GTA family photographer Archives | Jen Short Photography

Family :: Stevenson

August 4, 2022

GTA photographer specializing in family photography – Reserve your date

I haven’t seen this family in years. Actually since these two were 6 months old and it was so cool to see how both have grown. They say kids grow fast and they do. Especially when you haven’t seen them in a while. I know with my own, just a weekend away and it seems like years of growth. Personality and hight.

Over the years I have gotten away from driving to the GTA. York Region seems so much safer to drive in (I hate crowds including crowds of cars lol) and I made a decision to limit my sessions to my area. To my surprise many of my Toronto and GTA clients are happy to make the trip up north. I mean, getting out of the ‘crowds’ is always a nice treat and to come to such a beautiful wonderland makes the experience that much better.

There are a lot of images I wish I had of my own family. Images I took of others and can’t do with a tripod. I keep saying I will try again, but it really tests my family’s relationships lol. Like really puts our patience to the test. Every year I have another photographer do our session and I get stunning images I plaster all over my walls, but it’s hard to see other sessions and not want what they have. It’s hard as a photographer to have a vision and capture it yourself. Maybe if I had those magical kids (and husband) that knew just how to pose and behave when I’m in control.

That being said, I have so many wonderful images from friends that I will cherish forever. And as I tell my clients, just let your family be your family and your true selves will show in the photos. No two families are alike and no two sessions will be either!

Ready to book? Message me HERE

Family :: Reiter

August 4, 2022

GTA Family Photographer – Flower farm session

These are a few of my favourite things! Literally my bff and her family, the flower farm and a sunset. I could spend every night like this!

Country Cut Flowers is a hidden gem in York Region and this family made the trip all the way from the GTA (and made it on time) to capture some of the sweetest photos. As with every session, I want to ensue my families have images they want to blow up for their walls or print in albums. How stunning will these be in a collage on their living room walls?!

This summer our families went camping at the Pinery. If you know me, even just a little, you know that is not my jam. I wear 7 layers of bug spray to each session, freak out every time a critter rustles in the bushes and basically am a girly girl. I even stand on a stool in the long grass incase something slithers by. As much as it isn’t for me, my kids love it (and my husband – but I don’t do it for him). It was so nice to spend more time with these guys. It was amusing to see how much their kids are just like their parents. Mini versions. I know our kids are like us, I laugh several times daily when they do something and it’s ‘SOOOO Me’ or ‘totally’ my husband. But to see mini versions of my bff and her husband was well worth the mosquitos and racoons. It’s crazy to think back to when we met and where we are now in our lives. My heart is so happy to see our kids play together and being able to capture these gorgeous images for them is just a small gesture for all the years of friendship.

See more sessions at this beautiful farm HERE

Want to book a session for your own family? Click HERE

Personal :: Just do it

January 18, 2020

Just do it I told myself before letting everyone else know my plan. I said we were just going to take ‘a couple pictures’. Really, all I wanted to do was update the two long picture frames in the kitchen. ‘It’ll be quick. Promise’ are my famous words when it comes to our personal photos. I’m pretty sure I’ve used that line too many times, but as long as it works, I’ll keep using it!

So off we went with a tripod and my strict instructions to cooperate. Just like everyone else, I go through the same getting ready, struggling with what everyone should wear, trying to time the sessions and cranky hour (kids and husband), getting everyone in the car and hoping no one ruins their outfits on the way, and begging for smiles. I go through it all too. And just like every other time, my kids want to run and give me one smile before deciding I have had enough cooperation.

So, I wait. I stalk them from afar with my zoom lens and just take candids. Every so often I make a crazy sound from behind a bush (like a total nut job) and get that smile I was waiting for. Stalkerazzi. But I want what I want and that’s gorgeous photos for my walls.

I knew I got what I needed in the first 5 minutes. But like every other mom, I like to torture myself and keep going.

This is where it get’s hairy.

I don’t know why men are incapable of taking a good photo, but they are strugglers.

In all fairness, he’d been handed a fancy camera with the auto settings turned off. Anyway, he was given the job of taking pictures of me, making me not look ‘well fed’ and getting the kids to smile at the same time, while trying not to jiggle the camera and take blurry photos. I should mention the camera is like 15lbs and holding it still is kind of important.

‘Watch the angles’, ‘how do I look’, ‘did she smile?’, ‘how’s my hair?’, ‘make sure I don’t have a double chin’, ‘get ready, I’m going to bounce her and then pop up and smile. Make sure to catch it when I’m standing straight, my hair stops flying in the wind, and she has a giant smile. Got it?’.

I did get my two photos we set out for and a few more. I left as one happy mama and grateful for luck and the great people around me. Sometimes, I’m jealous of my clients and their beautiful sessions. This time, I did something about it. Like I said, Just do it!

Big thanks to Janet at Country Cut Flowers for letting my girls run wild in the fields and allowing me to capture these memories. It’s honestly one of my favourite places to be.

Check out more personal blog posts HERE!

Newborn :: Henry

February 22, 2019

Newborn Photographer GTA

It seems like a baby boy boom these days. Back to back to back sessions with little men makes you wonder if the Chinese calendar for predicting gender is onto something. I do love all the frilly things that come with little girls, but totally feeling the solid colours in this session. Something so simple and classic!

Family Session :: McNalley

March 30, 2017

Family Photographer based in North York Ontario

Family Sessions with older kids can go one of two ways. Teens and pre-teens tend to have their minds made up about how uncool taking photos with their parents is. Fair, I was that way at one time. However, this little family was amazing and it shows. One of the images from this session even made me cry!

One of my favourite parts of being a photographer is meeting people and getting to know them. It can be a lonely job when you don’t have any coworkers but I have the most amazing clients which makes up for it. Sometimes, like this one, I feel a connection I can’t explain. Trish reminded me of someone special to me. The sweetness and general adoration for her kids is indescribable. I know everyone loves their kids but for some reason it affected me differently.

Landon :: 6 Months Session

June 9, 2016

6 month milestone photography is bigger than you think. I met Landon when he was just a newborn. He still sort of looks the same but still sort of looks totally different! Kids really do grow fast and I try to stress to my clients how important capturing these moments are. The things they do and learn in just a short time frame are so easy to forget. You think you will remember when they started sitting but the second they can stand that memory gets bumped back. It’s true, I learn the hard way every day!

With that said, these sessions are perfect to capture their little personalities. The 6 month milestone is kind of a big deal. The facial expressions kill me! Gummy smiles, moments of annoyance with us for trying to pose them, and candid laughter of parents. These are the things we don’t alway notice every day let alone capture as a memory for an album or our walls. We all strive for the perfect family photo but if there is anything I have learned since having my daughter is those random photos that you didn’t think were all that great at the moment are actually the ones you look back on and smile at. The ones that captured your family naturally in the moment.

Looking forward to more smiles from this guy in years to come!

Family Session :: Baby Kian

February 11, 2015

Family sessions when a baby is around the 3 month mark are usually some of my favourites. The baby has a personality, parents are in a groove and everyone’s past the craziness that comes with a newborn. Kian is no different. He has little faces that he makes and the more time I spent with these guys the more I began to recognize them. Something about little ones developing who they are just makes me smile. Newborns don’t need a lot and are relatively straight forward. The older they get the more they keep us on our toes but the more fun the session becomes. You never know when your going to get that look or a smile. You can’t predict how it will go or the final images. Guess I should have known there would be a ton of good ones from this session since this family is ridiculously cute and sweet. To date, I probably had the hardest time yet choosing their images. Can’t wait to see this little one grow.

The Rossnagle Family

January 7, 2014

Fall photography is like nothing I ever expected. I had no clue that I would get so many calls to do family photos in the leaves. Nor did I ever pay attention to when the leaves started to change colour each year. Then again this whole photography thing has made me open my eyes to a lot of things I never paid attention to. Like the direction of the sun, hight of trees, shade, shadows, foliage, randomly parked cars, rocks… you get the picture. Just went through life with my eyes half open. My mother used to see the beauty in the leaves and nature but I just thought she was crazy. ‘It’s just a tree’ I would say when she would name them. Most famous tree of all was the Christo’fur’ tree. If you don’t get it… just think a little harder.

When Lorysa said her family was going to be in town and she wanted to book her session it was still summer. She wanted a fall time slot. No problem I thought. My schedule is wide open. Good thing she contacted me early because the closer it got the more calls that came in. I didn’t realize how popular fall was for family sessions.

I love shooting families. Dynamics are so different and you never know if your going to get a close knit family or one that smiles because I told them to. Not the Rossnagles. These guys were fun and willing to try anything. I just love that. Oh and when I say get close they snuggle right in. Wish all all families were this close! I walked away from this session with a big smile on my face.

Family Photographer based in North York Ontario

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