Dino Minis! What could be more fun? As a kid, there were exactly 2 types of library books that I would check out: big photographic volumes about whales, and illustrated books about dinosaurs. Apparently huge, mysterious creatures have always fascinated me. Its a love I share with my husband, and its a photographic theme that has been floating around my head for years now. In the spring of 2016, I decided this would be the year, and I set about imagining how I might construct a dinosaur themed mini photo event for my clients.
Eventually, I settled on a prehistoric tropical jungle themed dinosaur set, for families that wanted portraits with some extra pizazz. The botanical background is a paper background that I had already hand painted for some wedding clients earlier this year. The handmade green paper succulents had also been a part of the wedding wall, but this set needed something brand new to bring it to life. Inspiration struck when I saw a window display with large paper leaves on a most excellent crafting blog called Sew Yeah. The night before the first photo shoot, my devoted husband and I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning cutting and shaping all of these green, orange, yellow and purple leaves that you see in the photos.
Quite the last minute plan, but I actually love the way all the paper components came together once I had them taped and tied in place. I added a rustic fall muslin backdrop for the “dirt” with pillows underneath to make “rocks” and added a few plants from our deck to fill out the lower portion of our jungle set. We had lots of toy dinos and unique props to keep the kids entertained during their photos, and there was no shortage of smiles as the kids explored our set and the dinos inhabiting it. It worked out that half of our participants were turning either 1 or 2, and these sessions gave their families a unique way to document their child’s milestone without doing the typical balloons and birthday cake smash type of photo session. I’m so glad I just went for it and forged ahead with a very random mini theme. How unique and fun are these images?!? 
Thank you so much to the families that came out to help me realize my dino dreams with these mini photo sessions. Extra special thanks to Theodore for lending us some of his very most favourite toys for these photos, and to Melissa for her excellent assisting work and her sweet puppeteering skills. I hope you all had as much fun as I did. Until next time… roar! 
Curious to know more? Visit the Facebook Event page for Dino Minis here.
“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.
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.
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.
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!
