I’m so excited to announce an incredible opportunity for those of you in the eastern end of Canada… I was recently lucky enough to have been invited as one of five phenomenal portrait photographers from across Canada to be hosted in Montreal, by Natacha Silber Photography, for a fun-filled weekend of camaraderie, collaboration and most importantly….lots of photography.  The photographers include www.natachasilberphotography.com,  www.tanyashields.com,  www.ambershereen.com, www.deannahallphotography.com, and… you guessed it… www.stephanierobin.ca. What does this mean for you? Well another casting call opportunity! We are currently looking for babies due the first week of April and will also be holding an open call for children ranging in age from 2-13, teens from 14-17 and pregnant ladies who will be around 32-36 weeks in early April. For more information or if you are interested in submitting yourself or your child please send one photograph only for each model interested in participating to gabfest2010@gmail.com . Successful applicants will be contacted with further information and specific event details. Stay tuned for more casting calls and some workshop information coming later today.

Sydney | Burlington Newborn Photography Mentoring

I was doubly lucky today to meet with both a sweet pudgy little 5 day old newborn and an up and coming photographer out of Quebec for a wonderful full day mentoring program. Although the talk mostly centered around sweet Sydney and newborn posing techniques, props and necessities, we also spent a fair amount of time discussing vendors, business practices, pricing strategies and editing techniques. All in all, I really feel I’ve forged a new friendship with photographer Christine Denis and am excited to watch her grow in her newborn photography craft.

A few from today…

An update from Christine:

Dear Stephanie,
I just wanted to thank you for a really wonderful day!!  You have an amazing talent, and I learned so much from you!  You have also inspired me to be more creative, have a renewed appreciation for the safety of babies and given me confidence to try different things - that is invaluable for me!  I can’t wait for my next newborn shoot, to practice what I learned :)

So nice to hear such great feedback. It brightens my day when someone thinks enough of me or my work to take the time to write me about it. Thanks Christine.

Kiera | Oakville Newborn Photographer

Kiera was a true little treasure to photograph. Lucky me with the feathery haired babes lately. Such a precious girly at 13 days and truly a sleeper.
Just check out those kissable lips. So so sweet.

Newborn Models Needed!

*UPDATE* Spots are filled for the mentoring session. Thank you so much to everyone for the interest. It blew me away how many of you inquired and I look forward to seeing a few of you over the coming weeks and session on Wednesday. Also, a bit of news for the photogs out there… SRPD will officially be offering a newborn posing WORKSHOP in Ontario in the month of March. More details to come but please feel free to email info[at]stephanierobin.ca to get on the notification list when details and rates are released within the next few weeks. Please note, workshops and mentoring are not available to those residing within 200km of Burlington Ontario.

One of my favorite things to do is mentor other photographers in the newborn specialty. It’s truly fun to watch how much they learn and answer their questions and just generally get to know other photogs and discuss the business. Of course, how can you teach someone without a model? So…. here’s the call…

I am in need of Newborn models under 2 weeks of age for the week of February 1-5th. What does this mean? Well, it probably means you are either currently in the hospital meeting your sweet bundle of chub at this very moment or very close to it or that you’ve just recently brought them home and are in the process of falling more and more deeply in love with them with every passing minute. Trust me, I’ve been there twice and even through the sleep deprivation, who can resist those sweet little creatures?

What’s in it for you? Well, firstly, a free session with SRPD (to be conducted on Wednesday the 3rd) at the modest SRPD home studio in Burlington including up to 4 hours of my expertise handling and positioning your babe into some adorably curly poses. Not only this, but you will also be gifted 5 gift prints of your choice from your session as well as a 20% discount on all a la carte items you choose to purchase after the fact. I know most of you have probably noticed the newly required minimum print purchase requirement on the investment portion of the site. Does this apply to your casting call session? No. No it does not.

I am currently looking for a maximum of 2 models, please inquire quickly as once the spots are filled, I won’t be able to accommodate further models for this timeline.

Hope you’re all having a wonderful Monday.

S.

Bella

Oh, how I love feathery haired babes. Such soft little baby fluff. Bella was an absolute doll. I so would have taken her with me if not for her voracious appetite.

Miss Tessa.

At 6 weeks, this little beauty was such a treat. Miss Tessa…

Stella

Oh how I have a sweet spot for redheads. Knowing I am on my last, I am secretly hoping he or she will take on a bit more of the strawberry tinge than my first two.

At 7 weeks, little Stella was as inquisitive as any baby should be although she did accommodate me falling into a short but sweet slumber. Such a cutie.

Kolten | Brantford Newborn Photographer

Sweet sweet 7 day old Kolten was a total dream. Thank you so much for welcoming me into your home S and for the jelly belly’s too. They were a close second to the sweetness of your little man.

First babe of 2010

Mine at least. But what a treat to photograph this little new year’s squish.

Oh those plump cheeks

The full lips

And sweet fair little baby fluff hair.

Baby Fever is about to begin here at the SRPD studio in more ways than one.

Welcome to 2010

Thank you so much to all of my clients for allowing me time over the holidays to celebrate with my family and reconnect with friends. It was a much needed break.

Not to mention, if there was ever a time for chaos, it was nice to deal with it while on holidays. Between our families, one tibial plateau fracture, one case of Bell’s Palsy, one diagnosis of early colon cancer (with the associated surgery to render our loved one cancer free with a clean bill of health… amen!), two tiny broken metatarsals and one inguinal hernia with surgical repair all hit between December and January. Yikes. Here’s to a healthy and happy 2010! No kidding.

If you’re a keener, you will have noticed there are a few missing items on the website. I’m in the process of streamlining things in the spirit of simplifying my site and blog. I will also be cutting back on the number of photos shared per session in the months to come. Not for lack of time, but because I want your first peek of your stunning images to be when you open up your new beautiful slideshow. Yup, that’s right. SRPD has taken the plunge and moved to a brand new shopping cart system which will start with an online slideshow set to music and is chock-a-block full of handy little perks that make ordering soooo much easier. Say goodbye to recalculations, separately emailed package photo numbers, announcement and card details. Instead you will be able to input all of this and more RIGHT ON YOUR ORDER FORM. Not to mention the ability to insert your coupon codes, gift certificates and print credits and apply them BEFORE checkout. Easy peasy for us both no?

So … on to the aforementioned news… Not that it is new to anyone out there anymore really but…

SRPD is…

Ummm yup… and not just a little either. Nearly 22 weeks to be exact. Which means I am completely out of commission for the month of May. Oh and perhaps June too. :) I am also now booking a very limited number of sessions for the spring which are filling rather quickly, so if you’re sitting on the fence, now might be the time to inquire for sessions February through April. I do have one or two spots left in January but once they’re gone, they’re gone. I’m so sorry to those who have begged to get in, in the past. It’s very difficult for me to turn clients away, however I really do want to provide and maintain a superior level of service and devote 100% of my work time to my booked clients. It’s a change I’ve been moving towards for some time now and I feel 2010 is the year I will make it reality.

Just one more for now….

Yup… no more monkey’s jumping on our beds. Poor stinker. Seems we’ve been keeping the fine folks at Dundas and Walker’s US and Radiology busy anyways. :)