May was a super-busy month for me, with my May 4th Minis, a number of newborns (yay!), MommyConnections presentations at Lil Bean N Green, AND, as if that wasn't awesome enough, I had a full session with some awesome twins!

I actually knew mommy Camille from my past life, when I worked as a software developer, and I was oh-so-very excited when she contacted me about doing her very first family photo session, which included hubby Pete and their ADORABLE twin girls. We had our pre-session consultation at a local café, which was awesome. I tend to meet with most clients over the phone or via Skype/Facetime, so it's always an extra-special treat to meet with a client in-person. Plus the café we went to was awesome - as in Nutella hot chocolate awesome. Camille wanted the session to take place in High Park. I absolutely love High Park, because it's big, beautiful, and there are always tons of things to do there. If you have kids and haven't checked out the Adventure Playground at least once, I highly recommend that you do so. I guess you could liken it somewhat to New York's Central Park, with its big-park-in-the-city feel.

We arrived at High Park at around mid-morning on a bright, sunny day (makes me long for that day, given the crappy weather that we've been having lately). Bright sunny days can pose quite a challenge for photographers. A bright overhead sun, can make for some very harsh shadows and stark contrasts. Instead, we prefer even lighting on skin, which is why photographers will always seek out shadows as much as possible when taking photos on very bright, sunny days. Fortunately, High Park has a TON of trees, so that was no issue at all.

The session went very well, and we covered a lot of ground during our two hours together. The twins will be turning two very soon, but you'd never tell, by the amount of ground that they covered on foot! And like every two-year-old, they were full of energy and delight. Now, I've said many a time that I'm totally not into the posey posey types of pictures. And I definitely don't use props like in traditional portrait photography, which means that you'll never see and old oversized Muskoka chair in an open field with a kid in it. That being said, I do use some props. But my props are used more to enhance the lifestyle aspect of a session, more than anything. And my weapons of choice for this session were BUBBLES!!! The bubbles were a total hit with the girls. I had both a bubble wand and a small bubble container, though both girls preferred the smaller container, probably because they got to try to blow bubbles themselves.

Kloppenburg-257-Edit Kloppenburg-242-Edit These are probably some of my favourite shots of the session. They are so wonderfully candid, and they totally capture what the essence of being a kid at this age. And mom and dad seemed to agree, since they ordered these two as 11x14 standouts! Definitely a great choice.

One thing I also love doing is capturing couples' shots. While children are a wonderful part of our lives, there's nothing wrong with showing a little romance and remembering the love that brought the couple together, which ultimately helped create a family. This shot was staged in the sense that I got Camille and Pete to sit on the grass, but I waited for the right emotional moment before hitting that shutter button. I think that this image really captures their love, don't you think?

Kloppenburg-341 The fun thing about photographing young children is that you just never know what they'll do. And pretty much everything they do is awesome and is worth documenting (you know I'm right - think of how many pictures you have of your kid on your phone). Of course, toddlers are drawn to mischief, and one of the girls ended up slipping and falling behind a park bench during our session. She was okay, but was frightened more than anything, and totally wanted to be in her mommy's arms.

As a mother, my heart wrenched to see her fall and cry. As a photographer, I whipped the camera out as soon as I knew that she was okay (with mom's permission, of course). Sometimes the best photos are the ones full of emotion.

Kloppenburg-446 Mommy will always be there to wipe away the tears to make it all better (and daddies - you guys are awesome too).

All in all, we had a lovely session. Everyone had a ton of fun, and I not only got a workout, but I also had a major dose of twin toddler cuteness. Not a bad way to spend a morning. Before I sign off, let me leave you with one more image from our session. This is one that I snuck in while mom, dad, and the girls were just hanging out. I think it's a lovely lifestyle image that really captures the casual nature of the family.

Kloppenburg-407 Thanks guys for a fun session!