Day 2 was just as amazing as the first!  Michele is a master at not only finding light, but finding quality light and using it to her advantage.  We were lucky enough to watch her do this at an in-home family session with an adorable wee girl and her Mom & Dad.  These guys were great and I may, just may, have snuck a cuddle or two from said baby…sooo cute!  We had our chance to practice a bit too and then we got to giggle at Michele because she had a certain garlicky aroma from shooting in their very cool wild garlic back yard.  🙂

And now I get to name drop!  After we ate at Walton’s in downtown Austin…owned by Ms. Sandra Bullock.  It was a charming bistro type restaurant that also sports a flower shop.  AND, the best.sandwiches.ever!  Check it out!

More to come later!

Shona xox

…the more I fall in love with this image…Such a sweet moment between Mom & babe.

Happy Thursday!

Shona xo

I don’t even know where to begin.  My short, but intense time in Austin, TX was nothing short of fab-u-lous…once I finally got there!  Suffice it to say:

1.  I will never travel the day before I need to be somewhere again if I can help it; and

2.  I’m not fond of airports that have armrests on every couch…makes it hard to sleep when you’re crashing for the night…

But that was then and once I arrived, it was quickly forgotten because I hit the ground running.  The workshop with Michele Anderson of Pinkle Toes Photography was amazing for so many reasons.  For me, I think it was the overall experience.  We had an amazing, diverse (yet oddly similar) SMALL group of women with like minded goals and amazing abilities that clicked instantly…I can honestly say I hope to keep in touch with all of them!  In addition, Michele ran a tight ship, but I never felt rushed or “done”.  In fact I didn’t want it to end!!  Topics were diverse, experience was a mix of hands on and discussions and the level of collaboration was inspiring.  I came home refreshed (okay, bagged, but a good kind of bagged), excited (hopped up on caffeine) and ready to rock and roll (but I promise I won’t sing!!).

Here’s a few behind the scenes shots from day one where we got to watch Michele work her newborn voodoo (seriously, we had to wake this baby up…I says pardon???):

The last one on the right is titled:  “Stick ’em Up…Photographers Style!”

And then we also got to take a few.  He was such a sweet baby, Mom looked amazing and Dad was a trooper as he was having major seasonal allergies!  You’d never guess it from these shots though, would you?!

Until next time,

Shona xox

I’m sorry for the ghost town of a blog lately…my trip to Austin was AMAZING and I hit the ground running with client meetings, design work and birthday parties (somehow my daughter has turned 7…but that’s a whole other post!).

Just a quick note that if you have any problems with contacting me over the next 24 hrs., please be patient.  I am currently switching my domain to www.shonareid.com so there will be a whole lot less to type.  If you don’t hear from me within 24 hours, please call me at 613.277.3148 which is my new office number.

Thanks for your understanding,

Shona xo

Why am I so excited you ask?  Well, I’ll give you a hint…

What?  That didn’t help?  Hmm….Okay a few more hints:

– UT is located in this State.

– I may come home with a 10 gallon & poop kickers.

– Home of Brad Womack, but you’d only know that if you watch the Bachelor and I am soooo not admitting to that!

Oh all right, I’ll fold!  I am so excited to announce that I am heading to Austin, TX tomorrow bright and early to learn and absorb all that I can from the amazing Michele Anderson of Pinkle Toes Photography (now do you get my image above non-photogs?)!!

I can’t wait to share when I get home, but for now you will just have to imagine me riding into the sunset on a horse and kicking my heels up because I’m ditching the toque and parka for pretty girl clothes and heels!!

See you next week!

Shona xox

My heart skipped a beat when I saw this little guy…It really did!!  He was so sweet in his bouncy chair at the ripe ol’ age of 18 days…And then I moved him 😉  Actually, although wee Dean didn’t want much to do with the whole sleeping gig, he was happy as a clam to look around, check me out and show his curiosity as to what on earth I was doing.  So, I sat down and had a chat with him.  It went something like this:

Me:  “Dean.  I’m stubborn.  I’m more stubborn than any 18 day old as I have had many years experience digging my heals in.  You will fall asleep eventually, so why don’t you just give in and we can go about our day?”

Him:  Blink, blink.  Drool.

Well, eventually I did win and we got some amazing shots with oodles more to come!  Enjoy 🙂

Happy Wednesday 🙂

Well, who would have thought…I am super happy to say that I have been featured on Frosty Winter Weddings.  It’s a great blog started by a winter bride who wanted to celebrate winter weddings and lots of unique aspects to having a wedding in the “off” season.  There are some REALLY cool ideas if you’re planning on having a wedding in the winter and some DIY project ideas too!

AND, she submitted it to weddinggawker which “is a photo gallery that allows you to visually search and discover traditional to modern ideas to inspire your own wedding. We publish photography submitted by wedding bloggers/photographers from around the world. Our editors review submissions daily and choose the highest quality, most beautiful images to showcase.”  [quoted from their about page]  It was accepted as well, so I’m feeling a little giddy on this Friday night…(scroll down the main page and you’ll see their image on the left).

Even if my credit card number was stolen and my friend had to cancel drinks due to illness.  I’m still going to celebrate!!  And I can’t post another blog post without an image, so here’s another one that I LOVE from this wedding:

No one said running your own business would be easy and, well, they were right.  The learning curve is exciting, but at times a little bit painful.  However, the past year has opened so many doors for me and I feel that my photography has not only grown, but so have I as a person.  As Seth Godin said, “Initiative is taken.  Not given.”  That is why I am so happy and proud to announce that I have been accepted into the National Association of Professional Child Photographers (NAPCP) as well as The Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI).

Have a fantastic day!

Shona

Eating crow that is!  There have been many occasions where my husband has taken great pleasure in giving me the “I told you so” look as I do something I said I would NEVER do…and it’s not even March yet!  Photographing a wedding as the primary photographer was no exception.  I was honoured to photograph Nancy & Miguel’s gorgeous and truly Canadian wedding earlier this month.

I mean really, how perfect could these two be?  Nancy was ridiculously organized, trusted me completely and is GORGEOUS!  Miguel is the hockey nut and he had major bragging rights with his buddies that she went with a hockey theme.  I’m talking a Leaf’s temporary tattoo, playing a little pick up in a wedding dress, shoot outs for kisses and a Leafs inspired cake.  All that and origami flowers that Nancy made herself!  It was so much fun, so memorable and I feel like I have made new friends!

However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank Jennifer of Jennifer Boggett Photography for helping me before, during and after the event.  She was fantastic and we think so much alike it’s just scary!  Thanks Jenn!!!

AND finally, before I unveil their beautiful day, I’d like to thank Rory Taillon for giving me permission to use his beautiful version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah which he sang at the wedding.  There wasn’t a dry eye in the house…or at least I don’t think so as I was too busy wiping my tears to notice 😉  Check him out on myspace or youtube!

So, without further ado…The beautiful newlyweds!

Until next time,

Shona xox

Well, I’m giving it a whirl again…I know you’ve seen this photo recently, but thought I would include it in the “RED” challenge for iheartfaces since I love it so much!

As an update, Jade had a long surgery on Friday and is recovering.  Hopefully they’ll have some answers soon and will know what the next big step is.  If you’re confused about what I’m talking about, you can see her posts here and here.

Wish me luck!