Thank you everyone, for sharing your time with me.  Mom and Dad, you are blessed with three amazing girls!  I’m sure they will do great things in their life!  I hope you all have a wonderful summer together.

Much love,

Jennifer

It has been such a pleasure photographing this family over the last few years.  I first met them when Emmie turned 2, and again a year and a half later.  It’s amazing how much a child changes in such a short time.  When Sandy contacted me to come photograph their new baby, I was filled with excitement.  I feel very blessed to be a part of this family’s life year after year.  Thank you, Sandy, Nelson, Emmie and Harper for sharing your life’s events with me.  I look forward to many more for years to come.

Much love,

Jennifer

Thank you, Eowyn, Scott, Levi and Anika for sharing this special time in your life with me.  I love that we have become friends since doing Levi’s maternity and newborn session, and will remain friends, forever.

Much love,

Jennifer

It’s true!  Studies have shown that displaying photographs of your family members (especially your children) gives everyone a feeling of togetherness in their home.  Children have a strong sense of belonging when their pictures are displayed for everyone to see and are grouped together with other family member’s photographs.  Isn’t it great to come home after a long day at work and see your son/daughter’s beautiful face smiling right back at you?  I bet it makes your heart swell!

Wall displays can be very simple to put together.  Here are some steps to get you started on a small display.

1. Choose your most favourite photographs – the ones that make your heart melt.  If you only have them digitally, put them into a “To Be Printed” folder on your computer.
2. Decide which wall your gallery will be most viewed, and measure the area where you want to put your display.
3. Decide what you want your display to look like.

Figuring out what your display should look like can be a bit of a daunting task.  To help give you some inspiration, I’ve collected some really interesting displays on my Pinterest board.  Just click the Wall Displays button on the right hand side.

Now, don’t feel overwhelmed by what you see.  These are only meant to be inspiration for you.  Not everyone has the time to plan such intricate displays, but I think it’s safe to say that everyone has a wall that needs to be filled!

Once you’ve decided how you’re going to lay out your display, it’s time to choose your frames.  For a uniformed look, you will want to choose frames that are all the same.  For something more eclectic, you may choose to mix and match your frames.

Keep your wall colour in mind when choosing frames.  If your wall is already a neutral colour, then you will want to pick a frame that is either an accent colour or you could go with a dark brown or black.  A darker wall would nicely showcase frames that are lighter in colour.

To matte or not to matte, that is the question!

A matte is a acid-free (or at least it should be) piece of board that has been cut with a die to provide a frame within a frame.  For example, you could have an 8×10 frame with a 5×7 matte, and therefore you would insert a 5×7 photograph into the frame.

Matting your photographs adds a bit of loveliness to your display.  It’s a very classic look that has stood the test of time.  It especially works well if you’ve chosen to go with a more standard frame over an eclectic one.

You do want to be careful if you’re displaying matted photographs that you don’t choose a frame with a 4×6 matte inside.  A 4×6 on your wall can appear very small beside the rest of the photographs.  I don’t recommend hanging anything smaller than a 5×7 on your wall.  In fact, bigger is better, depending on how many images you’re grouping together.

Printing your photographs

Because you are displaying your photographs for your friends and family to see, you want to make sure you use a lab that has trained staff and uses high-quality archival paper.  It may mean paying a little bit more to have your photographs printed, but it will be worth it in the long run.  Using high-quality archival paper ensures that your colours won’t run or fade over the years.

One lab that I recommend to my clients, who have purchased digital files, is Pikto in Toronto:  http://www.pikto.com/cad/prints-overview

If you are in the United States, I recommend Mpix: http://www.mpix.com/products/prints/

Now that you have your pictures printed, inserted in the frames and hung on the wall, take a picture and show everyone how proud you are of your family and your new wall display!  I would love for you to share your gallery on my Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/JenGPhotog

Did you find this article useful?  If so, please feel free to share it:

As you can see, this sweet boy was all bright eyes and bushy-tailed for his newborn session, and I have to admit, I just love it when newborns are awake for their first professional photographs.  I mean, just LOOK at those eyes!  I’m sure his mom gets lost in them every time he looks at them.

Renee and I had a great time with this wonderful Brampton family.  I can’t wait to see these kids grow up over the years.  Thank you, Ruth and Joe, for sharing this special time in your lives with us.  Seeing your house so full is so wonderful, and I’m sure it warms the hearts of everyone you know.

Much love,

Jennifer

Our Keynote speaker was Deanne Kelleher from kAos Group.  Her wonderful presentation taught us that we not only need to be organized in our personal lives, but our professional lives also.  She provided us some tips and tricks to help manage our workflow systems.

After the break, our panel of speakers talked about different business strategies that have been very useful in their business success.  It was a honour to be a part of this panel which included:

• Amy Donnachie – RBC
• Kerri Nielsen – The Brampton Board of Trade
• Alan Gomez – Bramalea City Centre,
• Deanne Kelleher – kAos Group

The topic I spoke about was “Avoiding Distractions”.  I specifically focused on distractions that come up from time to time in your business.  Finding ways to avoid these distractions will ensure that you nurture and grow your business from the passion it started off as, into the thriving business you always wanted it to be.

Thank you to Cassandra, Jennifer, Kelly, Brian, Sharon and all the staff at the SBEC for including me in this wonderful event.  I am looking forward to working with you again at future events!

Here are a few images by Julia of Immense Memories Photography of the day (used with permission).  All the images can be viewed here on her Facebook page.

Thank you mom, dad and big sisters for welcoming me into your home and capturing your beautiful spirit.  I can not wait to meet number three, and promise not to stay eight hours!  Maybe…

Much love,

Jennifer

Theresa and Steven had a small, but beautiful, ceremony in their home on this blessed day.  Realizing that 12/12/12 would be their last opportunity to have their wedding anniversary fall on a sequential date, they had to act fast to get everything in order.  It was such an honour to photograph this wonderful event in their lives.  Thank you for allowing me to document it for you!

Much love,

Jennifer

Here is a sneak peek from the evening’s events!

We finally did coax her into a little bit of sleep so that we could get that cute sleepy shot too!

Congratulations, Mom and Dad, on your beautiful baby girl.  It was such a pleasure to work with all three of you.  Thank you for sharing this special time in your lives with me.  I will cherish it always.

Much love,

Jennifer

Who doesn’t love baby toes?

It was an honour to meet the owner, and award winning Chef, Mark Farrugia.  He whipped up an amazing sample of antipasto, bruschetta, prosciutto salad, and a beautiful plate of spaghetti!  He ended the photo session off with an amazing, flour-less chocolate cake!

If reading that hasn’t made you hungry yet, then I’m sure these pictures will!  Soon, some of them (I’m not sure which ones) will adorn a billboard along highway 403 on the northwest side of Hamilton.

Thank you, Amanda and Mark, for hiring me for this job.  I’m looking forward to working with you again!