Welcome to the Green Apple Photography Blog. By viewing my stories and images, you will get a glimpse into my shooting style and personal experiences. My mission is to get you excited about your family portraits, about the moments I capture of your gorgeous children and the beauty of your pregnant body. I want you to share them with your friends and family and to see quality and artistry in every image.

For the many people who share their comments, stories, and lives with me, thank you!

Friday, August 30, 2013

Elmira Family Photographer. Aren't prints obsolete?

I recently had a conversation with my sister after photographing her newborn daughter.  We did her follow up sales session where she chose 3 amazing canvas gallery wraps.  I'm so excited to see them on her wall!  But she also expressed an interest in getting more images.  She mentioned the digital files and I no longer offer the digital files as a stand alone product.  I have very, very good reasons for this.  Most my clients want the digital files for 2 reasons. 1-so that they can post them online or share/email them.  2-to make prints (for gifts or for their walls/albums).  But aside from posting them to facebook they NEVER do anything with the files.  They rarely find the time to get them printed, they find it difficult to even choose their favourites and now except a nearly obsolete disk of files, they don't have anything to show for it.  Most don't even have their images backed up.  They spent time and energy shopping for clothing, fixing hair and stressing over how everyone looked.  They worried whether the children would behave and hoped no one would have a temper tantrum during the session - and they have nothing to show for it!  No portrait hanging on their wall, no lovely image of their kids in their wallet, and not a single image their children will see everyday.  This is the biggest reason to have actual hold-in-your-hand photographs. Our kids need to see themselves belonging!  We, the parents, get to see it everyday.  Our background image on our phone, our cover photo on our facebook page or our profile image.   But our kids aren't on the computer and they don't do social media.  Where would they see these images?  Really think about this - our kids just don't get the opportunity to see these photographs!

I recently had my own family portraits done and it was hard - hard to get it all together and hard to even choose my faves - but it was so worth it!  Afterward, I let my kids choose an image to put in their rooms.  They didn't pick the adorable shot of them alone - they picked a picture of the whole family or one with their siblings.  This was really shocking to me but that was their favourite!

And so continues my mission to get your photos off of your hard-drive and facebook pages and onto the walls in your home.

Elmira Family Photographer
family photograph by Jennifer Son

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Elmira Children's Photographer. mom+camera



Welcome to my newest blog series called mom+camera.  This is for all the moms out there who love taking photographs of their children, but want to learn more.  If you want to understand your camera more, are looking for a few "posing" tips or want to learn a little about getting the final image to look how you want it to.  Check here for a new post every couple of weeks.  All the images I show in this series will be images of my own children - so you can see that it can be done!

This week, I want to talk about where to begin.  If you children are much like mine, when you mention the idea of taking photos, they groan, or whine, or run the other way. So what should you do?  Every child is different, but what I've found is that making a game out of it is fun for everyone.  Let them be kids, let them play, run, stick their tongue out.  The reason we photograph them is because we want to stop time.  We want to remember them the way they are right now.  Also, don't expect much.  I usually get less than 10 images if I'm doing individual portraits.  But if I'm attempting a shot of all 3, I'm lucky to get 1 that I love.

If you have older children, the attention span will be better, but the attitude might be different.  It might be easier for them to pretend you are someone else.  But then don't act like mom - act like somebody else and you might have more success.  That's why your children will behave entirely differently if you hire a pro for portraits.

This image was purely an accident - in fact, I didn't even know I had gotten it until I was reviewing them on my computer.


Check back in a couple weeks for another mom+camera post.  Next installment: focusing tips and tricks.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Elmira Children's Photographer - Sunset on the Trail

This is the final installment of my Kissing bridge trail sunset series for girls.  M was perfect!  She was shy and coy and completely adorable.  And lucky for her she got to stay up past her bedtime for the session.  I photographed M once before when she was about 3 years old and it was lovely to see her and her mom again.

Michele, thank you for taking the time to bring M.  She was fantastic and her images turned out amazing. 



Click here to see more from this Elmira Children's Sunset Photography.

Monday, August 19, 2013

Waterloo Newborn Photographer - Snuggly little guy

I had the pleasure of shooting this newborn session in Hanna and Chris' Waterloo home.  I met Hanna and Chris when they signed up for the Kate's Kause Cycling Team that my husband organizes to help out the charity (and it's a good excuse for him to ride a little more often).  I was so excited to hear they were expecting this spring and even more excited to hear that their baby boy had arrived.  Little C was 8 days old when I photographed him - and completely adorable!  Although he didn't sleep much, we got some amazing shots of him with his parents.  I love seeing new families together and it really is an honour to capture such amazing moments.

Hanna and Chris, I hope you are settling in to your new life as a family of three.  It was wonderful to photograph your awesome family (and chat too).  Can't wait to see you more this summer!




Click here to see more from this waterloo newborn photography session.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Elmira Children's Photographer - Sisters at sunset

I love using the Kissing Bridge Trail in Elmira to photograph.  There is a lot of variety this time of year.  I've photographed R and A many times before, but I was very excited to see them as part of my sunset series.  The girls have two very awesome, but different personalities.  R is quiet, a bit shy and has amazing eyelashes.  A is bold, bright and has a beautiful smile.  Together, these sisters made for a fun and adventurous session. 

Michelle,  Thanks again for bringing the girls.  I loved having them.  Please enjoy a few of my faves.







Click here to see more from this Children's Photography session.

Monday, August 12, 2013

Elmira Newborn Photographer - Angel Boy

One of my fave newborn photography sessions this year, took place in Guelph.  I entered little C's home and immediately fell in love with the decor and style - Linda and Bryan, I've told you already, but I LOVE your place.  I often do newborn sessions in my client's homes since I feel like it makes for a better experience for mom and baby. 

Little C was a perfect angel and that made photographing him a breeze.  This was the quickest newborn session in a long time.

Linda and Bryan, Thank you so much for inviting me into your home and for allowing me to capture such a wonderful time in your lives.  I hope you 3 are doing well.

Please enjoy a few of my faves from your session.