Category Archives: Styled Shoots

May Flowers Mini Photo Shoots

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The flower wall. I had no idea how popular it would become when I started making these giant paper flowers in preparation for our wedding back in the winter of 2014. I experimented and played around and eventually ended up with the combination of white, blue, pink, turquoise, yellow and orange flowers that would be the colour scheme for most of my life for the past 2 years. After all the “I Dos” and hullabaloo, I was left with the wall. THE WALL.

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Each individual flower represents at least $5 worth of paper and 1-2 hours of my life. This baby took me so long to make that I knew it had to get set up at least once more so that I could properly photograph it myself. Thus the idea for “May Flowers Minis” was born. I enlisted a handful of gorgeous young ladies for May Flowers portraits and we set out to create joyful photographs that would celebrate springtime 2016. Here is a handful of my favourite shots from our styled mini sessions. Thanks so much to all the lovely ladies that participated in this endeavour.

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Little Witches, A Hocus Pocus Inspired Photo Shoot

“Come little children, I’ll take thee away, into a land of enchaaaaantment.” You just sang that out loud, right? If you didn’t, you need to get yourself a copy of Hocus Pocus. This year I only watched it 3 times. Best Halloween movie ever. No one will ever convince me otherwise.

As far back as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a witch. Like, the rides a broomstick, waves a wand and wears a pointy hat type of storybook witch. Long before Joanne Rowling changed her moniker to J.K. Rowling and introduced the world to Harry Potter, I was casting spells on my little sister and concocting imaginary potions in the cauldron that my family used for a huge corn roast party every August. (Ok fine, there’s a chance I was a weird kid.) We often pretended to have magical abilities in the exact location you see here, a place we called “Fairyland” when we were growing up. Super original name, I know. Guess what we thought lived in that mossy little circle of trees???

Now a photographer in my thirties, I love Halloween wholeheartedly, and normally I put together a spooky styled minis event leading up to October 31st. This year, 3 weddings and ton of portrait orders made that impossible. Instead, I decided to invite my best little friends to dress up and spend an afternoon pretending to be witches, just like mini versions of Winnifred, Sarah and Mary Saunderson, and just for fun. I ended up with 4 little witches, but I figured the more the merrier. The other facets of my inspiration for this project included the cauldron I suspected was still hanging around in the long grass at the back of my parents’ countryside home, and the one remaining smoke bomb I had left over from my wedding party pictures. Its not every day you encounter the means to have a genuine cauldron full of colourful smoke surrounded by tiny witches, but my sister and 2 friends agreed to bring their kids and so I set out to purchase all the tulle and other materials necessary to whip up a handful of costumes overnight. My sewing machine is on its last legs but I was able to whip up a couple of stretchy tops, a corset type thingy and some rough tutus. Somehow, we managed to plan and execute this shoot within just a couple of days.

I guess we did alright, as 2 of the 4 girls elected to wear their costumes out for Trick Or Treating. My niece, L doesn’t seem to grasp the witches concept and considers her tulle ensemble a “Fall Princess” costume, but I’m just glad she agreed to wear it. While I think the girls and their mamas enjoyed themselves, it was my Godson, Mr T. who clearly got the last laugh. His mom had the great idea to stick him in to the cauldron surrounded with little witches. To be honest, we figured he’d scream for 10 seconds, we’d snap the shot and then pull him out for a snuggle and it would be a hilarious moment for him and his sisters to look back on many years from now. No way, he loved being the main ingredient for our potion! Smiles for days. Just loving life in that dirty old cauldron.

Enjoy the results of our first little witches styled shoot!

Thank you so much to the friends and family that made this shoot possible! Most notably, my mom and dad for moving the cauldron into place and helping me add all the fall decor to the set, my friends Linnea and Megan for bringing their little witches (and the frog) to the shoot and for throwing together some phenomenal last minute costume components, to my sister and her daughter for their smiles, and of course, thanks to all the models: L & M & T & L & P. Hopefully you all got a kick out of our little experiment. Now that I know the smoke bomb works really well in the confined space of the cauldron, I hope this is something we can pull off again in the future. Happy Halloween!

EBI Has A New Boss

Emily Beatty Self Portrait 2015 Hello dear readers, and welcome to the next chapter of EBI! That’s right folks, Mrs. Lister is in effect. My name has changed, but my vision hasn’t. I’ve been slacking in the social media department, but I’m here to tell you that ends now.

Last week I found myself having coffee with a close friend in my living room, and saying something to the effect of, “I don’t think I’ve ever gone so long without a big creative endeavour on the go. I feel like I haven’t produced anything cool in a year.” My friend laughed, because she was seated in the opposite direction, facing a brand new gallery style wall chock full of crafty and colourful photos taken at our wedding. Now I’m looking back on the preceeding months and trying to figure out if this has been the most or least prolific period of my career.

If you ask any of our close friends or extensive family members, it was a crazy vivid year of glitter art, party plans and whimsical expectations. There was a month or two where you literally couldn’t get into our home without tripping on some kind of spray painted, decoupaged, sparkle encrusted wedding craft. I busted our vacuum by exceeding its sequin and glitter capacity. Seriously. All my life I’ve loved making pretty things, and as I recognized the early stages of photography related burnout, I decided to embrace party planning like it was my job. It was a new way to channel my creativity within an industry that I’ve been a part of for several years now. The trouble was from my clients’ perspectives, I’m sure it looked as though I was just hanging out. While my personal contact list was getting tired of seeing so many images of cakes and dresses and tablescapes, those of you who have always supported my art and my business saw a dramatic decline in my engagement with social media as I allowed my focus to drift away from EBI in favour of more romantic pursuits.

I didn’t shoot anybody during July. And that for me, is a big deal. It was a decision I made many months previously, a decision to slooooowww things down and get my bearings. For awhile there you see, I was charging forward, camera in hand, digging myself deeper and deeper into a pile of projects I couldn’t begin to imagine my way out of. When Todd proposed, all of a sudden my creative to-do list doubled. I guess you could say I spent the majority of the past year in over my head. Thank goodness I had my mom and my sister and my partner’s fantastic family keeping me organized and focused when it came to planning our big day.

I was awake for what felt like a week solid during mid June as I scrambled to get everybody taken care of so that I could go well and truly off the grid for a week or two following our nuptials. I sent off the final client photo gallery an hour before we had to go to our rehearsal dinner. Then somebody told me the forecast for our wedding day. Oh boy.

Worst summer storm in six years. Perfect day to get married. Our devoted friends and family members pulled together to throw us the garden party wedding of our dreams in teeming wind and rain that never once let up. The party was confined to a tent in my parent’s backyard, but oh the marvels we had crammed into that tent! At the end of the night we were all very cold and wet, very tired, and very glad to be married and moving on from all the matrimonial mayhem that had dominated the last year of our lives.

I’m so glad I had the sense to step back and enjoy the bridal period of my life. It was a whirlwind that I was thrilled to revel in at the time, but now I’m more than ready to get back behind the camera where I belong. To kick off this new era in my photography career, I challenged myself to put together a self portrait featuring as much Emilyness as I could pack into one small faux-wallpapered square. This was also my first attempt at making floral crowns with fresh greenery, and I have to admit I’m rather pleased with the result. I think I see more DIY tutorials and more self portrait projects on the horizon. After all, I’m the only model I know that works night shifts for free with absolutely no prior notice, and the crafty component is something fun and unique that I can bring to photo shoots. Its worth all the effort, because nothing feels as good as capturing an idea out of thin air, translating it with a camera, and eventually watching it roll out of my printer in real life. At long last I feel recharged and reinvigorated to pursue my passion: connecting with awesome individuals by photographing life’s best moments in vivid colour. Thanks for sticking with me!

Janolan’s Cozy Canadian Couple’s Portraits in Kitchener-Waterloo

BABY, IT’S COLD OUTSIDE!holiday_styled_couple's_shoot_Kitchener-Waterloo

Well here we are, New Year’s Eve, 2014 and the forecast is COLD. Like, -19 celsius. Up until a few hours ago I thought skating and fireworks with Todd and my brothers would make for a good way to end the year. Now that I’m all wrapped up in blankets, blogging, I think I’m going to stay right where I am. There’s something to be said for being cozy. Especially during the holidays. If you can find somebody to snuggle up to, well then you’re doing pretty well in my opinion.

These images, taken a few weeks ago for my little brother, Nolan, and his girlfriend, Janessa, are the perfect inspiration for a night in. Collectively, these two are known as Janolan. This pair are such a good fit for each other, I didn’t even bother trying to pose them for this shoot. Both N and J have this awesome, hilarious but subtle sense of humour that comes through in some of these shots, like the ones with the sparkle donuts. (Pretty, yes, edible, no.)

If you need some ideas on how to have the best stay at home New Year’s Eve celebration ever, look no further! This cozy, rustic glam styled portrait session will give you plenty of inspiration.styled_winter_engagement_shoot_Emily_Beattygold_sparkle_donuts

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Thanks to Janessa and Nolan for going along with my portrait plans, and for helping us create our own Grinch themed Christmas card shoot later that night. Have a very safe and happy New Year’s Eve, however you choose to celebrate it. Welcome 2015, cheers!

Sneak Peek: Rustic Glam 2014 Holiday Minis in Kitchener

Emily_Beatty_holiday_glamIf I had to sum up the theme for this year’s holiday mini photo shoots in just one word, I’d go with COZY. If I had to elaborate, I’d say we were going for rustic charm with a glamorous edge and a hint of vintage inspiration. The idea for this set began back in the summer when I paid a man in a church yard $25 for a lovely red vintage Canam Flyer sled. He had just personally refinished it by hand. The day before the minis, I raided my sister’s home and discovered yet another beautiful vintage sled, and the red tractor that my father made by hand for his first grandson. Excited to have some new props on hand, I planned the set around them and asked my clients to come wearing neutral and deep red outfits with a bit of sparkle here and there, and they did me proud! Furthermore, we had handmade hats and accessories provided by local business, Kissing Bridge Krafts. In the end, all the elements coalesced into some very festive holiday portraits of some gorgeous families. This is your first peek at this year’s holiday mini portraits, but it won’t be your last. Enjoy!Emily_Beatty_Imagery_Christmas_PhotoKnightFamilyXmas20148x10_proof_EBI3691edit_proofEmily_Beatty_Imagery_3xmas_EBI1705edit_proofEmily_Beatty_holiday_ministwin_photographer_Kitchener_Emily_BeattyCanadian_holiday_style_EBI2061editREDshoes_proofcouples_holiday_photos_KW_EBI1612editSQ_proof

 

 

Hero Themed Portraits For A Super 3 Year Old Girl

Emily_Beatty_0948Super_Pepper_edittext_*webThis little “super” model belongs to some very good friends of mine. The pictures were taken a few days after Halloween and a few days before Miss P’s third birthday, the perfect occasion for a fun dress up themed photo shoot. I’ve been dreaming of these images for many months, so its very exciting to finally see them come together here on the blog!

There are 3 reasons I’m so excited about these photos. 1) I genuinely love this kid. I mean, her middle name is literally, Awesome. You can just tell she’s destined for great things. She’s independent, outgoing, fun loving, and she’s got some pretty sweet dance moves for a 3 year old. 2) Her parents are both very creative, and they’re both huge comic nerds — which I say with the greatest affection. Their home is packed with toys and books. They even have a secret room full of collectables hidden in their basement behind a fake bookshelf. Most of the toys and outfits pictured here are items that Pepper’s mom gathered up from their home on the morning of our shoot. How many 3 year olds can truthfully say they have their own Batmobile? This one can! Basically, the super hero theme represents this particular family just perfectly. 3) We tried to create a very empowering, girl positive collection of images, and I believe Miss Pepper will enjoy seeing herself in these pictures as she grows up. I love that its a little girl that stars in my first super hero themed shoot.

We were able to tie in nods to Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, Adventure Time, Dr. Seuss, The Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, and Spiderman. I like to think that by the time Pepper is grown up, there will be more famous female super heros for her to share with the next generation. _EBI0919Super_Pepper_edit_*web

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Headbands and hair clips were all made locally by Kissing Bridge Krafts.

Spooky Styled Halloween Minis

KnightCard2014Witch_**Its no secret that Halloween is my favourite holiday. I’ve always loved the anything goes atmosphere and especially the dress up opportunities that come along with October 31st. Since becoming a grownup, putting together the set for Halloween minis has become my new favourite annual tradition. I always spend way to much time and money collecting new orange, green, black, white, and purple items to decorate with. Next I spend a small fortune on Bulk Barn candy, and finally I visit Nauman’s Farm in St. Clements to select picture perfect pumpkins to dress the set.

Minis are great because they give me an opportunity to fully celebrate Halloween for an extra day, while playing dress up with my favourite little clients. We don’t get any trick or treaters in my neighbourhood, so this is my excuse to get in on the cuteness even though I don’t have any kids of my own yet.

This fall I had 11 cuties from 3 weeks to 14 years old come out for a short and sweet mini photo session. It was a noisy, sticky, laughter-filled, joyful kind of day. I felt especially lucky to be visited by several brand new babies that I’ve been waiting an awful long time to meet. These are just a few of my favourite images from our spooky styled shoots. Enjoy!*_EBI8338edit_web _EBI7551edit_web _EBI8086_webhalloween_pattern_4*_EBI8436edit_web _EBI7995edit_** _EBI8306edit_web _EBI8146edit_web*_EBI8355edit_web

_EBI8555edit_web _EBI8038edit_**_EBI7967edit_**halloween_pattern_4_EBI7705editGRACE2_webThis shoot marked my first collaboration with Shawna of Kissing Bridge Krafts. She provided most of the cute knitted hats and handmade headbands that appeared in these images. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with to embellish our holiday mini portraits. Thanks Shawna!

Join EBI For Spooky Styled Halloween Minis in Kitchener!

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Halloween is without a doubt, my favourite holiday. I just can’t resist all the cozy fall traditions, costumes and dressup opportunities, tricks and treats. To celebrate the season, this year I’m once again hosting spooky, styled Halloween mini photo shoots for children at my home studio in Belmont Village, Kitchener.
EBIhalloweenminidetails2014webChoose a 15 or 30 minute session, and bring the kids in a costume or a cute outfit involving black/white/green/orange/purple. We’ll have some fun, snap some photos, and each child will leave with a little painted pumpkin souvenir and maybe a treat or two. You’ll have super cute digital photos to share with family and friends, and revisit every fall as your little one gets bigger and bigger._EBI6281editweb
BenhamBoyCard1To book a mini session, e-mail emily@emilybeatty.com to say hi, let me know how many children you have and how old they are, and share your top 3 choices for time slots. (Scroll down for options.) I’ll write back within 24 hours to confirm your time slot, and share more info about what to expect.
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These are some of the accessories that will be available for you to borrow for our minis.
You can stay up to date by joining or visiting the HALLOWEEN MINIS EVENT PAGE ON FACEBOOK.
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Baby Jack’s First Photo Shoot with Auntie Em

yellow blue and green laundry themed newborn photography shoot in Elmira, Ontario

The thing about my sister and her husband, is that they make really cute babies. Three so far, to be exact.

Little Jack here rushed into the world in the family’s living room back in March, on our grandmother’s 90th birthday. He’s happy and healthy and growing, fast. Like, really fast. He’s going to be a big boy!

For my sister’s third newborn shoot, we wanted to do something literally fun and fresh- and what’s more fresh than the smell of clean laundry and newborn babies? We created a washtub setup and theme in my home studio, and selected a blue, white, yellow, and turquoise colour scheme. I think you’ll agree the result is pretty adorable, even if Jack was fed up with us by the end of it!newborn-photographer-Elmira

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Welcome to the family, Baby Jack! Auntie Em can’t wait to take many, many more photos of you and your brother and sister. xoxo

St. Patrick’s Day Portraits with Tiny Twin Leprechauns

Waterloo_twin_photographer_St.Patricks14*bonus_web“Do you have Irish blood in your family?” I asked their mother. “Oh yes!!!” she replied enthusiastically. After bringing her fraternal twin boys for Halloween photos, Christmas photos, and then Valentine’s Day photos, the obvious next step for this family was a mini St. Paddy’s Day shoot.

Our wee setup included plenty of shiny shamrocks, some of my grandmother’s silver candy dishes, foil wrapped chocolate coins, a chest full of golden booty and of course, beer steins. In a testament to their heritage, the boys began miming beer drinking with the empty mugs right away. And those hats! Did you ever see a cuter pair of leprechauns???

Kitchener-Waterloo_twin_photographer_Emily_BeattySt.Patrick's_Day_twin_photography_WaterlooWaterloo_kids_portraits_St_Patricks_Day_2014_EBI8241edit*StPaddys2014*Emily_Beatty_twin_photographerKitchener_kids_photographychildren's_photography_in_Waterloocute_holiday_portraits_2014_leprechauns_EBI8241*bonus*Paddy'sECard_webCheers!