peacefully asleep. sweet and blissful. little do you all know that this was eric prior to…

heehee. all newborns are like this – and i love it. doesn’t eric have the best unhappy expression?! i love the little baby wrinkles they get…it makes me smile. how quickly they change from wrinkly unhappy not-quite-comfy face to their ahhhh-this-is-bliss face!

julie and lindsey have been waiting for their perfect little bundle for quite some time. you may remember their maternity session in late March. fast forward a few weeks and baby eric was in their loving arms. i love capturing the love between a parents and their new baby…bear with me for the amount of photos in this post…i had so many that i absolutely loved!!

ten fingers. ten toes. perfect little nose. soft skin. those lil’ rolls. long limbs. perfect little dimpled chin {oh, that chin!}. and most of all….snuggles!!!

seriously. this baby is oh so cute!!

you can barely see the ‘barely-there’ lashes….love newborn lashes! actually…i have a thing for eyelashes {seeing as i barely have any} – haha…but i would be digressing!

and we caught a tiny little smile eric had a repertoire of faces and expressions! i think i probably sounded like broken record every time i said “oh he’s so cute” to julie and lindsey.

we finished our session off with a really sleepy baby and some solo birthday suit shots ahh tranquility.

so now that you’ve met little eric, how many times did you catch yourself saying ‘ahhhh, soooo cute!’?!! gah!

julie and lindsey – thank you so much for sharing in your little bundle of joy with me! i wish you both as much rest as you can get and many many wonderful memories ahead!!

xx, mir

i still remember our first ultrasound. i still feel the emotions all wrapped up in it. early in my pregnancy {about 2 days prior to our first ultrasound}, i experienced sub-chorionic bleeding, and unable to reach my doctor, i called the on-call doctor, who 100% firmly believed that what i was experiencing was a miscarriage. so not knowing anything better, all we could do was hope and go to our appointment. the tension was deafening and heart-wrenching for us. were we still expecting? as soon as our technician showed us on the monitor and we could hear the heartbeat, i burst into tears, and at that point, it became truly real. fast forward another 8 months {as we were already 2 months in at the time}, and he was in our arms. oh, how we fell in love.

turning one isn’t just a milestone for tristan. it’s a milestone for us, as parents.

looking back at the last 365 days, joe and i have learned so much. about one another. about tristan. about love. mostly, about love. how it truly is unconditional. how one tiny ball of cells grows into a little warm and soft baby that is all yours, who in turn grows into this little being who without being able to ‘speak’ communicates so much and understands just that much more…and continues to flourish and grow on a daily basis. it’s amazing.

and looking back at that year, that’s what it has been. amazing.

here is a peek into one of the happiest days of my life, tristan’s first birthday ~

my sister is the awesome cake artist – hit me up if you’re interested in her talent! she is a baker extraordinaire *note: the cake is inspired from one my sister found.

tristan was so loved by his friends and family…a host of new toys and books to play with! how exciting!

cake smash time! we had to help him start it off since we were so busy with his party that we forgot to take it out of the fridge to let the cake get to room temp! haha…oops!

i’ve been planning his first birthday for quite some time….but with all that planning i still was not ready for how busy things got, and the pace you need to keep kids’ birthdays at!. I didn’t take half as many photos as i wanted {surprising right?!} and there are no photos of tristan and i {except on my iPhone}. but the most important thing is that he had a great time and rang in his first year with close friends and family.

p.s. for those of you who followed my return to work post, just a quick update for you ~ tristan and i have adapted quite well to joe and i’s work schedule. do i still want to be home with him 24/7? you bet i do. but we do what we have to, and we definitely enjoy our time together much much more.

xx, mir

meet the gray family. my session with hannah, joel, shannon and sarah was one that was super laid-back and tons of fun. i don’t think i have had a session in the past where it was all smiles and laughter throughout the session. with the Grays’, it was. it was a blast. and that is an understatement.

yep. that’s them. practicing their yoga forced laughter…so that we could find their ‘chi’ for the session. they found it alright! so be pre-warned…if you rolled out of bed on the wrong side, if your frown is upside down, if you haven’t had a chance to smile today, or if you’re looking for a boost in your day….i doubt you’ll be able to hold it back after seeing hannah, joel, shannon and sarah showing their pearly whites!

these two girls are fun and funny. they were a bundle of energy as soon as i met them. from climbing all over rocks and up and down hills to standing and sitting non-stop, shannon and sarah did it all with barely a complaint {and all the while flashing me those million dollar smiles}. gotta love that {and them}!

then we took some time for shots for hannah and joel…they celebrated an anniversary this past April so it was only fitting that we got some photos of them without the girls. don’t they look so happy?!

pictures do tell a thousand words. of the many words they convey, these speak to me of a laid-back, fun family who enjoy time together immensely. you can see it in their body language, in their smiles, in their eyes. and THAT, brings a smile to my face!

i don’t think i had one image from their session where a smile didn’t uplift the corners of my mouth. this is the gift in pictures…so to the gray family, may these images enable you to remember these moments, and for them to continue long after the click of the shutter.

xx, Mir

radiant and calm. those were two words that circled my mind throughout my session with julie and her husband, lindsey. being about a month away from baby’s estimated arrival date, julie was so easy-going and calm throughout our entire time together. lindsey was the same. so it made me calm {which helped since i drank a grande cinnamon dolce latte before i met them!}. they both just gave off such a great vibe altogether – i could feel their happiness and elation with every click.

we also lucked out {in a major way!} with the weather. we had cooler spring-ish weather and tons of sun. the next day was one of gray skies and the big fluffy white stuff we are so accustomed to in edmonton. yay for that! this is what results from a sun-shiney day with a serene couple who are expecting…

handsome. pretty. put that in a little bundle together and i’m pretty sure a cute lil’ baby is brewing!

all kinds of gorgeous julie!

we started the post off with julie’s beautiful belly and her beautiful baby blues…so it just seems right to end it with her

julie and lindsey…thank you so much for letting me share in this step in your lives. i am excited for you both – your little guy will soon be in your arms. there’s nothing quite like it. believe me.

so looking forward to photographing your baby in a couple weeks. get your rest

xx, mir

these photos were a mixture of natural light and studio light portraiture. while i’m no studio lighting expert…i know what i like but need to learn how to set it up properly. so i definitely cannot take credit for any of the lighting set-ups..although nothing is too {fancy} and is pretty straightforward. our workshop began with the a little theory, and then we watched Hope photograph a family so we could see how she progressed through a session and how she interacted within the dynamics of a family. then we had “models” {normal everyday people like you and i} come in  - we were able to photograph quite a mix which is nice. so here they are…

first up, baby bria…so adorable ~

then to a beautiful doting couple…

to yet another fun-loving couple…

marilyn {the one in the black and pink and black and leopard outfits} was super giggly!! you couldn’t help but laugh too! i played with textures a little bit in my post-processing…not typically my style, but it’s always fun to try new things when there’s a chance to!

and finally, a brother and sister who give off a vibe that just screams love. i loved their interaction with one another…it reminded me of my little brother and i.

and there you have it…my dls portrait workshop! I have a few more assignments that I have been way behind on {and time just keeps slipping by!} but keep your eye out.

thanks to all the models who helped out with our workshop – shouting out to {in no particular order}: bria, corrina & steve, marilyn & denby, and kaelen and serejane.

xx, mir

life is made up of the choices you make. i’m sure you’ve all heard that before.

21 months ago, i knew that i would be taking my entire maternity/parental leave for a full year. i return to work one week from today. it will be one of the hardest things i will choose to do. since becoming a mother, i don’t think i have ever imagined it to be this hard…and we’re only at the beginning! don’t get me wrong, our son, tristan, is one of the best – he’s been super easy-going and all smiles since he was born. we couldn’t have asked for more. i couldn’t have asked for more. healthy. happy. what’s hard are the emotional and mental strings that play throughout. the adapting and changing your lifestyle. the changes it places on your marriage. learning how strong a magnetic forcefield one little 7 pound, 3 ounce being has.

in 11 months, one little guy, in the shortest amount of time {much less than his dad!} has completely stolen my heart forever. no, let me rewrite this. since seeing his little pea sized self in our first ultrasound, my heart was his. forever.

so you would think, being blessed with a happy, healthy, bouncing and loving baby that i would be all peaches. not the case. when most would be enjoying their maternity leave with their newborn, i did the following: i started my photography business {which took alot of time away from family}, i complained and grunted and moaned about my lack of sleep. i complained about not having a child who slept through the night, i complained, at one point, about having to hold him to sleep for too long. in short, i complained.

gasp. i sound like a horribly selfish mother don’t i? on the flip side {and i say ‘i’ only because this is my story, and not my husband’s…he did all these things as well}, i also cuddled, snuggled, kissed, coddled, held, loved him as much and as best as i could. i read to him. i sang to him. i played with him. i taught him. i loved him. i love him. and i will continue to do all these throughout his life.

in hindsight, being able to reflect will make me a stronger person. a stronger mother. a better wife. looking back at where the year went {and fast is an understatement!}, i became struck with guilt. did i do the absolute best i could with the 11 months i had with him? could i have done better? i think these are questions i will probably plague myself with for the rest of our lifetimes together. i also think the answers to these questions will be reflected in his growth and the choices he makes in life, as days become years, and years become a lifetime.

returning to work has made me realize how much of our last year together i have taken for granted. all that time for: his smiles. the naps. our playtime. the laughter. his laughter. the memories created. all of his milestones. the cuddles, snuggles and kisses. i know, i will still have that. but much less time, of which i will cherish that much more.

in short, i feel guilty at times. but on the flip side, i do know that i did the best given the choices that i made. i wish i didn’t complain as much, but that doesn’t take away the fact that i cherished every. single. moment. with him. i love the first year memories that i will carry with me as he grows, which will intertwine with newly built memories.

after all this, what have i learned in the last year then? being a parent needs to be a very self-less thing. the true meaning of unconditional love. that it’s something i can’t define or put into words, but just know. that despite how hard the change in lifestyles, relationships, and yourself may be, to really enjoy the moment. spend as much time with your little one, whether he/she be your first or your tenth. whether your baby is a good sleeper or not, or has colic, etc. to be there when they need you, and cuddle and snuggle as much as you can…because i’m pretty sure that it will come back in the end. time goes, and you never ever get it back.

so love. enjoy. create. and above all, cherish.

xx, mir

photo above taken by aeris photography

enjoy ~

sooo hot!! plus it’s a shade of my fav color

model ~ shanna lynne
hair ~ kylee chaisson
mua ~ mookie salinas 

xx, mir

here are some of the shots from the night…hope you likey!

first up are the beautiful “bride” {number 1} and the dashing “groom”…

followed by an equally beautiful “bridesmaid”…ending with yet another gorgeous “bride” {number 2}…

loved what we achieved in such a small amount of time! and now…let the credits roll

bride 1 ~ kerry graves
bride 2 ~ kat slump
bridesmaid ~ jenna trappman
groom ~ ahsan khan

makeup artist {bride 2} ~ jenn vatour
makeup artist {bride 1/bridesmaid} ~ becky gendron
hair stylist ~ joan couling

i must extend a huge thanks, love and appreciation to donna, crystal and johanna, as they were the ones who planned this from the get-go…and graciously invited me in. hearts.

xx, mir

so. remember last month when i posted week 2′s assignment…well, after that, i started to fall behind in my weekly assignments, and discovered that i did my week 2 assignment slightly wrong {i was standing in the wrong position}, so i redid it again, but with apples this time. as i was behind, i played catch-up the last two days ~ here are the assignments and the resulting images

* please note that all the images are straight out of camera {SOOC} with no adjustments to exposure, white balance, color, etc. no editing was done on the images for the purposes of the assignments.

week 2 ~ manual focus

click here to see the synopsis of what we were supposed to do {since i posted this already, i didn’t want to be repetitive}

so basically what i did incorrect the first time, was position the makeup in a staggered row, where they were supposed to be in one neat little row. this time around i positioned myself at an angle to the row of apples, and shot the same way. this is what i got.

[ Canon 85 mm f/1.8 lens, ISO 400, f/3.5, SS 1/80, taken from 0.9-1.2 m ]

week 3 ~ depth of field

- manual focus in manual mode
- 5 similar objects set in a row along a flat surface, in natural light
- start with ISO 400, f/3.5, and adjust shutter speed accordingly to achieve the exposure wanted
- focus on the middle object and take first image, then adjust aperture to 5.6 and take a second shot {adjust ss and ISO accordingly}
-  repeat with f/8, f/11, and f/16
- all taken with the Canon 85mm f/1.8 lens at a distance of 0.9 m

[ ISO 400, f/3.5, 1/125 ]

[ ISO 500, f/5.6, 1/80 ]

[ ISO 1000, f/8, 1/1000 ]

[ ISO 2000, f/11, 1/60 ]

[ ISO 3200, f/16, 1/60 ]

ok, now i know all of you looking at week 3′s images will say that they don’t really look different, and for the most part, they really don’t. what we were to pay attention to was the relationship between ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. with the images from this series, as i had to hold my f-stop constant {at the dictated aperture values} so as i closed down my aperture, i had to adjust my shutter speed. to ensure that my ss didn’t fall below 1/60 second, i had to bump my ISO up. now, i’m sure i could’ve held my shutter speed and adjusted my ISO and vice versa, but i seemingly adjusted both.

what i did notice was that my shutter speed decreased to let in more light, while i had to bump my ISO to increase the sensitivity to light in order to achieve the same exposure as the first image. as my aperture values increased, so did the foreground and background of my image {look closely}.

what i am wondering is what this would be like on a digital camera without high ISO capabilities {my camera’s ISO goes up to 6400}. my thinking is that the once ISO is maxed out, you would only have shutter speed to contend with…which would mean the law of reciprocity would bite you in the butt much faster. but i could be wrong?! thoughts {in the form of comments} would be appreciated!

onwards to week 4…

week 4 ~ embrace the grain

ahhhh. to embrace the grain…a relief once you learn to embrace it properly i guess!

- set camera on a counter surface. use the same spot for each shot
- pick a single object to photograph and focus image within the minimum focusing distance
- set camera to 2-second timer
- camera settings: f/4 and ISO 3200
- educated guess at shutter speed
- take your image, and repeat with ISO 1600, 800, 400 and 200
- all taken with the Canon 85mm f/1.8 lens at a distance of 0.8 m, aperture of 4.0

[ ISO 3200, 1/1000 ]

[ ISO 1600, 1/640 ]

[ ISO 800, 1/320 ]

[ ISO 400, 1/160 ]

[ ISO 200, 1/80 ]

so again, there may not be any noticeable differences upon first glance. but if you look closely, this is what you will notice from the first image {at ISO 3200} to the last image {at ISO 200}:
- more grain at higher ISOs
- sharper image at lower ISOs
- more bokeh at lower ISOs

some of the above might not be noticeable at the size of the images in this post, but viewed full size, the differences are noticeable.  phewf! are you still with me? if so, let’s carry on…

week 5 ~ time trials

this one is quick and fun – yay!

- manual focus in manual mode, use of tripod {except i accidentally used auto focus and tripod for both, but i would think the results would be similar}
- pick an indoor spot so that your subject is able to walk in front of your set up
- Canon 50 mm f/1.4 lens

[ ISO 200, f/11, 0.3 seconds with 2-second delay on and having my husband and son walk in front]

[ ISO 200, f/11, 0.3 seconds and "panning" as my husband and son walked by ]

of the two, they each have their own space in terms of creative use. i do love panning though…but it did take me a few shots before i achieved one that i liked. i still think the focus on my husband and son is way too soft, but for the purposes of the homework, i think it was a success.

week 6 ~ predictability of window light

- manual mode, ISO 200, f/4
- put object beside a north facing window, meter the light side and take an image
- move object about 2 feet from window, meter for light side and take an image
- repeat at 2 feet intervals until you run out of room
- repeat with west or south facing windows {unfortunately, my house only has west and east facing windows}
- taken with Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens, all images were at f/4 and ISO 200

top row ~ west facing window; shutter speeds were {left to right} 1/160, 1/125 and 1/80
bottom row ~ east facing window; shutter speeds were {left to right} 1/640, 1/400 and 1/100

from the first to last image from each window series, it went from 2 feet to 6 feet away. i actually don’t know whether i did this assignment accurately or not as my shutter speed never dropped below 1/60 second, and i never had to bump my ISO {should i have??}.

what i did notice though was that shadows are more pronounced or harsher, closer to the light source {aka the window}. as you move the subject away from the window, the shadows become softer, and the light more evenly spread. did you notice the same thing?

ok…almost done!! last assignment, and we can both call it a night.

week 7 ~ predictability of available light

- grab an egg and a lamp {mine was a tungsten lightbulb in the lamp}
- set white balance to auto
- place egg closely to light source to get an exposure you like
- without adjusting any other settings, use at least 3 other white balance presets
- last exposure, do a custom white balance
- shot with Canon 50mm f/1.4 with settings at ISO 400, f/2.8, 1/100 second
- images in this series are of the following white balance settings: auto, daylight, cloudy, tungsten, custom

alright…so i found the custom white balance brought me a white balance that was closest to the tungsten white balance preset. cool!

well, hopefully i haven’t bored you! i find this stuff interesting myself…especially when you start taking photos and breaking down the technical “stuff”. i hope you’ve tried this out yourself, and if you haven’t, do it to it!

xx, mir

week 1 – resolution

my resolution is to pause and reflect. starting my own business and getting it up and going the last 5 months of 2011, with our new addition, proved to be alot of hard work…and with that hard work, time away from my family…as I was too busy trying to build a website, market, edit, etc. going into 2012, my goal is still to build my business, but at a slower pace. i can build my business a year, two, three down the road, but the time to pause and reflect will never be brought back!

week 2 – the one thing i cannot live without

the one thing i cannot live without these days is social media! they are so infused into my life that i feel lost without getting a daily dose. i know that this may seem sad, but i love social media for its ability to connect, to inspire (or be inspired), to reach out, to be a presence (or a force).

week 3 – treasure

so this may be cheating a bit {as the framed image was taken by the amazing Kat of Katch Studios} but i rarely ever take photos of my own family {i know this has to change!} and my own little family is what i treasure above and beyond anything, as is the love that i am blessed with from them all. *our puppy, keeva, is missing from this picture.

well, there you have it. 3 weeks. the group is actually on week 7 i believe…so stay tuned. i will catch up by this weekend! enjoy yours ~

xx, mir