ideas- check out their website for more fun ideas! :)

Flowers

2009-07-03T21:21:00.000-04:00

Every once in a while I like to get out and try my hand at nature photography.

My favourite will probably always be photographing people, but I do love nature, and I've found that it's relaxing to me to get out and photograph it.

Here are a couple of shots from our place recently.

This one is from our backyard after we got back from vacation (it's really just a weed that grew with our grass after a couple of weeks without being cut, but I think it's pretty :)

And this is a flower from our front garden. It's a nice shot because you can't see all of the weeds around the flower ;) haha

Variations

2009-06-29T17:09:00.002-04:00

When you do a digital session with me, you'll receive a disc including the high resolution digital files of all of your proofs. These images are ready to be printed and have been through basic editing. You are welcome to print them anywhere you would like.

When you order prints through me, they go through some extra editing that may include removal of objects in the photo, blemish removal, etc.

You'll see that on my blog I often post different variations of an image. I do this mostly because I think it's fun :) I will include any variations that I post on my blog, on your disc.

Here is an example of what I'm talking about, from the portrait session that I'm currently editing:

Sierra's Photos ~ Artistic Edits

2009-06-26T12:44:00.001-04:00

I mentioned a couple of posts ago, that I wanted to do some more playing with Sierra's photos.

Here are some of the edits that I came up with (in Before/After style), using a bunch of different tools in photoshop as well as textures.

I like both versions of each, for different reasons. But I definitely have a couple of favourites. What do you think?

Butterfly Conservatory

2009-06-24T08:00:00.000-04:00

Amanda posted an entry not too long ago about her daughter's trip to Wings of Paradise. This reminded me that I have a bunch of photos from our own trip there this past winter, with a bunch of cousins, aunts, & uncles, in celebration of Ken's Grandma's birthday.

I thought they might be fun to share here. They were some of the first photos I took with my new Canon EOS 5D camera! :)

Butterflies coming out of cuccoons!

A man passing a butterfly to Talia:

The next two are from the Bug Exhibit:

You'll notice I stayed right behind the camera, where I belong!

Sierra is One!

2009-06-20T07:57:00.000-04:00

My neice, Sierra, is having her first birthday in July and since my sister and her family are visiting Canada for a couple of weddings, we thought we'd get a little photoshoot in.

You might remember her from her newborn session posted on the blog nearly a year ago.

This time, we loaded the car up with a chair, a helium balloon, and a bassinett, and took off!

After a quick little session due to the one-year-old attention span, we came home for naptime. Thanks to some rainy weather, we ended up experimenting with a makeshift studio in my mom's living room and we ended up with some more cute shots.

I really like this one:

These are just a few of my favourites, but I loved so many of them!

There is some cool processing that I want to do on some of these (and will probably do another post with some of them), but it will have to wait until I catch up on client work. I wanted to get a little preview up for my sister and my mom though, before I get back to work ;)

Relay For Life 2009

2009-06-13T14:10:00.002-04:00

In January of 2005, my little sister Amber (then 18 years old) was diagnosed with Cancer. 6 months later, she completed Chemotherapy. A few months after that it was confirmed that she wasn't going to have further treatment. It was quite a ride for her, and for those closest to her. I'm so grateful that she was able to get through this experience and come out on top!

Last night, I was able to attend the Canadian Cancer Society's Relay For Life in Brant that took place at the track at the Burford Fairgrounds.

It was pretty cool to find out when we got there that Amber had been asked to carry the flag for the Survivor's Victory Lap!

There were teams that ran or walked the relay overnight together (the relay is 12 hours long- from 7pm, to 7am).

This is Amber with her team, "A Step In the Right Direction":

I didn't catch all of the team's names, but there were certain teams you couldn't miss- like "Alice's Aliens" and "Candace's Angels" :)
(I have to add that I just found an article about Alice Wood who, at 96 years old, is the disease's oldest survivor!)

Here are just a few of the teams:

It was touching to see the different groups and to know that so many of them (and so many of the people there to support them in the relay) had personal reasons for being there, and were there to support a special person in their life who is facing or has faced a battle with Cancer.

The place was packed with "survivors" in yellow tshirts with blue ribbons that showed how long they'd been surviving and the track was lined with luminaries representing those who had fought the fight against cancer.

Here we are: (My mom, niece, sister & I, with Amber)

My heart goes out to those who have faced or are facing the fight against Cancer and I am so appreciative of those who supported the Relay for Life this year!

Emily ~ Headshots

2009-06-07T21:42:00.005-04:00

I snapped a few headshots for Emily last week, for her University student card. This was my favourite of the bunch.

I haven't had many photos to post lately, so I thought I'd share it, even though it wasn't a full session or anything.

I'm in the middle of a computer switch, & the computer that I have my photo software running on is extremely slow right now, so processing photos takes way longer than it should. This is why I haven't even uploaded our trip photos yet!

Photoshop Fun

2009-06-01T23:30:00.008-04:00

First order of business: If you've left me a message in the last 2 weeks, or are waiting to schedule a session, I will be in touch with you this week.

I've been away on vacation for 2 weeks and I know it's been pretty dead around this blog, so I thought it was about time I posted!

And no, I don't have any photos to share from our trip- they haven't even been loaded onto the computer yet!

But I do have something photo-related to share. This evening after I got the girls to bed, I decided to get on the computer and play around with some things in Photoshop, for fun (it's been a while!).

I pulled up a photo that I took in January of 2008 and re-did the processing.
Here's how I processed it then:

Tonight I did some sharpening, burning, cloning, channel mixing, and added a border. When I was finished, it looked like this:

It's always interesting to me, to pull out an old picture that I took, and then re-process it the way I would do it now. It's encouraging to see that I'm learning more about Photoshop over time!

I love computers, art, and photography, so processing images on the computer after shooting is one of my favourite parts of photography. I've shared a few before & afters on my facebook page and have received interested comments about them, so I thought I'd make this the first of more posts on the blog about Photoshop and sharing some before & afters.

Now, I'm just curious... to me, the above photo is about the two birds sitting together... did your eye go to them? Or was it just a picture of part of a tree, to you?

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-09T17:05:00.003-04:00

Before I share my exciting news, let me share a photo of my two favourite girls & the reasons why I love being a mother:

I am really really excited today because today I found out that I won a Mother's Day Contest!

Amanda of Living Proof Photography hosted the contest, and when I read about it, my heart was thumping at the thought of winning a photo session.

I have this problem I've decided to call WSOC... Wrong Side of the Camera. It is that even though I can take photos of my family, I will always be on the wrong side of the camera, so I can never take photos of our whole family, together... SAD!

So, today when I found out that I won Amanda's contest, I had to do a little happy dance with my daughter- hurray! I get family photos with me in them!! What a wonderful surprise for Mother's Day!

Since I'm on the topic of Mother's Day, I thought I'd share a little part of my entry with you:

I started to think about motherhood and how it often seems like a job without recognition. I sometimes miss the report cards of school and the recognition that came with a job. I’m a stay-at-home-mom, doing everything I can to stay home and be with my children as long as I can afford to. I don’t receive much recognition from those in the world around me, but I choose to be with my daughters if at all possible because I feel I should (and of course because I love them like crazy!!)
So as I was pondering this lack of recognition, I wrote a little poem and I realized that I have been getting recognition, just not from where it used to come:

In the time I’ve been a mother…

I’ve never made the news
Unless you count the reports my daughter gives my husband of the fun things she did with Mommy while he was at school

I’ve never received an award for my efforts
Unless you count the smile on the lit-up faces of my daughters when I show them how much I love them

I don’t get to go out to eat just for fun very often anymore
Unless you count the “pink milk” & cookies tea parties with my three year old

I don’t get to sing in groups for fun very often anymore
Unless you count the songs sung before naptime, bedtime, and just for fun

I have noticed a decline in my vocabulary
Unless you count “babytalk” (in which I am now fluent!)

I don’t have to write exams or pop quizzes anymore
Unless you count the many spontaneous questions of an inquisitive 3-year-old

I can’t perform a beautiful dance with applause from a crowd
Unless you count the undivided attention and smiles of my 5-month-old when I bust a move for her while pulling faces and making weird noises

I don’t get to the gym to lift weights and I don’t get workout time
Unless you count carrying around a very scrumptious, 17 lb 5-month-old

I don’t get to attend special performances
Unless you count my little girl in her tutu or fairy costume with ballet shoes, prancing around the living room to a CD of nutcracker music

My girls are too young to explain why I’m a good Mommy
Unless you count the little hints of explanation in the everyday moments

And those are the things that count the most

------------------------------------

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there, may you have a wonderful day tomorrow!

Baby Evelyn

2009-04-24T15:43:00.004-04:00

As soon as I started talking to her on the phone, I could tell that I liked Evelyn's mom and I wasn't disappointed when I showed up at her house a couple of weeks ago, for her session. Maureen & Sean, it was fun to get to know you a bit during the session, & I hope you love the photos of your precious baby girl! It was a privilege to meet Miss Evelyn. She is such a sweetie! (Even though she was sooo not interested in sleeping for us ;)

Here's a little preview for you- your proofs will be ready soon!

Evelyn Maeve
April 7th, 2009
7 Weeks Old

Brittany's Bridal Shower

2009-04-08T22:43:00.008-04:00

Just over a week ago, I attended a bridal shower that my aunt threw for my cousin's fiance. She's a super-cute girl who's always smiling and totally nice. At the shower I learned (and I'm not surprised) that she's also a great sport. Here are a few pictures from the shower. We're glad to have you joining the family, Brittany!

Brittany's Bridal Shower
March 30, 2009

What bridal shower could be complete without a good game of Toilet Paper Bride?

Apparently Brittany insisted against the traditional bow-hat for her shower. So at the end of the night, she was greeted with a lovely wrapping paper bow bra :)

De Jong's Furniture Retirement Sale

2009-03-27T20:38:00.002-04:00

My dad and his brothers are retiring. My grandfather started the business when they came to Canada from Holland when my dad & his twin brother were 3 years old. The store has been a big part of my life and the lives of all of my family members, so it's a pretty huge event for us all.

I was in town for the start of an early opening to their retirement sale where I got a chance to take a few photos. Here are just a few of them:

This was taken the day before the sale:

People waiting in line for the doors to open:

There's still equipment in the back room from when they used to build their own furniture:

A shot of my uncle in the office, as I'll remember him there. (I worked at the store when I was younger- so many memories in this photo!)

First People!

2009-03-17T18:53:00.001-04:00

The first time I felt inclined to snap a picture of my daughter's artwork on her 'magna doodle' was two weeks ago when she drew a pretty good "happy" face. She's been drawing happy faces for a long time, but this one struck me as an especially well constructed one ;)

Then a few days ago, she presented me with a drawing that floored me. I was convinced that Ken must have taught her to draw people sometime when I wasn't around. He later confirmed that he had not.

So, I'm pretty proud of my little 3-year-old for figuring out how to draw people without help! They even have hair & "shoes"!

Girly Shoes

2009-03-15T15:24:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I dressed Katrina in a little outfit (this usually only happens when I put her in a little dress for church on Sundays- I prefer to dress her in a snuggly sleeper most of the time). I felt that this was the perfect opportunity to squeeze her little baby feet into some little baby sneakers.

The shoes lasted long enough for some pictures & then she kicked them off & I put them on the stairs to be taken up to her room later. A little later I noticed Talia's shoes nearby & thought, huh, how cute, all three of us have pink & white shoes... photo op!

Apparently I'm on a pink kick (oh, that's punny) lately- with the shoes & the laundry, but that's the reality of the life of a mom of girls.

...who am I kidding? I'm wearing bright pink pajama bottoms right now and that has nothing to do with being a mom ;)

Here's one of the photos from her cute little outfit (I know a certain aunt who wouldn't let me get away with just posting the photo of the shoes ;)

The Pink Load

2009-03-09T17:42:00.004-04:00

In my home there are white loads, there are dark loads, and there are pink loads.
Are there others out there like me?

I have two daughters and while I have nothing against dressing a little girl in anything other than pink, my babies' closets have been graced with an overwhelming majority of pink clothes and blankets from showers and baby gifts.

...and let's face it, a baby girl in pink is helpful when it comes to meeting people who don't know you have a girl- sometimes people can use all the help they can get in determining whether to refer to your child as 'he' or 'she'.

Now that I've got a new (female) baby in the house again, the pink load has made its comeback. I decided to document it since there will come a day that I will miss it.

These are the days to treasure- I sure love my sweet, pink, little girls :)

Baby Katrina

2009-03-05T16:15:00.009-05:00

Some of you who know me or who follow my blog know that I was taking a break from sessions because I was pregnant. Well, Katrina is now 3 months old, & I thought it was about time I post a few photos of her! I'm sure there will be more to come :)

Katrina
January 1st, 2009
4 Weeks Old

In Daddy's hands:

Her finger in my ring, & thumb in Ken's.
I like this because one day she can compare the size of her finger/thumb to the rings & see how much smaller her little fingers were :)

Draw Winners!

2009-03-04T07:27:00.005-05:00

I had my daughter, Talia, do the draw for a free session. I told her what it was for & she wanted to keep drawing names "for the people". So, in the spirit of Talia's generosity, I decided to give away 2 free sessions. :)

Congratulations, Heidi & Melanie! You've each won a free session!

Thanks to everyone who voted on the Favourite Photos Contest, and to everyone who commented and entered the draw. Keep checking the new blog for updates as we get into the nicer weather, & you never know when I might host another contest, so stay tuned!

Contest Winner

2009-03-02T14:43:00.004-05:00

Congratulations Jacquie & Ryan! You've won the Favourite Photos Contest!

This is the first contest I've run and I'm really happy with the participation that we got! There were 394 votes (next time I run a contest like this, we'll see if we can pass 400).

Jacquie & Ryan's photo received 38% of the vote, to win the contest and the 11x14 print of a photo from their wedding.

There was a part 2 to the contest as well. So, if you left a comment on the blog requesting to be entered in the draw for a free session with me, check back later this week to find out if you won!

Favourite Photos Contest

2009-02-10T14:25:00.003-05:00

Vote & You Could Win a Free Session!

I've chosen some of my favourite photos from sessions I've done and posted them in this blog entry. I need your help to choose a winner!

This contest has 2 parts:

Part 1:

Please check out the photos posted below & cast a vote for your favourite using the poll box at the bottom of this blog entry.

Whichever photo receives the most votes by the end of February will win an 11x14 print of a photo of their choice from their session.

Part 2:

And as a thank you to those of you who vote, one voter will win a free session! To be entered for the free session, just post a comment on this blog entry with your first name and an e-mail address that you can be reached at. When the contest is over, we'll do a draw for the free session! (Details about the free session can be found here)

Now, check out the photos,
vote for your favourite,
then leave a comment to be entered in the draw!

Time to cast your vote!

[Polls Are Closed!]

Remember, to be entered for the free session,
you must leave a comment to this blog entry
with your first name & e-mail address!

{Note: Draw entry comments are on the old blog, so don't worry if your comment doesn't show up here!}

Rebecca & Sam

2008-10-11T14:22:00.001-04:00

Rebecca & Sam Kitchener, Ontario
October 11, 2008

Laughing at their son, Jeremy.

Sam plays the guitar & writes music & has a few CDs out, so we took a few minutes to get some shots of him with his guitar, too. You can check out his Facebook Fanclub, here.

N Kids

2008-10-11T14:21:00.000-04:00

The N Kids
October 11, 2008

N Family

2008-10-11T14:12:00.001-04:00

The N Family Kitchener, Ontario
October 11, 2008

We had a fabulous Fall day for the N family's session- beautiful Fall colours, and not too cold. It was perfect! I had a lot of fun with this family, exploring a local park & getting fun shots of their family.

I ended up with so many photos I wanted to share that I decided to do a few separate posts.

Here are a few favourites of their whole family:

Talia ~ Halloween

2008-10-10T14:24:00.000-04:00

Talia ~ Fairy Princess
October 10, 2008

I was really glad that I did a little photo shoot of my daughter this year, before Halloween, in her costume. She wasn't really in the mood for photos on the 31st, so I'm really happy that I have these shots of her in her fairy cuteness. This was her 3rd Halloween, & first time choosing her own costume.

Catching flower petals

Rachelle & Aaron ~ Engagement

2008-09-27T18:15:00.001-04:00

Rachelle & Aaron
Engagement Session
September 27, 2008
Victoria Park

It was a wet day on Saturday, but it was our chance to get Rachelle & Aaron's engagement photos done while Aaron was in town, so we went for it. We shot in the mist for a while in the morning before being rained out and having to come back later. We ended up with a nice variety of shots from their session though and I was happy with the way they turned out. Rachelle is my sister in law, so I especially enjoyed doing this session :)

Rachelle's ring- I love that it has saphires & I can't wait to see all of the deep blues they are incorporating into their winter wedding- it will be beautiful!

Heather ~ Maternity

2008-09-20T18:14:00.000-04:00

Heather
September 20, 2008
29 Weeks

Yesterday evening, my husband and I set out to get some maternity photos of me. It was interesting to be on the other side of the camera this time! I felt a lot more 'at home' once I got the files onto the computer and started processing them. In the end, I was really happy with how Ken did with these pictures. Now I just need to find someone who's willing to let me direct them and get some with Ken and my daughter, Talia, in them. :)

Baby Gabriel

2008-08-14T18:12:00.000-04:00

Baby Gabriel
Waterloo Park
August 14, 2008
A Month & a Week Old

You may remember the lovely Elena from her maternity session at the end of June. We were able to get together to photograph her baby & her little family now that baby Gabriel is just over a month old. He's quite the little cutie & he has fabulous hair!

And a Parts Poster:

Kari & Wes

2008-08-08T18:10:00.001-04:00

Kari & Wes
Brampton
August 8, 2008

I had the opportunity to be at a special wedding for my husband's family yesterday. His cousin Kari got married on "08-08-08", & it was a lovely day filled with lots of happy family. We're so happy for Kari and Wes who are such a kind and sweet couple. Congratulations you two, we hope you're having a great time on your honeymoon!

Kari was SO good with all of the little girls- letting them take a turn holding her bouquet, and then dancing the night away with them during the reception.

Playing at the fountain

Kari & two of her sisters, preparing for a photo

Sisters & sisters-in-law

Kari & her brothers

Brothers & brothers-in-law

Kari & Wes with Kari's parents & siblings

Infront of the Temple where they were married.

I haven't had a chance to process photos from the reception last night yet, but there were a lot of fun dancing shots!

Baby Sierra

2008-07-19T18:08:00.001-04:00

Baby Sierra
July 19, 2008
13 days Old

Last time I visited my sister, Hilary, I did a maternity session for her. This time, I got to meet my new little niece, Sierra! My mom, Hilary, my other sister Amber, & I had a great time putting Sierra into precarious situations & getting some cute photos for her parents to remember her newness by.

I like all 3 of these family photos:

And a Parts Poster:

Baby Cameron

2008-07-17T18:06:00.000-04:00

Baby Cameron
July 17, 2008
13 days Old

A couple of months ago, I did a maternity session for Vanessa with her husband, Jon. Now they have a really cute little baby boy, & I had the pleasure of doing his newborn session.

I'm not sure which of these 2 I like the best.

And a Parts Poster:

Dan & Janet & Family

2008-07-12T18:04:00.001-04:00

O Family
Victoria Park, Kitchener
July 12, 2008

Janet contacted me about having family pictures done last winter in time for Christmas. Well, life got in the way and we finally got to do her family's session this month! They are a gorgeous, happy family and it was a lot of fun to take pictures for them. We got rained out at the end of the session, but I think we managed to get a lot of keepers while we were there. Thanks, Dan & Janet, for having me do your photos- I hope you love them!

Their 3 gorgeous kids.

I couldn't resist this shot showing Janet's face when it started to pour on us!

Jordan ~ Headshots

2008-07-05T18:01:00.001-04:00

Jordan
Headshots
Victoria Park & Downtown Kitchener
July 5, 2008

I really loved doing Jordan's headshots session. It was fun to get to know her and her husband, Dan, while we wandered the park and downtown, looking for spots to shoot. Jordan is gorgeous so I ended up with a ton of photos that I really liked. Again, I've tried to narrow it down to a few for this blog entry.

And a few shots of Jordan & Dan together:

Josh, Brandon, & Vanessa

2008-06-18T17:59:00.002-04:00

Josh
Pre-Mission Session
with Brandon, Vanessa, & Sherry
June 18, 2008

I am very proud of two young men I know (my brother Brandon & his good friend Josh) who have chosen to put their 19-year-old lives on hold for 2 years to serve a 2-year mission for their church. In just a few weeks, Josh is headed to Ireland, & Brandon to California. It was a lot of fun to get together with them to take some pictures that Josh's mom had requested, of them before they leave for their missions. During the session we also got a chance to take some pictures of Josh's sister, Vanessa as well as their mom, Sherry.

There were so many photos from the session that I loved, but I tried to narrow it down to just a few favourites for the blog.

Jenna & Colin ~ Wedding

2008-06-07T17:57:00.001-04:00

Jenna & Colin
Brampton
June 7, 2008

My husband & I had a busy day on June 7th, sharing Jenna & Colin's wedding day with them. I loved being there to be able to document the special moments of the first day of their married life together. They are back from their honeymoon now, so I'm letting out this sneak peak for them before they get to see all of their proofs. Congratulations to you both, it was so lovely to be a part of your wedding!

The groom's father's speech was full of funny stories about his son.

The younger kids were having a blast dancing!

The bride's brother putting the finishing touch on their getaway car.

Katie's Baby Shower

2008-06-04T17:55:00.001-04:00

Katie's Baby Shower
June 4, 2008

Last week I was asked to photograph a baby shower for one of the hostesses who wanted to put together a scrapbook for the guest of honour. It was the first time I officially shot an event other than a wedding, & I was happy with the way the photos turned out.

Elena ~ Maternity

2008-05-30T17:54:00.001-04:00

Elena
May 30, 2008
Victoria Park, Kitchener
Due June 28

I had so much fun doing Elena's maternity session with her & her husband, Andrew. They were hilarious & full of energy. It was so fun to watch them just play together & enjoy each other. It was also pretty cute how they talk about their baby like they know him or her- saying they can already tell this is a good baby.

A little Titanic action..

I like how intense Andrew is as he hugs his two most special family members :)

I try to fit in at least one silhouette at each maternity session.

Elena wanted one photo to show off her stretchmark-free belly, & here it is!

Baby Jack

2008-05-29T17:52:00.001-04:00

Baby Jack
May 29, 2008
At Home
12 Days Old

I was so excited to go and take pictures of Robin's baby boy. Robin and I & our sisters have been friends for pretty much our whole lives, and it was really fun to be living in the same city as her throughout her pregnancy, and now that she has a baby! He's as cute as could be, and here he is :)

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Here is a Parts Poster that I designed with some photos from this session:

Vanessa ~ Maternity

2008-05-24T17:51:00.001-04:00

Vanessa
May 24, 2008
Victoria Park, Kitchener
Due July 2

I met with Vanessa and Jon while they were in town on Saturday to do some maternity photos for them. It was a beautiful day which was a nice change from the weather last week. We took a few shots at Jon's parents' house before heading to a park. I'm really excited for these two to have their first baby as Jon is my husband's cousin, so they are friends of ours. We can't wait to meet their baby boy!

You can't hide, Vanessa ;)

Jon, goofing around as usual- trying to hold up the belly.

"I'm HOW big around?!"

Hilary ~ Maternity

2008-05-23T17:49:00.000-04:00

Hilary
May 3, 2008
Due early July

I recently visited my sister in Maryland and while I was there we got a quick chance to do some maternity photos. We only had about 40 minutes of light to work with, so we had to work fast! Despite the rushed session, I think we got some great photos for her.

That's my daughter, looking forward to July when she can kiss her cousin ;)

Michele

2008-03-22T17:46:00.000-04:00

Michele
March 22, 2008

I was honoured to be asked to photograph the fabulous Michele, business owner & creator of Purely Simple (natural spa products). I know Michele and she is an amazing woman who has accomplished a lot. She has big things in store for her business (& website- so keep an eye out for those changes), & I was excited to be a part of that.

The purpose of the session was to take portraits of Michele for her business, but we did manage to squeeze in a few family shots.

The Worth of Custom Photography

2008-03-02T17:45:00.000-05:00

I've been using this blog mainly as a spot to share photos from recent shoots, and news about new products & things that I'll be offering. I think it's time to blog about something a little different.
A friend of mine recently suggested that I consider selling a disc including all pictures from a session. I've been considering her suggestion (I know it's something I'd be interested in if I were the consumer!), and I can't help but keep thinking that when I do manage to nail down a price, it'll be something that consumers won't understand.
I think it's common for people to assume that as a photographer, I show up at a session with my camera, shoot for an hour or two, go home, load the pictures on my computer, & I'm done.Not so! I do those things, but that's when the 2nd half of my job comes into play. It's when I pull up Photoshop & go to town, carefully selecting the best images to present to my client, correcting light, colour, & white balance before showing the proofs. Once the client has chosen the prints to order, I go further with processing the images- smoothing skin, removing circles under eyes, clearing acne, removing distracting background objects, & adding any other artistic touches (if I haven't already added them before proofing).
It is for these reasons that I have to charge what I will for files. I'm not just burning them to a disc- I have to process them before they're ready to be printed. I'm not just raising the price to compensate for lost print sales. I don't know if clients will understand these factors (if I weren't doing this myself, I know I wouldn't!), but I hope anyone who may read this will have a better understanding.
As an aspiring photographer, I love to browse the websites and blogs of other photographers- locally and all over the world. It's so inspiring to see other artists' work. One such local photographer that I was happy to discover one day is Julie Tauro. I was excited to find her website & blog because I really like her style! (If you haven't before, go check her out- she's great!)
Julie recently wrote an entry in her blog where she referred to a website called Professional Child Photographer- a new website dedicated to answering consumers' questions about custom children's photography. I think it's a great idea! If you're curious, go take a look & read some of what has been written there so far- it just may help you to get a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes of a custom photographer, why prices are what they are, & why custom photography is so great!

Baby Grace

2008-02-20T17:43:00.001-05:00

Baby Grace
February 20, 2008
At Home
2 Weeks Old

Almost exactly one month ago, I did a maternity session with Frieda. I was excited to be able to take newborn pictures of her baby, Grace, and boy was she cute! I couldn't believe how little she was.

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Sad! Right as Frieda soothed her with her finger to suck on
(the picture above is of the happy Grace that followed ;)

I don't always like selective colouring, but I tried it on this one & kinda like it :)

Here is a Parts Poster that I designed with some photos from this session:

Brandon

2008-02-07T14:31:00.002-05:00

Brandon
February 7, 2008
Brantford, Ontario

Brandon & I went downtown Brantford to get some urban shots. I've been wanting to play with textures a little bit, & thought this would be a good opportunity. Unfortunately, it was very cold, so we'll have to do this again sometime when it's warmer! .

Frieda ~ Maternity

2008-01-31T14:29:00.000-05:00

Frieda
January 21, 2008
Due in 3 days!

This morning I did my first maternity session. It was great! I was happy to arrive at Frieda's place to see brightly coloured walls & a frosted-over window that would make great backdrops! It didn't hurt that she's one of the cutest pregnant ladies around.

Ben's Parts Poster

2008-01-15T14:25:00.001-05:00

In December I was contacted by the father of 'Baby Ben' who I photographed in October. He was ordering a Parts Poster for his wife for Christmas. Now that it's January & I can safely post it without ruining the surprise, here is the Parts Poster I designed for them:

I'm Thankful For...

2007-11-23T14:22:00.000-05:00

In the spirit of American Thanksgiving, one of my favourite wedding photographers (Jessica Claire) put on a photo contest through her blog. I decided to enter a photo of my daughter as a person that I'm thankful for, and although I didn't win the contest, I was excited to see that my photo showed up on her blog!

If you want to check out all of the 'thankfulness' photos that she posted, you can check it out here (and see if you can find my daughter among all the other cute little kids ;)

Baby Ben

2007-09-28T14:21:00.001-04:00

Baby Ben
September 28, 2007
One Month Old

My friends Jenn & Jon had their baby boy, Benjamin Alexander, on August 22nd. I was excited to go over to their home to take some baby pictures of him at one month old! Baby Ben is a sweet little guy who loves to be held, and I was happy to help out when he needed a break from pictures ;)

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Here are a few "parts" photos:

Emily, Katie, & Amber ~ Sisters

2007-09-13T09:30:00.001-04:00

Emily, Katie, & Amber
September 13, 2007
Victoria Park
Kitchener, Ontario

I went to a park with these three sisters to take some photos of them- it was a LOT of fun!! .

Emily is the oldest of the three who were there for the session (they have 3 other siblings).

Then comes Katie

Followed by Amber (who could not stop pulling faces ;)

One more individual of each of the girls to share with you...

Emily on the monkey bars

And this last one involves a little unusual post processing, but I like the effect :)

Birth Announcement

2007-09-06T09:03:00.001-04:00

I'm planning to offer the option of ordering your photos on cards (Birth Announcements, Thank You, Holiday, etc.) and wanted to post my first completed design. It's a Birth Announcement that can be used for a boy or a girl. It's a bit of a take off on the Parts Posters that I posted about last month- simple, clean, white on black, with 6 square photos.

These are available on photo quality paper, and are 4x6"

They will be available to order after your photo session or as part of a package.
(Stay tuned for details on that).

Website

2007-08-25T09:01:00.000-04:00

Announcing www.heatherlynne.ca!

It's still in the beginning stages, & I'll be adding more to it as I get parts completed,
but I'm excited to announce that I have a (real) website now! I hope you all like it!

Hilary & Eric

2007-08-14T09:00:00.000-04:00

Hilary & Eric
August 14, 2007
Brantford, Ontario

My sister and her husband were visiting from the U.S. this past week. We got a chance to get out and take some pictures with the two of them while they were here. .

Parts Posters

2007-07-19T08:53:00.000-04:00

I've been learning more and more about my software and am excited to be learning new ways to improve and present my photos. After some fun playing around and experimenting with photos of my daughter, I'm excited to announce the first product that I have to offer!

I'm calling them "Parts Posters".
They can be ordered from your portrait session or wedding.

Here are a couple of samples:

You can click on the "posters" link at the bottom of the blog to see more posters that I've created for clients.

Betsy & Steve ~ Wedding

2007-06-23T15:27:00.000-04:00

Betsy & Steve
June 23, 2007
Provo/American Fork, Utah

We recently took a trip to Utah for my brother in law's wedding. I wasn't the official photographer, so I steered clear of group shots, and don't have many shots of the bride & groom since that was being done by their hired photographer. But I did get some fun detail & guest shots.

My hubby & my daughter

All of the kids on both sides wore matching outfits :)

My favourite part of the food ;)

...& evidently my niece's as well ;)

Their centrepieces (there were fish- not sure where he was hiding when I took this one)

there he is

My nephew's favourite part of the food ;)

Cake smashing

They got each other good

The aftermath

My father in law with my niece, Anna (the strawberry eater).

Balloons in waiting to be released when the bride & groom made their exit

de Jong Family ~ Portraits

2007-06-09T15:25:00.000-04:00

The de Jong Family
June 9, 2007
Brantford, Ontario

I had an excellent time photographing my Aunt & Uncle and cousins this weekend. It was so much fun! Everyone had a chance to play and goof around, and I loved being able to capture that in the pictures. There were a lot of pictures, but I've included a few of my favourites here:

Joanna with her son, Lincoln

Lincoln with his Daddy (Joe)

Joe & Joanna

Kimberly (my youngest cousin)

The 3 girls with their mom & grandmother (Oma)

Oma

The Girls with their Dad

Uncle John being Uncle John ;)

Whitney & Mark ~ Wedding

2007-04-28T15:23:00.000-04:00

Whitney & Mark
April 28, 2007
Brampton & Brantford, Ontario

I had a wonderful time photographing Whitney & Mark's wedding. Whitney was a beautiful bride with a gorgeous dress. Mark has been a friend of mine since I was in highschool, so it was really fun to get to be there for their wedding, and to capture these memories for them!

~Reception~

Whitney & Mark ~ Wedding Details

2007-04-28T15:18:00.000-04:00

One thing that I was excited about for this wedding was taking detail shots. As I'm still working on sorting through the pictures from the wedding, I thought I'd grab some detail shots to give you a little preview of the wedding, before I get through all of the post processing that I have to do.

Whitney & Mark
Brampton & Brantford, Ontario
April 28, 2007

The groom's sister's notes (she was MC).

The ends of the cake lifter & knife are heart shaped!

Amber & Russ

2007-03-22T15:14:00.000-04:00

Amber & Russ
Onondaga, Ontario
March 22, 2007

I thoroughly enjoyed going out into the country to take pictures of my sister & her boyfriend, at his home. It had rained earlier that day, so we all got very muddy, but it was a lot of fun! I even had my first 4-wheeler ride- Thanks, Russ!

Amber ~ Portraits

2007-03-22T14:33:00.004-04:00

Amber
Brantford, Ontario
March 22, 2007

As soon as the weather became decent enough for me to solicit my sister's assistance as a model, it was time to get out and take more pictures! We had a great time, and came out with some fun shots.

Jacquie & Ryan ~ Wedding

2006-12-29T14:56:00.000-05:00

Jacquie & Ryan
Brampton, Ontario
December 29, 2006

I was delighted to act as a second photographer for Jacquie & Ryan's wedding. It was a great opportunity for me, and I had an amazing time shooting with Amanda Bonus (of Offbyheart Photography).

Here is a sampling of pictures from their special day:

They were such a fun couple to work with-
laughing & joking around the whole time.

Jacquie gets a simultaneous sibling kiss

Jacquie had a great dress! ...and comfortable shoes to go with it!