Happy Halloween!

From my skunk and lion to you - Happy Halloween!

Baby Jackson

Tonight I got to photograph Jackson - what a sweetheart! And Jason and Kristen are completely smitten with their little (or should I say not-so-little!) guy. Love watching first time parents and remembering those first days with my own girls.

I had not been to their home before. Well, I would buy this place in a heartbeat. The exposed brick and open concept was so much fun to photograph in!

Thanks for letting me in to your home and to capture some of Jackson's cuteness!

News & Happenings!

In case you haven't yet subscribed for our monthly e-mail (see the right sidebar to sign up) - here is an update of some new things happening here at Krista Jefferson Photography!

A new announcement for 2008 weddings!

I truly believe in giving back - we are so blessed. I met this week with a couple who are getting married next year and in our conversation learned the bride has MS and is the MS ambassador for her area. It got me thinking and what I am now pleased to be offering is a portion of all sales from the purchase of your wedding photos by friends and family will go to the charity of your choice. If you do not have a favourite charity, I will make a donation to one of my favourite charities - The Salvation Army-on your behalf.
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An invitation to newly married or engaged couples!

I believe strongly in marriage for life, and I know that with the stress of life, kids, finances and more... too often "happily ever after" comes too quickly to an end. I do not want to see this happen for any of you! (or me!) I've been married for almost 11 years now, and I know that marriage is one of the biggest sources of joy - but that it comes with a lot of work and hard times as well. I have been looking for something to offer to help people start their married lives off on the right foot. I'm happy to announce in November, we will be hosting an event for the first time with Leanne Friesen who is a phenomenal speaker, and who offers premarital counseling. She is a young married woman herself - and is an absolute riot! This will be a fun evening of tips and suggestions to move past the picture perfect wedding to a marriage that lasts. And we'll have some fun along the way! It also will be fun to interact with other couples in the same stage of life as yourself. Because I believe so strongly in this - I am offering this free of charge to anyone who is engaged, or newly wed - if you are a client of mine or not.

I know one more evening out probably seems un-thinkable when you're busy planning your wedding or up to your neck with the demands of life. But, I know for myself - I spent many, many hours planning my wedding that lasts one day. How much time do I spend planning my marriage that lasts a lifetime? This event will likely be just a couple hours with a time to hang out afterwards.

And for all of you married for a few years (or more than a few years!) - I am looking at hosting another event for you!

At this time I'm asking you to drop me a line if you are interested in an event like this (for both the newlywed or not-so-newlywed) and we will keep you informed as to location and times.

My Girls

This Fall is going by in a blur and I'm snapping photos of everyone else's family.. and had to get out there with my own girls today and snap a few of them. I love Fall! Here are just a few from the five minutes I had my camera out - then I had to put the gear away and go back to my other job - "mom". Best job in the world!



Madison (age 5)



Eden (age 3)



And fun in the leaves!

Bradley Family

I have really been getting to know Tim & Trish and their family - and really enjoying it! In the summer I photographed their family, last week I photographed Tim's extended family and today I photographed Trish's extended family. I can't believe we got two gorgeous Sundays in a row! Cheryl - Trish's sister - and I went to college many moons ago so it was fun to see her again. A gorgeous day and family!

Because I've been around so much, Caitlyn is getting comfortable with me and is always asking for her photo to be taken. How could I say no to such a gorgeous young lady?





Here is the entire family - out enjoying the Fall colours!







And the individual families...







And Cheryl's kids...





Grace is just learning to walk - such a great age!









Got to love the Grandkids...







And Lori-Lynn's new baby...



And the reason they're all together today...

Baby Mattea

Back in June I got to photograph Ian & Sharlene as they waited for their baby girl. Yesterday I got to meet this little beauty - she's gorgeous! It was fun to see these two as parents and to hold another little miracle. Here's a few images from my first introduction to baby Mattea.

You may recognize the material in this first photo from the pregnancy photos HERE

Illmans Family

This summer I enjoyed photographing the Illman family and their adorable kids. Now this past Sunday and next Sunday I am photographing the extended family of both the husband Tim (his family was this past Sunday) and the wife (Trish) who's family is next week. We met at their home and photographed on their beautiful property. We took photos of the big group and then a lot of Tim's brother and family as Tim & Trish had recently had their family photos done. It was a gorgeous Fall afternoon and a lot of fun!

Steve & Leanne

It was such an absolutely beautiful day yesterday - unreal for mid-October in Ontario! And a beautiful day for Fall photos! It was great to meet Steve & Leanne who were a lot of fun. They found doing the photos and taking time to be affectionate a stress-reliever to their busy lives. I found it an enjoyable afternoon!















And we had a little visitor on our hike - a snake! Had to snap a photo for my girls who love snakes, dinosaurs and bugs!

Tia's Boys

It was fun to see Ethan and Ben again and take some photos of these two dashing young men! Ethan and I became fast friends - slightly smitten with each other - as he insisted on holding my hand most of the time. Such a sweetie! And BEn with his curls is so adorable! A fun morning!

Role Reversal

This weekend my husband and girls were away - and I crammed in a lot of girl time! I was able to go shopping in the States with my good friends Carolynn & Dawn, do a photo shoot for fun with Beth, have dinner with Leanne and a quick visit with Margie. That makes me happy! I love my friends! They keep me semi-sane - thanks!

One exercise that is so helpful for photographers is to occasionally be in front of the lens - gives us a taste of what you feel! So Beth and I for fun did a photo shoot - way too early - but it was fun!

Let me tell you quickly about Beth because I am so proud of her! She is only 18 - graduated last year from high school and she has talent to spare! Goes to show age really doesn't matter - it's just a number. Beth has been assisting me at weddings this year and has been involved in different ways here at Krista Jefferson Photography. And we have some big dreams for furthering her involvement here. She just told me today she recently won an award for her photography skills - way to go!! Without further ado - here are my photos of Beth and hers of me... she's the cute young thing in case you couldn't tell us apart :-)

Welcome Amanda!

I'm excited to have a Sheridan College photography student coming to do a work week with me this coming week! Amanda - can't wait to meet you!!

Smiling Eyes

Awhile ago I made a new friend - Christine from Click Photography. She and I started e-mailing and had so much in common. When we finally met for a playdate at the beach it was eery how much alike we were - each of us with our two daughters, both of us wearing the same shorts, carrying the same beach bag, and on and on it went. It has been a lot of fun to develop this friendship.

Well, one thing Christine should be so proud of is something she has developed called "Smiling Eyes" - and I am so thrilled to announce my involvement! Smiling Eyes is a collection of photographers, who are volunteering their time to help people dealing with cancer. Photographers donate a free photo shoot and a CD of all the images from the shoot (all complimentary with no strings attached!) to families going through the battle of cancer. This is a way to help people make the journey with cancer a little less difficult.

I'm so excited to be a part of this now!

Read more here!

Ryan, Lori & Boys

Ryan & Lori became an instant family of 4 a few months ago when they adopted these two adorable little guys! The boys could not have been sweeter or more well behaved - a lot of fun! You could see the love between each of these four - beautiful to watch! It was an honour to photograph their new family!









Caught this un-staged tender moment between the boys










And Ryan is a Senators fan - so we needed to get this photo!


And I think we have some future photographers here. Here are photos the boys took.

Brady (age 5) took this one:



and Kadan (almost 3) took this one:

Fathers Day in the Fall

Andrea won our Father's Day Contest with a moving story about her hero - her dad. Sunday morning we used her winning gift certificate for some family photos. It was so special to have her divorced parents agree to a family photo which was so important to their daughters. We had a great time at a beautiful park in Brampton - thanks Andrea for sharing a bit of your story with us!

Otten Family

I ended my day at the beautiful home of the Ottens outside of Guelph. It was a gorgeous day to be outside! The family was a lot of fun - and the dogs were a riot! A fun way to end the day!













I fell in love with their wildflower garden and had to snap some photos of it too!

A.J.& Jody's Engagement

Next up was Elora - love this town! Here I met up with A.J. and Jody and we had fun climbing down the gorge and then wondering through this quaint town snapping photos. The leaves were perfect colours and these two were a lot of fun! Can't wait for the wedding next June!























And this was a store sign I had to snap (Eden is my youngest daughter's name!)

Brett, Jen & Family

My next stop today was Brett & Jen and their two adorable sons Tommy and Nicholas. I had met Tommy back in January - and couldn't believe how much he has grown! I hadn't had the chance to meet Nick before - but what a cutie! So full of smiles! When I got their he was asleep in the coolest sling Jen was wearing - check it out in the photos. Very cool. Thanks for a peek into your home and life today!

MacDonald family

Today I had 4 photo shoots in the Guelph Area. We started the day early in the chilly Fall morning with the MacDonald family. Their older daughter Noelle was such a sweetheart - loved chasing the geese and playing in the leaves. Shayla just turned one about a week ago - and seems so small to b e walking. She's adorable! Thanks for a fun morning Kelly & Steve!

Baby Matthew

A few weeks ago I had fun photographing Dan & Leslie as they awaited their firstborn. Well, Matthew decided to come early and now tonight I got to photograph the wee gaffer. What a doll! And he could not have been better behaved (with his adoring parents completely smitten!)

Martin Family

Cherie is one of my dearest friends - we've been friends through a lot of ups and downs, laughter and tears. She is one of those friends I don't need to see all the time (although I may want to!) to stay close. She's a keeper.

Tonight I had the pleasure of photographing her gorgeous family. Cherie really wanted Fall colours but this morning was grey and miserable. Come photo time the sun came out and it was a gorgeous hot Fall day! As always it was fun to see this great family interact!

My gorgeous friend


Pete & Cherie

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all had a GREAT Thanksgiving! The weather was incredible - 30+ yesterday - don't remember being so hot EVER at Thanksgiving! We had fun with friends and family and have so very much to be grateful for.

Just to add some fun - we hosted my family this year and me being the nerd I am bought a bunch of gourds and veggies for us to make some crafts. Here's what we came up with!

I divided us into 4 groups - each group with one kid (Cohen isn't a year yet so he didn't get a group - next year!). Here are the 4 cousins with their creations (and trophies)...





Then on Monday we had so much fun making these - we kept going and Mark and I and the girls made two more!

I hope you dance...

We went to visit Mark's Great Grandpa last night for an early Thanksgiving. Madi and Eden adore him. Normally it takes Madi a long time to warm up to people she doesn't see very often, but when she saw Great Grandpa she grabbed his hand and they started to dance. I'm not sure which one of these two enjoyed it more. These are the times I'm especially happy to have my camera ready!

Dreaming

I've always been a dreamer - and I feel like this business is a dream becoming reality for me. I feel so blessed and grateful. I am always dreaming of ways to improve, expand and grow... watch for more on that!

While cleaning up the basement recently I found a box of old letters from my hubby, Mark, from when we were dating. We've been married 11 years this December so these letters are from a few years back! I found a note he had left me once that said this and it resounded with me...

Some dream of things that are and say "Why?" but you dream of things that never were and say "Why not?"

Exciting News

Friday night I was thrilled to get two very exciting e-mails!

First, I heard from the Hamilton Spectator that I received the platinum award for Best Photographer, Best Photography Studio, and Best New Artist and the diamond award for Best New Business. WOW!!! This doesn't go into the Spec until Oct. 25 but they tell the winners early. I am s pumped! Thank YOU all SO much for your votes, support and encouragement!

Secondly, I got an e-mail saying that the photos I did of Pernell awhile back for his "Top 35 Christian Leaders under 35" was used for the magazine's cover! I must throw an extra comment in here saying how super proud of Pernell I am! He is one of our dearest friends and it is exciting to see him being recognized for his amazing leadership, vision and passion. Here's a sneak peek at that as well!

Chris, Dawn & Family

Dawn and I have recently become friends - she is such a riot! It has been fun to also start to get to know her hubby and kids. What a great family! Yesterday I did three photo shoots at Webster's Falls in Dundas - and wow! What a gorgeous day! Dawn's kids Aurora (Rory) and Asher are such sweethearts - fun to photograph!

Andrew & Jessica

Last year I did Andrew's brother Ryan's wedding and met this great couple then. Andrew & Jessica are so sweet - I am really looking forward to their outdoor wedding at Dundurn castle next year! We had fun climbing all over Webster's Falls yesterday - trying desperately not to fall in (that was me - not so much them!). A beautiful day for Fall photos with a great couple!

Marshall, Carolynn & girls

If you have e-mailed or called me in the last six months or so you have likely communicated with my lovely assistant and wonderful friend Carolynn. Well here you can see what my beautiful pal looks like as yesterday I had the fun of doing her family's fall photos. Paige (her 4 year old) and I have become good buddies in particular - we're pretty sweet on each other! A beautiful afternoon with one of my favourite families.