Hang on tight.

The full spectrum

A sneak peek from today's shoot. Four models, two looks each, lots of hairspray, outfits and backdrops. When people say: I trust you, and give you creative reign, magical things happen. Plus, it always helps when the subjects are wonderful people.

More to come.

And of course, my very adorable test model! Couldn't find a cuter one :)

This girl...

This girl, along with three others will be transformed today. A secret photoshoot with four models is on the agenda today. The photo we choose will be on a two page spread in the Hamilton Spectator. 

Stay tuned!

The Besanger Family

It was a day before Angela's family was heading home to B.C. so yesterday's weather just had to work out for their Webster's Falls phoot shoot.

Here are just a couple of great shots that Michael took! I was impressed that there were so many photos where everyone was looking at the camera, eyes open and smiling. Awesome family.

Thanks for a great day guys!

Wendy

Death and life again....The Austin's and their story.

It's always a little nerve wracking showing up to the wedding rehearsal to a bunch of strangers. Most are friendly. Sometimes not. Sometimes there is attitude from the bridesmaids. Or the minister. We usually win them over with charm by the end of the night. In the case of Krissy and Don's wedding, everyone was wonderful and warm. The first person to approach me was Stephanie. She let me know that the groom was her husband's best man in their wedding. We were also Facebook friends and I hadn't even realized.

Luck would have it that at the dinner, we ended up sitting beside each other at a table of about 30. We started chatting and I got choked up at her story. I knew we had met for a reason.

At the wedding, her mom started chatting to me in the washroom and said her family is adopting me. Her daughter, Alanna, had already booked her very high end USA photographer but they wanted to hire me to shoot her engagement photos as a gift to her. We were also hired last night to photograph Stephanie, Ben and Kenton at a beautiful local park in Woodstock.

And sometimes, there is no better way to tell a story than firsthand.

Stephanie's words:

But before that, a thank you for allowing us to document such an amazing family with grace, strength, love and light.

We love you.

The contrast of soaring joys and deepest sorrows is a condition of human life. The compression of these things into a five week span for my family in March/April of 2012 still keeps us a little dizzied. On March 9, 2012 Kenton Laurence Thomas Austin arrived into the world at 8 lbs 0 oz to the most loving family a child could have. His parents, all four grandparents, aunts and uncles were there when he was born, and marvelled at this pure joy that had entered our lives. As the next couple of weeks wore on for me, love, pride, contentment, joy, exhaustion, worry and blood transfusions all mingled and began to settle into a more normal version of life again. But three weeks to the day, profound and shocking sorrow was added to the mix as my beloved dad – a constant fixture of love, support, fun, wisdom and every-day-chats – died in front of my eyes from a massive brain aneurysm a few hours after we had arrived home to Woodstock for a visit. Even though it didn’t seem possible life got harder again when my dearest mother was diagnosed with breast cancer two weeks after that. 
To even re-write that series of events makes me wonder how these gorgeous photos Wendy has captured for us find us smiling, peaceful, joyful, or even just whole six months later. People often ask me. All I can tell them is that while no parent could ever prepare you for their death (especially one that was completely unforeseen in every way), my dad gave us every opportunity to heal well by instilling in us two things: a deep love for family and rock-solid supports in each other, and above all faith in God’s love for us and an opportunity to be together again in eternity. Time, health re-found, and a beautiful, bouncing baby have been balms along the way.
This year has made me realize the precious gift that life is from all sides. It has given me an ardent desire to be the best person I can be, live with love, and treasure the precious people in my life. One of the very last things my dad did on earth was look through newborn photos of Kenton that we had picked up just that morning. The joy on his face is still etched into my memory. Thank you, Wendy, for capturing more joy in your photos last night, and our family just the way it is today. Anyone with a baby knows just how quickly things change. Family photos act like memory preservers, and are among my most prized possessions.

A friday whirlwind

How could it only be noon and so many things have happened? One of my diamonds fell out of my wedding ring. Got a request to shoot a wedding in Costa Rica and another two people who are forfeiting their deposits with other photographers to book with us. Someone cancelled, rescheduled, cancelled and rescheduled our shoot for Sunday. Getting ready for a shoot with an amazing family tonight who's story will touch your heart. Prepping for dinner tomorrow night. Jogged with the dog in my breakfast sausaged-size ponytail and tripped over him in public. Ate black cherry ice cream (five days of no bad foods, cigarettes, alcohol and exercise are doing me in!) And finished editing two sessions. And it's just after noon hour.

Happy Friday to all! I'm ending this week with a creative. I've been lacking the time to both write and create and it bugs me. So I make time. Even if it's in my sleep.

Have a great weekend!

Love,
Wendy

Simplicity

It's the simple things, really.

The last forty percent

So, there is an incredible photography team in London called The last forty percent. They rock in the boudoir department. They were looking for a couple who would come in and do a free shoot with them so they could use the images and teach a workshop in Montreal. Did I hear free?

While we were in Mont Tremblant, I let Michael know that we were doing this when we returned from our trip. He was not so impressed considering we haven't worked out consistently since our wedding. But he did it anyways.

I've shot boudoir before but never couples, although I've had a few requests. The last boudoir shoot I did with sweet Caroline, and her exact comment to me was that it was better than counselling or any type of therapy.

We aren't in the best shape, but I think they did an awesome job of capturing some saucy and tasteful photos of us. I also love the name of this husband and wife photography team. When we asked what it represented, Ewan said that people reveal 60% of their true identity and it's the last 40% that is left hidden, guarded, vulnerable. And it's the photographer's job to get through that barrier.

For the full blog post, click here.

It's exciting to be on the other side of the mailbox waiting for my full disk of images. I love the last photo particularly.

Daniela & Franco {Niagara Falls Engagement Photographer}

They say that 80% of your business comes from 20% of your clients in terms of repeat business. This is true in our case but also true in terms of referrals. One of our clients has brought us so many weddings, I feel I owe them for life.

Daniela and Franco were one of those couples. She went to Chiropractor school with two of our 2012 grooms. We met with them over drinks at the beach this summer and I know I always say this, but we stayed for hours and felt like we were long-time chums.

Franco is a chef and Daniela is crazy for photos so you can imagine how much the four of us had to talk about. When we started to plan their engagement session, they were trying to think of the perfect location. Daniela emailed me asking if it was okay to shoot their photos in her uncle's mansion. When we arrived, it was clearly the largest building in the entire area, including a local college.

Michael and I were like kids, running through every single room in the house trying to find the perfect shot or spot to shoot. It's overwhelming and you don't want to miss a square inch. We tried our best to chase the light and when it went down, experimented with flash. We were in love with how the photos turned out. Here is a glimpse into our evening last night!

Love,

Wendy