Adore Vu!

   This family is nothing short of adorable and I can't wait to meet the newest addition!  We first met at the playground after they'd spent a nice morning at the farmer's market.  It was a great way to get to know the whole family and see just how brightly their little girl shines!

   When scheduling their session I was pleased to hear they were game for getting out there early.  You may often hear of photographers talking about 'the golden hour'.  Well, achieving anything close to that can be a real challenge here in Squamish!  With how the valley is situated we get about 30-45 min of perfect lighting in the morning or the evening during the summer.  The 'golden hour' here is more of alpine glow with a quick shine before or after.

   We got lucky that morning with the perfect balance of location, lighting and over the top sweetness!

    Grinning Weasel is a Squamish based photographer specializing in maternity, newborn & family portraits. 

A New Adventure

     When she showed me her Pinterest board I knew she was the perfect candidate to try out a new location I'd been daydreaming about.  When they arrived and her partner asked me, "With all the nice places in Squamish, why'd you bring us here?"  ....GULP.   It took a bit of explaining, but luckily he gave in & trusted me to bring out the shine in this old run down part of town.  It was everything I dreamed and more thanks to these two gorgeous parents-to-be.

          Wishing you both the best of luck.  May this be your greatest adventure yet!  

  Grinning Weasel is Cheryl.  A Squamish based photographer specializing in maternity & newborn portraits.

There's No Place Like Home

           It's not often I get a request for an indoor family session in August, but with such an amazing space why would you not?  There's something a little extra nostalgic about having photos to mark this time and the place you were when it happened.

              Thank you so much for inviting me into your home.  I had a wonderful afternoon hanging out with you all!   

     .....but of course I wouldn't have felt right without getting just a couple outdoors! 

Grinning Weasel is a Squamish based photographer specializing in maternity, newborn & family portraits.  

Babies are Cute. How hard can it be?

   Once we get past the preliminary "how much?" stage, the next thing I usually tell my clients is that their newborn session is going to be about 4 hours long.

 .......Really?

   The thought of a 4 hour session when you're that fresh into having your whole world turned upside-down is baffling at best.  You've just given birth & you're still coming off the adrenaline, having barely slept a wink in days...maybe even a week & I'm asking you to pose and look all well rested and perky for 4 hours?

  ....not exactly.

    You see, newborn babies don't really have this abstract concept of time that we have.  They'll be sure to remind you of that at 1am, 3am & 5am for months...possibly years. 

    They need to eat often.  And sometimes filling that teeny tiny little stomach can take upwards of 30 minutes, even an hour.  So a large part of that 4 hour session then becomes this....

        And eventually we get this.

   
   You see, when I decided a few years ago that I wanted to specalize in newborns I had no idea how much work that was going to take.  Had I known I may have been scared off of it.
      .........but had I known how much I would truly love it I may have started sooner.

   I've become fascinated by newborns.  So fresh, a blank slate...they know nothing of time or schedules.  What they do know is energy & they are extremely sensitive to the 'vibe' of the room.  Newborn sessions for me have become in essence a sort of exercise in conscious meditation.  The only way to achieve these photos like this (for me at least) is to be astutely aware of the energy I'm giving off, as well as try to keep mom & dad happy and relaxed for the entire session.  All 4 hours of it. 

             At the end of our 4 hours together....of me hanging out in their kitchen, on the living room floor, on the stairs.... mom remarks, "That was nice.  Just hanging out with her, feeling her skin.....I should do that more often."    And I know that it was SO worth it.

          Cheryl Voigt is Grinning Weasel Photography.  Specializing in newborns, maternity & family sessions.  Based in Squamish, BC and serving the entire Sea to Sky corridor.   #lifestylephotography

Win a Tattoo Stand Mini Session!

               Woohoo!  Thanks to everyone who helped get my page to 500 'likes'!  As it is with any small business, but especially in photography it's your referrals that continue to build my business & I'm so grateful for all the love my clients have shown me! 

               So in gratitude I'd love to give away one spot to the Tattoo Stand Mini sessions taking place on August 15 2013!

          You have 2 ways to enter:
  
          Pinterest:  Search http://pinterest.com/grinningweasel/boards/  go to the Tattoo Stand Mini Session contest board & re-pin the photo with the hashtag #grinningweasel in the comments.  Sharing on your facebook page will gain an additional entry.

          Not on Pinterest?  Leave a comment below here on my blog spot! 

         Contest closes August 3rd and the winner will be announced Monday August 5th.  Prize can be given to a friend if you don't have kids, but I'm also happy to have a small group of immature adults grab a spot for fun!

          Thanks again for all your support!  I LOVE this job! 

        

Squamish Baby Boom

   I haven't checked the actual stats, but I'm willing to bet that the last half of May & so far in June we've experienced a statistical anomaly in Squamish as far as births are concerned. I'm totally not joking when I say you should book your newborn session the moment you find out you're pregnant if it happens for you in September!

   Here's a look at a couple of baby boys I got the pleasure of hanging out with these past few weeks!  You may recognize their mamas from their maternity sessions here & here. 

    Package pricing is available for maternity/newborn sessions.  For more info visit my website!

Stop it! You're gorgeous!

  2013 has been an amazing year so far & I have been lucky to cross paths with many beautiful bellies!  It absolutely fills me with joy when I hear that upon seeing a sneak peek Dad stopped dead in his tracks & remarked how good mom looks!  Putting a little skip in mom's step & making sure she sees how beautiful she is is pretty much awesome...not gonna lie.  So next time you're grocery shopping and you see some strange girl eyeballing your belly with a peaceful smile on her face, that's probably me envisioning my next session.