For years I have wanted to do a photo shoot here. I have been coming to this lake for 25 years this summer – and I swear to you the beauty of the place only seems to grow for me. I must have taken advantage of it when I was young, but as a photographer, and as a mom, I continue to look around in wonder.

There have been countless times I have spotted a location – “ohhh that would be amazing!” or “oh wow that’s a perfect spot” and yet we’ve never done it. I asked clients to come up last summer for a camping themed engagement session, but the timing never worked out so it never happened. No one’s fault, it just didn’t work out. But I got really discouraged and assumed no one would want to make the 2 hour drive for their photos.

On a whim I tried again. I asked a family who started out as clients and have become wonderful friends if we could do their maternity session at the lake. I was nervous, even bashful, asking them if they would drive that far. And what do you know, they were thrilled to make the trip!

We made a day of it, the kids played in the water and the sand, we ate yummy camping food, and Gareth cooked us all a beautiful steak dinner over the fire.

Then our set time to start the photo shoot hit, and it was still WAY too bright at the dock. I panicked a little. This wasn’t looking the way I wanted! The photos are going to be horrible! I dragged them all the way out here for nothing!

Deep breath, Gareth took over for a minute, and we wandered around the campground while the light softened. Kara and Grant are so easy going and go with the flow – they just wanted the shoot to go well and to hang out.

I couldn’t have asked for a better turn out. The sun turned to liquid gold and enveloped Kara – showing off the gorgeous little life that she’s growing inside of her. We took a few photos. We stopped and chatted for a few minutes to wait to see what the sun was doing. We’d shoot a bit more. Wait a bit more. We were just friends sitting on a dock witnessing a stunning sunset. And we were lucky enough to capture it.

I learned so much from this shoot.

– Always ask. Keep asking. Even if I keep hearing no, I need to keep asking.
– Take a deep breath. Don’t panic. If things aren’t going exactly the way you thought they would, just changed directions for a few minutes and see where it takes you.
– Take the time to enjoy. Don’t rush. Sometimes sitting and waiting for the sun to set is the best thing I can do.
– Enjoy. Every. Moment.

Thank you so much for indulging me for this photo shoot you guys. You have a beautiful family already and adding the next little girl is just going to enhance it. It was an absolute honour to capture this moment in your lives, and I can’t wait to help you celebrate when the next phase begins.

if you’re booking a shoot with us and you’re up for the drive, let me know and I’m there. In a heartbeat.