Category: Families & Portraits Portfolio

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Orangeville Family Photographer // The Paans

When the leaves turned a beautiful colour in October, I had the opportunity to photograph the wonderful Paan family in Orangeville. They were referred to me by Tanya, whose lovely family I have photographed a couple of years ago.

“Home” has always been a fascinating concept to me. There is the saying that “home is where the heart is”, and amazingly (as it usually is with language), there is a similar saying in Chinese (and probably in other languages as well). It means different things to different people. Perhaps it’s a small but modern apartment in a metropolitan city; perhaps it’s a 50L backpack filled with only the essential things you need to survive and travelling the world; perhaps you only feel at home with your parents who you know will always love you unconditionally.

For the Paan’s, I think home is a full house in the country, with two furry friends in tow and space to roam & explore. Maybe because I’m an only child and most of my family have always been far away, but I always thought I wouldn’t necessarily want a big family. Then I met the Paan’s, and thought, “hey, this isn’t so bad”. I know what I saw was only a small slice of their life, and that there must be days that feel hard and challenging (but isn’t it like that with all families regardless of the size?) But still, seeing how happy, loving, and harmonious they are within their family, I couldn’t help but think that all the hard days must be so worth it.

Thank you, the Paan family! For opening up to me and letting me document a little slice of your home.

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Iceland Family Photographer // Sigga + Bergur + Elisa

I first met Sigga when I was in Iceland in March, 2014. We’ve kept in touch since then, and when I was back in the country at the beginning of the month, I had the opportunity to do a family photography session for Sigga and her two adorable little ones, Bergur and Elisa. The morning was cold as we played on top of frozen seaweed by the ocean, but my heart was warm. This time of the year, the sun rises around 11:30am and sets again around 3:30pm. It feels strange how short the day is but when the sun is out, the light is amazing and it’s like it’s golden hour all the time. The light never gets too harsh.

Thank you Sigga for having me photograph you and your sweet little ones! I had a blast! Here are some favourites from our time together.

By the end of the session, little Elisa was quite fascinated with my camera, she snapped a few shots, including the below photo of her mom :) Not too bad I have to say!

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Smiling Eyes // Emily

Strength, bravery, and spirit. And family. That’s what this session was about, and I’m so honoured to have been able to document it for Emily and her family, as part of a charitable initiative for Smiling Eyes.

I also wanted to share what Emily’s mom Megan wrote for me afterwards:

“Our family was celebrating an unusual milestone in our photo session with Janice, and she handled it with grace and professionalism. It was the one-year anniversary of our three-year-old daughter’s leukemia diagnosis, and we wanted to document the occasion in honour of her strength, bravery and spirit. We were referred to Janice by Smiling Eyes, a charitable organization that offers professional photo sessions to families affected by childhood cancer. We were unsure about the whole process, but she immediately put us at ease. She was warm and sensitive to our situation while demonstrating her obvious experience and expertise. Most important, the photos that came out of our session are extraordinary. We are thrilled with the keepsake we now have of this moment in our lives. Janice captured the joy and spark in both of our girls. That was our hope in this venture, and we’re grateful to Janice for this gift.”

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Documentary Family Photography // Jess + Monty + Reid

Jess and I used to work together. I was thrilled when she contacted me about a family session with her husband Monty and their adorable son Reid; who has the most amazing hairdo as you will see below :) We played inside, took Reid for a bath, ate in their backyard and they read bedtime stories for Reid. Scenes that capture tidbits of their life. I truly believe some of the most unforgettable memories we hold in our lives come from the smallest moments: the way your baby’s hair feels; the first ray of light sneaking through the curtains; a simple text from a dear friend. That’s what I try to do with my family photography work as well; to document some of those moments and have something visual to treasure years later.

Here are some favourites from the session!

 

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Reykjavik Family Photographer // Kristin’s family

I met some really lovely people when I went to Iceland last March. So when I had the opportunity to go back in September, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to photograph Kristin and her family as Kristin is Selma’s sister (you may remember Selma & Andri’s snowy anniversary session).

A lot of people feel that photographers should pick an area of specialty and stick to it, others think that doing a bit of everything is good as you are diversifying. For me, I love weddings as much as photographing families because they both involve storytelling. I love it when families feel relaxed around me and will just do their thing – whether it’s playing, walking, or hanging out. That allows me to just do my thing – document those moments and the in-between moments. To me, the most beautiful photos aren’t the perfectly posed shots, or the “say cheese” smiles, but the ones where they aren’t so perfect, but captured a moment that only lasted a second but is nevertheless precious, and the ones where a bit of the subjects’ souls were captured.

This session was definitely one of those occasions for me.  :)

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Sarah & Eddie // Toronto Portrait Photographer

I’ve always wanted to photograph horses. There is something about them that I can’t put into words. They seem so majestic, and graceful. I encountered and photographed some on our trip to Iceland last June. Then in August I photographed one of my brides, Sarah with her friend of 10 years, Eddie. Sarah and her sister grew up riding but since she was no longer riding competitively, they were in the process of finding Eddie a new home. Before they say goodbye though, Sarah wanted some photos with Eddie (just a week after she got married) to remember him by.

Here’s to a 10-year friendship, and to friends, no matter who they are.

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