It was so awesome meeting this new little family, and such an honor that they drove all the way from Edmonton to get their photos done with me!! Little Luke here is 3 weeks and 3 days old today and although he fought us with the sleeping, he definitely was forthcoming with the cute! Here are my favorite images from this morning.
I had such a great time with this family! Due to the weather we had to split the session up in two, but I am so glad I did! I got to see this cute face TWICE! This here is little Rhys and he just turned one, and whats better to do but smash a cake in celebration!
Here is a sneak peek of this beautiful mama-to-be! She is due on Monday and I cannot wait to meet her pretty little girl! This was the session where my camera broke, thank goodness they were so nice to come back for a reshoot! It was a nicer day and a better location. Awesomeness all around!
Pretty excited to meet the little one that this beautiful couple is about to have. Like literally! Her due date is on Friday!! 
I debated about continuing my personal note blog from last week, there was more I wanted to say on it, but I kept it business. Because I have seen those comments other photographers get when people say, you should just keep it business, we don't want to hear you talk about your weight loss or your personal life, etc.
Then I realized that this is my world that I create to welcome you in. My manifesto (which is still in the works but I will let you all know it as soon as I word it fully and properly) has a lot to do with how I want for you to think about a session with me as a different world. A world where it doesn't matter if your kids are not cooperating and smiling for the camera, because you can trust me to capture moments of them being themselves, where you don't need to worry about your newborn crying (again, lol, always again) because I am there to soothe her and snuggle her, and you can take that moment, that time out you are normally unable to take. I want sessions with me to be a world that isn't real in the sense of all the worry and stress, but a world celebrating your real love, your beautiful creation, your mark on this world, your children.
And because I create this world, I am the boss LOL and I say personal is not off the table. At least when it comes to me, and only when it is in a way that I can grow, but also maybe you can grow from it too.
So here it is.
So today was a day of waaaaay too much procrastination. And honestly I can't tell you a day when I am not procrastinating lol, I do love to distract myself with pretty shiny things, and Chuck (husband/rationality expert/second shooter) noticed that about me, I think, on our second date. But sometimes procrastination is good!! HAHA because sometimes I am lucky and I stumble on to something like this:
This is Sue Bryce, and honestly, I don't know very much about her, she is a creative live teacher, a very talented photographer, but most importantly (at least to ME, today) she is an amazing speaker.
This video is an hour long.
I have watched it twice.
She has literally changed my life.
When I spoke in my last blog I mentioned how 2013 was a year that represented CHANGE for me. I spoke of how that drove me to take my business seriously. But it also was a time for me to look at myself, my life, and protect my dream career that has given me so much. Because I am really good at screwing up a good thing for myself, and I needed to figure out why and fast, so I can realize this dream career I have been given.
Lately FEAR has really been getting to me. I mean, moving to another province, leaving all of my business I am generating here, actually having to WORK at finding clients, where as here I have been lucky to have majority of my clients be word of mouth referred.
WHAT AM I DOING???
Then there is the whole weight thing... oi vey. I am in serious need of a healthy make over. And it's not for lack of trying people, I sit there and try and think about how to tackle this, I know I want a healthy happy lifestyle so bad, I miss dance, I miss yoga.
But what is holding me back?
That question has been tormenting me for months, how can I want something so bad, but not have the motivation, to get up and get it. And its not motivation that I am lacking, I feel paralyzed. Unable to move. What is holding me back?
I have found out what has been holding me back. If you are in the same boat or ever have been. If you have insecurities, unhappiness with your place in life, career, or love. If you are scared of failure, or of rejection or anything that might be standing in your way of realizing your amazing life and true potential:
Trust me.
Watch this video.
I hope it changes your perspective on life, like it has for me.
Much love,
Reina
It is such a great honor to be given the chance to truly impact people's lives in such difficult times in their lives. Both of these families have children who are palliative and I truly believe that these children taught me more and impacted me so. I have never been so emotional while editing, but I know that my life is somehow richer by getting to know these families every month.
Meeting this sweet couple for their consultation got me so excited to capture this beautiful moment in their lives, and can you blame me? They are gorgeous! Inside and out! So I literally did a happy dance when I got the email from Sharlene that she wanted to hire me. I had a wonderful time at both of their sessions, and meeting Gia I was blown away at how beautiful she was! Poor Chad, he is going to have to get himself a shotgun or bazooka or something, because she is going to be a heartbreaker!
I met Jessica in French class in my first semester of university and was ecstatic to hear that she and her man Paul were expecting! Now they are engaged!! I wish this beautiful family with their sweet little daughter all the best and I cannot wait to see Pyper grow. She is just beautiful!
So it really made my heart overflow to do these sessions, I mean I am not thinking that it is the MOST important thing they probably have experienced in that beautiful house, the Ronald McDonald House, but it was the most important thing I could do for them. For me photos with your family are not just hey lets sit in front of the camera and smile so we can document what we looked like in 2013 LOL, no for me family photos is a part of your story, I want you to feel like when you look at these photos you remember your experience in getting them done! And because a visit to the Ronald McDonald House is a pretty significant part of your family's story I want to help these beautiful families to capture this time!
I almost cannot express in words just how amazing it feels to hang out at this house, I know that people visiting here are going through very profound and extraordinary times. But you don't really feel that there. You feel at home. Unbelievable. Amazing. People were so friendly, (everyone knew who I was lol, that was pretty cool) but there was a feeling of family and coziness and warmth. Seriously being in that house was like a recharge for my soul, the people who run this place know what they are doing, they are so fiercely protective of their families and they are amazing, beautiful (inside and out) people!
Thank you Ronald McDonald House and these lovely families for letting me into their lives for an hour, It was my pleasure!
Update: Session number 2 doesn't want their photos on this blog, this is completely understandable and any client of mine can ask for any photos to be removed (: I always put my respect for your family's privacy above everything else!
Family #1 - this was a family of three girls, one being a TWO day old baby, can we all take a minute to just gush at how amazing Mom looked!!! Like seriously, I would not have looked that good only FIFTY hours after, you know, GIVING BIRTH!! But what can you expect? The ENTIRE family was gorgeous!!
Family #3 - AGAIN! Another gorgeous family, I am not just saying this here people, you can see it in the photos, I was just bombarded with gorgeous people and their children this month!! So this last family was such a great bunch, totally laid back and obviously madly in love with their little guy. Dad was back home takin care of business, so Grandma stepped in to help with the session and got some great pictures with her favourite little guy. Mama was beautiful, baby was beautiful. Sigh. I really do love doing what I do! Check back next month for my next visit to Ronald McDonald House!!
I had such a great time getting to know this adorable lil guy and his sweet family! His sister has the sass of a three year old but you can see that she is pretty much in awe of her little brother, I asked her if she was excited for him to grow up so they could play together and her answer was "I dunno" which is super funny because that is what her answer was for most everything hehe. This little boy was such a sweetie and so good to me with all of his smiley faces, I cannot wait to see the cuteness that will happen as this little one grows... I just hope for mama's sake he doesn't grow too fast.
Just a few weeks ago I met this beautiful family as they were expecting their second child. We did a beautiful maternity session and sat back and waited for this little guy to show up. Today I finally got to meet him! He is absolutely perfect and unbelievably adorable! Here are some images from both the maternity session and the newborn session.
Introducing Deonte!
Don't miss out on the HUGE Contest I am running until March 31st, how huge do you ask? HUMONGOUS!! I am giving almost $1000 in prizes, click here for all the info! Good luck!
Also don't forget about the mama & me sessions I am throwing at the end of April, click here for all the info on that, book quickly Saturday is already almost all booked up!
If you are looking to book a session with me, please contact me via email using the button below.
Honestly to me, nothing is more beautiful than the love of a mother for her child, except maybe the awe and adoration children have for their moms. Dads are pretty amazing too, lol, but seeing as Mother's Day is coming up I want to showcase this magnificent love between mother and child. All your kids are welcome (: Mamas of mamas are welcome too! I would love to see as much mama loving as possible! (: The information is all in the picture below, and below that you will find the times that are available. Contact me via email (the button to do that is at the bottom of this post) or comment with the time you would like to schedule yourself in.
Also make sure you enter into the HUGE contest I am throwing! I am giving away almost $1000 in prizes click here to read the post telling all how you can win!
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SUNDAY
12-1 BOOKED
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This is a new product I will be offering soon. So super excited about this (: its an electronic birth announcement! We have entered the computer age (:
Ok so aside from having the most awesome name ever, this little guy was a dream to work with : ) As one of my first models in my practice for my Newborn Posing Course, Chandler was a dream and his parents super amazing.
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Oh my goodness! The cuteness in this family was an OVERLOAD! lol So adorable! And the best thing was they had a wonderful friend give them this session for Christmas : ) Don't forget I do sell gift certificates, I love being the present : )
Click here to contact me for session availability and pricing!
Don't forget to book your mama & me session, contact me for available times : )
Little Linus was one of my first baby sessions as well as his first birthday photos in the summer (: I was so excited to hear that he was signed up for one of my January mini sessions. Seriously I cannot get enough of his baby blues and his smile is completely contagious, I am not kidding, try not to smile when you see these (: I am excited to be able to capture his mama in her maternity session this week as well as his little brother or sister when he or she is born (:
P.S. I am not one for gossip but I heard that this little guy has a girl friend, I don't want to name names, but I believe Eloise from a couple of blog posts below is the girlfriend (:
Also don't forget to book your mama & me session! spaces are filling up fast :)
Click here to contact me about the mini sessions or get pricing on a regular session :)
