I genuinely love every session I'm so blessed to shoot, but this one will go down in the Hocus Focus Photography history books as one of my favourite newborn sessions ever - and for several reasons! I am about to ramble at an epic proportion, but it is so worth it. 

I was booked almost instantly upon a positive pregnancy test, which is of itself is a HUGE compliment! To know that someone knew that my work was something they just HAD to have and booked the moment they knew they were expecting their second little bean had me pumping my fists and doing leaps of joy. I pour my heart and soul into my work and into my business, and for those who recognize that and value that as much as I do just brings me to an even deeper conclusion that I am doing exactly what I'm meant to be doing, and exactly where I'm supposed to be. 

Not only was this family absolutely amazing to work with, I was so. Very. Truly. Completely honoured and excited that an RCMP officer would suit up and come to my studio for a newborn session to celebrate the safe arrival of his second son and to gently cradle his newborn boy for some truly outstanding, gorgeous images that I had been dying to shoot since the very day they mentioned "Oh, and Daddy is an RCMP officer, can we get some shots with him in his red suit?" Uhm, yes! Absolutely and THANK YOU for the honour!

On top of this again, they travelled from Blackfalds (a 1.5-hour trip one way to my studio) for their session, which speaks at an even higher volume to me on how heart-set this family was on experiencing a Hocus Focus Photography newborn session. It's been compliment after compliment from the Eager family, and I am so flattered and ultimately humbled by their kindness, trust, and amazing gratitude they expressed through and through for their time with me. Trust me, lovelies, the honour was truly all mine and I was absolutely tickled pink by this entire experience. 

Y'all - those red serges are no joke. They take incredible attention to detail. Buttons have to line up here, seams have to match up there. Laces have to be tied meticulously (and there's a LOT of lacing to do) and the gorgeous mountie hat has to sit just right. Not only that, but these uniforms are made of wool. So they are very, very, very warm. And anyone who's ever had a newborn session, especially in my studio, knows that it's already downright hot during a newborn session. Of course, little Baby Thomas has perfect timing and started cueing for a feed right after Daddy had gotten all dressed up in his stunning uniform. So lucky RCMP dad got to spend an extra few long, hot minutes waiting for his baby son to finish up lunch before we continued on with the session - and the shots I've been so anxiously awaiting to finally shoot for months!

There was sweat (lots of sweat). There were long sighs as we endured the final tweaks for the perfect pose as Thomas settled into his father's gloved hands for his truly unique and amazing father/son portraits. And it was absolutely worth it and did not disappoint. I was holding in squeals of joy as my eyes fell onto the back of my camera to see these images for the very first time and I could hardly contain my excitement. The resulting shots not only blew up my news feed on my Facebook page but also the hearts of many Canadians. 

Seeing an RCMP officer cradling his newborn son in the crook of his arm brings a whole new light -  a realness, a rawness, a different feeling - to a photograph. And a lot of you commented on how it brought a sense of bursting pride to be a part of our amazing country that is Canada. I love when a photograph, even something as simple as this stunning portrait, can bring out such emotions in both the family directly tied to it, and to all who lay eyes upon it. I know to this family, being an RCMP officer is a part of daily life (even mom and dad mentioned they forget sometimes that for everyone else this is "SO COOL"). But, it's really such a sight to behold and is outside my norm. And it's really, really incredible. From the depths of my heart, I am SO thankful and honoured to have been chosen amongst a sea of talented photographers to have been able to shoot and capture this photograph.

Sweet Thomas slept through the remainder of his session, and can I just take a moment to comment on how absolutely beautiful both of these little boys are?! There are some serious good-looking traits in this gene pool (but it doesn't take a genetic specialist to see why!) All in all, this family is a photographer's dream and not only do they photograph perfectly but they were easy to pose, absolutely amazing to work with, and I just completely have fallen in love with this wonderful family. Big brother, Emmett, was so cooperative and so blatantly excited to show off his brand new baby brother (just look at those grins!) and all in all, the session was a smooth-sailing as it could get from start to finish. It was truly the perfect session. 

A perfect session, a perfect gallery, and a perfect little boy to a perfect family. I simply can't get enough of this entire experience. 

To the Eager family - you were all an absolute joy to work with and I absolutely loved every single minute working with your and your precious boys. Thank you again and again for the amazing opportunity to meet you all and for being so open to my ideas and for being such a cooperative and loving bunch. This is truly a session that has highlighted my year and I can't wait to see you all again soon. <3

I very proudly present to you, Thomas!