SNAPSHOT: Sarah & Kevin's Downtown Toronto Maternity Shoot

I live in between worlds: Prince Edward County and Toronto. The two figurative hats that I generally wear are that of The Prince Edward County Wedding Photographer and the Toronto Family and Portrait photographer; I tend to market myself in PEC for wedding photography and Toronto for everything else. It’s not to say that I don’t shoot weddings outside of the County, or that I don’t do family and portrait photography in PEC, it’s just that I love love love the laid back vibe of county weddings and shorter photoshoots are easier to squeeze into life in the big city.

Kevin and Sarah posted to our St. Lawrence Community Facebook group looking for a photographer who would snap some photos of the two of them ahead of their baby’s arrival. They wanted to keep it simple and stick to the Old Town neighbourhood that I adore as much as them. The whole scheduling process moved quickly! We made contact mid-week and by Saturday we had a plan for Sunday morning.

We met at the famous Toronto dog fountain at Berczy Square and used it as a kicking off point. I am always amazed at what we can fit into a one-hour shoot. We meandered towards St. James’ Park, just a couple of blocks away. While the playground there is affectionately known as “asparagus park” by our little kiddos (and “Sparingus Park” when E was much smaller!), St. James’ park has the most amazing gardens that Toronto city staff are constantly tending to and swapping out flowers and plants as spring turns to summer and summer to fall.

We made the most of the tulips, architecture, grass and trees to snap a number of shots with various backdrops like St. Lawrence Hall and the Cathedral. Their doggo didn’t seem to mind the extra time at the park, either!

After we felt good about what we accomplished at the park we slowly walked towards downtown and some of its quieter back-alley streets for a few more photos before making our way back to Berczy square. One more quick shot with the famous Gooderham building in the background completed the set.

People who live in the St. Lawrence Market area absolutely love it and are proud of its diversity, amazing food and magical nooks and crannies that seem to exist in the oldest parts of Toronto. It has character, for sure. It’s nice that in such a small community that word of mouth can spread so quickly about what’s new and what’s good. I am grateful for the morning that I had with Sarah and Kevin and am excited for them as they enter the world of parenthood!