Thank You

A special Christmas ornament from my parents

We had another wonderful Christmas here in Chelsea, surrounded by family and holiday cheer! I definitely ate too much for Christmas, but I like to use the excuse that I'm allowed because I'm still nursing! It seems to work and my conscience doesn't question me :)

I wanted to thank all those who supported me though my first 6 months of following my dream. I learned A LOT from each and every one of you, I gained invaluable knowledge from each and every shoot, and met a lot of really amazing and fun people! Every time I'd return home from a shoot, two things would go through my mind - 1. Can't wait to download the images and see what I got, and 2. I really wish I could have spent more time chatting and learning about your lives, because the time we spent together just wasn't enough! (although, I'm sure all you new moms out there couldn't wait to get rid of me so you could sleep - I understand!!)

I'm looking forward to 2010 , excited about the opportunities and possibilities to grow in my photography and in business. Keep a keen eye on my blog as I have some pretty sweet deals in the schedule. A few hints are:

• Launching of my Facebook Fan Page where I'll be posting specials for various shoots or products.
• Model Searchs for portfolio building and mentoring (AKA - free sessions and images!!)
  
• An amazing Mother's Day Promotion that includes a complimentary pass for the Nordic Spa here in Chelsea! (honestly heaven on earth!).
• Monthly contests
• Photography Workshop for Moms!
• Fall "Early Bird" booking deal - fall is the busiest time of year, so there will be an incentive to book your spot early!
• Second Annual Halloween Minis

And much more!

Happy New Year to you all, stay safe and sleep well (that's for the babies!) and see you in the next decade!

Love
Christine

Newborn Baby "D" ~ Ottawa Newborn Photographer

Check out the hair on this little guy! Baby D was so cute and so cooperative, it capped of an amazing week of shoots! Here are my faves from the shoot. You may be wondering why the Santa hat wasn't used in the shoot two days before, it's because I only got it the day after (bummer!). Take care and Merry Christmas!

Newborn Baby "M" ~ Ottawa Newborn Photographer

I had the two fantastic sessions this week. Two beautiful newborn babies who both slept for me! On Wednesday, I had the treat of meeting baby "M". She was only two weeks old and so beautiful! I was very excited to photograph a girl again, since it's been a while since I've had a girl to shoot. Here is a quick peek at some of my favourites from the shoot, I do have more to share, but for now I'll only post these for a little teaser!

I'm off to bed now, so I'll have to post more later this weekend! Take care :)

Busy Week!

I had a busy week this week, with two sessions (which I told myself I wouldn't do!! - it's just so hard to say no to beautiful little babies!), order deliveries, and a Broomball game :), so I've been a little off the blogging radar! I will have a few sneak peeks coming up, but in the meantime I wanted to do a few shout-outs to some fellow photographers I have had the pleasure of getting to know over the past few months.

Harry Nowell: a fellow Chelseaite, photographer and a pro-broomballer. Harry specializes in stock photography, public speaking, but most importantly photo education. Visit his site and check out some of his workshops, and sign up for his newsletter Exposed!

Jen Prescott: While I've known Jen for 16 years (Yes, 16 years since highschool!!), we've grown much closer over the past few months building and growing our photography businesses together. The only thing is that she lives in Pemberton, BC and I'm here in Ottawa! Skype has kept us connected, but with the 3 hour time difference we find it hard to connect as much as we'd like. Take a peek at the gorgeous kids and babies out west and if you're ever in Whistler and need some shots, give her a call!

Coming soon: Starting in January I will be launching "The Great Canadian Photographer". This monthly piece will feature an interview with my favourite Canadian Photographers, people who's images inspire me, spark my drive to be a better photographer and people I'd love to meet in person!

And finally... can't leave without a couple shots! My baby girl, helping me set up for a shoot:

Beautiful Baby "A" Preview Video ~ Ottawa Newborn Photographer

Here is a more in depth sneak peek into my last baby shoot with little Ava - but this time it's in video style! Enjoy, because she is an angel!

While not shooting... ~ Chelsea Photography

As many of you know, I'm on maternity leave this year "hanging" out with my beautiful girls. So while I am not shooting other beauties, I'm shooting mine (and boy are they a handful!!)

My daughters take their face painting very seriously!

Beautiful Baby "A" at 7 weeks ~ Ottawa Newborn Photographer

I had the most beautiful little baby girl come by for a shoot on Tuesday. She was 7 weeks old and already had so much light in her eyes and her expression, it was amazing. It was also so adorable how she would close her eyes and her mouth would open and when her mouth was closed her eyes would open, priceless!!

Babies ~ in HD

I saw this and just had to post it. The opening is priceless! Babies is directed by Thomas Balmes and follows the story of four newborns from totally different corners of the globe: Namibia, Mongolia, Japan and the United States. Release date is April 16, 2010.

I Heart Faces ~ We ♥ Tooshies!

This week's challenge is all about the tooshie! I instantly thought of this photo I took two summers ago of my two girls on our deck:

Priceless! Check out more tooshie images at I ♥ Faces, they are bound to make you smile!

Baby "O" ~ Ottawa Newborn Photographer

Little Baby "O" was born a strong little guy, at almost 10 lbs. At 10 days, he was already able to lift up his head, it was amazing! This cute little guy also wanted nothing to do with sleeping, so gave us a run for our money - but it was all worth it in the end, because I managed to capture some of my favourite images!

Don't you just love little baby toes!






I also got to try out my new boy elfin hat!

Give the Gift of Photography ~ Ottawa Family Photographer

Contact me at info at christinedenis.com

November Mini ~ Chelsea Children Photographer

On Saturday, I was treated to a fun little mini session with two awesome little guys! The sun wasn't shining, but regardless it was warm and just perfect for the shoot and for little "B" to get in some Bender time.

My Session and Print Prices ~ Ottawa Chelsea Children Photographer

I am often asked what my session rates are and what they include. I thought I should summarize it on my blog to make the information more accessible to those who are curious! If you would like to find out more information on the sessions and print products e-mail me at info at christinedenis.com


Standard Creative Session
Cost: $150 + tax

This session begins with a telephone or in-studio consultation to discuss your vision and how we will work together to create images that will represent that vision. We will discuss the shoot, how to prepare for it, clothing suggestions and ideas that you may have and how to incorporate them into the experience.

Once your date is set, your session will last a maximum of 3 hours at my home, or in my natural light studio in beautiful Chelsea, Quebec (about 15 min from downtown Ottawa).

Approximately 2 weeks after your session, you will be presented with 25 to 40 images in a private on-line gallery, this will allow you to preview your images and make some preliminary selections prior to the ordering session.

At your earliest convenience, we will book a private ordering session at my home where we will review the images together, discuss print and product options and select the images you wish to display in your home or album.

Precious Newborn Session
Cost: $175 + tax

This session also begins with a telephone or in-studio consultation to discuss the concept of newborn photography, the creative vision you have for your photographs and what particular details are important for you to capture during our session. If you choose to order my custom designed birth announcements, details of the announcement will also be discussed at this time, this way the announcement will be ready for order right after our session.

Once the date is set, your session will last a maximum of 4 hours at my home, in my natural light studio in beautiful Chelsea, Quebec (about 15 min from downtown Ottawa).

Approximately 2 weeks after your session, you will be presented with 25 to 40 images in a private on-line gallery, this will allow you to preview your images and make some preliminary selections prior to the ordering session.

At your earliest convenience, we will book a private ordering session at my home where we will review the images together, discuss print and product options and select the images you wish to display in your home or album.


Maternity and Newborn Combination
Cost: $250 + tax
This combined session includes your maternity shoot plus your newborn session.


If you prefer, shooting on location at your home or on weekends can be arranged for an additional $75.

Please note that session fees are due, in full, upon booking and are non-refundable. Session fees can be paid by cash, e-mail transfer or PayPal. Please contact me for further details.

Prints
Gift Prints: 8 x 10 and smaller $40.00

Collections
start at $540.00

I Heart Faces ~ Autumn Beautiful

Before I post my latest entry to I Heart Faces, I wanted to explain why I've been MIA for the past week or so. My computer's motherboard decided it had had enough, and crashed on me! It could have been the hours upon hours spend working, or just a lemon or a glitch, which ever, I'm happy to report that I'm back up and running and nothing was lost. My hard drive was not affected so that was good, and I also have multiple backups to everything, so all my photos were very safe!

Thanks so much to Francois at Komodo Komputer for helping me out so quickly!! You are the best computer guy in the Hills!


On to my I Heart Faces. This week was "Autumn Beauty". Autumn is long gone here in the Gatineau Hills, but the season was as beautifully colourful as always - the highlight of the year is the fall season!

Halloween Mini-Sessions, The Highlights ~ Ottawa Children's Photographer

The Halloween Minis were a huge success! The afternoon at HUSH Clothes shooting the cutest little kids all dressed up in their Halloween costumes was really fun! Each session was a quick 30 min and with little kids, that can be pretty risky. However, I can honestly say each and every little tiger, piglet, pumpkin, princess , dog and Dorothy were amazing! I had a blast! Here is the preview video and images, Enjoy!

And a closer look at the images featured in the video:

Thanks to everyone who came and Angie and Allison for letting me move in for the afternoon! Off to work on your galleries!