Tag: Family

Oliver’s 1st Year through our lens

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 Oliver entered the world on June 11th, 2017 and stole out heart.  Back it up a couple months to when I created our Rainbow Baby Package. I created this package because of all the people in my life that have suffered loss and had their Rainbow baby.  Within hours of posting it, Lindsay contacted me about booking that package. 

We met Lindsay and Jason for the first time (after much chatting online) at the Halifax Public Gardens for their maternity session. We hit it off right away, they were the nicest couple that after many years of longing for a baby and suffering loss were finally having their Rainbow Baby.

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After he was born, Lindsay messaged me to announce his arrival and arrange his Fresh 48 Session. I couldn’t wait to meet Oliver, he was absolutely perfect. Seeing the love and bonding moments between mommy, daddy and Oliver just melted my heart. When you long for a baby for so long and fight so hard to have one that it gives you deeper appreciation when the Doctor places your baby in your arms for the very first time.  

Once Oliver was born, that’s when it started. We started to capture him throughout his first year. We did Newborn, Family, Christmas, Easter, Sitter Session then his first birthday. We got to capture so much of his first year, watch him grow, learn new things, and of course played & snuggled with him any chance we had. We ended up becoming great friends with Lindsay and Jason. Lindsay has been there for me as I am on the journey to try and become a mother. I couldn’t have a better person to be brutally honest on how tests are really going to be, but cheering me on because in the end…. you have a baby. My husband James and I love Oliver and love how we get to capture him as he grows up to be such a great little boy! 

Here is a look through our lens at Oliver’s first year:

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Eli’s First Year

Eli Patrick Scott Connolly arrived on May 31st, 2017 at 6:30 pm to Adam & Lauren. Not having met him yet, we had no idea this little guy was going to steal our heart and grow before our lens.

In June of last year, we decided to hold super mini sessions at Halifax Public Gardens. Adam contacted me to do their photos, that was the first time I met Eli, he wasn’t quite a month old.

Since that day, we have come to know them well. We have watched Eli grow over the past year, we did family photos with his whole family, Fall, Christmas, Easter, Mommy & Me and most recently we captured his first birthday cake smash session.

One of the most rewarding parts of our profession is getting to watch our clients lives unfold. Sometimes we meet them when they first get engaged, then married and then children or sometimes we meet them when they have their baby! We get to be apart of those exciting moments.

We met Eli at just 1 month old and got to capture his first Christmas, first Easter, first Mother’s Day and first Birthday. All those moments are so important and before you know it, his first year is over and he’s going into his second. Babies grow so fast!

We love being apart of capturing all these moments in life. We look forward to seeing what’s next for Eli and his family.

 

Why choose Tailgate Photography?

Have you heard of Tailgate Photography? Do you know who we are? Have you heard of our AMAZING referral program?

Tailgate Photography has been around for 10+ years. 3 years ago, I relocated to Halifax and have been working hard to get our name out and build our client base in HRM.

My husband James and I are Tailgate Photography. I am a full time photographer that has an in-home studio with lots of wraps, accessories and props! Our studio hours are Monday-Sunday from 9 am-5 pm but are flexible to book after hours as well.

I am a self taught photographer that is constantly learning. If I look back to my first session 11 years ago and now, the change is unreal. Over the winter months, we have taken 2 online Newborn photography courses along with a Toddler and Sitter Session course.

The Newborn courses we have taken, taught us everything from posing, wrapping, safety and more. We have the full newborn set up at our studio and we also have a portable set up that we can come to the comfort of your home for a newborn session or lifestyle session.

What makes me different?  I’m not a salesperson, I don’t up sell, I can’t limit the number of photos on my packages. I’ve tried to and have yet to stick with it. My goal is to give you incredible images, I don’t set a limit. I have high respect for the photographer’s that do, it just isn’t me. If I love the images, I want to share them. Maybe in the future that will change, but right now in this moment, that’s how it is.

Lastly, our referral program. If you refer 4 friends to us that book a session, you receive a FREE session of your choice (value of $125). You can use it towards a newborn session, just pay the balance, but it excludes weddings.

So, when you are looking for a photographer for whatever your occasion, please consider us. We are fun, creative, love hearing your ideas. We are great with children, have all the patience in the world and you will be happy with the service we provide.

Photography to me isn’t just another job, it is my career, my passion. I love meeting new people, creating lasting friendships and capturing moments that you will forever have as memories.

 

 

Bump, Baby & Beyond

Pregnancy is an exciting time in your life.  Maternity sessions are a great way to treat yourself before baby comes.  Let’s face it, once baby is born, he or she will be all of the focus!  I recommend booking your maternity session around weeks 28-34,  when your belly is nice and round but before you start feeling uncomfortable.

Life truly is a gift and creation of this life is nothing less than miraculous. We will perfectly capture the beauty of your pregnancy, your journey as a mother begins 9 months before you hold your baby. Capturing the beauty, happiness and memories in your pregnancy is what we aim to do.

Then baby arrives, it’s their time to shine. I love newborn photography. I recently took 2  courses in Newborn Photography. I learned so much from baby safety to wrapping techniques, posing and more. I am constantly adding new items to my newborn prop collection to make each session unique and different. We have a home studio and can also travel to the comfort of your home with our “mini studio”.

 I love to bring beautiful artwork to my clients to treasure. It all starts with Baby’s 1st year session. Newborn babies are little angels that like to sleep & cuddle because of these qualities, newborn photographs make some of the most beautiful images. A little patience, timing and creative posing will allow us to capture these moments perfectly. Onward and upwards your baby will grow so fast and the first year is the most important. The real fun starts when your baby starts smiling. Your baby will grow a lot in their 1st year, capturing that 1st chapter of their life is important and priceless.

We would love to be apart of your journey in becoming parents and welcoming your new baby.  All our packages are listed under Newborn & Fresh 48 and Maternity.

Contact us at :

info@tailgatephotography.com

 

 

 

Oliver’s 1st Christmas

This was our 5th session with Oliver (including their maternity session when he was still in mommy’s belly).

Oliver is special is many ways, he is Lindsay and Jason’s rainbow baby and because of him my husband and I have become good friends with his parents.

I’m thankful that Lindsay and Jason chose us to be their photographer. We get to watch Oliver grow, see all the changes in him from one session to the next.

He is the happiest baby with big blue eyes and that smile that melts your heart every time. He was full of smiles, giggles and surprised us when he ripped into a present.

Clients turn into friends, you develop an relationship with them as you get to capture moments of their lives and turn them into memories they can look back on forever.

We look forward to watching Oliver grow and continuing to capture those moments for them.

Hot Chocolate + Marshmallows + Bonfire= Perfection

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Every year Mallori and I talk and brainstorm about where to hold their session. Mallori likes to be unique, thinks outside the box and she is super creative.

One of their favorite family activity is getting on their side by side and heading out to the woods to have a bonfire. Why not do something they love and capture memories while doing it. I thought it was a fantastic idea.

Mallori baked cookies, made hot chocolate, packed marshmallows and apples. James and I arrived at their house, they packed up the side by side and we ventured off into the woods.

Ian was prepared and had the bonfire going, the sun was starting to set, we had the perfect golden hour.

One of my absolute favourite things about being a photographer is becoming part of your clients life. I started as Mallori and Ian’s wedding photographer, then when they got pregnant I was their maternity photographer; when Lux entered the world, I became their family photographer. It has been 7 years of being a part of their lives.

Here are some of our favourite shots from their latest family session.

 

 

The McGregor’s

I had the opportunity to take family photos of my family’s long time friend Karen.

Karen, her husband Aaron and their boys Nolan & Chase are from Toronto. They travelled to Nova Scotia for vacation and wanted to capture some of the beauty here in their family photos.  We incorporated the boys love for hockey into their photos, they are HABS fans…but I didn’t hold that against them.

The photos were taken at Sir Sandford Fleming Park (The Dingle). I love to photograph families, especially when they are not from the East Coast. Last year I got the chance to photograph a family from Alberta, originally from here; they were travelling back for vacation with their 6 month old baby boy. They wanted to get family shots of his first time at the beach and the first time his toes hit the ocean. It makes for great memories.

Karen and her family love the east coast. The boys love the ocean. We chose the Dingle because it has a great mixture of having the water, boats and sand in the background along with the Dingle tower. I captured some memories for them that they can hang on their wall, and always have a piece of the East Coast with them.

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Family is Everything

This is my first kind of personal blog. Photos have always been a big thing in my family, any gathering we had there were always 3-4 cameras around, every Christmas Eve we did family photos before everyone parted ways for the night. I have always had a camera in my hand since I was little with my ninja turtle camera, snapping photos of everything and everyone. I know on more than one occasion I have driven someone in my family crazy taking photos of them but a photo is a memory you get to keep forever.

I always knew how important it was to have your photos taken, one of the reason I became a photographer was to be able to capture all those important moments in people’s lives. Weddings, newborns, graduation, all those important events along with capturing family sessions. This year has made all of this even more important to me. I look at everything differently, I cherish the moments I get to capture for people, it warms my heart to see the love between parents and their newborn; kids getting photos done with grandma before she leaves; a bride getting ready to marry the love of her life. I’ve always loved capturing that but now I appreciate every single client more, I am blessed to be their family photographer, honored to be part of their wedding and all around lucky to snuggle all of the babies.

My husband and I got married December 31st, 2016; during our honeymoon we got a call from my aunt to tell me my stepdad fell and broke his neck. Instantly I wanted to come home, but he and my mom said no there was nothing we could do. Fast forward 3 months in the Halifax hospital on April 6th, I lost my stepdad. The man that raised me the last 26 years, who couldn’t have been a better dad to me and husband to my mother.

My Nan Diane had COPD for awhile, she has been on oxygen for a couple years but nothing stopped her from attending our wedding. One month and 2 days after the loss of my stepdad, my Nan passed away May 8th. I lived with my Nan for 20 years, we did everything together. I was always Nan’s girl and that will never change.

I wanted to share my personal struggle I went through this year because it makes you realize how short life is. It makes you realize you should cherish every moment with your loved ones, you can never give too many hugs, always tell them you love them and you can NEVER take too many photos.

One of my favorite quotes is from the famous Dr. Seuss “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory”.

That is the truth. I was very blessed to be able to have my stepdad and Nan attend my wedding, we had family photos taken not knowing those are the last memories we would have captured. I am blessed to have got to say my goodbyes and hold their hand.

If you can take anything from this blog, remember to capture those special moments and cherish every day with those you love.