I am pleased to announce an exciting new event for Shona Reid Photography…  Maternity In the Market on October 30th!

If you or anyone you know is pregnant and due in NOVEMBER, DECEMBER OR JANUARY, you will want to take advantage of this amazing offer!  Book your newborn session with Shona Reid Photography for one of these months and receive a complimentary Mini Maternity Session in Ottawa’s fabulous Byward Market!

How exciting is that!?!

Contact me (info@shonareid.com) with the subject heading “Maternity In The Market” and I’ll hook ya up with all the amazing details!  Space is very limited so be sure to act fast!

Shona xox

I’m so excited to announce that I will be having Mini Sessions this year at Petrie Island!  Details below and it’s on a first come first serve basis, so don’t wait to book as spots are limited!

Shona xox

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and oddly enough it is also my Mom’s birthday month (Happy Bday today Mom!), so it is an extra meaningful month for me.

12 years ago, while blissfully planning my wedding long distance for later that summer I got “the call”.  It’s the call no one wants to get.  My Mom phoned to say that she had to go in for surgery THAT WEEK to remove a tumor from her lower abdomen (ovaries).  I had no clue there was even a problem, but the week prior after some stabbing pain, she had an ultrasound which showed a mass and thus things were set in motion.  I think we were all in denial about what it could be, but I knew she sounded scared so I flew out to be with her.

I will never forget sitting in the tiny phone booth at the hospital talking with her doctor and her telling me that yes, indeed it was ovarian cancer, but a general surgeon had been in her surgery and said her other organs were clean.  This was amazing news, but I couldn’t quite get past the “Big C”….

To make a long story short, she had 6 months of chemo, which were hard, but she handled it amazingly well and we are all very happy that she was able to attend our wedding, see our children grow and be healthy and happy 12 years later…Go Mom!  🙂

Not everyone is so lucky though.  Ovarian cancer is called the “silent killer” because it’s symptoms are so common and can be mistaken for common bloating, constipation, indigestion, low back pain etc.  Please take a moment to read THIS article from the Mayo Clinic on the signs and symptoms…and as always, know your body and if that little gut feeling tells you to pursue things further, DO IT!!  It is a fast, take-no-prisoners disease and the sooner you get that little bugger out, the better!!

So when I came across fellow photographer Jen Thompson (from Oregon pictured above) and her story of ovarian cancer I was crushed.  She is a young, healthy, beautiful Mom of 2 boys who was diagnosed with Stage 3 ovarian cancer just weeks ago.  In that time, she has had friends from both Canada and the States rally around her by literally being there for her before, during and after her lengthy surgery to remove the massive tumor and to create THIS incredible video of her and her boys just before her surgery…A picture is truly worth a thousand words…

As you know, health care bills in the States can be scary especially when you have a lengthy battle ahead.  She and her friends have set up a blog to keep people updated on her progress (friends have posted recently), there is a section to donate to her medical bills and you can also send her messages of encouragement HERE.  Every little bit helps!

I know this is a lengthy post, but it is topic that is obviously very near and dear to me, especially since these things can be hereditary.  All I ask is that you know your body and be persistent if things aren’t right.  Early detection is key!

Stay healthy and please pass my “infomercial” onto everyone you know 😉

Shona xox

It is a day no one will ever forget…American or not we became united in the horror and unbelievable reality of that day. It was my first year of teaching and I was so overwhelmed with all that entailed that I just prayed my little guys in Grade 3 were oblivious and didn’t know what happened because those were questions I just couldn’t answer.

However, on a positive note, we were witness to the strength of the people of the United States and I’ve always admired the American people’s tenacity to not give up OR give in. The country banded together and helped save as many people as possible and THAT is what should be remembered.

Terrorism is a funny thing (figuratively of course). The whole point is to change how people feel, to change how people behave, to make people afraid. That is why it is so important not to dwell on the negative, but to persevere with the positive. It doesn’t mean you forget, but it does mean you move on and you show your strength by carrying on as normally as possible so that the terror stops short of its goal.

I think they messed with the wrong country that day…Although their tactics worked temporarily, the strength of that country rose from the ashes and for that, I am proud to be their neighbour.

Shona xo

My favourite photo that I’ve edited from this summer’s travels so far …

Much, much more to come!

Shona xox

Wowsers…Our session on Wednesday night was absolutely gorgeous!  I literally did an eenie-meenie-minie-mo to choose a. which part of our session to share and b. which images to share!  Mommie-to-be looked fabulous in whatever she had on, but I was stunned by her ease and comfort in this cute little dress she chose…I would kill for her legs normally, let alone when I’m pregnant!  lol!

Enjoy your sneak peak and there will be many, many, MANY more photos to share 🙂

Shona xox

How lucky am I?  When I moved to Ottawa I was blessed to meet some amazing photographers who have now become wonderful friends!  Christine of Love Bunny Photography, Jennifer of Jennifer Bailey Photography and I decided to do a session swap of sorts in July, but we had to cancel due to extreme heat…This was definitely a first for all of us as that has NEVER happened before!  Sunday night was a little dodgy weather wise with huge black clouds and a bit of thunder looming, but we got ‘er done and enjoyed a great bbq after!  Thank you so much ladies for the incredible images and better yet, the fantastic laughter 🙂

Christine’s gorgeous family:

And Jennifer’s sweet family of 6:

Till next time!

Shona xox

And back…When this Mom contacted me about a family session while they were in town we talked about our favourite children’s books.  This precious book struck a chord with us both and inspired one of my favourite family shoots of all time 🙂

Aren’t they gorgeous!?!

Shona xox

Yup, the joke’s on me today.  You see, anyone who knows me, knows that getting my picture taken isn’t my idea of a good time.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about being a goober and hamming it up for the camera, but a good picture?  Bah.  I didn’t think it was possible!  Case in point:

It didn’t start off too badly…I was a lil’ pudger who would smile at anyone and anything. We’ll call this Exhibit A:

Then I started to add my own props…generally to hide my own face…Exhibit B:

Oh, and then it got worse…MUCH worse….short *permed* hair and braces…I’m not going there…you can only imagine how much I loved the camera with my metal mouth!

But alas, it’s the early nineties and I didn’t get the memo that big hair should have been left in the eighties.  Exhibit C:

After a wedding, I was asked if I’d like to “model as a bride” for a photographer…being 5’4″ that was a funny prospect!  But it ended up being not the greatest experience….Don’t get me wrong it was fun getting my hair and make-up done (um, but ya, I look like a hooker in classic era attire…), but the actual picture taking was awful.  I felt like a failure.  In particular I remember her having this vision in her head of how I should be standing and I just couldn’t get my hips to project in the right way.  I didn’t get it and the results were rather obvious….meh meh, double meh.

Flash forward a few decades to the PT4P Workshop…I got to wear “big girl shoes” and had so much fun getting head shots done by Michele (Pinkle Toes Photography which is the first set) and Amanda (Amanda McNeely Photography which is the second set).  I had confidence in them which relaxed me and the end results are Exhibit D:

And Exhibit E:

I rest my case!

I just wanted to prove that even *I* can take a good shot if I’m confident in my photographer (which helps me relax and be more confident in myself)!  So what’s your excuse?!?

Shona xox

P.S. Random Fact…I can’t spell!  I wrote exhibit without the ‘h’ every.single.time.

Imagine this…My Mum is out for a visit in July and she’s originally from Glasgow, so she said we HAD to try and see the Royal Couple (aka Wills and Kate) on their visit to Ottawa.  Now, I have to admit, I was less than optimistic about this and thought we would be better off seeing them on TV because AS IF we’d get close enough to see them…

I hate it when my Mum’s always right…

Not only did we get to SEE them, we got to shake Prince Charming’s, ahem, I mean Prince William’s hand!  It wasn’t too crowded where we were at Rideau Hall and we just happened to be in the front row in the area they were doing their walk about.

He stopped, said hello and shook my Mother-In-Law’s hand, my hand (insert swoon), my children (who also gave him little Canadian flags with messages on the back which he graciously accepted) and then my Mumsie.  Well, that just wasn’t enough for her!  She had a full on conversation with him about her travel plans this summer, who she was with (at which point he looked at me and said, “Oh the young lady with the rather large lens!”  bahaha…sorry Wills…Didn’t think I’d be that close to you!  But thanks for calling me a young lady!) and the like.  It was truly a memorable experience.

What was funny though was my son’s reaction…he thought it was cool and all, but when they went past us, he just flipped out and threw a tantrum, “I want to meet the princess!!  I want to meet the princess!!”  I think he was expecting Cinderella to be prancing down the road and didn’t realize he actually saw her!  Poor kid!

I, of course, had to call my husband and brag that I actually met him…he didn’t believe me at first, but by the time I got home, he had a plastic bag ready to wrap my hand in so it would be preserved forever… 😉

Here’s a few snap shots of our encounter a long with a few of the Prime Minister and the Governor General.

Ta ta commoners!

Shona xox