Maternity and newborn sessions
Anaïs contacted me a bit last minute to see if I was available to do her maternity and newborn sessions. She took a chance by contacting me four weeks before the maternity session and that's great! It must be said that it was for December, this month being relatively quiet every year. I have a lot more availability in winter, let's say, than when it's the peak wedding season (from May to October).
So we made an appointment so that I could photograph them at their home and a little outside. With Colin and Juliette, they live in the Plateau Mont-Royal, so there is no shortage of beautiful spots around their condo. In fact, I call it a maternity session but we did more of a family session, extending the whole thing by 30 minutes. With a child, it is often longer and we sometimes lack cooperation. So, to avoid stressing and to have plenty of time, we decided in advance that the session would be an hour and a half.
I started the session right away by taking pictures of the three members of the lovely family they form. Because children get tired more quickly being in front of the lens, I took advantage of it while Juliette was in a super good mood when I arrived. A "babysitter" was planned for the photos of the couple alone so we did the other half of the session, without worrying about what Juliette was doing. So we went out onto the street where the lovers live. I had seen some beautiful little spots before ringing their doorbell.
Newborn session at home
Initially, we had talked about doing the newborn session when Maxine was only a few days old. But she had some minor skin issues after her birth, so we waited a bit. So I met her when she was four weeks old. As Anaïs told me in an email before the session: Maxine was born a week later than expected “like a cannonball at home in 40 minutes. No time to get to the hospital, not at all planned, out of the blue she burst into our lives! Luckily the midwife arrived literally 3 minutes before she was born!”
Making kids (and parents) laugh
Maxine seems to have slept a little during the session. But don't be fooled! She only did "power naps" haha! I'm still surprised not to have heard her cry, she did it like a professional! And I had brought my famous Penguin puppet to make her big sister laugh. I must say that she is quite ticklish too! So you often need to have a few little tricks to make children smile/laugh and for it to be natural! Or you have to discover what makes them laugh. Sometimes it's a particular word, other times animal noises lol, songs, crooked eyes etc.
Did you like Anaïs's family's maternity and newborn sessions? Take a look at my maternity/newborn portfolio just ici
Anaïs also left me a little review on Google after the sessions. Here is what she wrote about her experience with me (it was their first professional photo sessions): “Catherine is an excellent photographer who has incredible talent! We chose her for a maternity + birth combo and we have wonderful memories of it! She knew how to put us at ease, knew how to find the perfect words and spots for an optimal result. She also showed ingenuity and a lot of patience with our girls during the sessions 🙂 The photos are superb and we will recommend her to everyone! Thank you a thousand times Catherine! Looking forward to seeing you again for a next session”. Really looking forward to seeing them again when the girls will have grown up more! It's me who thanks them, in fact!
