Nathalie & Rich's Glowy Garden Family Portrait Session :)

We recently met up with Nathalie & Rich and their super-sweet son Asher for some candid family photos at Kew Gardens. Although Asher is 5 now, and has some very firm ideas about what he does and does not want to do (posing for pictures falling into the latter category unfortunately!), he frequently breaks out into this smile that melts your heart :) A great day, and some great images to remember it by :)

The non-stop athleticism of parents never ceases to amaze me! I'm sure many look fondly upon the time before the day their child learned the words "again!" and "more!" ;)

Found a magic spot near the hostas, with butterflies and surely (though we didn't see them) fairies :)

  I love how quickly Asher transitioned from shy five-year-old to action-ready super-hero!

 This cedar-chip path through the trees reminded me of the one where we took photos on Nathalie & Rich's wedding day, at the lovely Paletta Mansion :)

 Nathalie & Rich: as always, it was such a pleasure spending time with your family :) Can't wait to design your album from this session!

xo
Jessica + Norman

Kym & Adam's Fall Leaves Family Session in the Park :)

Whoever thinks that little girls are less rambunctious than little boys, should spend a morning with Miss K! From the minute she saw us and came bounding down the path in the park, to the (approximately) one million times she ran in a circle around this big tree trunk to jump out and yell "SURPRISE!!!", she was a non-stop whirlwind of excitement :) We had so much fun chasing her around! Here are some of my favourite moments from our recent session..

The only thing that slowed her down all morning was when she discovered the fairy houses at the bottom of the tree :) She immediately went to work piling little handfuls of leaves up around them for protection.. this is maybe one of the cutest things I've ever seen!

 And then there was throwing leaves everywhere!

Miss K helped me take this photo of her Mommy & Daddy, which is one of my favourites of them together :) When we tried to add her into the picture though, there was more squirming and wriggling and tickling and giggling than you've maybe ever seen!

Totally worth it in the end though :)

Kym & Adam: We always have such a blast with the three of you, and this time we got to add "magical" to the long list of happy words associated with spending time with your family :)

xo

Jessica + Norman

Welcoming Baby Sam to the Family :)

Oliver was one of the very first babies we ever photographed, so it was a complete delight to get to see him become an older brother recently! He's already figured out that the best part is trying to make his new little brother smile, and at 3 months, Baby Sam is a bundle of joy :) Here are some of my favourite images from our recent session with this lovely family..

I love that we photographed Oliver on this same quilt when he was just a few weeks old, and now it's Sam's turn :)

 This was probably the trickiest part of the session (Oliver just wants to run and jump at this point!), but these pictures ended up being my favourites! I love the range of expressions between
the two of them :)

Rasha & Wil: your family is absolutely beautiful and it was such a joy to hang out with all of you! We look forward to seeing these hilarious brothers grow up together :)

xo

Jessica + Norman

Sweet Baby Henry at 3 Months Old :)

It seems like just a few days ago that we were photographing Baby Henry's debut when he was less than a week old, and now all of a sudden he's 3 months old! Older brothers Cameron and Oliver still think he's pretty great, and so do we :) Here are some of my favourite images from our most recent summery session with the whole family..

Cameron is pretty much the family joker, and had so much fun tickling his younger brothers!

It was definitely one of those days where being near a splash pad was a great idea :) Henry's still a bit tiny for that kind of excitement, so he just chilled out in the shade :)

Sarah & Mike: we can't believe how wide-eyed and smiley Henry has become in such a short time! We had a blast at the park with you guys, and can't wait to see you all again soon!

xo

Jessica + Norman

Kites! Bubbles! Twins! Awesome Family Portrait Session :)

Twins - obviously - means two of almost everything. Not just two babies, but a double stroller, two cribs, high chairs, car seats, wardrobes. Maybe bunk beds when they get a bit older. And, as we learned in our recent family portrait session with Nicola & Andy and their twin boys, it also means twice the fun! See for yourself..

 I especially loved the way the boys would set each other off, and their giggles were contagious :)

If you've never seen the look on a child's face the first time he flies a kite, I highly recommend it. Absolute joy :)

 And then - bubbles!! So much fun!!

Time to relax a bit after all that excitement :)

 Nicola & Andy - no kidding, this was one of the most fun days we've ever had :) Maybe all your days are like this, but we felt very lucky to be invited along to capture the love and joy of your family! Thank you so much (and thanks for being so well prepared!), and can't wait to show you the rest of your photos!!

xo
Jessica + Norman

Welcoming Baby Henry to the Family :)

We recently had the pleasure of meeting Baby Henry for the first time :) As a third brother, he has been born to experienced parents and two very excited older brothers! Things were a bit chaotic at times (as all parents can relate to I'm sure), but wee Henry just took it in stride. Here are some of my favourite images from that day..

Sarah is an amazing knitter, and made this gorgeous blanket. She and Mike both made Henry's sign using the yarn left over after the blanket was made :)

Daddy entertaining the two big brothers while we spent a bit of time with Henry :)

I love his perfect Superman pose (below), his wee smile, and of course - the tiny baby toes!!

(I'm not the only one who thinks his toes are pretty great!)

I love the range of expressions in these last images - Oliver's at an age where he's quicker than 4 adults and kept "escaping", Cameron is an old pro at being photographed and can be quite the ham, and Henry - apart from one big yawn - just chilled :)

Sarah & Mike: as always, it was a complete pleasure to capture this exciting moment in your family's history. We had so much fun photographing and being entertained by your three sweet boys - the two of you are doing an excellent job :) Can't wait to see you soon to show you the rest of the images!

xo

Jessica + Norman

Kayla's 2-year-old Rainbow Bridge Adventure :)

Little Kayla has grown up a lot since the last time we photographed her - like most toddlers, she loves to run, spin, jump, and giggle, and her vocabulary would put most grown ups to shame ;) She also loves rainbows. Mommy thought the rainbow bridge in the Don Valley might be a fun spot for our photo session, and she was right - Kayla's reaction to seeing the bridge for the first time was utter glee.. I'll be surprised if she's not asking to go back on a regular basis ;) I love this first shot of her as she rounded the corner and starting racing towards the bridge! And rainbow umbrellas were the icing on the cake :)

 She made us all dizzy spinning around and around swinging her umbrella, but somehow
never stumbled (thankfully!)

 She's also got a keen eye for nature - after spotting a racoon napping near the bridge over the river, she also spotted a really big (and very dead) salmon washed up on the rocks. After pointing it out to all of us, she mentioned that he'd "got himself in quite a predicament" - which had us all in stitches!

Kayla had her own ideas about the "cute matching shoes" picture ;)

 Kym & Adam: we had so much fun with you two and Miss Kayla! Thanks for having us tag along for your rainbow bridge adventure day!!

xo
Jessica + Norman

Spring Fun: Amanda & Sam's Family Portraits :)

When Amanda & Sam first came to Canada from Australia, they thought they'd stay for about a year. 5 years and two super-sweet kids later, and they're still here :) We recently had tons of fun hanging out with their family.. playing trains, reading (and chewing on!) books, and going to the park on a gorgeous early spring day. Here are some of my favourite images from this playful and candid family portrait session..

How sweet are those smiles?!

There was multilingual toe-counting (a first for me, and I have to say a pretty awesome way to count toes!), and Baby Sister patiently sat still for lots of kisses from Big Brother - super-cute!

Amanda & Sam: we loved spending time with you guys and your adorable wee ones! Thank you so much for having us over to capture this fantastic time in your family's history :)

xo
Jessica + Norman

Solene & Jerome's Adorable Fall Family Portrait Session :)

Last weekend we had the pleasure of going to Riverdale Farm with one of the sweetest families :) From the minute we first said "hello!", Solene's beautiful smile absolutely melted my heart.. Jerome kept his smiles a bit more secretive, but when he shared them they were pretty adorable too :)
Here are some of my favourite images from this super-fun and relaxed family session..

When it comes to photographing families, these sorts of images are my favourite - the ones that aren't posed, but just show the family hanging out and goofing around together - and I feel like they're also the ones that actually capture childhood and the chaotic joy of having a young family the best :)

Not only did we visit some of the animals at the farm while we were there, but Cynthia, Jean-Pierre, and the kids had the perfect Halloween costumes to fit in with the barn setting!

Cynthia & Jean-Pierre: both of you and your adorable kids were so much fun to photograph - thank you for allowing us to capture these memories for you, and for having such a great group Halloween costume! :)

xo

Jessica + Norman

Baby Duncan and his Big Brother Sam :)

Kim is one of the very first clients I ever had, way back when I started my business at the dawn of the new millennium. This of course seems like ages ago now, and we've known each other through over a decade of "growing up" - both in our businesses and in our lives. I've had the pleasure of photographing Kim's gorgeous jewellery, as well as the beautiful fall day when she and Paul got married. More recently, we were there to photograph their first baby, Sam, when he was 6 weeks old. And now, the latest adventure in their lives - Baby Duncan :) Duncan is a very sweet and smiley baby, and Sam has taken very naturally to being a big brother.. it was so cute to see them together!

We started off with little Duncan on his own, showing everyone he's just as strong as his brother was...

Every now and then, Sam would jump in - he's a very busy almost-2-year-old and rarely stays still for long, but he's also very adorably fascinated by his tiny brother :) 

Sam & Baby Duncan also gets to spend lots of quality time with their Grandmother, who lives just around the corner..

Amongst all the chaos, there are also these lovely moments that define being a family - tickle fights, giggles, kisses, and reminising :)How sweet is that little face?!

Kim & Paul: It was such a pleasure to spend time with your family, and to get to know Duncan and Sam even better :) Through all the busy running around, I hope these images will remind you that there are also some moments that are still(ish!), and that even the busy chaos is beautiful and perfect :)

xo

Jessica + Norman

Sweet Baby Seija at 7 1/2 months :)

From the first time I met Baby Seija, I was struck by her intense gaze - it was almost like she was working really hard on figuring things out. And then all of a sudden, she would burst into smiles :) A few months later, she definitely still has the intense gaze, and still goes easily between that and a huge grin.. and now there are two shiny new teeth to show off with that smile :D Between the smiles and the big blue eyes, she completely charmed us when we were there to capture this super-sweet moment in her little life..

Seija's toes are pretty much her favourite thing in the world right now :) I love her pretty little beaded anklet too! 

 Here's that serious face ;) And then more smiles :)

Cheryl & Jonny - you guys have such a sweet little girl! Thanks so much for having us over to capture all her moods, expressions, and teeth :)

xo Jessica + Norman

{do you have a little one with a sweet smile you'd love for us to capture? Get in touch and tell us why this is the perfect time to photograph your family!}

Welcoming Baby Oliver to the World :)

Almost 3 years ago, we saw how naturally parenting came to Sarah & Mike when they had their first baby, Cameron. Now that baby Oliver has arrived, we noticed that big-brothering seems to come very naturally to Cameron :) Admittedly, it's not a huge challenge with a baby as sweet as Oliver! It was so amazing to watch the two of them together.. If Oliver started to fuss, Cameron would take his hand and sing to him, give him kisses, and coo "It's okay, Oli-bear" - and Oliver would immediately calm down :) We spent a lovely afternoon with the family.. here are some of my favourite images from the session..

 

 tiny baby parts, and Oliver's "Mommy's Friends Blanket" :)

to decorate the nursery, Sarah crocheted rainbow bunting, and Cameron made the cutest collection of animal portraits at daycare! 

If Oliver's first 13 days are anything to go by, this is going to be a pretty adorable year for the whole family :) I can't wait to see how much fun we're all going to have at his 3-month session!

Sarah & Mike: congratulations on your beautiful new baby boy! It was so great to spend time with all of you, and we're really looking forward to watching Oliver grow over the coming year :) And thanks again for the rhubarb!

xo

Jessica + Norman

{if you're expecting a tiny new addition to your own family and would love gorgeous maternity and newborn portraits of your own - email us now for more information! We also do gift certificates and registry - inquire for details!}