baby

The Art of Candid Photography: Telling Your Family's Story


In the world of photography, there's a beauty in the unscripted, the spontaneous, and the unplanned moments. Candid photography, a genre that captures genuine emotions and connections, has the remarkable ability to tell your family's story in a way that posed pictures simply cannot. While posed photos certainly have their place in family albums, it's the candid shots that often hold the most cherished memories. In this article, I'll share my personal view on the importance of candid photography and how it captures the essence of family life

The Power of Authenticity

Candid photography is all about capturing moments as they happen, unfiltered and unposed. These unguarded moments are a reflection of your family's true selves, showcasing their authentic personalities and emotions. When you look back at candid photos, you're transported to that precise moment in time, with all the genuine laughter, joy, surprise, and even the occasional tears.

Posed pictures, while undoubtedly beautiful, can sometimes come across as forced or staged. Candid shots, on the other hand, reveal the real interactions and dynamics within your family. The way your child's eyes light up when they see their favorite toy, the comforting embrace between siblings during a challenging time, or the laughter shared during an impromptu tickle fight—these are the moments that make your family unique, and candid photography captures them beautifully.

Embracing Imperfections

One of the most appealing aspects of candid photography is its willingness to embrace imperfections. Life isn't always picture-perfect, and neither are your family moments. Candid photos often feature messy hair, untucked shirts, and genuine expressions that may not always conform to conventional standards of beauty. Yet, it's these imperfections that make these photos so endearing.

When we see candid shots, we're reminded that life is messy, unpredictable, and full of surprises. We remember that it's okay to be imperfect and that genuine love and connection exist beyond the constraints of perfection. Celebrate these imperfections, showing that they are an essential part of your family's story.

Preserving Memories

One of the primary purposes of photography is to preserve memories, and candid photography excels in this regard. These moments often hold more sentimental value than perfectly composed photos because they encapsulate the essence of the moment. Whether it's a stolen kiss between parents, a child's gleeful expression as they blow out their birthday candles, or a shared secret smile between grandparents, these are the memories that you want to cherish forever.

As time passes, these candid shots become invaluable. They not only remind us of the joyous times but also serve as a testament to the growth as a family. Looking back at candid photos can evoke a sense of nostalgia, helping us remember the little details that we might have otherwise forgotten.

A Personal Touch

Candid photography adds a personal touch to your family's story. These photos are unique to your family's experiences, and they can't be replicated. They reflect your family's personality, the bonds you share, and the moments that define you. When you share these photos with loved ones or future generations, you're sharing a piece of your family's history.

In a world where we often curate our lives for public consumption on social media, candid photography allows you to showcase the raw, unfiltered moments that truly matter. It's a way of saying, "This is who we are, unapologetically."

Therefore, candid photography is all about the art of capturing life's most precious moments authentically. It tells your family's story in a way that posed pictures cannot, celebrating authenticity, imperfections, and the beauty of genuine connections.


Ottawa Baby and Family Photographer capturing real moments.
Capturing your everyday in the most beautiful way, candidly and unscripted.

Get in touch, I would love to hear more about your family and how we can tell your story. 



Julie's Motherhood Story - Ottawa Documentary Photographer

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Today’s feature shares the super power women have when becoming mothers! Julie guides us through the process of becoming an adoption mom and how natural yet scary it all felt to fill her new role. I am thankful for Julie sharing her journey as there may be other women going through this phase and need to connect with another. You can connect with Julie under her Instagram handle @julesm25

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Adoption is a crazy ride that no one really understands until they are in the middle of the adoption process. My husband and I tried for many years to conceive a child of our own but it never happened. We had many long talks about what direction we wanted to go. We ended up feeling adoption was the route for our family. We went through our courses and then completing the crazy home study process. We were then told it would take us five to seven years to adopt/ be chosen from the time our file was adopt ready. What we didn’t know was in three months we would be chosen to be parents. August 1st 2018 we were contacted about the possibility of being matched with a baby girl who had not been born yet. It was a birth mom who was close to her due date who had not found the perfect family for her child. Our adoption practitioner thought we could be that perfect family and told us we should put our profile forward. We decide to take that leap and submit our profile. Things moved so quickly from that moment. A week later we were parents to our beautiful baby girl Evelyn. We had no prep time and we were in a different part of the province. We had to fly by the seats of our pants getting her room ready, getting clothes and everything that surrounds a newborn.

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For my husband and I we have gone through many changes in such a short time period from being just a couple with a double income to then traveling across the province and back a few times in a short period of time to then becoming parents along with the financial aspects of adoption and being on one income basically over night.


For myself I was working full time, singing in a choir and volunteering and planning my 31st birthday in Las Vegas to becoming a stay at home mom. I am still singing in my choir and volunteer when I am able too. I had to navigate support within the community for my daughter and myself. Many parents join a prenatal class or a facebook group for there birth month but unfortunately I didn’t have the lead up being able to make “mommy friends”. I had to find different classes in the community so I could make friends and have a the type of support I needed. A lot of my friends with children my daughters age were in different cities or their children were that much older and my friends were back to work.


After being on parental leave for 35 weeks I had to make a choice, do I go back to work or do I stay home. After financially looking at it we decided I would stay home with our daughter. It is really hard due to the government not seeing the value in adoptive parents getting a year off for leave. For myself my daughter was still so little and the thought of her going to care was difficult for me. I wanted as much time with her as we had waiting and wished for her for so many years.

Our ups and downs were a little different yes we have gone through the joy of first smiles, laughs, crawling to the difficulties of teething and fevers. Some different difficulty we have had to go through that’s a little unique would be jumping through all the adoption hoops. For example asking permission to go to a different province, asking permission for a passport. Not being able to open a bank account for our daughter. Learning how our openness agreement with work with our wonderful birth mother. Navigating how much of our journey and story we want to share with the world. How to protect our daughter from the negative view points of others not understanding the reason our birth mother is in our lives.

I feel even though our journey was so quick, that it was my natural instincts just kicked into high gear. Everything I did was to make this little girl’s life the best it can be. I can’t say it has been easy as I never got that slow realization that this was coming. I had to give notice to my job, redo plans and cancel out on really exciting trips but looking down at this little girl in our life just fits and you make it work. I have been so lucky to have so many amazing friends and family in my life who have been there to support me in this transition into motherhood. This journey has been filled with many tears, loss, joy, many kilometres on the 401 but I would never change this journey for anything.

This week on July 9th 2019 we finalized Evelyn’s adoption and legally in every manner she is ours!

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PLEASE LEAVE JULIE COMMENTS FOR THE COURAGE
SHE’S TAKEN IN SHARING HER STORY.


Irina Fortey is an Ottawa and Toronto Documentary Photographer.
Capturing your everyday in the most beautiful way, candidly and unscripted.
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Rachel's Motherhood Story - Ottawa Documentary Photographer

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Rachel shares her view on the importance of getting in more images and just how precious this time is, fleeing, yet beautiful. Thank you Rachel ❤️ How adorable is her sweet Theo?! At almost 4 months old, he had a warm smile that is just brings sunshine to any day!

I think getting these photos done was so important for myself and for my little guy. We’ll be able to look back on this time when he was so tiny and see our relationship. I find as a new mom, things are so busy... you’re constantly wondering if you’re doing the right thing, you’re busy googling things, stressing about their sleeping, eating, etc. There’s not much time to just sit back and enjoy the moments. This was one of those moments. We had the opportunity to do this together and get photos that we will cherish forever.

My best piece of advice for new mothers would be to try and enjoy all these moments. Take pictures, videos, write in a journal... whatever it takes to help you remember these moments later for they will be gone too fast!

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Irina Fortey is an Ottawa and Toronto Documentary Photographer.
Capturing your everyday in the most beautiful way, candidly and unscripted.
VIEW PORTFOLIO