Little Adventures/Reflection/Balance

Since it is the slow time for me, I have been loving our little adventures we go on. The spring/summer will soon be here which usually means I am working most weekends with Weddings and other special shoots. Which I am VERY excited for! I met with another bride and groom on Sunday, and hit it off with them right away. They are so kind and getting married at a beautiful location which is even more exciting! So far this summer I have 10 weddings to look forward to, hopefully more!

Since I am always behind the camera, I have made it a goal to capture a picture of that any chance I get. It's fun to find my reflection somewhere randomly. I had a picture on here awhile ago of my reflection in my Dad's toaster, well here is another in our truck.

I think having 'balance' in your life is very important. That said I have decided to try and capture random moments of balance. Here is a start..

Of course we are big fans of the dyke's. I love running there and Grayer loves to walk along and pick up the odd rock to throw it. He is pretty good at walking along without the use of a stroller now, but does have at least one hissy fit when you ask him to hurry along..



Our little adventures also include little evening outings to the playground in hopes to tire him out, usually includes a lot of "OoOo's" "WOW's" and "Mom Look!" which is music to my ears!

And of course a peanut butter sandwich in hand.. wouldn't be a little adventure without one of those :)

Any child can be satisfied for quite sometime with these two things! 

And of course there is nothing better then coming home from a brisk adventure to a latte :)



Time to go make some soup!

-Tracie

FAQ's

I have kept track of some the most popular FAQ's I have been getting so here they are with answers :)

Q: How long have you been doing this?
A: I have been doing this as a hobby for a couple of years, but decided to go professional last spring.

Q: Where does TRAY come from?
A: Tray was my nickname growing up so I decided to go with that simply because it sounded better.

Q: What editing program do you use?
A: I'm currently using Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 and I am very happy with it. It took me awhile to get the hang of it, but once you get into a routine of what you like to do it gets pretty easy.

Q: What is your photography style?
A: I like to think of my photography style as new, bright and fresh.

Q: What training have you done?
A: I received a diploma in Photography from The Photography Institute last year.

Q: What is your favorite session?
A: I LOVE all sessions I do and continue to challenge myself with each one. I must admit that Maternity sessions are very exciting to me, the anticipation and beauty of it all is amazing.

Q: What colors should we wear in pictures:
A: Any colors are good, if you are getting pictures done as a group or couple then it is better to have colors that will compliment each other. Solid colors always stand out better, try to avoid shirts with big logos on them.

Q: Where are the pictures taken?
A: It all depends on the session. I do not have a studio, so all my work is done either outside at a chosen location or inside your own home. For most inside sessions, props are provided.

Q: What website program do you use?
A: I currently just signed up with Showit and LOVE it! It is pretty simple to use and you can change it any time you want to!

Q: Was starting your business easy?
A: No. It is not easy and can have it's ups and downs. A supportive family and an outgoing personality is definitely the most important thing I think. It is a lot of time and energy but worth it if you absolutely love what you are doing and believe in yourself. There are some days I have no clue what I am doing, but that's part of the job :)

That is all for now! Stay tuned for more along the way.

-Tracie

New Look!

I have been patiently waiting for my new business cards to come in and they finally did today! I love them :)
Now I am just waiting on Gift Certificates I ordered that kind of go along with the same theme as the cards.
I have been without business cards for about a month since the other cards I had, had my old website on them so I am very happy I have some since so many people have been asking!

Sounds of Running

My plan today was to take it easy since my back has been bothering me, but I got antsy so I decided to go for a run in the rain. I LOVE running in the rain, something about it is so refreshing! As I started I thought "OK it's a lot colder than I thought". Of course you warm up as you go, so it didn't take long. When I am having trouble not focusing on the strain, I try to take in the things surrounding me. After letting my brain relax I started to hear the rain hit the water, my breath getting heavier with each minute, the wind wrapping around my ears, the gravel beneath my feet. The sound of each step keeps me going, motivated. I take a look around and appreciate the beautiful mountains hidden behind the fog. Passing by strangers with umbrellas who smile and and give me a nod. As I start to slow down and come to the end I think how peaceful this is, I wish I could listen to this while trying to fall asleep. After I finish stretching and walk back to my car I feel a natural high that almost makes you walk zigzag. Nothing is better then coming home and having a hot shower, jumping in some pj's and a hot cup of coffee :)

I feel that I cannot write a blog post and not post pictures so here are some randoms I found from Nova Scotia..

My Best friend Nicole is probably going to hate me for this, but I love and miss her and came across this editing. This was my last night there and she found this in a store and posed :)



That is all for now, I am going to do a little work tonight and curl up with a book. I am reading Unbearable Lightness by Portia De Rossi. So far so good!! Stay tuned for some of my favorite 'Love' pictures next week for Valentines.

-Tracie

Focus & more Mya!

 This week so far has been filled with work, exercise and focus. I have been reading a book that has different exercises for someone who is starting their photography business. So far it has definitely inspired me and is making me want to strive for more! Dane Sanders has a couple of books out, definitely worth checking out!
Since it has been a bit of a 'slow' time of year, there leaves a lot of time to think of where I want to be and what I want to bring to the table this year. Very exciting :)

ALSO this is what inspires me, capturing little adorable faces like this...

Mya's 1st Birthday! - sneak peek.

I was invited to join Mya and her family to celebrate her 1st birthday on Saturday! I met Mya and her family in the summer to do a family session, and since then did a few other sessions with their family members. So I was so happy when they wanted me to return to capture the moments of her special day!

Mya quickly go overwhelmed with the amount of people and needed to have a quick cat nap in the middle which was fine with me since it gave me a chance to mingle and chat with others.

I just had a chance to quickly edit a few tonight, shes soo adorable!

I LOVE her eyes!

Stay tuned for more!

-Tracie

Sarah's Shower

There is nothing I like more than a Baby Shower. Something about the food, cute little outfits, games and my favorite the decorations! A lot of work went into Sarah's shower on Saturday and I loved every detail of it. The cake was adorable!

I LOVE taking pictures of the little details that go into making it such a special day. There was even adorable keep savers from Sarah's little bean filled with Jelly Belly's!

Even the water was labeled for this special occasion!

Thanks again for having me there to share your special day!

-Tracie

Sarah's Baby Bump!

Saturday I met up with my dear friend Sarah to get some pictures of her growing belly. She is looking beautiful at 34 weeks and very excited! I have been wanting to do this for a long time now, it's not my story to tell but words cannot express how happy I am for her and Jimmy. She has been waiting for this for awhile and now they are expecting their little girl in March!
I have known they have been expecting for quite some time but while I was taking pictures it finally hit me "this is actually happening!". I have to admit editing a few of the pictures so far got me a little emotional, Sarah is going to be such a good Mom!
Sarah wanted some colourful pictures along with B&W's which I totally had in mind so it worked out well!

I was invited along to her Baby Shower after our session and oh my did she get spoiled, she deserves every little bit of it!

Stay tuned for a few more belly and shower pics!

Cheers

-Tracie

Rainy Days

Well it was another rainy day... surprise surprise! Rainy days in our house mean 'creative' days. I am always trying to come up with ideas to entertain Grayer so we don't have continuous meltdowns. Grayer being a typical 21 month old has a short attention span so we went from play dough, colouring, reading, trains and to my favorite crafts. You never know what you are going to find if you just take a look around the house. If you have glue and paper.. you have a very satisfied toddler!

When it came to bedtime Grayer brought an apple to bed with him. I allowed it since it was a healthy choice. As I was reading him his stories he took a couple of bites of his apple and tucked it into his covers.. and got very upset when I tried to take it away. I have noticed he has started doing those weird things that kids do that do not seem to make sense.. but to them they do :) After he was happily cuddled up with his puppy and his eyes were closed I carefully tip toed out of the room to get some work done! Oh and yes I took the apple...

Before settling myself down to do work I needed something warm and cozy..

Well I was able to get some work done..still slowly working on ALL the pictures from Nova Scotia. I also did some brainstorming for a maternity session of my dear friend Sarah tomorrow. I have been waiting to do this for awhile so I am very excited! Stay tuned for a sneak peak..

It is late and I am going to cuddle with my sheets and listen to the rain..

Cheers

-Tracie

Marcella & Family

While I was Nova Scotia I finally got to meet little Marcella and family. My sister-in-law purchased a gift certificate from me for a Christmas gift to her parents. Knowing I would be going to Nova Scotia I could do a session with little Marcella and her Grandparents. I was so happy to finally meet all of them. She really was a doll, very alert and had lots of smiles. Grayer even posed with her for a few.