{FAMILY LIFESTYLE} Gord, Bryana & Family

I love everything about this lifestyle family photo session with Gord, Bryana, Davin, Addy and Will. And, this session is indicative of my ideal family photo session!

Firstly, Bryana coordinated their wardrobe perfect. Not matchy matchy, yet there is a colour story and great use of patterns! Secondly, it took place at a gorgeous location cherished by the family - their summer lake-side cottage. Thirdly, it is chalk full of activities usual to how they spend time together as a family at the cottage - playing on the beach, kayaking together, throwing rocks in the water and playing and blowing bubbles together around the cottage.

When Bryana first emailed me about booking a family session she wrote that she wanted photos that were natural, candid and captured her children as they are! And I was completely on board. We discussed things that the kiddos enjoyed doing and things that they could all do so we captured everyone together. I came prepared to be a photojournalist versus a director of photography, and Bryana  made sure that everything needed for the planned activities were on hand.

I am so pleased with the images we ended up with. They tell a story of what a day in the cottage life of this family is, and captures the personalities of each child at their particular age (Davin - serious and dramatic, Addy - serene and compliant, and Will - on the go-go-go!!) which is so much more valuable than a traditional posed family portrait, though I did manage to get one posed photo before Will beelined it for a toy!!!

I hope you enjoy this family photo series as much as I do!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are interested in booking a family photo session and have some creative ideas then I would LOVE to hear from you!!

Love & Sunshine,
Shannon-May 

My Bucket List... sort of.

Okay. I'm going to admit it. I. AM. A. DREAMER. Always have been, and my mother will attest to this because she has heard it all, and even helped me to make some of my dreams materialize into reality!  Of course in many ways we are all dreamers. We all have dreams, whether we will admit it or not,  that we hope to realize. And many of us even make plans and work towards making our dreams a reality. Sometimes however, I think I'm an anomaly... that my quota for dreams has far been exceeded. 

I have a very long mental list of dreams... things I want in life, wish to experience or be a part of, and the list grows everyday... every single day. I know it is not because I am dissatisfied with my life, oh the contrary. I think it is because I have such a zealous for life and all the opportunities that each new presents us with that I just keep dreaming new ways to experience life! I also think it is because so much has happened in my life in the past eight years to reconstruct my perspective on life, my purpose and my love for others that I have a hard time believing that the desires of my heart will not be met if I work hard, invite others in to the journey and prayerful make good choices (of course I do sometimes wish that everything will be handed to me on silver platter but that is a dream that I try not to entertain - LOL).

Why am I sharing this? Because I have dreams for my business. I have a long list of things I wish to do as a business person so that my community with thrive. And I have a long list of things I wish to develop so that my clients will receive the best experience and photographs I can give them. And I have  a list of projects or photographic opportunities I wish to do that will be both professionally and personally rewarding... And I thought I would share with you a few of the items that are on my "Photography Bucket List," many of which have been chosen not just because of the photographic opportunities, but because of the people I will meet and their personal stories I will get to be apart of! 

In no particular order, these are ten experiences and people I wish to photograph:

> The birth of a baby

> A traditional wedding in Africa
> A day in the life of a Lobster Fisherman.
> A day in life of a working farm.
> An elopement at the Empire State building in Manhattan.
> An elderly couple still very much in love!
> A creative proposal (in Paris?)

> Adoptive parent's meeting their baby for the first time (International or local adoption).

> A brand new Canadian

> Bette Midler (don't mock me. I think she is one of the most beautiful women in the world and I have loved her since I was a little girl).

What are your dreams, have you admitted them to yourself and are you willing to commit them to the internet?

Love & Sunshine,

Shannon-May

PS: As usual I publish without proofing so please forgive the grammatical errors! :)

[personal] the mullet

i hope the stylist who thought up the androgynous mullet hairstyle had his or her credentials revoked because his horrid hair trend has wounded and scarred so many. to this day i have flash backs to years of bad hair days after sporting the trendy hair do and then trying to grow it out. going through pictures of me as a kid in the eighties actually brings tears to my eyes and a lump to my throat because it is so painful to relive!

i remember when my friends started showing up at school with the hot new hair style that all the grown-ups and movie stars were getting. and there was one girl whose mother had let her  perm the front [short] part of her hair while leaving the back [longer parts] naturally straight. you know the mullet style i am talking about, right? i was sooooo jealous of her!

i'm glad i'm my own person now, and think hard before diving into the latest trend... though when i am fifty years old i am still likely to look back at photos of me taken now and ask myself: what was i thinking...

thank you laughing with me [and not at me]. have a good weekend!

love & sunshine,

shannon-may