Rachel Ludwig Photography | Abbotsford Portrait and Wedding Photographer

I love it when I am asked to photograph a family again, it’s always great to catch up and to see how ‘my babies’ have grown! I photographed Evan when he was just an teeny-tiny newborn, and he’s now two!

He’s a very typical two-year-old boy and wasn’t super interested in me or my camera (this is totally normal! I know lots of parents stress out about this during a session, but it’s totally OK and we still get lots of great shots).  He may not have been interested in my camera or bribes such as lollipops, but he was most certainly interested in his car, the swings and slides, and running! He gave us quite the work out, but it was definitely worth it. One of my goals with my photography is to capture personalities, especially with kids, as they are constantly changing and growing up on us! I love that we captured Evan and what he’s all about at age two (and just for fun: see how many pictures you can spot his car in!)

Isn’t he positively adorable? Those beautiful brown eyes of his just melt me. Thank you Sarb and Lucky for such a great session…I’ll be in touch soon with the rest of your images. Enjoy your sneak peek!

that pout…too cute!

We had some amazing weather for an afternoon family session with the Gurash family, who came all the way from Cloverdale for a session at the Westminster Abbey in Mission. Nicole had mentioned prior to her session that fall colors were really an important aspect to her for their session, so I was a little worried when we had some typical BC fall weather the week before, and when I showed up and the beautiful red ivy wall I had wanted to use had already lost it’s leaves! Fortunately, there was still a lot of beautiful fall color on the trees and on the ground that we were able to incorporate into their images. Fall is such a beautiful time of year for family pictures, especially when the weather cooperates as well as it did on this day.

This family has three handsome and rambunctious boys, who totally knew how to turn on the charm for the camera. You know what they say about boys and being made of snips and snails and puppy dog tails, right? It’s so true. Boys are fun and I just can’t resist capturing that mischievous twinkle in their eyes! Even though I called Sterling, the middle one, Spencer. The entire session. eeek! I do promise that prior to having kids I had a really really good memory for things like names and phone numbers. Sorry Spencer! I mean Sterling. I hope you have forgiven me.

Now on to some pictures…it’s always hard to narrow down my favorites for blog posts. It’s kind of like having to pick a favorite child!:

I couldn’t resist sharing this series of images…totally sums of the antics of three brothers!

a) All looking and smiling b) # 1 is thinking: hmmm…I could be thinking up some trouble here c) #2 is in on the plan

d) #3 is saying…plant ‘em right here bros! e) ohhh….maybe I’m not liking this! f) enough enough enough already!

I love the lighting in this first one, and how the littlest brother is hanging on to mom’s legs in the foot shot

Thanks for being super fun and such good sports Nicole, Jason, Parker, Sterling and Harrison…enjoy your sneak peek, I’ll be in touch soon with your slideshow and ordering gallery!

Fish Trap Creek is a beautiful park near my home, and for some reason I don’t shoot there very often. So I was super excited when Tanya suggested we use this for their family shoot. The fall colors were absolutely perfect, and we couldn’t have asked for better weather. I also think that I have never laughed so hard as I did during this session. These four were constantly cracking up, and were so much fun!

I thought it was so sweet that Antoinette’s kids got a photo session for her graduation present. What a great gift to celebrate such a special occasion! I should also mention that Tanya had broken her foot just a few weeks beforehand, and she very gamely trecked all over the park to get the perfect shots. Thanks for being such a trooper Tanya, and a big thank you to all of you for such a fun morning!

Enjoy your sneak peek and I’ll be in touch soon.

As I mentioning in my previous post, it was really cold in Alberta while we were there over the Thanksgiving weekend. Even the local Calgarians admitted that it was a bit cold, and somewhat unusual for Calgary at this time of year (although I do remember it being this cold on more than one previous Thanksgiving trip!). We were fortunate that it did warm up slightly (or maybe it was just that it wasn’t quite as windy so it felt a little warmer), but the Alberta Ludwig clan decided they were willing to brave the cold for their session. I layered myself with 2 jackets, scarf and gloves, while they went jacket-less all in the name of fashion (brrrr!). We would shoot for a few minutes, and then race back to the warmth of the vehicles to thaw out a bit. Needless to say, it was a pretty quick session, but we were able to get some amazing shots!

I also want to especially point out their clothing. Sometimes I get to play photo-shoot stylist, and Colleen and I had a lot of fun picking out all the outfits! A quick trip to SuperStore rounded out some of the pieces they already had. If you are an upcoming client, use this post for a great starting point to selecting your own outfits! Notice how they coordinate, but aren’t too matchy-matchy? See the bits of pattern with some stripes on Leah’s shirt, plaid in Riley’s skirt, and a touch of pattern in Logan’s hoodie? Also, lots of great texture in the sweaters, and even a bit of faux fur in the vest and boots I love the vibrant colors, which I think are perfect with the muted backdrop and really make them pop.

Some seriously good looking kids (and hey, the parent’s aren’t bad themselves!)

I have to add a little note about Bart’s chokehold on Colleen

He just got his (blue?) belt in some sort of mixed martial arts (sorry Bart, it’s all greek/geek to me!), so he wanted to use this for his Facebook profile picture.

Totally cracks me up, and this is so them. Love it!

My family and I headed out to Calgary for Thanksgiving this year (it’s an almost annual tradition!) and one of my long-time blog readers booked a session during our visit. And if any of my blog readers are interested, chances are that we will probably be there next year again. If you’re interested in booking a session for the weekend of Thanksgiving 2010, just let me know and I’ll add you to my list for next year!

Now anyone who has been to Calgary, lived in Calgary, or has any friends or family live there, know that weather there is nothing short of unpredictable. As a matter of fact, over the last 50 or so years, Calgary has had snow at least once in every month of the year (and yes, that does include summer months like July and August!). Now, I think this is part of the reason why my American friends think of Canada as the “Great White North”. However, to this rather wimpy BC native, where winters are mild and snow is relatively rare, the Calgary forecast through me into a bit of a panic. It was saying cold, cold, and more cold, with chances of snow. eeek! Anyways, to make a long story short, it was super cold, windy and a little bit snowy on the Moe Family’s session date, and an outdoor photo shoot just wasn’t going to happen like we had planned.

So Candy came up with a great idea to shoot in what Calgarians call the Plus 15’s, a set of above ground walkways that connect various buildings in downtown Calgary. I’m always up for a challenge, and although this shoot was definitely under tough conditions as far as lighting, it was a lot of fun! Thanks for such a fabulous (and warm!) morning Candy, Barry, Mason and Madelyn. It was so great meeting you and hanging out…enjoy your sneak peek!

I love when clients choose a location that is meaningful to them. Cates Park, in the beautiful North Vancouver / Deep Cove area, is close to their home and has special meaning for Chris & Kerith…Eleven years ago they had their wedding reception there! We had a beautiful sunny afternoon + an incredible location + a super laidback family = the perfect combination for some casual photojournalistic type shots and an awesome session! I love the beach. Love love love it. Wish I lived closer.

I should also mention that Kerith has a wonderful business helping people organize and simplify their lives and their homes. She came and helped me out with my home office, and she was able to whip it into (much needed) shape in no time! Check out her website for more information: Visual Girl

On to the pictures

That last shot in this first set? Thank you bird for the perfect timing

We had lots of fun with the three girls…blowing bubbles, popping seaweed and just hanging out at the beach.

Totally relaxing family afternoon at the beach that I was able to document. I loved it!

Kerith said she hates pictures of herself…but check out how gorgeous she is! and those fabulous earrings!

Kerith & Chris, Rhian, Ehren and Tia…thank you for a delightful afternoon! I will be in touch soon with the rest of your images.