First Snow Day of the Year

The weather was horrible for driving on Thursday but it was the perfect weather for playing outside with my babies. As the roads continued to get worse, we  decided to pick them up early from school and spend the afternoon outside. Here is a peak at our afternoon.

Hope everyone had great weekend and stayed warm, it was a chilly one!

To book your own winter family session and take advantage of the amazing sale that I am having, please contact me!

It’s 2012, Let’s Celebrate with a Sale!

I am jumping into 2012 with both feet and I am kicking off this new year with a huge special for all of my existing clients and new clients alike! Additionally, new to NDS Photography this year, I am offering stylized sessions as the feedback from the session I styled with my twins last winter was phenomenal! This year I would like to offer all of my clients with children, the opportunity to have your very own stylized session, tailored to your amazing kids! Let’s get out and play this winter and capture your kids doing whatever it is they love to do. My twins had a blast doing their session and they especially loved being involved in picking out their funky clothing and the location where we would capture the images. At the time my daughter loved our local OC Transpo Buses and we were lucky that there just happened to be a bus that was waiting for the next run to start so she had it all to herself to model and goof around, though she also enjoyed doing her ‘serious’ face and looking way older than she is.  My twins also chose to have one of our furry family members join us for the shoot and I have to say I think our dog, Charley, had just as much fun as the kids! 

Does your child like to dress up all funky and fun? Skate on the canal or local rink? Toboggan? Or are they more into staying indoors and snuggling up with a good book? We could head to a local library and capture your child’s love of reading. Or we could go retro and head outside to play with an old fashioned wooden toboggan and some fun bright clothing or a paperboy hat for the little man in your life. Or throw on some skates and head to a local outdoor rink where we can capture the kids skating and sipping hot chocolate! The options are limitless so gather your kids and if you would like, your fur babies too and join me this winter! It’s sure to be a fun session filled with laughter and memories.

If a stylized session isn’t your thing, no need to worry, the special I am about to announce is for all lifestyle sessions! Starting the weekend of January 14th and running until the last weekend in March, I will be booking a very limited number of family sessions per week (2 to be exact) and with this special I know they will fill up fast!

So, what is this special I have been talking about?! For $495 you (and your family) will receive a 1 to 2 hour session and a full set (25 images) of high resolution images from your session on CD for you to print at your leisure. That is 55% savings from my current price and is simply my way of saying thank you and kicking off 2012 with a bang!

To book your session please contact me today! 

The (not so) Fine Print: All prices are plus applicable tax (13%). A 50% non refundable retainer (session can be rescheduled and you will not lose your retainer) is required within 48 hours of booking your session to reserve your date and the remainder of the balance is due on the day of your session. Maximum of 5 people, each additional person is $25. This special may not be combined with any other offer. NDS Photography retains all copyright and reserves the right to use images in any advertisements or marketing. Images may not be reproduced without written permission (excluding the print release for personal use  that you will receive with your cd) and all images remain the property of NDS Photography. This special is running from January 14th, 2012 to March 31st, 2012 and your session must take place during this time to take advantage of the special. All orders must be paid in full before they will be processed. 

Two Little Words

I am not really sure how or where to begin this blog post. I have been sitting here staring at my screen and have managed to write 2 sentences in 30 minutes. I keep starting to write and then sure enough, I read it back and I delete it. I am discovering just how hard it is for me to write this post. Something I think I already knew, which is why it has taken me so long to write it, but it is a post I have wanted to write for a few weeks now and today is finally the day I do. This post is where I want to say thank you and you would think that would be a simple post to write but it isn’t.

How do you cram a whole year, which is so full of treasured memories and moments that I would like to thank so many people for, into one post? Where do I even start? How do I tell you how much the kind notes on twitter, messages on facebook, emails and phone calls meant to me? How much my heart grew because of the generosity of friends, colleagues and clients who supported our team (The Roast Beasts) in the Underwear Affair. How much it meant that Lindsay could tell her story to Rogers, A Channel and the Metro news in hopes that her story would save someone else. How much it meant that people offered to save newspaper articles so we could have a tangible copy. How much the coffee dates with friends (many whom I have met through twitter) & get togethers with my girls meant, even though I cancelled more times than I attended? I mean truly, how do I really convey how much it all meant to me? And this is not even a partially complete list! It doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface…

I have not worked in what seems like forever. Trying to put a smile on my face for my children and family and make it through the day was sometimes all I could do. I could not imagine bringing my sadness to a session for many reasons, one being that I always find my clients images reflect the mood I am in during our session (laughter and smiles really are contagious) and the fun we were able to have. I knew I could not give you 110% and that would not have been fair to anyone. So to my clients whose understanding was so very appreciated as I referred you to other photographers and to the clients who chose to wait for a session until I was ready to come back to work, I say thank you. To Anna Epp and Danielle Lynn, the amazing photographers who so kindly and generously helped me out, I say thank you. For everything.

Thank you… Those 2 little words that really do not not seem enough but are the only words I have to tell you all how much your kindness, compassion, support and understanding over the past 2 years and even more so, in this past year, have meant to me.

I wish you all a very Happy and Healthy New Year and I look forward to seeing you all soon.

xo

First Day of School {Take 2}

Yesterday was my oldest son’s first day of Grade 5. His first day at a new school.

This is his 4th school and by his age I had also been in 4 schools so I was anticipating that he would be nervous and a little worried but instead he was filled with excitement. I think the fact that he is a social butterfly, one of our old family friend’s was going to be his teacher and that the neighbour’s son also attended the same school, even though he is 2 years older, was a big help. We went through the morning with him bounding around; picking out his lunch and clothes and then we headed out the door to say goodbye to the twins and then down the road to wait for his bus. He caught up with our old neighbour who was astounded at how grown up he looked and I managed to capture a few of pictures before the bus came rumbling down the road. I then grabbed a quick kiss and on he went, without even a glance back in my direction. I stood there watching the dust settle, as the bus drove out of sight.

I busied myself throughout the day and then as his drop off time came closer, I counted the minutes until I could hear about his day. The twins ran down the road to greet him as the bus went by our house to his stop a few houses down and I could hear the chatter as they walked back down the road together. As he rounded the driveway I was so happy to see the smile spread across his face. He has a great day, met some new friends, played soccer (one of his favourite sports) and now as I write this post, it is the end of his second day of school and he is full of more stories of another great day.

Here are a few photos from his first day.

Baby L ~ Ottawa Newborn Photographer

She arrived fashionably late, came out a little over cooked (as her mom said) and after various rescheduling, this past Tuesday, I finally got to meet little baby L. Her mom had been telling me how big she was and so I was expecting this big fat roly poly baby. Instead I greeted this tiny featured, full head of hair, cutie. Baby L is long and as we discovered way too long to fit in the basket her father, Denis, had hoped to have her in. It was quite a sight seeing her long legs dangle over the side.

I have never photographed a 2 month old before and she was awake and cooing the entire shoot… kicking her legs, watching tv and trying so hard to gain some control over her little body. Denis and Rochelle were doting parents, in between shots, they snuggled, fed and rocked L and during the shoot they made silly faces, squeaked Sophie the giraffe and dangled toys over my head, all in an effort to get their beautiful new baby to smile. Talk about dedication! And I think it was worth it.

Congratulations to you both on the birth of your little bean. I am so happy for you. Enjoy your sneak peak!

xo,

N

 

P.S. Please leave a comment on my facebook page as 10+ individual comments earns this family a special gift!

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First Day of School {Take 1}

Today my alarm woke me up at 6:30am. I had a brief moment of confusion as to why this thing was going off in my ear before I quickly realized that it was my twins first day back at their old school. Eeep! They are going in to grade 3! As they attend a French School, they start a week early so next Tuesday, I will do this all over again {take 2} with my oldest who is going into grade 5. Seriously?! Already? It seems like they were babies just last year.

We had them in bed at 8pm last night, which is HUGE as they have not been in bed before 10pm all summer long. I say they were in bed at 8pm because at 9:45pm, my daughter was peaking her head out of the bedroom. So much for a good nights sleep. The excitement was in full effect.

This morning I stumbled up the stairs to find my son sitting on the couch wide eyed and all perky saying “Can we go to school now?”. Most kids are normally excited for school but my youngest dislikes school. A LOT.  So his statement was a big deal. My twins are beyond excited to be heading back to their old school and I am so happy for them.

As we made our way through the morning, having breakfast, packing lunches and getting dressed, it all went surprisingly smooth and there was a definite buzz of anticipation in the air. My daughter sang “I’m coming home, coming home, tell the world that I’m coming home” to calm her nerves as she waited for the bus to arrive as her eyes welled up with tears of joy and my son bounded around the yard. I snapped a few, alright a ton, of photos and here are a few of them from our morning.

3 more hours till they get home. I can’t wait to hear all about their day.

Childhood Friends ~ Ottawa Family Photographer

I have known Valerie & Mikey since they were teeny tiny. Their mom is my Aunt’s best friend and Val is my cousin, Ashley’s, best friend. Ever since I can remember Mikey has been a cadet. I lovingly teased him of my memories of him standing outside the grocery store as a child, in his little uniform, asking the shoppers for bottles or donations of some form. Today he is proudly serving in Afghanistan.

His sister contacted me a couple of weeks before he left and asked if I could capture their first family photos before Mikey left. I captured these images 2 days before Mikey was deployed. I remember Mike being a smiley, happy go lucky kid. Val had said that it was impossible to capture an image of him smiling now but with a few good natured jokes (at his expense) and a pinch on the bum from his sister Val, we managed to get a few smiles out of him. When I look at him, I still see the little boy and the man that stands before me with the tattooed fingers and arms fades away.

Thank you, Val, for asking me to capture your family. I had a great time and I hope you all love the images as much as I loved capturing them.

xoxo,

N

P.S. Mikey, stay safe. I’ll see you when you get back. Oh and  I plan on sneaking a few more photos of your gorgeous smile.

Please leave a comment on my facebook page as 10+ individual comments earns this family a special gift!

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Ottawa at Home ~ Summerlude ~ Ottawa Event Photographer

Last night I had the pleasure of photographing #Summerlude. Held on the patio upstairs
at the Hard Rock Cafe and organized by the lovely Mary Taggart of Ottawa at Home Magazine, it was an evening filled with wonderful people, delicious sangrias and sunshine.

People danced to the beats of Latin Breeze, laughed, enjoyed great conversation, sipped on cocktails, enjoyed mouth watering appetizers and made new connections. What a perfect way to spend an evening!

Natasha, Krista @ksswansong and Connie @cbernardi

Latin Breeze and their singer, Cristina.

Top left: Mary of Ottawa at Home @Ottawaathomemag & Lorena@LorenaHeletea. Bottom left: Kelli of the Yummy Mummy Club @KelliDaisy, Loukia @MrsLouLou,  Marilou @20YS and Julianna of Miikali @MiikalibyJuli. Bottom right: Paula @childnurturer  and Lianne Laing of A Channel News @LianneLaing.

Left: Angie of A Channel News & Majic 100 @AngiePoirier and Korey @Foodthought. Right: The fabulous & beautiful Jacquie @JacquieBushell

Top left: Melody @MelodyMkupArt, Erica @EricaOnFashion and TL of Dance with TLC & Rogers Daytime Ottawa @DanceWithTLC. Top Right: MC Lianne Laing of A Channel News @LianneLaing. Bottom: TL  @DanceWithTLC, Mary @Ottawaathomemag
and Chris @DanceWithTLC.

Thank you, Mary, for a wonderful evening. I look forward to next year’s #Summerlude and really enjoyed catching up with everyone.

Happy Summer everyone!

I’ll Love You Forever ~ Ottawa Maternity Photographer

This past Tuesday, after rescheduling twice due to the massive amounts of rain that our beautiful city has been receiving, I met with Rochelle & Denis to capture their maternity photos and the gorgeous colours of the tulip festival and setting sun.

I have known Rochelle for quite awhile but this was the first time I had met Denis in person. My best friend, Erin, gushes about them all the time. She thinks they are the cutest couple ever and I completely agree. To give you an idea about how thoughtful Denis is, he was the one who contacted me! Rochelle has always been so supportive of my work, taking the time to leave a comment on my facebook page, send me a nice message, etc and Denis surprised her with not just 1 but 2 photography sessions. He had originally planned to break them up into two separate gifts but then (as I do) he got so excited that he gave them both to her at the same time!

We captured their session at Rochelle’s favourite time of day. How did I know that? Denis told me. He also proposed at this time of day and when I heard this, my heart melted.  He is so attentive and caring and I can’t wait to see them with their new baby girl in June.

Congratulations you two! I am so happy for you and I can’t wait to meet your little bean in a few weeks. Thank you for asking me to capture such an amazing time in your life.

xo

N

P.S. New!! Please leave a comment on my facebook page as 10+ individual comments earns this family a special gift!

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Reminder: If you love these images, please leave a comment on my facebook page to help this family earn a special gift! 

Cover Models Management – Ottawa Photographer

Yesterday, I met up with Viresh (owner of CMM), Corey Johnstone (uber talented make up artist) and a few of the models from Cover Models Management (CMM). The models braved the cold temperatures and wind to pose for me and from the images I captured you would never know that it was 4 degrees outside.

Thank you, Viresh, for everything. I had a ton of fun and look forward to doing it again soon!

P.S. With 5 models, this post is a little image heavy but they are gorgeous, so I hope you don’t mind.