Little Wild Thing

 

 

 

Little Gryffindor

Being the mother of a Gryffindor is not for the faint-hearted.  Every day is an adventure.  Just thought I'd share this shot that I took to celebrate the release of Harry Potter & the Cursed Child. 

Happy birthday Baby K

One of my favourite things about being a life photographer is that I get to see people at different stages in their lives.  If I'm really lucky, I get to see them repeatedly at different stages. 

I haven't seen Tracy and Rakesh in a year, since their maternity session.  They were beaming with that eager but nervous anticipation that first time parents-to-be do.  It was impossible not to be excited for them, the same way it was impossible not to be happy for them when I saw how well parenthood and life with their handsome little boy suits them.  Congratulations to sweet Baby K who will be celebrating his first birthday soon! 

 So excited!

  

Getting clean post cake smash!



Eeee! Says Baby K. 

Mother's Day Mini Sessions

The smell of lilacs in the air, the feeling of warm sun and the breeze in the air all make for a nice time outside to snap some Mother's Day photos...

 

Baby :: Isla

 

 

I was visited this week by the oh so sweet little Miss Isla.  The girl has eyelashes for days and one heck of an infectious smile.  This is a very quick sneak from her mini session.

 

 

Hoppy Easter

Wishing you a "Hoppy" Easter from the Wishing Star Gallery!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

 

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day from a lovely little Leprechaun!

Happy Valentine's Day

 

Happy Valentine's Day from the Wishing Star Gallery!  I have the sweetest Valentine of all!

Baby:: Early acceptance to Hogwarts

 

Baby J shares something in common with the hero of one of the most popular literary characters ever, who just happens to be a favourite of mine.  Both he and Harry Potter hail from London, England.  I was thrilled when his mom, an ardent Gryffindor supporter, contacted me to request a session and I was obviously very happy to acquiesce.

Picking a theme for your session?

When you book a photo session with the Wishing Star Gallery you're getting something special.  Sure, the custom, unlimited, edited photos on a disc is great but you're also being given the opportunity to make your session uniquely yours.  Whether it's one person or a family, you should always give thought to the theme you might like to have for your shoot.

But Chelsey, you're the photographer! You should be able to give me beautiful and carefully thought out photos, that's what I'm paying you for.

Ah, that may be partly true my dear client... but I don't know you. And I want your session to be about you.  I not only want you to be proud of your photos, I want you to feel like they suit you.

Here's an example of what I mean.  Here you have a cute photo of my son, Wyatt.  (Yes, this is a shameless excuse to show off my ridiculously adorable little boy, but it has a purpose)

It's a nice enough photo.  I like it. It's cute. Nothing wrong with it. The crocheted owl hat, the super cute sleeping baby, it's all very adorable.  But that's not the photo I get printed.  That's not the photo I use for my facebook profile.  That's not even my wallpaper on my cellphone. 

Now here's a photo that came from a shoot that I crafted specifically for me.  I'll give you a little back story: I love to travel.  I grew up travelling.  I also grew up with aviation.  It's safe to say that both themes are cornerstones of my family.  My grandfather is even a pilot.  While some eight year olds wore jackets with Barbie emblazoned on them, I has a brown pilot's jacket.  I spent a year travelling all over North America and even went to South America AND Australia.  Before going on maternity leave, I worked for one of Canada's major airlines. 

 

See the difference?  If you don't know, they're just a cute pilot baby.  But if you know me, you'd known this is right up my alley. And if you were to judge the photos on their base merits in a quick glance, chances are you're going to think the aviation photos are more fun.  Why? Because they're unique. 

 

I will talk with you at length about any theme you want to incorporate into your photo session and do my best to come up with ideas or props.  I probably won't go out and buy a bunch of props specifically for your one shoot because, to be perfectly honest, from a business stand point that just doesn't work for me, but I do know various artisans that might be able to help us craft our vision if you don't have the items you want. And if you pay for it, you keep the prop when you're done.  (Duh!)

 

Gabby loved taking home her plush wolf from her Little Red Riding hood shoot.  Her mom even emailed me to tell how she insisted on sleeping with him that night!

 

 

And I know one little pixie girl who was giddy to take home her stash of sweets from her candy shoot with her family...

 

 

 

So when you're thinking of booking a photo session and I ask you if you have a theme in mind, don't be surprised if I refer to you this blog post.  Let's work together to make your photo session extra special! 

 



Happy Holidays

Baby :: One little monkey not jumping on the bed

Welcome to the World, Wyatt Oliver

On September 14th, 2015 the most beautiful baby boy was born.  I know that every parent says that, but I truly do believe my sweet Wyatt Oliver has the most beautiful soul ever.  As someone who is by nature a very open person, I found it surprising how private I wanted this time to be.  His delivery was complicated and (scary at points) but my little champion made his way into the world and has held my heart in his little hands ever since.  Below are a few photos from our first few days...

 

 

 

 

Newborn:: Apply of my eye

I can't resist sharing just a couple more from Wyatt's newborn shoot...

 

Newborn:: Wyatt Oliver

Better late than never.... I'd like to introduce the latest addition to my little family, my son Wyatt Oliver Sullivan Galbraith.  It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Harry Potter and hopefully one day he will be too.  This was one of his birth announcement photos.