Point, shoot, click...and all the perks!

See the pretty blue vase? That was a parting gift from Matthew and Jenny. In my signature col-uh, no less!!

Day two of Matthew and Jenny Mead's visit began early. Rustled out of bed by bright sunshine pouring in, the day promised hot, muggy temperatures - which is not every photographer's dream - especially when shooting in a 6x8 playhouse! Knowing Matthew's penchant for ice and iced tea (made to very distinct specifications), I began a disorganized pattern of boiling the kettle, forgetting about it, boiling it again, making the tea, then forgetting about it cooling/freezing in the freezer. In other words, Matthew didn't end up with his tea until late in the day. I was failing miserably in my hostess duties. I did redeem myself with one of my famous smoothies, though. I think I saw his eyes glaze over as he drank it and could almost hear him think: "Iced tea? Who need iced tea?"

A bit of restyling (to incorporate more vintage pieces), and the playhouse was ready to go. Jenny is excellent at anticipating what Matthew needs with regards to adjusting lighting, and she is an expert at knowing what to do to keep the styling and shooting flowing. From prepping the flowers (she does a mean floral arrangement), ironing the linens (I skipped out on that chore...busy making iced tea, you know?) and doing a whole lot of this (light filtering/blocking):

Sophie felt the need to blow a few bubbles. It's an old stylist trick of hers...

She took a real shine to Jenny and seemed to gravitate to her side for much of the morning.

The shoot went well, and in between shooting through the sweltering heat, Matthew, Jenny and I would peruse the shots and I'd punctuate the air with lots of oohs and aahs, as the beautiful photos appeared before us on the screen. That was the one of the best parts, I'd have to say!

Jenny also busied herself shooting some images for the blog (using my pathetic camera) and here we are:

I have a way of messing up every shot with my lack of photogenic appeal!
Trust me, we had many laughs about that very topic as they tried to get a decent shot of me for the magazine!! We managed to, but just barely!

Sophie, unbeknownst to us, took a few photos herself:

She thought this made a particularly attractive shot, styling some lemons/props and the leftover Good 'n' Plenty candies from the shoot. Matthew gave her the task of separating all of the black and white ones from the colored ones...not every job is glamorous!

Now you have to know there are perks (besides the obvious) to having someone shoot at your home. For us, the perks came in the form of oodles of left-over candy, fruit, and flowers.

all flowers from Zelda's Flower Studio, New Glasgow, Nova Scotia.

We ended our day with a delicious meal at my favourite restaurant, The Bistro, here in my town. Good laughs, good food and a great ending to a busy, productive day!!