For this shoot I had this young family and I was really excited for the day!

This incredibly lovely family was a true joy

and pleasure to photograph. While I was still a very young photographer at the time I still managed to feel relaxed and put them at ease for the day. We really did have a great time and they were incredibly expressive and individually fabulous each in their own way.

What sometimes looks like a poor choice

of camera settings can sometimes produce an unexpectedly pleasant and artistic result. I actually love the motion in this photo!

This next photo, wow, it might not be everyone's cup of tea

but I just love how her hair is in sharp focus in the sunlight. I love her expression and her body position is so adorable. I can remember her laughter and the full on spontaneous leaf fight the family had.

And a calmer moment with Dad.

Trying to find some shade and shelter from the bright sun!

Sisters for life.

And a headshot crop of the same photo.

As can sometimes happen, there are unexpected moments

that are purely fun and really make you laugh with your whole soul. And there are moments that can crack your heart in two. All in a look, an expression or a composition as a whole. One shot where the littlest one is supposed to kiss her mom on the cheek turns into a full on face lick. Now that was just funny.

The same girl later stumbled and fell hard while running and having a blast. She skinned her knee and hurt her elbow. I was conflicted whether or not to take a picture, but two things made me decide to take the shot. The way her mom was holding her and the expression on her mom’s face. A lifetime of knowing it was going to be okay as long as mom was there.

After a long day of shooting photos our little angel was never going to smile for this photo. It took the whole family to get her to crack a smile and this photo is just precious to me.

I could certainly pick these photos apart

and be hard on myself, but I still see the essence of my shooting style in these early days and I see how much love and care I had for the art itself and the people I was able to work with. I don’t believe I ever took anything for granted. I still don’t!

From my heart to yours I hope you enjoy this photo shoot with me as I get to relive those moments in this post. Thank you so much for reading and taking an interest.

My standard advice when photographing people:

I’ve had a number of chats with folks over the years about the style of photography they like or even love. As per usual for me, I have no specialty simply because my eyes are hardwired to my heart. I love to shoot whatever my eyes feed my heart when I feel that little skip.

I think the question I got the most was how to manage a shoot with people because they are for sure not your favourite bird feeder bird, waterfall or flower. People are a mystery and full of wonderful depth, layers, texture and colours. Every person I meet moves me in some way. I think it may be my favourite thing about being human. Those animated interactions are just wonderful. And the not knowing. Oh the not knowing! Too fun!

So I guess when I am managing a shoot, I really try to be relaxed first and foremost. We take subtle cues from each other as humans, and when it comes to artistic endeavours in particular, our human interactions are intensified or magnified greatly. After that I go with the flow in a general sense and I do my best to get as many ‘looks’ from someone as possible. I will always work with whoever is in front of me and I have never had any ‘goto’ style that I implement. If anything, I am seeking ‘the truth’ in one or two moments.

For what it’s worth, the editing for each image is specific to each photo and to my taste. I did not batch edit as if submitting to a client, but rather edited each photo as a stand alone image.

©Michael Arthur Tremblay ©@thebugiq all images.

In case no one told you today, you are beautiful.