Barrie Maternity Photographer
2016 Client Appreciation Contest | Barrie Photography Studio
I pretty much look forward to this moment from the very beginning of the year each year! There is nothing I love more than being able to host a contest as a big huge “Thank You” to every one of the clients who chooses to hire me each year. You could have chosen any one of a massive quantity of other photographers in this area, but you didn’t. You chose me, and for that, I am truly thankful!
So, in appreciation, each year I host this end of the year contest where you have an opportunity to win everything from an entirely free session to gift cards, canvas, and a mounted print!
So, What Are These Prizes!?
Grand Prize (Winner selected via random.org) – Complimentary All Inclusive Portrait Session
Secondary Prize 1 – $200 Gift Certificate to use towards any Raindance Photography service. I’m really excited about Secondary Prize 1, as it will be chosen by the Grand prize winner! The Grand Prize winner will be required to go through the entries and select which one they think most deserves this prize!
Secondary Prize 2 (Winner calculated by number of Facebook Votes Received) – 11×14 Gallery Wrap Canvas (1″) of the entry submitted.
Secondary Prize 3 (Winner calculated by number of Facebook Votes Received) – 11×14 Mounted Wall Print of the entry submitted.
Secondary Prize 4 (Winner calculated by number of Facebook Votes Received) – $100 Gift Certificate to use towards any Raindance Service.
How Do We Enter?
1. Choose 1 favourite image from your session(s) with me in 2016.
2. Tell me WHY it is your favourite image! (In one paragraph or less)
Entering this year couldn’t be easier. Just CLICK HERE and fill out the form, upload your image, and press “submit!”
Deadline for submissions is January 30, 2017, at midnight.
When Will Voting Begin?
The Contest Album will be uploaded to Facebook on FridayDecember 23, 2016. Voting will run until January 30, 2017, at midnight. Winners will be announced on January 31, 2017, via the Raindance Photography Blog.
Ethan | Barrie Maternity and Newborn Photographer
At the beginning of the Summer, I met up with this gorgeous Mama, then expecting her second son, to help her photographically document her pregnancy. Not long later, she returned with sweet baby Ethan, who was an absolute DREAM to photograph! His big brother was so smitten with him, it was absolutely adorable and touching to watch the love that these three all had for one another. I am honoured to have the pleasure of documenting Ethan’s entire first year as he grows!
When new clients book a session with me, I am frequently asked “Just how many images come with the purchase of the Entire Gallery?” The answer is that the amount varies from session to session. But usually between 35-60 images per session… as you can see below, Ethan’s Mama ended up with A LOT of gorgeous images to help her remember this special time.
And now, here is this gorgeous Mama’s maternity session and Ethan’s newborn session! Enjoy!
Raindance Photography is Barrie’s exclusive newborn, baby, child, and family photographer. Specializing in studio photography and outdoor portrait sessions since 2011. To book your indoor or outdoor photo session with Raindance Photography, please contact info@raindancephoto.ca
Heirloom Albums | Barrie Photography Studio
Anyone who’s visited my studio has seen the array of different products that I offer to all of my clients to complement their sessions. I am passionate about only offering the best, most unique products on the market. Could you get prints at Walmart or Shutterfly? Sure you could, but they wouldn’t be even close to the quality that I can offer you. But really, it’s not just about the prints, it’s about things you CAN’T find anywhere else, like the Woodmounts, the Floatmount Collages, the whimsical frames, and my absolute favourite, the Heirloom Albums!
Why are Heirloom Albums my Favourite Product?
My house is covered in canvas and framed prints, because it makes me super happy to see the love that my family has for one another hanging on my walls. It makes my heart happy when others stop to admire the art that’s hanging on my walls too! But really, my one true love is albums. Like many of you, my home suffers from a lack of prime wall space to hang large wall art. Add to that fact that there are sometimes upwards of 60 beautiful images from each session I do (with my own kids and with my clients) and it can be so hard to choose which FEW are wall worthy, and which ones will remain on the USB, never to see the light of day. 🙁
Heirloom Albums solve ALL of these problems!
~ With 20 Lay Flat pages, they literally fit every single image from your session inside!
~ No wall space? No problem! Simply place your album on your coffee table and you can enjoy your gorgeous images just as much as if they were hanging on your walls!
And the bonus right now? Purchase an album with your session and receive a 50% discount off of your purchase of the Entire Gallery of Digital Files! Ask to see my sample album the next time you’re here so you can see the quality for yourself!
WINNERS! 2015 Client Appreciation Contest | Barrie Photography Studio
I know I had this contest open for a ridiculously long amount of time this year… I really wanted to make sure that as many people as possible had the opportunity to enter, but I also wanted to hold the draw today in particular for two reasons. Reason number 1 – It is my 5 year anniversary of being in business! Yay me! *Insert little celebration dance here* 😛 🙂 And reason number 2, today is my partner in crime (aka my husband’s) birthday, which gives me a pretty good reason to give away a bonus prize (because I love giving away surprises!) 😀
So without any further delay, here is what you’ve all been waiting for. The WINNERS of the 2015 Client Appreciation Contest! Thank you to everyone who participated, and to all of my amazing clients!
GRAND PRIZE WINNER – Contestant No. 17 – Dakota Moncada
Dakota has won an All Inclusive Creative Portrait session (worth $791), which includes her portrait session, all high resolution digital files (between 35-60) on USB with print release in both colour and black and white as well as 4×6 colour reference prints in an adorable 4×6″ Heirloom Keepsake Box. Congratulations Dakota!!!
SECONDARY PRIZE 1 – Contestant No. 8 – Jay Meredith
This prize was chosen by our Grand Prize winner. Dakota chose Jay’s adorable photo of Arwyn in the tree because it jumped out at her right away. Jay has won a $200 Gift Certificate to use towards her next portrait session. Congratulations Jay!
Secondary Prize 2 – Contestant No. 18 – Jessi Madaire
This prize was determined by the number of Facebook votes received on their entry. Jessi’s photo of her two little munchkin’s received a grand total of 263 votes! She has won an 11×14″ Gallery Wrap Canvas of her entry. Congratulations Jessi!
Secondary Prize 3 – Contestant No. 6 – Sydney Wheatley
This prize was also determined by the number of Facebook votes received on their entry. Sydney’s photo received a total number of 167 votes. She has won an 11×14 Mounted Wall print of her entry. Congratulations Sydney!
Secondary Prize 4 – Contestant No. 13 – Stephanie Chivers
Also determined by the number of Facebook votes received on their entry, Stephanie’s photo of her adorable twin daughter’s received a total of 122 votes, winning her a $100 Gift Certificate to use towards her next session! Congrats Stephanie!
And finally…
SURPRISE BONUS PRIZE! – Contestant No. 12 – Shanlee Stoutt
This prize was chosen in honour of my 5th Business Anniversary today by none other than the Raindance Birthday Boy (aka my husband)! 😛 He chose Shanlee’s entry out of a raffle. She wins an 11×4″ framed print of her entry inside a gorgeous Sawyer Wallflower Frame! Congratulations Shanlee!
Thanks again to everyone, without all of you, I would be pretty lonely! 😀 Congrats to all the winners!
Sincerely,
Stephanie
Olivia and Oliver’s Story… | Barrie Twin Newborn Baby Photographer
I have been waiting for a very long time to do this blog post! Back in 2014, one of my awesome clients contacted me to reserve a date for a newborn session and gender reveal for this year. She had just learned that she was pregnant, and because she was due in the summer time, she knew how quickly I booked up and wanted to make sure she was on my calendar. I was SO excited! I KNEW that this was going to be an epic gender reveal/newborn session, and not for the reasons I thought at the time… I have been watching this particular family grow ever since the birth of their 5th child, so to have the opportunity to photograph a NEW baby with 5 siblings was pretty exciting for me!
A few months after booking the session, we began planning the gender reveal. While we were talking about how we wanted everything to go, she told me how different this pregnancy felt from all of her others. She was sicker, more tired, bigger… I jokingly suggested that she must be having twins and I’m pretty sure at that point she spewed out some profanity at me and told me that I wasn’t being funny. lol
The week of her gender reveal came around and influenza was tearing through my house like wildfire. I had been so sick I couldn’t get out of bed for about 4 straight days, so I suggested to her that we postpone the reveal to the next week, which she graciously agreed to. The morning of her ultrasound, I was sound asleep in bed (still not feeling 100%, but getting much better!) when my phone rang. I answered, and Christina was on the other end telling me that it didn’t matter how sick I was, the gender reveal HAD to happen the next day, and when she told me why, I JUMPED out of bed and started planning! No amount of sickness could keep me from helping her tell her husband that they were expecting babies number six AND SEVEN, AND capture it all on camera!
The next day went something like this:
I was on a high for at least a week after that, it was SO amazing to witness that crazy moment! A few months later, mom came in for some belly photos, it’s still hard to believe that there were TWO in there!
Then, a few months later, when she was just 33 weeks 5 days pregnant, the most unbelievable birth story I’ve ever heard unfolded. In the very early morning hours, she woke up with sharp pains and knew that something was wrong. She went straight to the hospital, where they discovered that one of the baby’s placenta’s had ruptured. For a twin birth, the hospital had planned to have her deliver in the Operating Room, with a team of nurses (two for each twin) and a nurse and doctor for mom. Well, birth plans never REALLY go according to plan, right? Because as mom was trying to have an epidural, before even making it to the OR, in the presence of one single nurse, her husband, and the anaesthetist, little baby Oliver made a spectacular appearance into the world! He was born very quickly, before anyone was even prepared to catch him, landing on the hospital bed at 1:54 a.m. A mere three minutes later, his sister Olivia followed him into the world, at 1:57 a.m. safely into the hands of a doctor, who had just run into the room in the nick of time! I’m told that there was a lot of screaming, a lot of panic, and a great deal of blood involved…
The part of the story that gets me the most, though, is that dad’s father (the twin’s grandfather) passed away mere hours beforehand. While mourning the loss of his own father, this dad watched this whole crazy story unfold before his eyes, and welcomed his new son and daughter safely into the world under the watchful eye of his own father. Both twins were born healthy, spending only 10 days and 14 days in the NICU before getting to go home.
These little miracles were 3 weeks old when I got to meet them, they were so amazing to work with and slept the entire time. I have thoroughly enjoyed helping this family document these huge moments in their life, to have been allowed to witness much of it has truly been an honour!
Congratulations to this entire family on the safe arrival of Oliver and Olivia, and thank you again for including me! I look forward to continuing to watch your little ones grow over the years!
The Young Family’s Gender Reveal – TWINS!| Barrie Gender Reveal Photographer
Oh my goodness! Mom contacted me like, the day she found out she was pregnant to book her newborn session and I was SO excited, I KNEW I had to do their gender reveal too! They are long time clients of mine, I’ve known them for probably 3 years now. They already have 5 beautiful children, 1 boy, and 4 girls so I knew that this would be a great gender reveal.
I didn’t know just HOW great until yesterday. Mom called me, fresh from her ultrasound appointment, practically hyperventilating. Her 20 week ultrasound was her VERY FIRST ultrasound for this pregnancy. So imagine her SHOCK when the ultrasound tech said to her “Oh, I wish I would have known this was a TWIN pregnancy, I would have scheduled in more time!” So after I determined that she was NOT joking with me, she told me that she wanted to tell her husband and her kids at the gender reveal!
I could hardly SLEEP last night I was so excited! Dad’s reaction was everything I imagined it would be. If you want to see a man with a complete look of sheer terror on his face, just keep scrolling! For a split second I was actually worried he was going to throw up, but he’s a trooper, and he didn’t. lol!
I am THRILLED that I will get to photograph these twins (a boy and a girl) for this family in the summer! CONGRATULATIONS GUYS!!
