Congratulations to Stephanie and Jeff who are now the proud parents of sweet baby girl. I photographed Stephanie’s maternity session a couple of months ago, and fast forward and here we are. It’s crazy how time flys by.

Our first session was a little bumpy as she wasn’t feeling that well, but I think we got some memorable photos. I know mom and dad will definitely have some stories to tell when she’s older, but that’s between us. I’m looking forward to seeing her grow over the course of the year.

Enjoy


I’ve had a number of clients ask me what portrait size would you recommended we get. Now obviously this will vary from person to person, and is ultimately your choice, but by following these general guidelines you will be able to get the most enjoyment from your favourite portrait. I’m sure at one time or another we’ve all made the decision to invest in something for the house, only to get it home and realize that it won’t fit into the spot we wanted. Choosing the proper portrait size is not that difficult, so let’s get started.

As a guideline, consider the head sizes of the subjects in the portrait. A spacious portrait showing the individuals and lots of environmental surroundings will have relatively small head sizes and will dictate a larger portrait size for effective viewing. A tight head shot, on the other hand, might look out of place in a 60 inch portrait because the image will actually be larger than life. Another important issue to consider in sizing your portrait is the relationship of the portrait to other furnishings. For example, if you hang a 20 inch portrait above a full size sofa or above a fireplace, it will look insignificant.

As architecture trends are focusing on larger “great” rooms, higher ceilings, and over-sized furniture, the need for wall portrait sizes that balance the space becomes apparent. Larger portraits are necessary for a spacious wall or a spacious room or when the portrait contains multiple people.

If you have a situation where you have a smaller wall space, one method I frequently use is the measure twice, hang once method. Here, you will measure the width of the wall space, say 40 inches, and then divide that number in half, so 20 inches. This will give you a rough estimate of the size of print, or frame that you will need to fill this space nicely. By doing this you will have a good, even balance on both sides of the print, making it not too big, and not too small for that area.

If you have any questions on this please don’t hesitate to ask. I’d be more than happy to work with help you decide. Just ask! The last thing I want is for you to not have your favourite portrait in a place where you can’t enjoy it for years to come.

Use the following table as a guideline in choosing your portrait sizes:

•Life Size – 60 Inches

•Wall (Decor Size) – 40 Inches

•Mantel Size – 24 x 30

•Wall Size – 20 x 24

•Easel Size – 16 x 20

•Hallway Size – 11 x 14

•Desk Size – 8 x 10

•Album Size – 5 x 7

•Original Size – 4 x 6

•Wallet Size - 2.5 x 3.5

What does every little boy love to eat on a warm day…ice cream of course.
Now obviously there is no sense in using a bib anymore as it gets everywhere, so there’s no use in fighting it.

Enjoy


Here are a just a few photos from an awesome engagement session I had with Nadia and Mike. These two had so much fun together during the session I couldn’t help smiling and laughing along with them.

Nadia told me she was a little shy and nervous about the session. I don’t believe her because I think she looks great and obviously is a natural…Mike too! I can’t wait for the wedding next month.

Enjoy


OK, so I’m human just like the rest of you and there are things that really annoy me. Here’s a list of my “pet peeves”. Enjoy

•Paying taxes, but then again who does? Don’t get me wrong, I understand that we have to pay taxes, but see next item.

•Hearing about some government scandal or waste that squanders our tax dollars.

•Opening my favourite cereal box in the morning and seeing that there are only crumbs left.

•Junk mail.

•Buying a seedless fruit only to find out that it actually has seeds.

•Burnt microwave popcorn…..a few seconds makes all the difference.

•June bugs…they’re so annoying. I’m disgusted by insects in general.

•Taping a sporting event or TV show to watch it later, and then inadvertently hearing about the outcome before I get to watch it for myself. That just ruins it for me.

•Trying to untangle Christmas lights. Now yes, I roll it up “neatly” just like my wife asks but I could swear that somehow they manage to tangle themselves up.

•People that crowd you when you’re trying to make a card transaction at the checkout, please give me my personal space!

I want to wish all mothers, grandmothers and moms to-be a happy Mother’s day!

I hope you all have a chance to relax and let those around you pamper you the way you deserved to be.

Over the next little while I’m going to start posting articles on a whole range of topics. These are things that I’m constantly thinking about and I want to share with you. I’m doing this so you can get a sense of what I do, and how I think. I’m hoping this will give you a little insight to things that you normally wouldn’t hear or read about. These topics could be photography, wedding, or business related, life in general, and of course some fun stuff as well.

For those that don’t know me, I’m very laid back and I wanted to start off with something easy. Here’s a list of 10 things that I love, that you may not have known about me.

• Wrestling with my little boy, and yes I let him win sometimes

•Spending time out with my family.

•Seeing reactions from clients when they open their photo packages.

•Eating a great meal, usually at home. I love to cook.

•Getting a massage.

•Making ice cream sundaes with random leftovers in the cupboard, you know, using crumbled cookies, chunks of chocolate bars etc.

•Watching UFC events, I’m a huge mixed martial arts fan.

•Barbequing steak, I like mine medium. Just barbequing in general.

•Seeing my little boy do or say something totally new. These usually happen when you’re least expecting it.

•Sleeping in, but that only happens in my dreams now!

Here are a few photos from the last session with Randy, Jennifer and the kids. I’ve been doing sessions with them every four months as part of the baby’s first year plan. In this plan, we do sessions at the newborn stage, four month, eighth month, and then twelfth month. This is an awesome way to capture the major changes that go on in the first year, and then at the end we’ll do a collage to sum it all up.

Enjoy


So LOST came back on the air last week and I almost freaked out because I missed last weeks episode. This seems like one of those shows, that if you miss one episode you’d be totally clueless as to what was going on. I know I would be.

For the longest time, you could watch full versions of a number of TV programs on most of the bigger broadcast networks, but only if you lived in the U.S. I don’t understand this myself as they don’t seem to mind if I watch it on T.V, but I’m not allowed to watch online? Crazy!

Anyways, CTV is finally on board with showing past episodes of some of the more popular shows on its website.

Use the link below, and then click on CTV Broadband – Watch full episodes of

Shows on CTV – Past episodes

What is an RSS Feed?
An RSS feed is an easy and efficient way to keep track of when a website adds new content. Instead of checking Site A, Site B, and Site C every day to see if there’s anything new, you can subscribe to each site’s RSS feed and you will be instantly notified by your RSS Reader when new content is added.

So what is an RSS reader?
An RSS Reader is an application you use to view RSS feeds. Similar to how an email application can gather messages from multiple email accounts, an RSS Reader gathers feeds from multiple sites so you can view them in one location.

There are two types of RSS Readers: Web Readers and Desktop Readers. The difference between the two is fairly minimal. The main advantage of Web Readers is that they store all of your subscribed feeds on the internet, so you can access them on any computer. On the other hand, Desktop Readers download subscribed feeds to your hard drive, so you can view them even if you don’t have an internet connection.

Where can I get an RSS Reader?
There are many RSS readers available today and most are free to download and use. Just do a search and I’m sure you’ll find one that you like. Once you select an RSS Reader, you can start subscribing to site feeds.

Now it’s really easy to subscribe to the MJP Photography blog. Simply click on the “RSS FEED” link at the top of the right hand column of this page and it will take you to options that will allow you to become more easily notified when the blog is updated.

If your browser is unable to act on the “RSS FEED” link, you can add the link below for my blog into an RSS reader.

http://mjp.bigfolioblog.com/weblog/rss