Author Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio for Trent Magazine

We got a last minute call from Trent University when they had a sudden change of plans for their upcoming alumni magazine cover shoot— they had to pivot for their new feature with Jennilee and they needed someone to shoot with her at her Queen West home, and turnaround the session ASAP. Say no more, this is not unusual for us! After a quick brief with the editorial team we learned that Jennilee is (unsurprisingly) a Trent alumna and recently published her first novel, Reuniting with Strangers. She also still works in communications so the urgency of this shoot was not lost on her, and we were told multiple times that “she’s in comms, she knows what we’re going through”. Right from our first email Jennilee was sooo inviting and so warm, and immediately invited us to stay for dinner after our shoot! I (Stef) come from two backgrounds (Portuguese & Chinese) where food is our love language, both sharing and making it for others, so immediately being given an assortment of snacks upon arrival and then being able to share dinner together afterwards really hit right in my love language. As we were shooting, and even all of these months after, those feelings all stayed true; we have not photographed someone as light hearted, and as lovely Jennilee (and by proxy, her husband because he was there too, and both of them together are the sweetest).

My favourite part of our shoot was the beginning, for both getting to meet and play with her dog, Cheeseburger (yes, Cheeseburger!!!), and for my favourite note of all time: when Jennilee was asking for wardrobe feedback and said “I want to look as Filipino as possible”. Her text after the feature was published where she said “I look SOOO Filipino and it makes me super happy!” makes me feel like we were successful ;) Her debut novel speaks to the Filipino immigrant experience, touching on themes of “displacement, estrangement, resilience and healing that happen behind closed doors” so being able to make photograph Jennilee in a light and clothing style that both speaks to her own Filipino heritage and touches on her book makes us feel proud.

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Personal Photo Session with Stephen

While we mainly specialize in editorial, branding, and professional headshot photography commissions, every so often we have someone reach out looking to do a personal photoshoot. In Stephen’s case, he and his wife recently welcomed their first child and they each wanted to commemorate this special occasion with their own portraits. The way he described it was that they have these photos of their own families that have been past down for generations, just really beautiful portraits, and they thought it was time to take their own so that one day they too can pass them down to their future generations. His wife, of course, had her photo session during her pregnancy and while Stephen intended to do his earlier, we ended up shooting after their baby was born because #newbornlife. We were originally planning a mini photo session (yes, we do those, shoot us an email for more info!) but after some consideration Stephen decided that he wanted to an extended shoot so we could spend some time in a sentimental and meaningful location to him— at Wychood. We’re no stranger to the area, regularly shooting at the Native Men’s Residence around the corner, and there’s no doubt that in general this is such a beautiful neighbourhood, but Stephen took us through a stroll of the private home trail where he and his family take their daily stroll through and w o w!

We spent the morning walking around, shooting, and both listening to and seeing Stephen light up talking about his newborn, it was so heartwarming and we are honoured to capture these special photos for him and his family!

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Mini-Headshots with Talia

Did you know we offer mini headshot photography sessions? It’s great for those who may only need a couple of new photos for your LinkedIN profile or your work directory. Something quick, something easy, and something that is representative of who you are, right now. Don’t worry we also like to use whatever current headshot we have for as long as humanly possible lol, it’s a common thing. Not everyone wants or needs the more organic and environmental approach to portraits we usually shoot, some folks need to stay within the corporate realm so we do offer studio mini sessions right from our apartment in Toronto!

Get in touch if this is something you are interested in, they’re the perfect affordable headshot photography option for actors, accountants, lawyers, professors, realtors, and more. We’d love to shoot with you!