Playtime and Your Camera!

Completely in love with these images I got this evening of my little girl!

Here's a tip for all you parents out there!  If you want images that help trigger memories of your kids, if you love watching them play, grab your camera!  Get down on the ground and snap, snap, SNAP!  Even if the images aren't perfect technically, to your heart they will forever be perfect.

This was about five minutes of our time, and she felt special, and I'll never forget how she loves to jump off the end of the slide!

You can do it too!

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Details for Spring Minis!

Once the session fee has been received, the spot you requested will be yours! 

The following are the available time slots as of April 27, 2011.

Please send back your desired slot with your session fee to ensure it's yours!  

Pass along the info to anyone you think may be interested!

Rain dates will be arranged if the weather doesn't co-operate!

Saturday, May 21, 2011

ONLY 2 slots left!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

ONLY 2 slots left!!

Thanks so much for the opportunity to work with you!   I can't wait to get started!

Lee-Ann

Fun with My Sweetie! Leamington and Surrounding Area Natural Light Photography

I finally got the chance to go outside in the sun with my camera!  Sometimes, I have wondered if the winter melancholy I have experienced this year had to do with the lack of creative time I spent with my camera.  I suspect that was a HUGE part of it!

Because today - I feel so invigorated!  My little girl and I worked together this afternoon to get a cute little session going.

Ms. M let me do her hair and wardrobe and don't tell her dad, but we even used lip gloss and mascara for fun!  Here's what we came up with!


Spring Mini Sessions are coming up - what kinds of fun can we have with your little ones?

Spring Mini Sessions!! Leamington and Surrounding Area Natural Light Photographer

Please e-mail for times available and further details!

Lee-Ann

Meet-up on Mondays! Take Two - Rhonda Steed

Meet-Ups on Mondays!  Welcome back!  Today I am excited to introduce to you Rhonda Steed!  Her images blow me away, and her creativity is amazing!
 

www.rhondasteed.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/R-Steed-Photography/49099061077

She calls Lethbridge, Alberta home.  (brr, I hear it's cold there!) 

How did you get in to photography?  What inspired you?

I took photography back in college with a SLR and a dark room and all the chemicals. It was focused on photo journalism as I was in Advertising & Public Relations. Then I kind got out of it (didn't have a very good camera).  Fast forward a few years and I was taking lots of pictures of my kids with a point and shoot. A really close friend asked me to do her wedding - which I did - with a borrowed SLR. Found out I love doing this. Then when we got into medical school I convinced my hubby to let me buy a DSLR. And I've been taking pictures for others since then.

How long have you been shooting?

 Almost 5 years.

Favourite Subjects to photograph? Why?

Weddings. I really love shooting weddings. The more I have thought about why I love taking pictures at weddings it comes back to my own. My little sister died the week before my own wedding and that put a bit of a damper on things (to say the least). And now every time I am helping to make someone else's day special or share in their moments it makes me feel good. Makes me do what I needed others to do for me on my day. And in a round about way it makes me feel close to Kelly. Add some great dresses and hair and lots of love and you've got a great day! I also loooove shooting families especially my own!! 

Type of camera you use? Favourite lens?
 

I use a Nikon D300s. hmmm tied for my favorite lens. 50 (love!) Macro (love) and my multi use one 17-55 2.8

Studio or Natural Light? why? 

 Natural light. I just love it way more. Love the way it looks. And it's a lot less work to set up!

How do you manage being a business woman, and a mom?  Words of advice for those moms who are considering starting up a photography business?

Oh man I struggle with this! I have 3 kids plus one on the way and my husband is a medical school resident.( which equals him working a LOT). And it is tough to do both! I try and limit my shooting per month so that I am no over whelmed with work. I just do this casually for fun. And I edit at night when my kids are in bed or during their quiet time in the afternoon. I am not looking for a full time job (although sometimes I think that would be totally cool!) and while my kids are small they are my first priority! This is just something I get to do that is fun!

Biggest challenges for you in this industry?

Feeling like I measure up. And knowing how to price! That is a great thorn in my side!

Where do you look for inspiration?  

 Every day life. Fashion. Magazines.

  

Is there a silly/crazy/weird story you can share about an experience you've had while out on a shoot? 

Once while I was shooting an engagement session I was up on a chair and I dropped my camera. Smashing it on the gravel. Breaking it. We thankfully had just about finished the engagement shoot we were fine there, but I had a wedding to shoot in an hour and a 40 minute drive to get there. ACK. So I ended up calling my SIL so she could get my FIL's camera (he has a great camera) and she met me half way to my destination and gave it to me. And I tried to figure it out all the way to the wedding, As it was a Canon and I am a total Nikon girl. (The wedding went okay if you are wondering)

Well, obviously, Rhonda demonstrates grace under fire!  Congratulations on the new addition on its way to your family, Rhonda!  Thanks for taking the time out of your schedule to share with us!

There you have it, a busy mom and wife, absolutely a glass half full kinda gal and an amazing photographer!

See you soon for another installment of Meet-Up on Mondays!

Lee-Ann

Guest Writer for the Day!

I was asked a little while ago to share my 'story' thus far on my way to becoming a professional photographer.  Of course, putting my self out there is a little scary, but I took the chance, and the following is what came out of it!


Thanks, Maggie for asking me to write for you!  It was absolutely a learning experience!

Check out the link HERE


Hope you're all having a great day!!

Spring Fever Means Football! Leamington Area Photographer

It has been said a million times...IT WAS A LOOOOONG WINTER!  This evening we got our kids into action mode by kicking them off of the 'screens' that suck their lives away and invited them to come play with us!

Our oldest wants to play football this fall, and has inspired the rest of our kids to learn how to play, too!

 Some Duecks play football while upside down.  Big brother just picked little brother up and flipped him all the while listening to his dad explain something.  He looks intense, what was he explaining?  I don't know, I wasn't listening!  Little brother was too distracting!

 Oh Oh Oh!  Here it comes!

 Good effort kids.  Kerplunk!  No one actually caught the ball.  Looks like they need more practice!  Guess what, though?  They were ALL giggling!  When you have this many kids, there's so much room for discord that when you find something they all are lost in the fun of - you stick with it!

 Looks like Big Red just went for the ball.  It's already passed him and actually been caught already.  Timing is, after all, everything. 

 She's just cute.  Check out her footwear.  LOVE!

 Honestly, when I got to this image, I almost fell right out of my chair!  Oldest child seems to have grown up when I wasn't looking.  In fact, the other day he and I were NOT looking eye to eye.  And I swear, this morning, we were.  Just like that!  'snap!'  He grew two inches overnight. 

 Sometimes, we dance.  We dance everywhere.  In the shower, in the kitchen, on our beds, even as the football is being tossed right at our head!  The Duecks are talented that way.  We are multi-tasking masters!

 Enthusiasm is GOOD.

Ok, dad, what's the plan??  Note Little brother is on the swing.  He can't seem to focus on organized sports just yet.  On the weekend I was out with the kids tossing the baseball, he ran around the inside of our makeshift circle as though his life depended on it!  But he refused to catch or throw the ball.  He's apparently a trend setter!

I had a great evening with these kids!!!  I love how as they grow, we can expand our repertoire of activities into more grown up fun.

Hope your weeks start off on a good note!  See you soon!

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Finally! Catching up with friends!

A few weeks ago, my dear friend Deanna, who I spent every waking hour with from grade 6 straight through to grade 12 (with a few breaks here and there) finally got our acts together and connected again!

So much can happen in a single decade.  Between the two of us we have 6 children!  If they are anything like us, they will dream big dreams, create loads of fun and exciting adventures for themselves and generally cause a bit of mischief for their mothers.

The best part of the afternoon was when Deanna and I were pushing our daughters on the swings.  While the two of us contemplated the way things turn out, the challenges of parenting, marriage, work and family, our daughters were engaged in their very own conversation.  I was only privy to snippits but I have to say, there has rarely been a moment where I have felt all was right in the world as I did right then.

Between the cries of 'push me higher mom!'  The realization that time may pass us by, but we are creating things like memories for our own daughters right now.  That their memories will be so important to who they will become one day, that as cliche as it all seems, the circle of life really is just that, a circle.  If we are lucky enough, that circle leads us right back to the places and the people that mean the most to us.  The ones that, even after a whole decade of being a part, we can still fill an afternoon with chatter and giggling and sharing. 

I

 I should add, our sons got along really well, too.  In fact, we didn't even have much of a warm up period with them!  Suddenly, they were just off playing and getting dirty (some of them didn't care, others were not impressed with the MUD!)  But I think they had fun anyway!

 I really couldn't get enough of these blue eyes, the fair skin and the absolutely amazing locks this gal sports!  Beautiful!!  Every time I have seen her mom post images of her, I had to restrain myself from BEGGING her to let me chase her around with my camera.  Lucky me!  I got the chance without even getting down on my knees! :)

 Just a couple of dirty toes...my son would be barefoot all year round if we let him. 

Thanks for stopping in!  Hope you have a second to connect with someone who helped shape you into the person you are today very soon.

Lee-Ann


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