Cornwall Family Photography – The Carrieres – The Toothbrush Sessions
I was so thrilled that this family let me into their home at a time of day when they weren’t too sure if their kids would cooperate. My sister was worried that her kids – who often wake up grumpy and fussy – would be anything BUT camera ready at 6am, and Jarrett wasn’t too sure of what he was in for, either. Luckily for me, their Saturday morning got off to a quiet, cuddly start and we got to ease into the day from there. Their two children are a little over 14 months apart and are 2 and 3, which is awesome because this is my favourite stage for kookiness. Ollie hates wearing clothes; Calla loves to eat just about anything. They play nicely one minute and ferociously the next. When it comes to taking photos, this makes for an awesome combination. :)
The thing that I love about these Toothbrush Sessions is that they’re set at a time of day when kids – and whole families, for that matter – are naturally vulnerable and when they’re most dependent on adults for help. Because of this, I get to document lots of little moments and small details in a relatively short period of time. Whether your kids are just waking up or they’re getting ready for bed, those two hours always involve a lot of contact with parents; lots of instruction, laughter, scolding, physical contact, hugs, kisses, and probably a few tears (there are tears in every shoot because kids love a good meltdown).
Al and Jarrett’s gang started with cuddles in mom and dad’s bed, which is more or less a daily activity for them. What followed next was a play-time-breakfast-play-time-get-dressed battle that is probably familiar to almost all parents of little ones. There were some interesting little details that I loved about this session and that will be unique to this period in the Carrieres’ lives: watching Ollie manoeuvre his way across the change table, over the Diaper Genie, and into Calla’s crib so that they could jump together; the weird way he opens a banana by splitting it in the middle of the curve; Calla’s grip on her PJs as Allison brushed her teeth; the impromptu forming of a basement band with Ollie taking lead on the keyboard/drum stick; Calla getting caught hanging on the table when she could get neither all the way up on top, nor back down onto the chair; Ollie’s decision that indoor sledding was the best idea EVER; the way Allison’s hand casually rested on Ollie’s bum while he scanned the cupboards for his mid-morning snack or the way Jarrett’s hand rested on top of Ollie’s head while he comfortably mashed his own face into the couch. Kids do some WEIRD stuff, and this session highlighted that perfectly for me. :)
I’m Ang – a documentary family photographer in Cornwall, Ontario with a passion for capturing light and photographing natural moments in life as they happen. My goal is to capture memories that you will cherish once your children are too grown up to curl into your lap for cuddles and the house seems oddly quiet at night. I love meeting new families in their natural environment and getting in amongst the bedlam so that I can document the perfectly imperfect realities of daily life. Please explore more of www.momentusstudio.com to see more examples of Cornwall family photography.
