Oops, maybe I should have told you that sooner?!
And here are a few recent posts that you can only view over there:
Personal Project :: Favourite Features :: Medium Format Film
Amy & Jeremy :: Beamer Falls Wedding :: Beamer Falls B&B
Emily & Paul :: WEDDING! :: Whitby Wedding Photographer
I’d LOVE it if you subscribed to the new blog–and don’t forget I’m always posting things on my Facebook page!
Thanks for your support.
xo
Claire
If you follow my blog you might remember Bre + Josh’s fun-shoot in the Pine Forest:
That set-up was done at my sister’s place in the pines across their lane way. Naturally, whenever I set up a bed for a shoot, or anything to lay on actually, it quickly gets occupied by assistants, friends, family, passersby… After one such outdoor-bed session my nieces Anna & Grace quickly took advantage of this ethereal little nap-nest. (It was also Anna’s mattress, so…I guess she had a right to.)
Here are some outtakes of childhood and sisterhood.
Favourite \/
Then I think it was dinnertime….so Grace left. But Anna stayed and we shot a little solo stuff. 
It isn’t really my style to ask for contrived poses–but if they happen naturally while I change lenses, then I can dig it. These feel a little emo, but Anna says it’s OK. So…
I don’t even have words–I think the volume of photos kind of indicate the kind of day Vanessa & Aaron’s wedding was like!
Busy but fun, crowded but happy, colourful but coordinated, long but good.
Girls getting ready at the Ewen’s home in Ancaster:
CEREMONY
At Royal Botanical Gardens, Burlington
Wedding Party Portraits
At RBG
So many nooks and crannies to have photos taken at the RBG! Poor Aaron…all he wanted was a freaking sandwich.
More wedding party portraits:
At the Scottish Rite, Queen St, Hamilton 
Just a little more of the handsome bride and groom. Romance……….
RECEPTION:
First dance was held in V’s favourite room at the Rite—the round room. Although, I’m not sure that’s it’s technical name…
Wedding Party Introductions–after a quick wardrobe & hairdo change by the sexy bride!
V’s brothers sing grace…it was very solemn. ;) 
Parent Dances–Vanessa and Mr. Ewen first followed by Aaron and his mom–who looked so petite in his arms.
Uh oh…the DJ gets everyone going. The groom was digging it.
Congratulations Aaron & Vanessa–it was such a fun journey working with you two lovebirds!
You really know how to throw a party too :)
xoClaire
Ladies Hair: Jess DeCoste at Hair N Sink
22 Buchanan Drive
Caledonia, Ontario N3W 1H1
Bride’s Bouquet: Cultivar
Fresh Flowers: Blooms and Blossoms
Bride’s Wedding Gown: Bridal Dream Dress
Bride’s Reception Gown: Mack Tak Mart
Ceremony Venue: Royal Botanical Gardens
Reception Venue: Scottish Rite
Decorator: Taylor Made Memories
Cake: Shirley O’Reilly
The first Marathon of 2013 was over the weekend and it was great for a few reasons:
1-the weather was perfect! Not too hot, not chilly, not wet….just right.
2-we shot it at the new outdoor studio: our farm!
3-no one got lost and missed their session!
4-there was great variety from session to session–young families, older families, extended families and just the girls :)
5-everyone did SUCH a great job on their wardrobe! It makes a HUGE difference and you all looked fabu!
6-very, very little crying. It’s true–I hardly cried.
7-a smaller group! Instead of 9 or 10 sessions in one day I settled on six and it was so refreshing.
Ok, I could go on and on–but the point is, the Spring Marathon was a great success. A HUGE thank you to my faithful assistant who made a special reprise just for this session–Rita! And thanks to my husband for dropping EV-REY-THING to help me prep our property and locations for the sessions. And finally, thanks to all the new and old friends who booked a session and made such an effort to look swell and arrive early–you made the day fun and easy!
Private galleries should be ready soon–I’ll email you when they’re ready and we can schedule a time in-studio or online for you.
ENJOY!
ps. Amy I PROMISE there are a bunch of great family shots, but I couldn’t resist posting these two of the boys :)
We had two session with ‘just the girls’ which is always a lot of fun for everyone–typically lots of awkward giggling and really close contact. I can’t wait for the day I had an all-guys group ;)
You might recognize these cuties from the Fall 2012 Marathon. This time they brought more family!
Another just-the-girls session–can you guess who the star of the show is?
*Special thanks to Aimee for doing such a gorgeous job on Katie’s make-up! Which you can’t see in b&w…oops. Trust me…it looked awesome.
These kids…I mean, come on. They can’t stop being so CUTE!
Last session of the day–but no lack of energy and affection<3
And please leave a comment if you like what you see…Thank you!
Ah young love. The good old days when you’d drag a mattress into the woods in your PJs, bring along 87 books and play ‘superman’.
Kinda like the good old days. Yeah, these things usually only happen in movies…still super cute, right? Maybe it will inspire you to surprise your loved one with an afternoon in the woods reading…or doing other things.
This was from a session last year that was a back-up plan for a Chic Critique contest challenge! It was too pretty to not share though.
Hey!
It’s me!
I’m in the thick of wedding season + revamping my branding AND building a new website so I’m a little swamped. BUT somehow I managed to squeeze out an article on bokeh for Chic Magazine–and the mag came out today!
Here’s my spread–nice eh? And if you think THAT looks sharp you should buy the whole magazine to enjoy all 140 pages! Yes, 140 pages of glossy goodness.
Cool eh?
Now you know a little more about bokeh and about what I’ve been up to lately!
Special thanks to all the clients who made my article so pretty to look at–Karyn & Nick, Fehn, Chia-Yu, Bek, Katie, Jodi & Marc and Kate! You’re all too gorgeous to NOT be in magazines.
And HECK while we’re at it–here’s a tiny sneak peek at my new website–super stream-lined and simple, letting the images speak for themselves, (without the use of chevrons…).
For those of you who have been watching the excitement on Facebook or Instagram a few weeks back a bunch of us got together and shot a vintage wedding dress shoot!
It was organized by me but after that I just let everyone do their thang, and these are the gorgeous results!
The only drawback was that there were TOO many photos…
Below are two installments of four dresses. I’ll post the other half on Friday! Stay tuned…
And check out what Jane & Hollie of White Elephant are saying about the shoot here at their blog.
And I want to show the credits here and below–so you don’t miss it!
Wardrobe + Accessories: White Elephantwhiteelephantvintage@gmail.com
Flowers: i fiori by Beverly Zaruk
beverly@ifiori.ca
Hair & MU: Aimee Carreen Stricker
aimeecarreen@gmail.com
Event Styling: Bre of Breanna Black Event Planning + Designbre@breannablack.ca
Model Styling: White Elephant + Claire Dam Photography
Photography: Claire Dam Photography
info@clairedamphotography.com
Assistant: Maria Simmonds
And special thanks to Ashley, Frank & Bruce at 270 Sherman!
Jewel tones of green are THE colour of 2013!
________________________________ 
How Great Gatsby, hey?
________________________________
Another adorable cocktail wedding dress with the sweetest little collar and metallic details in the fabric.
Check out that hair-piece by Bev at i fiori!!!!! Dying!
________________________________
A sweetheart neckline for a sweetheart. Wedding dresses don’t have to be white.
They should sometimes be pink.
In case you missed it above–here are the members of ‘The Collaboration’
Wardrobe + Accessories: White Elephantwhiteelephantvintage@gmail.com
Flowers: i fiori by Beverly Zaruk
beverly@ifiori.ca
Hair & MU: Aimee Carreen Stricker
aimeecarreen@gmail.com
Styling: White Elephant + Claire Dam Photography
Photography: Claire Dam Photography
info@clairedamphotography.com
Assistant: Maria Simmonds
Hey!
I know you, right? I think we hung out once…but it’s been a while. Hope you haven’t forgotten about me!
For the month of March I was the Monthly Mentor on the Chic Critique Forum–and as such I needed to create and share a video about an area of my expertise. Now, while I do not call myself an expert at off-camera flash (OCF), I am an expert at PARTS of it. So the tutorial was about the basics of this really fun and challenging skill.
Amanda was my model for the shoot–and was also being filmed at the same time for the video footage–thanks to Mark Van Noord of Airborne Video Productions.I can’t show you the footage–because you need to be a member of the forum to see it :) There are perks to being a member!
*All of the shots that are side-by-side (the diptychs), are SOOC, or straight out of camera–except for straightening. I’m a crooked shooter!* If you want to know specifics about the images–ask me in the comments. Most of the images were shot using different OCF techniques and equipment.
Anyway–I think I only released ONE sneak peek from this session–so here are my favourites! Enjoy!
If you enjoyed this post–please leave a comment! I love hearing from people! …people? Yes, people.
(Just people though….no pets. If I hear from a cat I’ll be so po’d.)
Styling: Claire Dam Photography
Model: Amanda
Hair & MU: Amanda, model
Video: Mark Van Noord of Airborne
Assistant: Maria
A couple weekends ago I had the pleasure of working with my newest couple, Alex & Chris!
They were brave souls who handled the cold weather like pros. Although it was one of those days where if you stood in the sun it was cozy, but the shade was miserable. Anyway, needless to say we stayed mostly in the sun.
These two didn’t need much direction or encouragement to relax and try to be affectionate with each other–it just happened. And although we chose locations, and outfits, etc. all this loving and happiness here is purely authentic.
And the camera can’t lie.
The first spot we went to was where Chris proposed–down by the Bayfront on this very bench. The Bayfront is also the location of their first date. 
To warm up we beetled over to Chuck’s Burger Bar on Locke St where they graciously let us take over the resto for a bit! If you haven’t made the trip to eat here you are doing your mouth a disfavour. You need to go now. We only had time to order a GIGANTIC plate of fries, and yes, I helped eat them, but they have a succulent variety of burgers and poutines. You must visit if you’re in Hamilton or make a special trip if you’re out of town.
Then we played chicken in the street for a while. That was fun.
And somehow the whole shoot came back to french fries! I can’t explain it…but french fries are really important to any healthy relationship. As you’ll see below…
Congratulations Alexandra & Chris!
Even though it looks cold in these photos you have undoubtedly warmed the heart of every viewer.
See you in June!
*If you liked this post and want to share the love please leave a comment below! I’d love to hear from you!*
Katie and James are one of my newer Bump-to-Babe clients and we’ve had SO much fun with all their sessions. I can’t encourage all of you out there enough to trust your professional to do their job and they will surprise you! (And this applies to most tradespeople and professionals.) Putting restrictions on & trying to control creative professionals will stifle them and bore you with the results. So do yourself a favour and collaborate with your creative professional–you’ll be so happy with the products–I promise!
Anyway–all that to say, Katie and James encouraged me to do my thang and also brought a lot of great concepts forward and together we’ve brought them to life! You should check out their very popular maternity session here. It was so well-received that it was featured on a couple different baby blogs in Canada and the US!
Little Brighton came pretty early–about 3 weeks–so things were a little bumpy for the first week or so, but by the time we shot this lovely newborn session at Katie & James’ house she was doing awesome and was SUCH a great little model!
After some family pics and pics with Mom and Dad we got her to sleep and she stayed asleep–it was awesome! She was so cooperative to get posed and moved around and have things put on her head and moved around–she was totally conked out!
The day before this session I’d been doing some reading on newborn photography and in that article the author mentioned that babies almost always smile during newborn sessions, but you just need to be ready for it. In retrospect of all the newborn sessions I’ve done I realized she was RIGHT! I just wasn’t ever expecting it–when I should be. So once we got Brighton in this position we waited….and waited…and before long we got a sweet little smile. But not before an awesome frown. That girl can frown!
If you remember the maternity session you’ll remember the above little birch-bark crown I had made—we included it in the shots in the bookstore and outside on the bed. And if you’ll also recall, we did a number of shots in the bookstore–a special pastime for Katie & James. So to finish we hung out in Brighton’s room reading books and snuggling. (I say ‘we’ but I didn’t snuggle. Although that would have been nice…) Finally, please note the pic of their cat–this guy….just blows me away. I’m not a ‘cat-person’ per se, but, wow. Right?
Congratulations Katie & James! Look what you made! She’s lovely.
If you like what you see–check out some of my other posts too! But more importantly please leave a comment to let me know you liked it!
Sometimes I feel like I’m in an empty auditorium. Sniff…
Claire Dam Photog Blog 