I photographed my first little girl’s dress up sessions yesterday and it was a hit!
This is Iszie, whose birthday is today. The last time I photographed her she was 3. She’s just as adorable now as she was then. Iszie loves posing and the camera loves her. In these images she is wearing her mom’s grad dress and her grandma’s wedding dress. Isn’t she adorable!
Happy 6th Birthday Iszie! You are one of my all time favorites!
It was my pleasure to photograph my friend Kristin and her boyfriend Mike yesterday on our property. They were fantastic subjects for my first session in my yard. One of the main reasons this property appealed to me were the dozens of possibilities for photography backdrops. Here we used an avenue of trees and a huge weeping willow.
Have a look:
The beginning of a new year is a great time to assess my business, to consider what what to change and what to keep the same.
What worked:
A lot of things worked well in 2018; most notably my introduction of In Person Sales (in place of online galleries). I was very resistant to doing IPS, because I am not a sales person. I don’t ever want to feel like I am pushing someone to spend money. But it really is true that the images I show clients sell themselves and the moment when clients see their pictures is irreplaceable. It is empowering and is very gratifying to me.
I sold more products in 2018 and will continue to do so. A professionally printed print, wall art or an album is the natural end product of a photography session. A digital image is not. Part of the art of photography is to see images printed and see a concrete sample of the image. I will continue to sell products to my clients, but will include digital images as that is what clients want.
What’s new:
I am introducing a new kind of session in 2019; a mini newborn session. I’m doing this for a couple of reasons, but most notably because many newborn moms are exhausted from lack of sleep and don’t want to be in a hot studio for 3 or 4 hours. A mini newborn session is shorter. It is an hour and a half, baby is wrapped for all poses and the focus is on baby pictures. Family pictures can be done at the 6 month stage when moms are more rested. I will still be doing full newborn sessions with parent and sibling pictures if that’s what your family decides on. But I think this is a great option.
As an introductory offer, and because Jan is a very slow month, I am offering 2 free mini newborn sessions. If you want a full newborn session for $125, I will deduct $80 from your session fee, giving you a full newborn session for only $45.
Pass this on to anyone you know who is expecting in the next couple of months. Be one of the first people to contact me and get this session free!
Mini Newborn Sessions!
November is the time to get your pictures taken for the family Christmas card. I don’t design or offer Christmas cards, so I am making digital images available without the purchase of a print. That way you can use one of the many templates found online for your cards.
Of course, prints will still be available, but for this special you will receive 2 high-resolution digital files of your choice. We will use 2 backdrops in a 40 minute session. This can include up to 5 people.
The first 3 people who contact me will get an additional savings of $50. I will need a $50 deposit to reserve your spot and then an additional $30 when you come for the session; a savings of $50. Don’t delay, as I will have a limited number of spots available.
This does not include newborn sessions, as it would be nearly impossible to do a newborn session in 30 minutes.
I had a very busy fall season this year and I want to thank all of the clients who booked a session, There are very few leaves left on the trees but if you are interested in an outdoor session in the next couple of weeks, I can find some spots with colourful leaves or evergreens as a backdrop.
Here are some of the images from the fall sessions:
Many of you have met my dog, Zara. This week, I wanted to try creating a bokeh effect in the studio with some new lights. I didn’t have a model available, so I decided to use my dog.
Our dogs are never allowed in the studio, so I had to put a leash on Zara to get her down there. The image below shows the look that Zara gave me. It’s the same look she has when she thinks she’s in trouble.
It’s titled “Obedience with Disdain”.
Yours in Photography,
The second newborn boy of the week was this angelic looking little guy. Z did not want to wait to meet his mom and dad, so he came into the world a bit early. He is a perfect baby boy at 3 weeks old.
I loved cuddling and posing this beautiful baby boy. Have a look at this preview:
Sleepy Newborn in aqua.
Love the fall colours with this newborn set up.
Perfect newborn poser.
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The question of whether or not to change your name is always one that brides ask themselves. After giving this some thought I have decided that I will change mine, so I will be Christina Kaye in the near future and I might change the name of my website. I’m looking at ckphotos or chriskayephotography or some variation of that. I will let you know when this happens. It won’t be in the next couple of months.
We are also looking to buy a place just North of the city that will hold my studio and also have a workshop for John. I don’t want to lose you, my clients, so we won’t be going too far. We both have work to do on our houses before that happens, so in the meantime, my studio will remain at 86 Taunus Dr.
Here are a few images from our wedding.
It’s hard to believe that summer is almost over! July has been a whirlwind for John and I. We spent a lot of time getting the cabin ready for our wedding and planning our special day. Right after that, we spent 11 amazing days in Newfoundland and then I spent a week in Calgary with my grandson.
Now here we are, at the end of August, with fall coming along very soon.
Fall is the perfect time to update your family portrait. The days are cooler and the colours of the trees make an amazing backdrop. The best time of day for doing your family picture is at the end of the day about an hour or 2 before sunset. Sunset is around 6:30 or 7:00 pm in Oct, therefore the best time for your family session is around 5:00. Mornings around 9:30 or 10:00 is also an option but mornings tend to be quite cool in Oct.
We can, of course do sessions at other times if your schedule won’t accommodate those times.
I am usually at Victoria Beach on the weekends, which is so beautiful in the fall. I would be happy to do your session there. Let me know if that is an option for you.
I will stay in the city for the weekend of Sept. 22nd, so let me know if that weekend works for you.
I am going to waive the session fee for the first 4 families that book a family session in the fall. So don’t delay booking your session. I will need a $50 deposit to secure your session. You can use that deposit towards your purchase of prints after the session. Regular session fees are $80, so it is quite a savings!
People often ask me which camera to buy. There is no easy answer to that question because there are a lot of factors to consider; like what you plan on using it for, what your budget is and how much knowledge you have about photography. The short answer is that the best camera to use is the one you have with you. I would look at a site such as this one https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2369450,00.asp to see what the experts think. I have a couple of Canon SLRs but I also have the Canon G5X, which is a point and shoot camera that also shoots in RAW. I use my iPhone for a lot of pictures and it really is amazing. I don't think smart phones will ever replace SLRs or mirrorless cameras but they have improved dramatically in recent years. These are images that I took with my iPhone 6Plus. I took this first one at Victoria Beach. I had my SLR with me but I had a dead battery and I also had my G5X with me but no cards, so I used my iPhone to capture this amazing scene. I edited the image with Snapseed and only used Photoshop to change the DPI to 300. I blew this up to 24x36 and it looks amazing!I took this one while walking on a trail in Newfoundland. Again, it was the only camera I had with me and again I only used Photoshop to change the DPI to 300.
So take a lot of pictures, using whatever you have with you, use editing software and print the ones you like best. My favourite software for my phone is Snapseed. It does pretty much anything! Have fun and let me know if you need any help.
I recently came across this poem by Spike Milligan and wanted to share it with you today.
Yours in Photography,
Christina
The last time I saw this adorably cute little girl she was a newborn and look at her now! At one, this little girl is full of smiles and was a perfect model for me.
Too bad she wasn’t impressed with her cake!
Here’s a sneak peek of this beautiful little girl.
It was cake smash day for this little doll, who is turning one in 2 weeks. I loved photographing this little beauty and her big sister. Here’s a sneak peek of the session.
I had an amazing response to my model call. Thank you to everyone who passed on my request for maternity models. It was much appreciated. I am booked up for the next couple of weeks, but if anyone is due after mid March, I might be interested.
This beautiful lady and her adorable 3-year old were my first models. It was a lot of fun to work this these 2.
Here’s a sneak peek!
I love it when I get a surprise when I look at my uploaded images. This first image is an example of that. I had no idea the little one was copying what her mom was doing. I love her expression!
Call out for all pregnant mamas!
I’m looking for some models for maternity photos. The purpose of these images will be to build my maternity portfolio and possibly enter the images into competitions. I have some new gowns and some exciting ideas that I want to try out.
Applicant for this model call must:
The benefit of doing this model call:
If you are interested please email me at chrismcwilliamsphotography@gmail.com.
I will forward an application to you with further details.
Please share with any of your friends who might qualify or tag them on Facebook or Instagram.
Thank you,
Christina
CM Photography Blog (Winnipeg Newborn, Child, Family, Baby Photography) 