What To Wear: Winter Family Photo Sessions | Vancouver Family Photographer | Community Photographer

WHAT TO WEAR FOR WINTER FAMILY PHOTO SESSIONS

When winter arrives and temperatures cool, sometimes it’s just too cold for a dress and heels by themselves (no matter how warm your coverup overcoat is!). As a Vancouver family photographer, let’s face it, it’s chilly fifty percent of the year! Instead of only shooting in the warm summer months, I encourage clients to shoot year round! We are so lucky we live in a city where we have diverse seasons to make every family photo session unique! So I have some suggestions for the winter months that will still help you look amazing and keep your color tones camera friendly.

During winter, warm neutrals like camel, taupe, cream, champagne, and gray look amazing. If you’d like to incorporate color, choose jewel-toned versions of the primary colors. Here are some examples: mustard over yellow, crimson or burgundy over red, over orange, sage or emerald over green, and powder blue or navy over blue. These jewel tones will photograph beautifully in the winter when there is not much bright colors to contrast in nature. And don’t forget to layer up! Add a peacoat, tights, scarves and heeled booties to a form-fitting cocktail dress or skirt. Dress your little ones in wool hats, mittens and scarves to keep warm and add extra interest to the phot.

SNOW DAY SESSIONS:

A dress or skirt with a big peacoat can never go wrong! A neutral coloured coat with a touque, scarf and gloves or a warm, oversized, snuggly sweater with tall boots and a hat is a super fun look, perfect for the snow! The great thing about snow is it creates a beautiful white backdrop, so even though it might seem counterintuitive, soft pastel, muted colors like soft pinks and powder blues still look great! And, remember, regardless of the setting, you can never go wrong with neutrals with pops of colour!

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Ladner Family Photo

MAUI FAMILY PHOTO SESSION | TOIGO FAMILY

Ever since I got into photography I always dreamed of shooting in Hawaii.

My husband and I booked our 2 year wedding anniversary in Maui this past November. Before leaving I connected with Steph and found out that her family would be there the same dates ( amazing!). My dream of a sunrise family photo shoot in Maui was coming true!

We met before sunrise, just at 6:30am. It was still dark but the sky subtly was changing to a morning blue. We headed down to Charlie Young beach in Kehei and were the only ones up at this time. By the time we began shooting, the sky had changed into the most stunning sunrise I had ever seen. The two boys immediately warmed up in front of the camera as they played with mom and dad on the beach. We spent the next hour playing on the shore line, taking photos and enjoying the most beautiful sunrise. Momma Steph looked stunning in her blue dress to match the sunrise. Dad did an amazing job wrangling his boys, playing in the sand with them and tossing them in the air to get the most precious smiles.

As a Vancouver family photographer, it was such a treat to shoot at a location new and inspiring. To the Toigo family, thanks for spending the morning with me playing in the sand and waves. It was a perfect way to spend a Maui morning :)



Welcome Baby Ace | Tsawwassen Newborn Photos

When walking into the home of a new client, you never really know what to expect. The layout, the light, the colours. And what about the family, are they open-hearted, high energy, nervous, a bit of everything?

Turns out this photo session had all the good things; beautiful light, a gorgeous family, lots of love, and the perfect amount of energy from the two little ladies :) You could tell the family was all in shock that they had welcomed a baby BOY into the mix. With two big sisters and not finding out the gender of the baby, it was a big surprise to everyone!

Mom Kristin is a birthing queen. A trained doula herself, she had an all natural birth at home. Well done momma, well done :)

Lifestyle photography is about telling your story, capturing your connections, full of heart and honesty. The chaos, the mess and the love that holds it all together.

Thank you so much for inviting me into your home, words can’t describe how much I enjoyed this session.

Welcome Baby Stevie | Tsawwassen Newborn Photographer | Community Photography South Delta

Preparing to welcome a baby into the world, especially your first, is an absolutely amazing time of life. There are so many milestones - 12 weeks, 20 weeks (and every week thereafter!) new nursery, new clothes , new sounds and new smells (not always good ones!), and of course new little fingers, new little toes and a new little heart to love. It goes so fast and so slow all at once, which is why I LOVE to help you remember those blurry first days/weeks/months for years to come.

I recently got to help my bestie document her journey from bump to baby and it was pure bliss. Knowing good friends for over 20 years is a blessing and to see them transition into motherhood is such a beautiful thing!

Jess and Geordie, congratulations on your family of FOUR! Love you guys long time, I’m so excited to raise our babes together :)

Paige xo

Reid Family Photos | Centennial Beach, Tsawwassen | Community Photography South Delta

Mom Megan and I had been chatting about her family photo session for some time over e-mail. I had taken her friends family photos and that’s how she came across my name. I didnt know going into her session that I actually knew her from way back in the day. When I saw her familiar face at Centennial Beach, I was brought back to my first job as a phone girl in Tsawwassen at Mario’s Kitchen, circa 2003. Megan was a server and I remember her just being the absolute sweetest person, to everyone, including us phone girls lol.

The first two thing I noticed about her family was 1.) how beautiful and sweet they all were! and 2.) their perfect choice of cloths for a beach family photo session. Blue and white tones on a crystal clear evening was going to make for such dreamy photos.

The evening of their session was a warm summer night at Centennial Beach. We spent the hour of their family session hanging out, capturing the classic family portraits and the most beautiful in-between moments, which are always my favorite. I also LOVED capturing some special mom and dad portraits, it was the day after their anniversary after all :)

To the Reid family, thanks so much for allowing me to take your family portraits at Centennial Beach. It was such a nice night and loved the dynamic of your loving family.

Stanley Park Maternity Photos | Community Photography South Delta

I’m a Tsawwassen girl, and to be honest, I don’t often venture out of our neighbourhood for photo shoots. Saying that, when a client suggests we shoot at a new location I’m always game! A new location is like a new playground for a photographer. When taking photos somewhere new, it sparks your creativity and allows you to play with new light and landscapes. When beautiful momma to be, Ana suggested we take her maternity photos at Stanley Park in Vancouver, I was super excited! I asked my wedding planner sister Briar of Epic Events for suggested shoot locations in the area as she often does weddings at the Tea House and other Stanley Park venues.

She suggested 2nd beach, when I went to scout out the location, fell in love with right away. The reason I loved it for the maternity session so much was within a 5 minute walk, you went from a beautiful forest setting to a Vancouver beach landscape.

When I met up with Ana and Alex for their maternity photos, the first thing I noticed was Ana’s stunning dress choice and her flawless makeup. The gorgeous couple, and Ana’s perfect little baby bump made for such a dreamy team for the forest photos. As the sun was setting, we took a five minute walk and quick outfit change that brought us down to 2nd Beach for the second half of our maternity photo shoot.

Once again, Ana totally nailed her outfit choice with a soft pink dress that would compliment the sunset perfectly. At this point in the photo shoot we are all relaxed and having fun, which you can totally see through their photos.

Ana + Alex, thank you for choosing me to capture such a milestone moment in your lives. It was so wonderful meeting you two and thank you for allowing me to venture out of Tsawwassen to take your maternity photos!

R + B Couple Photos Session | Centennial Beach Tsawwassen | Community Photography South Delta

Ray Win and Bruce are two of my kids favorite people. I’ve known them for 2 years now when I trusted Ray Win with the day to day care of my children at her daycare. As a mother, choosing a daycare is hard. Harder than I ever imagined. I went to check out a bunch when Tom was one and immediately when I walked into Ray Win’s I knew this was the place I wanted to send my kids. Georgia, will always reach for Ray Win when we arrive in the morning and is so happy when I leave her for the day. Bruce began calling my son Tommy Gun and now Tom insists that’s what we call him. Bruce, I’m not sure I’ve told you this, but when Tom see’s you at daycare, he talks about it, a lot LOL!

We planned their photo session originally in November. They had just eloped in Hawaii and wanted to do some local portraits. After our photo session was rained out 3 times we decided to wait for the summer and I’m so glad we did!

I met Bruce and Ray Win down at Centennial Beach. It was a perfect evening. Warm with light cloud cover, I knew we would have a beautiful sunset. We spent the hour we had together just having a good time. They were so relaxed and we just took our time capturing some great photos.

Ray Win and Bruce, thanks for hanging out with me at Centennial Beach for your photo session. It was such a good time! I really hope we can do it again soon! You guys are a dream to photograph!

Welcome Baby E! | Newborn Photos | Community Photography South Delta

Word of mouth is everything! I’m so thankful when my amazing clients share their photos on social media, it opens the door to their network, which generally, is other, awesome people. That means they too, will be another amazing client I will LOVE working with.

This was the case with momma M. She saw my photos online and when she reached out to me, she was warm and welcoming . She has a big love of life, travel, her husband, two dogs AND her baby on the way. She and her husband, in week one of having a newborn, had the team dynamics down. It was such a fun loving session, including both of their gorgeous Australian Shepards who join us for our session.

To M + A family, thank you for inviting me into your home at such a special time in your life. I really hope we can do it again down the road :) I’m envisioning your family + dogs and a beautiful sunset!

Mom + Son Sunset Session | Centennial Beach, Tsawwassen | Community Photography South Delta

There are some photos that when I look at, there is so much love, raw emotion and joy it actually makes me smile to myself. Lauren and Cameron’s mother and son photo session at Centennial Beach had many of those moments.

I first met Lauren when I was 6 years old and she was my cool sisters cool friend. I haden’t seen her for year as she lives overseas but she reached out that she was coming back to Tsawwassen for a visit and wanted family photos done. We discussed location and the timing of her session. She was a little worried about a sunset session in July because it was pushing baby Cameron’s bedtime by a couple hours. With two babes of my own I know the importance of baby bed time. But here is a fun fact, in my experience of being a family photographer, if a kid is outside at the beach they are totally happy! And yes, they will be tired by the end of the session, and then we’ll get the cutest baby cuddle photos.

Our session was full of smiles and beautiful candid moments between mother and son. Cameron was a text book angel baby and was all smiles for the first half of our shoot, and then with a few rubs of his eyes near he fell fast asleep in him moms arms.

Lauren, it was so great to re-connect with you and meet your gorgeous baby boy! Thank you for allowing me to capture these moments for you!

CENTENNIAL BEACH MATERNITY PHOTOS | TSAWWASSEN, BC| COMMUNITY PHOTOGRAPHY SOUTH DELTA

When I first met K + M at Centennial Beach for their photo session, I knew in the first few minutes of meeting each other, it was going to be an amazing shoot. For a few reasons. First, they brought a bottle of tequila as a prop for their photos (I’m a big fan of a good Margarita!). Second, I could tell right away from their energy they wanted photos that were natural, candid and how do I say it...not cheesy? Third, they told me that at the end of their photoshoot, they wanted to jump in the ocean. Some of my favorite photographers live in California and Hawaii and they always shoot their clients in crashing waves and playing in the ocean. Living in British Columbia I guess because of the weather 80% of the year, I guess I never really considered WE live in a place where I could pull this off..was I so wrong!

We had a beautiful evening and I don’t think either M or K stopped smiling the whole time. When the sun was just about to set we made our way to the water. Luckily for us, the tide had just came in and the water was so warm. I can’t wait for you to see the photos so instead of me blabbing on, just scroll down!

To K + M, thank you for taking the plunge! I loved having my creative juice’s flowing and allowing me to capture something new. I know your little baby will have endless adventures with you two as parents!

To any future clients wanting to end their photos in the ocean. I’m totally down all the time!

Centennial Beach Family Photos | Tsawwassen, BC | Community Photography South Delta

I met up with Indy, Matt and there adorable son Adrian at Centennial Beach in sunny Tsawwassen for their family photos. I’m not sure if it was the time of day, the setting, Indy’s dress or ALL of the above, but the color tone of these photos are so magical. Well, almost as magical as Adrian’s smile throughout the shoot :)

Adrian honestly made me feel like the funniest person on the planet. He would laugh and smile at all my ‘jokes’, which included playing peek-a-boo, tickling him with a soft plant, making funny faces. As long as he was cuddling with his mom and dad he was a happy camper.

Indy and Matt, thanks for allowing me to capture your family photos. You guys have such a happy, fun little boy and you all were such a pleasure to photograph!

K + J CENTENNIAL BEACH MATERNITY PHOTOS | TSAWWASSEN | TSAWWASSEN PHOTOGRAPHER

Jeannine + Kevin met me at Centennial Beach in Tsawwassen on a beautiful spring evening for their beach maternity sessions. The day had been cloudy and we even touched base earlier in the day with the possibility of rescheduling due to weather, but I’m sure glad we didn’t. We enjoyed the most beautiful sunset and gorgeous light as they celebrated the coming arrival of their first baby.

J + K thank you for choosing me to capture this special time in your lives. Your baby is one lucky little guy to have parents like you!

Motherhood Sunset Photo Session | Centennial Beach Tsawwassen | Community Photography South Delta

May was my month of the Motherhood Sunset Sessions at Centennial Beach. It was a month of me capturing Mothers with their children as they laugh, played and loved down at the water in Sunny Tsawwassen.

This session was a special one for me. As a photographer, the biggest compliment you can recieve (in my opinion) is when ANOTHER photographer asks you to take their family photos. This was the case with Sioban of Siobhan Deol Photography, another family photographer in Tsawwassen.

The evening at the beach was calm, bright and we had a beautiful sunset. It was the first night where it really started to feel like summer was here. Calm ocean with beautiful pastels.

You could tell her kids were used to being infront of the camera. There were so many special moments between her and her kids. One of my favorite was when her little dude had his ‘mommy and me’ moment of candid photos on the beach. He just embraced the moment and loved snuggling and playing with his momma.

Sioban, thank you for trusting me in capturing your Motherhood Session at Centennial Beach. I look forward to getting together and geeking out of everything photography over coffee..or wine..probably wine!

Welcome Baby Emmie | Newborn Photos | Community Photography South Delta

I first met the Camire family at Centennial Beach for their maternity photos in Tsawwassen a few months back. The day at the beach was sunny but windy, bringing in a cold ocean breeze. Sweet little Isla was such a trooper for their cold and windy photo session. So when I went to the Camire’s house for their newborn photos, I knew Isla must remember me as the lady who made her play at the beach when it was FREEZING! And when I saw her at their house on a sunny and hot May afternoon, I said to her, ‘Hi Isla! Do you remember me?! We took photos at the beach together!’ all she said back was ‘it was cold’. LOL!

I thought I would have to regain her trust and take some time with her to warm up in front of the camera. I was totally wrong! On a scale of 1-10 how well behaved little Isla is, she was a 12. She loved cuddling her new baby sister Emmie and was so proud when it was her turn to hold her. Isla absolutely shone at the end of the session when we had a family dance party in the living room. This is the way I like to end most of my newborn sessions (if there are young siblings), as it brings the energy back up and creates beautiful genuine moments.

The Camire family, you guys are such a pleasure to spend time with! Thank you for inviting me into your home to take your newborn photos :) It was such an enjoyable afternoon and I look forward to the next time we can take photos together. Congratulations on baby #2, you guys are totally rocking the two kid thing :)

Welcome Baby Monroe | Newborn Photos | Community Photography South Delta

If you’d like to see the most gorgeous at home newborn photos, scroll down!

Congratulations to the Bird family on welcoming baby #3 into their family! This sweet newborn, is baby Monroe (just LOVE that name). She was a dream to photograph (I don’t even think she woke up at any point during our photo shoot!) She was SO chill and just did what a third child does, went with the flow.

As a newborn photographer, I LOVE the dynamics when a third child is added in the mix. I’m not sure what it is, but it totally makes the family look complete. Speaking of complete, can we just take a moment to applaud Mom Nikki on her absolutely amazing job on color coordinating her troops!! Even the swaddle choice totally completes the package. Well done girl!

The Tsawwassen newborn session, was a quick and easy experience. I always allow up to three hours in case a kid needs a snack, diaper change or a cuddle. I think this may have been a record 1.5 hours and it was a wrap! Both older siblings were a 10/10 in behaviour and LOVED to cuddle their new little sister. Daddy Bird was just like baby Monroe and went with the flow of the shoot :) You can see three babies in, mom + dad were a super team, and you can tell from the pictures, really in love.

Thanks to the Bird family for spending the afternoon with me allowing me to capture your expanding family. It was truly a pleasure! You guys are just nailing the three kid thing, you may even trick the rest of us into the having another baby because you make it look so enjoyable!

Bloom Tulip Festival Photo Shoot - Abbotsford, BC | Natalie Langston + Pierce | Community Photography South Delta

If you want to see a baby smile for an hour consecutively, take them to the Abbotsford Tulip Festival!

I was awake at 3:45am and on the road, leaving Tsawwassen at 4:15am to make it for a sunrise photo shoot at Bloom - Abbotsford Tulip Festival. When I arrived, the sky was a soft blue with the sunlight slowly creeping up over the mountains. I’d never been to the tulip fields before and oh wow, was it a sight to see! Endless rows of tulips spread out over endless farm land.

I met up with Natalie just before sunrise for our photo session. Natalie is an accomplished Canadian TV personality and Momma to her beautiful baby boy Pierce. If I thought I deserved a pat on the back for waking up early, this girl deserves a trophy! She looked AMAZING, arrived earlier than me to tend to her babies needs and was all smiles. The. Whole. Time!

We spent the next hour playing in the tulip fields while taking photos. Pierce was so happy to be surrounded by the colors, smells and cuddling with his mom. Natalie was a dream to photograph and her Wilfred dress choice such a perfect choice for the delicate flowers. There were only a few other people out in the fields at this time, but we had a whole bunch of cows meters away checking out our situation.

As a family photographer, I’m SO passionate about taking photos of motherhood. I’m also am passionate about working mothers who are finding a balance pursuing a career they love, while being a rockstar moms. And Natalie is TOTALLY one of those ladies, finding the balance between the two!

I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I LOVED taking them :)

TSAWWASSEN MATERNTIY PHOTOS | COMMUNITY PHOTOGRAPHY SOUTH DELTA | BOUNDARY BAY

This was such a special one for me! Jess and Geordie are having a baby! And I had the honour of capturing their maternity photos in Boundary Bay! They’re some of my closest friends and have been in my life for many years! I met Jess in grade 5 at English Bluff Elementary in Tsawwassen. We were immediate besties from day one. We played sports together, travelled together, celebrated holidays together, got into trouble in high school together. Over the years, the only time we EVER had a disagreement was in grade 5 when we couldn’t decide who was going to be Sporty Spice :)

Jess and Geordie met in highschool, and although they never dated until afterwards, our whole friend group saw this couple in the making a mile away. And we were all so HAPPY when they finally figured out they were perfect for each other :)

The evening of their maternity photos can only be describes as dreamy. It was one of the first warm nights of the year and clear skies in the forecast. We headed down to Boundary Bay for their shoot. Jess was totally prepared with a gorgeous red Minca blanket, and Geordie (bless him) came with Four Winds beers to share, with me, not Jess ;) Their sweet pup Bodhi added such a fun and candid element to their photos!

At sunset, we headed to the dyke for gorgeous photos as the skye was changing from blue, to purple to pink. A perfect way to end a maternity shoot.

Jess and Geordie, I know I’ve said it a million times, but I’m SO happy for you guys! You guys are going to make the most amazing parents and I can’t wait to raise our kids together! xoxo P

CENTENNIAL BEACH ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS | COMMUNITY PHOTOGRAPHY SOUTH DELTA | TSAWWASSEN

The sky! Her dress. And the way he looked at her!

I’m just swooning over K + T Centennial Beach engagement session in Tsawwassen. I love to leave plenty of time for engagement photos. This is the time I get to talk to the couple and get to know them. I’m photographing their wedding after all!

I met the couple in the parking lot at Centennial Beach. The first thing I notices was how AMAZING they both looked! I like to think of the beginning of our shoot as the ‘warm up’. I generally get the couple to do things that may FEEL super awkward, but look GREAT on camera! They we’re both such great sports and we captured the most beautiful moments. Once the sun starts to set and we enter the ‘golden hour’, that’s when we will head down to the beach for sunset photos.

I loved when Kathleen said, ‘so we’ve done lots of belly smooshing photos, can we just take some fun ones?’ LOL! Yes! I’m all about collaboration so they pulled out their sunnies for some casual fun photos.

As the sun set over boundary bay, the most beautiful pastel sky finished off their engagment photos. The wind picked up lightly and holy smokes, they looked stunning being photographed at the edge of the Pacific Ocean.

Kathleen and Tyler, thank you for letting me capture your photo session. As a Tsawwassen family photographer, to be able to capture two adults so in love, makes such a welcome photo shoot.

Dueck Family Photos | Centennial Beach, Tsawwassen | Community Photography South Delta

One of the biggest compliments when your a family photographer is being asked to photograph a family whose mom, is a photographer herself! That was the case with the Dueck family. Mom Dayna has raised 6 kids (yes 6!) and is now pursuing her calling to become a midwife. And if you’ve met her, you’ll know she is going to make a pretty darn good midwife, that’s for sure!

The Dueck family photo session was at Centennial Beach in Tsawwassen. I love getting know local families, especially when they are as lovely as the Dueck family. The dynamic between them was kind, loving, respectful and fun. You could tell they really enjoyed each other’s company as they laughed and smiled through our photo shoot. Six kids later, you could tell mom Dayna and dad Stan were in love - just look at the way they look at each other in the photos! So much love, so much fun.

It was a perfect evening down at Centennial Beach for their family photos. Clear skies with enough clouds for a pastel sunset.

To the Dueck family, thank you for spending a wonderful evening at the beach with me! Your family is an absolute joy and I’m so happy to have connected with you!

Tsawwassen Newborn Photos | At Home Session | Community Photography South Delta

When my son Tom was born, it took about 6 weeks until I realized he was mine. To keep. Forever! I know this sounds so strange, and your probably thinking ‘yeah girl, that’s why you have kids, to raise them!’. I just found being a new mom, the love you experience with your baby is a new love, one you have never experienced before. The love is so intense I found it hard to get my head around. You just created this tiny human, you love it SO much, and the best part is, it’s yours to love forever!

When I was photographing first time mom Kritika, I could tell she was experiencing these same emotions that I was experiencing with Tom. The loving way she looked at her baby girl, and she even said a few times in our shoot ‘I just can’t believe I get to keep her’.

The only way I can describe our newborn shoot together was dreamy. We had a dream baby to photograph, she slept the most of the newborn photo session and when she was awake, she would look around the room with her big beautiful brown eyes. Kritika was such a cool mom. She allowed me to try my new baby wrapping techniques on her daughter (which turned out super adorable by the way), and was so photographic and natural in front of the camera it made my job so easy. They family cuddled, loved and enjoyed their time together for our 2 hour photo shoot.

I also had the pleasure of working with Elisha Sander of Haymaker makeup. She arrived at the house 45 minutes before the photoshoot with her mobile studio. Having a professional makeup artist makes for such beautiful photographs, and the big bonus, you can cuddle your sweet newborn as you get pampered! I’ve included some of the getting ready photos, so you can check them out below!