WOW!
What a year for my Photography Journey. I had a bunch of awesome photo sessions where I could work on posing, lighting, and composition. I definitely had a great year that taught me a lot about what I love about photography and what I need to work on in 2018.
It’s pretty fun to look back on the year and look at each month and see what inspired me, what my eye was looking for in terms of composition and who my subjects were.
I thought I could narrow this Year in Review down to 12 images. One per month. Not quite.
Let’s look at January.
Laura and Maisey rocked it. It was cold and grey, but she made this shoot awesome with her matching hat, shirt and mitts.
Absolutely love the reflection on the ice. This picture started me looking at my surroundings differently. Looking for something cool and unique.
And now February…
Cabin Fever, that sums up February. Sydney was staring out the window watching a blizzard. Love this picture. She is framed with an old antique spinning wheel to add an element of me peering in on her having a private moment looking out the window.
The Domermans were taken at Raspberry Ridge Farm when I went to catch some images of the girls riding their horses in the indoor ring. I looked back, feeling two sets of eyes on me and sure enough, there they were, looking into the ring.
March….
I was ready for a break from the cold and dreary weather. It’s usually the month that I buy flowers for the house and add a little sunshine to my life. Meet my friend Deb, a total trooper in my photography journey! A few years before, she was outside with me playing with sparklers in the dark in the freezing cold so I could practice light painting. This past March she joined me for yet another frigid day to have a shoot outside, along the lake with the ripping, bone chilling wind. And she still smiled. That’s a good friend!
Welcome April!
Started to think a little more about composition. The tea-cup ( a great gift), was taken inside a home-made light box with black bristol board. The Rice Krispie Square was taken in the same light box with a white background. Yet another grey dreary day that needed a pick me up. So, I went to Pinterest and searched how to make a light box for product photography. Practiced on a bunch of objects that I could fit in it.
Rylee was also suffering from cabin fever and wanted to put a dress on and get outside. So we did! When you haven’t seen or felt sun in weeks, you need to make your own light!
Enter May…
It was such a gloomy Spring, but I was happy to build homemade rockets when our buddy came to visit for a night. Believe it or not, arts and crafts was all his idea. This image made the Top Images of 2017, because I only had 3 chances to get the shot. Victory!
Family Newman invited me to their beautiful Lilac Haven to let me work on Family Posing. It was a great morning. Very sunny. In my quest for open shade (you know…when you can see the sky but are still shaded by something…a wall of lilacs…a shed). My goal for this shoot was to look for the light and keep dappled sun from hitting anyone. It all happened very fast. We were being chased by the sun which kept me on my toes and made me really think about future shoots and planning for time of day. Love these family pics. Hope to be invited back this year 🙂
OMG! The puppies arrived! This little gem was so wrinkly and handsome and photogenic. Kisses from his momma dog. That’s the story here.
When a beauty like this pulls into your driveway, you grab your camera and just start walking around. What you can’t see in these images, is my deliberate shooting angles to avoid seeing myself in the reflection. It was hard to do with so much shiny chrome.
June arrived, but it must have been a busy month for work, because I didn’t have a lot of images in June.
Cuddle time. Very hard picture to take when the girls were sitting on my lap. Love the shallow depth of field and the implied love and comfort between the two girls.
I rented the Nikkor 24-70mm lens on Canada Weekend to give it try before I forked over the money on this magical lens. The Rylee’s got all glammed up for a graduation night and it was a perfect afternoon for a quick shoot. Light clouds made for a perfect softbox…until the sun came out and ruined the light. 
Decorated the front step to celebrate Canada 150!
Happy Canada Day!
The 24-70mm lens got a great opportunity to capture Laura’s beauty, again. These images are definitely in my Top 3 shoots of the year. I had recently finished a Posing Course. Amy and Jordan Demos Education. Such an amazing course. I felt like I had so much more control of the session and could offer much better instructions for posing and expression.
Negative space between arms and sides, different angles for shooting, interesting composition. It was a couple of hours of costume changes, fun on the farm with Laura and Maisey.
August was a whirlwind…vacation and another farm photo shoot.
Had a great seaside vacation tour through Eastern US and up to Nova Scotia. The American Flag was the backdrop of a cool restaurant in Bar Harbour, Maine and I loved the look of the driftwood door frame. Great lines and color pops.
The Balancing Rock in Tiverton, NS is a pretty cool spot. First time being there and took a lot of photos.
I love everything about a seaside town. The smell, the colors, the landscape, the ocean, the boats, the lighthouses, the worn out ropes on the beach. All of it. I took SO many pics on this vacation. Hard to narrow it down. I also have a thing for birds. I definitely don’t have a great lens for capturing birds, but I did the best I could when we saw a Bald Eagle perched on a light pole when we were mackerel fishing at 6am.
Finally, my Nanna. 92 years young.
Back to Raspberry Ridge Farms for another shoot with the Ladies and their horses.
September…
This was a great month to work on my Boudoir Photography.
October…
Must have been another busy work month. No images. Weird! That won’t happen in 2018. I’m going to plan each month for learning, practicing and sharing.
Crunch time November finally here.
This was my attempt at a Christmas Decoration Documentary. The story is told through Arts and Crafts. #whybuyitwhenyoucanmakeit
And here we are…December 2017
A very cute Family Christmas shoot. Definitely hope to do more of these in 2018. So fun. Part of my plan for 2018 is to have mini sessions for Christmas, Thanksgiving, Graduation and Valentines Day.
This family is super adorable and were totally game for tying up Mom and Dad with a Christmas light string. Next year…colored lights, and maybe one more string. Going to get a little more creative in 2018 with small props that help set the tone.
Boudoir is a niche of Photography so unlike all the traditional sessions. Don’t get me wrong, I love doing portraits and families and I will work to develop those sessions into 2018.
Boudoir is a niche where the woman is treating herself to some self-love and it’s a great experience to be a part of. #confidentsexyintimate
So excited to see what the future holds in 2018.
I won’t be leaving everything to destiny and chance. Developing a plan, setting goals and objectives and checking them regularly is going to pave the path for me this year.
All the best to you and yours.
Happy New Year!
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