Fresh off the heels of the October 13th Ümlarifically Sweet Halloween, last weekend's event was equally-awesome! This time the event took place in Lytton Park, a little park in the Avenue Road and Glencairn Avenue area.

The park was recommended to me by a friend in the area, who said that's a great little park, where a lot of wedding shoots take place. I can see why. Between the lovely trees, the pretty houses in the surrounding area, and the fall foliage, I couldn't have asked for a better photoshoot location that day. And the light that day was just WOW!

This time of year is one of my absolute favorites, because the sky is still relatively clear, the air is crisp, but not too cold, and because the autumn sun is hanging lower compared to the summer sun, you can get some spectacular lighting and shadows complementing the fallen leaves. But enough talk. Let's look at some photos!

This shot was taken during my first session of the day, at around 2pm. Look at how awesome the sun already was at that time! The session was for a family of four, and while mom was helping her daughter change into her costume, I caught dad having some fun with his son. *click*

untitled shoot-1185 I had few more families come in that day, including this one, who came in with their dog, Buckeye. As an aside, I LOVE it when families bring their pets! They are, after all, a part of the family, and I think it's really nice to include them in the shoots. I was just blown away by the cuteness of their little girl (16 months old). She was perfectly happy to go on exploring the park in her awesome bumblebee costume. What I love about this shot is that everyone just looks so natural and relaxed. It captures a genuine family moment.

UmlaHalloween-2273 One thing that was different in the October 21st shoot compared to the October 13th shoot is that I had a couple of moms-to-be come in! One came to me through Baby & Me Fitness, and another through Bebo Mia. I love photographing expectant moms. Pregnancy (whether it's your first or your third) is such a special time in a person's life, and it's so awesome to be able to freeze this moment in time. After all, once the baby comes, pregnancy becomes a distant memory.

To me, one important thing about pregnancy photos is that it isn't *just* about photographing the belly. It's also about capturing the love between husband and wife. The love that made this little baby possible. Here are a couple of photos that I feel really capture each couple's togetherness, in different ways.

untitled shoot-1623

If you're wondering about the funky angle and curvature of this shot, it's a result of using a wide-angle lens. The wide-angle gives you a greater field of view, and it also gives the photo a bit of curvature. The wider the angle, the more curvature. If you're familiar at all with fish-eye lenses, they are nothing more than super-wide angle lenses. So basically even with the camera really close up, it still looks like subjects are far away!

Here's a shot of the other expectant mom. I've mentioned time and again that my specialty lies in getting candid shots. I have to admit that it can be tricky, when it's a client's first time doing professional shots (and/or maternity shots, for that matter), and they're used to smiling and posing for the camera. Now it's time for a confession. I do get people to pose for me. But it's not what you think! Some people really enjoy the posed shots, so I will give them a posed shot or two with their session photos. People like them, and I don't want to deprive them of that. BUT, I also find that in getting people to pose, I can then sneak in and get the candids in-between poses! HA! Sneaky, am I not?

untitled shoot-1715 There's something about this image that really stands out for me. I think it's the genuine looks on the couple's faces. And there's a bit of a high school shyness there too, that I absolutely love.

I should also note that reps Ines and Xavier from Qapia Lima were around last weekend to show off their awesome merchandise.

And, of course, let's not forget Kim from the Baker of Sweet Street for her tasty treats! Check out one Kim's awesome cupcake creations from last week. I assure you that these cupcakes were DELICIOUS!

All in all, I had 6 families/expectant families come out for photos. I'm really happy with how the photos turned out, and with the overall event. I am looking forward to the next and final Ümlarifically Sweet Halloween, taking place on October 27th, from 2pm to 5pm at Trinity-Bellwoods Park. I can't wait to see the kiddies in their costumes!