Spanish Banks Family Photos | Vancouver, BC | Community Photography

I first met Jeannine and Kevin two years ago when I did their son’s maternity photos. When I met them the first time it was a beautiful mid-summer evening at Centennial Beach and we had a perfect pastel night to photograph. For their daughters maternity session, it was March, colder and we had a toddler in the mix!

We met up at Spanish Banks in the morning after already having rescheduled due to poor weather. Even though the forecast was calling for rain, it held off during our shoot and we were able to capture some really cool skies! It was a grey, foggy, morning and made for completely different photos from the last shoot which was great!

At the start of the shoot they let me know that their son loves to cuddle mom and dad – and so that’s what we did! I didn’t want to force anything unnatural for the photos and they were so happy to roll with it and so easygoing with each other. They were such a dream to photograph!

To the Shaw family, thank you guys so much for choosing me again to be your family photographer to capture both of your maternity sessions. I look forward to our next session together once and meet your baby girl once she arrives!

Tsawwassen Family Photos | Centennial Beach | Community Photography South Delta

This was a super cool family photo session for me because I graduated highschool with both Alysha and Neil. SDSS class of 2005! And here we are, 16 years later, both raising our kids in Tsawwassen.

It was awesome to reconnect with these two and meet their beautiful daughter Brooklyn. We met for their family photo session at Centennial Beach in Tsawwassen. I generally like to schedule the start times of my photoshoots around sunset, however, that can be super late for little kids in the late spring and summer time when the sun doesn't set until 9pm. We met around 5pm and captured some beautiful and bright photos at this time.

Alysha looks SO stunning in her beautiful green dress and her hair and makeup was perfect. Little Brooklyn reminded me of my own kids, fun loving and busy! She had just found how to walk and that's all she wanted to do. We played games with her and she was just so happy to be with mom and dad :)

Fraser River Maternity Photos | Ladner, BC | Community Photography South Delta

This maternity session was a special one for me. The dreamy girl you see in the photos is one of my best friends! It’s such an amazing things watching your friends who you’ve experienced so much life with make the transition into motherhood. And it’s EXTRA special when you’re able to document it through photos.

The day leading up to Meghan’s maternity photos were cold and wet in South Delta. The weather forecast was calling for rain all day with sunny breaks at sunset. These type of unpredictable days are such a gamble…you’ll either have rainy looking photos OR if the sun breaks through, the most beautiful sunset. As I was driving down the highway from Tsawwassen to Ladner, the sun broke through the clouds and I knew we were in for a great sunset that night.

We took Meghan’s maternity photos down by the Fraser River in Ladner. Meghan arrived looking amazing (as always) and she chose two dresses from my client wardrobe to wear. We spent the next hour taking her photos, laughing and exploring the area. The sunset was AMAZING and it totally complimented her beautiful baby bump.

So much love for this momma and feeling so blessed I was able to capture it on camera :)

Suprun Family Photos & 1st Birthday Cake Smash | Tsawwassen Family Photos

I had the pleasure of photographing one of my fav little families the other evening! I met Ana over Instagram last year; she was expecting her first child and looking for a photographer to capture this momentous time. We had two amazing shoots; her maternity shoot at 2nd beach at Stanley Park and at home newborn photos a couple months later. It was such a pleasure working with her that I was so thrilled when she reached out for me to take photos for her son's first birthday.

Leading up to the shoot, she would send me pics of her preparations for his 'cake smash' set up. Just check out the pictures, it turned out amazing! The actual cake smash didn't go totally as planned...lol baby wanted nothing to do with the cake and did basically anything not to touch it, let alone eat it! None the less, we still managed to get adorable photos :)

The rest of the shoot was easy and dreamy. They looked amazing and photograph so well as a family of three. Baby M was a little trooper as a cold ocean breeze blew in at the end of the session, but he had no problems cuddling with Mom and Dad.

Dear A + A, thank you for allowing me to capture all of these beautiful milestones in your life. It is a true honor and I love seeing you guys every time! I can't wait for our next session together!

xo P

What To Wear: Winter Family Photo Sessions | Vancouver Family Photographer | Community Photographer

WHAT TO WEAR FOR WINTER FAMILY PHOTO SESSIONS

When winter arrives and temperatures cool, sometimes it’s just too cold for a dress and heels by themselves (no matter how warm your coverup overcoat is!). As a Vancouver family photographer, let’s face it, it’s chilly fifty percent of the year! Instead of only shooting in the warm summer months, I encourage clients to shoot year round! We are so lucky we live in a city where we have diverse seasons to make every family photo session unique! So I have some suggestions for the winter months that will still help you look amazing and keep your color tones camera friendly.

During winter, warm neutrals like camel, taupe, cream, champagne, and gray look amazing. If you’d like to incorporate color, choose jewel-toned versions of the primary colors. Here are some examples: mustard over yellow, crimson or burgundy over red, over orange, sage or emerald over green, and powder blue or navy over blue. These jewel tones will photograph beautifully in the winter when there is not much bright colors to contrast in nature. And don’t forget to layer up! Add a peacoat, tights, scarves and heeled booties to a form-fitting cocktail dress or skirt. Dress your little ones in wool hats, mittens and scarves to keep warm and add extra interest to the phot.

SNOW DAY SESSIONS:

A dress or skirt with a big peacoat can never go wrong! A neutral coloured coat with a touque, scarf and gloves or a warm, oversized, snuggly sweater with tall boots and a hat is a super fun look, perfect for the snow! The great thing about snow is it creates a beautiful white backdrop, so even though it might seem counterintuitive, soft pastel, muted colors like soft pinks and powder blues still look great! And, remember, regardless of the setting, you can never go wrong with neutrals with pops of colour!

Stanley Park Maternity Photos | Community Photography South Delta

I’m a Tsawwassen girl, and to be honest, I don’t often venture out of our neighbourhood for photo shoots. Saying that, when a client suggests we shoot at a new location I’m always game! A new location is like a new playground for a photographer. When taking photos somewhere new, it sparks your creativity and allows you to play with new light and landscapes. When beautiful momma to be, Ana suggested we take her maternity photos at Stanley Park in Vancouver, I was super excited! I asked my wedding planner sister Briar of Epic Events for suggested shoot locations in the area as she often does weddings at the Tea House and other Stanley Park venues.

She suggested 2nd beach, when I went to scout out the location, fell in love with right away. The reason I loved it for the maternity session so much was within a 5 minute walk, you went from a beautiful forest setting to a Vancouver beach landscape.

When I met up with Ana and Alex for their maternity photos, the first thing I noticed was Ana’s stunning dress choice and her flawless makeup. The gorgeous couple, and Ana’s perfect little baby bump made for such a dreamy team for the forest photos. As the sun was setting, we took a five minute walk and quick outfit change that brought us down to 2nd Beach for the second half of our maternity photo shoot.

Once again, Ana totally nailed her outfit choice with a soft pink dress that would compliment the sunset perfectly. At this point in the photo shoot we are all relaxed and having fun, which you can totally see through their photos.

Ana + Alex, thank you for choosing me to capture such a milestone moment in your lives. It was so wonderful meeting you two and thank you for allowing me to venture out of Tsawwassen to take your maternity photos!

Welcome Baby E! | Newborn Photos | Community Photography South Delta

Word of mouth is everything! I’m so thankful when my amazing clients share their photos on social media, it opens the door to their network, which generally, is other, awesome people. That means they too, will be another amazing client I will LOVE working with.

This was the case with momma M. She saw my photos online and when she reached out to me, she was warm and welcoming . She has a big love of life, travel, her husband, two dogs AND her baby on the way. She and her husband, in week one of having a newborn, had the team dynamics down. It was such a fun loving session, including both of their gorgeous Australian Shepards who join us for our session.

To M + A family, thank you for inviting me into your home at such a special time in your life. I really hope we can do it again down the road :) I’m envisioning your family + dogs and a beautiful sunset!

Mom + Son Sunset Session | Centennial Beach, Tsawwassen | Community Photography South Delta

There are some photos that when I look at, there is so much love, raw emotion and joy it actually makes me smile to myself. Lauren and Cameron’s mother and son photo session at Centennial Beach had many of those moments.

I first met Lauren when I was 6 years old and she was my cool sisters cool friend. I haden’t seen her for year as she lives overseas but she reached out that she was coming back to Tsawwassen for a visit and wanted family photos done. We discussed location and the timing of her session. She was a little worried about a sunset session in July because it was pushing baby Cameron’s bedtime by a couple hours. With two babes of my own I know the importance of baby bed time. But here is a fun fact, in my experience of being a family photographer, if a kid is outside at the beach they are totally happy! And yes, they will be tired by the end of the session, and then we’ll get the cutest baby cuddle photos.

Our session was full of smiles and beautiful candid moments between mother and son. Cameron was a text book angel baby and was all smiles for the first half of our shoot, and then with a few rubs of his eyes near he fell fast asleep in him moms arms.

Lauren, it was so great to re-connect with you and meet your gorgeous baby boy! Thank you for allowing me to capture these moments for you!

CENTENNIAL BEACH MATERNITY PHOTOS | TSAWWASSEN, BC| COMMUNITY PHOTOGRAPHY SOUTH DELTA

When I first met K + M at Centennial Beach for their photo session, I knew in the first few minutes of meeting each other, it was going to be an amazing shoot. For a few reasons. First, they brought a bottle of tequila as a prop for their photos (I’m a big fan of a good Margarita!). Second, I could tell right away from their energy they wanted photos that were natural, candid and how do I say it...not cheesy? Third, they told me that at the end of their photoshoot, they wanted to jump in the ocean. Some of my favorite photographers live in California and Hawaii and they always shoot their clients in crashing waves and playing in the ocean. Living in British Columbia I guess because of the weather 80% of the year, I guess I never really considered WE live in a place where I could pull this off..was I so wrong!

We had a beautiful evening and I don’t think either M or K stopped smiling the whole time. When the sun was just about to set we made our way to the water. Luckily for us, the tide had just came in and the water was so warm. I can’t wait for you to see the photos so instead of me blabbing on, just scroll down!

To K + M, thank you for taking the plunge! I loved having my creative juice’s flowing and allowing me to capture something new. I know your little baby will have endless adventures with you two as parents!

To any future clients wanting to end their photos in the ocean. I’m totally down all the time!

K + J CENTENNIAL BEACH MATERNITY PHOTOS | TSAWWASSEN | TSAWWASSEN PHOTOGRAPHER

Jeannine + Kevin met me at Centennial Beach in Tsawwassen on a beautiful spring evening for their beach maternity sessions. The day had been cloudy and we even touched base earlier in the day with the possibility of rescheduling due to weather, but I’m sure glad we didn’t. We enjoyed the most beautiful sunset and gorgeous light as they celebrated the coming arrival of their first baby.

J + K thank you for choosing me to capture this special time in your lives. Your baby is one lucky little guy to have parents like you!

TSAWWASSEN MATERNTIY PHOTOS | COMMUNITY PHOTOGRAPHY SOUTH DELTA | BOUNDARY BAY

This was such a special one for me! Jess and Geordie are having a baby! And I had the honour of capturing their maternity photos in Boundary Bay! They’re some of my closest friends and have been in my life for many years! I met Jess in grade 5 at English Bluff Elementary in Tsawwassen. We were immediate besties from day one. We played sports together, travelled together, celebrated holidays together, got into trouble in high school together. Over the years, the only time we EVER had a disagreement was in grade 5 when we couldn’t decide who was going to be Sporty Spice :)

Jess and Geordie met in highschool, and although they never dated until afterwards, our whole friend group saw this couple in the making a mile away. And we were all so HAPPY when they finally figured out they were perfect for each other :)

The evening of their maternity photos can only be describes as dreamy. It was one of the first warm nights of the year and clear skies in the forecast. We headed down to Boundary Bay for their shoot. Jess was totally prepared with a gorgeous red Minca blanket, and Geordie (bless him) came with Four Winds beers to share, with me, not Jess ;) Their sweet pup Bodhi added such a fun and candid element to their photos!

At sunset, we headed to the dyke for gorgeous photos as the skye was changing from blue, to purple to pink. A perfect way to end a maternity shoot.

Jess and Geordie, I know I’ve said it a million times, but I’m SO happy for you guys! You guys are going to make the most amazing parents and I can’t wait to raise our kids together! xoxo P

Welcome Baby Levi | Calgary Newborn Photos | Community Photography South Delta

I’ve known Janelle and Steve as a couple for a long time. 8 years to be exact. They both love hiking, the outdoors, travelling, music, they both LOVE life and making the most of every day.

They moved to Calgary about a year ago. The last time I had seen them was over the Christmas holidays when they came to Tsawwassen so we could take their Centennial Beach maternity photos. When I gave them a hug goodbye at the end of the weekend, I knew the next time I would see them, they would be parents.

Baby Levi was born in January. I booked my flight for the end of February to Calgary so I could meet her and take her newborn photos. When I arrived in Calgary it was -17’C (that was a high, it went down to -25’C at night). Janelle pulled up at the airport with baby Levi in the back seat. I got in the car (I rode in the back, with Levi, of course) and saw this little human I had only met over Facetime. She was a perfect mix of both her parents.

I spent the weekend with Janelle, Steve and Levi. Its the coolest thing to see friends, who I’ve known for years, take on their next adventure of being parents. The new love for this little human was extreme. If you couldn’t tell they loved the child by the way they interacted with her, you would know it by Janelle telling Levi she loved her a few times in one hour. I’ll also have to give poppa props to Steve. This guy is breaking the barriers of a hands on dad. Bottle feeding, changing diapers, rocking her, he even took her for a couple hours while us went for a local dinner.

Janelle and Steve, thanks for letting me take these photos of Levi. I loved capturing this time in your lives. She is a doll and I can’t wait for our kids to grow up together. Hopefully they’ll be a little less wild than we were but I hope they live life as full as we did/do! Love you guys and can’t wait to see you!

Centennial Beach Maternity Session | Tsawwassen | Community Photography

The story of how WE met

Janelle (the beautiful mamma to be in these photos) and I go WAY back. Back to grade one at Beach Grove Elementary, here in Tsawwassen. She’d moved from Toronto and we became fast friends. She was bright, had a big imagination and was FUN. After one of our first play date, my Dad came to pick me up. He noticed a family photo sitting on the counter. He asked her Mom “Hey! How do you know Don?!”. My dad (who also is also from Ontario) had recognized one of his high school friends, which turned out to be Janelle’s Uncle.

This realization blew both of our 6 year old minds. We decided, since MY dad and HER uncle used to be friends, WE must be related.

The funny thing about this story? 25 years later, we still tell SO many people THIS story. Even if they want to hear it or not..

ABOUT THE MATERNITY SHOOT

Holy smokes I don’t think I have EVER been so cold taking photos. I was bundled to the max (scarf, boots, multiple layers) and I was FREEZING! SO you can imaging how cold Janelle must have been! In a dress, in December strutting her beautiful pregnant belly up and down Centennial Beach. She made the photos not look like winter, but a beautiful spring day! We had an absolute blast, as we always do :) If you scroll to the very end of the gallery you can see some behind the scene pics!

Janelle and Steve, the way you have chosen to live your lives with joy, music, adventure and love is such an inspiration to those around you. I can’t wait to come to Calgary and meet your little bundle of joy!

BABY ISLA NEWBORN PHOTOS | TSAWWASSEN | COMMUNITY PHOTOGRAPHY SOUTH DELTA

DREAM BABY ALERT!!! It was SUCH a pleasure taking newborn photos for the Sherry’s as they welcomed the newest member of their family baby Isla to their tribe. The family recently moved to South Surrey so as a Tsawwassen photographer it was a nice commute to meet up with this family in their new home.

At home newborn photos are oh so special. I love taking photos of families in their natural environment cuddling, loving and making memories together.

K + D WHYTECLIFF PARK MATERNITY PHOTOS | WEST VANCOUVER | COMMUNITY PHOTOGRAPHY SOUTH DELTA

I generally stick close to sunny Tsawwassen for my photoshoots. However, I'm always up for an adventure to take photos at a new location around the Lowermainland! I was really excited when Kim and Dimitri asked me to take their maternity photos at Whytcliff Park in West Vancouver. A quick google search proved this location to be a stunner and when I arrived it did not disappoint!