London Ontario Photographer | Lemonade and Lenses Feature

I've had the huge honour of having my work featured online, and wanted to share this exciting news with my blog readers who don't also follow me via Facebook or Twitter.  I'm always reluctant to submit my work, but putting myself out there has been a huge confidence builder and learning experience for me.

Today my work is being featured on the wonderful Lemonade and Lenses blog. This photography community is full of amazing photographers that I look up to immensely, so when I found out that one of my family sessions had been selected for a blog feature, I was so ecstatic. You can see that post here. Big thanks to the gorgeous and sweet Kucharski Family for being so awesome and making my job SO easy.

London Ontario Photographer | I Heart Faces Photo Challenge (love)

It seems fitting that the February photo challenge theme over at I Heart Faces is Love. I feel like any one of my photos could have been submitted to this theme, as it's what I strive to capture in all of my work. But this image, taken just two days ago, jumped out at me right away. I love the quiet romance in this photograph, and thought it would be perfect to represent love this month.

(styling, props and accessories by Found Decor Company)

London Ontario Photographer | I Heart Faces Photo Challenge (best face of 2012)

What a hard theme to pick a photo for! In the end though, as I sifted through all of my favourites from 2012, this is the "face" I kept coming back to, from a session back in July. This image is simply striking to me, and it's my favourite kind of capture - spontaneous, candid, unposed. I love the expression in her eyes. I was simply following her as she explored the field, and she happened to look up at me. This session as a whole also represented a bit of a breakthrough for me artistically, it was the first session I shot exclusively with a prime lens (50mm 1.8 at the time) and I fell in love with both the process and the results. I now almost exclusively shoot with prime lenses, and I feel like creatively, this session really helped me to get to where I wanted to go.

Here is Gracie, my "best face of 2012".

London Ontario Photography | I Heart Faces Photo Challenge (Orange)

Today is the last day of the I Heart Faces photo challenge for the "orange" theme. I scoured my recent photos and didn't find anything that jumped out at me, but yesterday evening I had the pleasure of photographing this beautiful, fun-loving little guy, and I knew I had my "orange" photo... just in time! Such a sweetie. :)

London Ontario Photography | I Heart Faces Photo Challenge (Friendship)

Friendship. Now there's a vast theme for this month's judged I Heart Faces photo challenge. Friendship can be so many things, and can be represented in so many ways. It was hard to choose a photo for the challenge, because I feel like all of my photos tell a story of friendship in some way. Friendship between siblings, between spouses, between long time buddies... But I settled on this one, taken last weekend during a sunrise session, because it makes my heart melt a little. While I suppose this photo would also fall under the "love" category, a marriage is very much a lifelong friendship, and the joy these two share simply from being together was so evident. This is one of the many faces of friendship!

London Ontario Photography | I Heart Faces Photo Challenge (All Boy)

I took this photo a few days ago during a family lifestyle shoot. I was coming back into the house after taking a few outdoor maternity shots with this boy's mama, and stumbled upon this sweet father and son moment. I knew this would be the perfect photo for the "all boy" challenge.

London Ontario Photography | I Heart Faces Photo Challenge (Hey Girl)

I am so in love with this recent session I did featuring little Neve in my current favourite location - something magical about the light and the surroundings... throw a precious baby girl into the mix, and be still my heart! This is my entry for this month's I Heart Faces photo challenge. The theme is "Hey Girl". Thanks for stopping by!

London Ontario Photography | I Heart Faces Photo Challenge (Happiness)

Here's another entry for the monthly judged I Heart Faces photo challenge. This month's theme is happiness. I was going through all of my recent photos of giant smiles and adorable giggles, but kept coming back to this one. It may be a little unexpected for a "happiness" theme, but right now there is no other photo that floods my heart with pure joy like this one.  It is a sweet, quiet, subtle happiness that is pictured here. My lovely girl, peacefully asleep, and my mama heart so full of happiness as I watch her and think - there's no other place I'd rather be than right here, watching your little eyelashes flutter and listening to the steady little breaths that escape your perfectly rosy lips.  

London Ontario Photography | I Heart Faces Photo Challenge (Beautiful Black and White)

I entered my very first I Heart Faces Photo Challenge last week and was honoured to be chosen as one of the featured photos for the "letter A" theme. It was a great first experience, not only because my photo was recognized, but because I got to learn from so many other great photographers and be inspired by their beautiful work. I Heart Faces has now changed their challenge format from a weekly challenge to a monthly one, and this month's theme is "Beautiful B&W". I decided I would try and take new photos for every challenge I enter, since the goal of participating is to challenge myself creatively and keep growing and learning as a photographer. So when I snapped this bubble bath photo of my daughter Neve this morning, I knew it was the one. Here is my photo entry for the I Heart Faces "Beautiful Black and White" Photo Challenge.