Kristen Pay Photography

This is Halle, the winner of the giveaway I hosted a while back, with her partner. Whoooo BABY did they ever rock our sunset session yesterday evening! Halle is a Métis artist, making absolutely gorgeous custom beadwork creations! She gifted me a beautiful beaded lanyard, and I absolutely will be purchasing more from her! I've got my eye on at least a few pairs of earrings. Go check her out, Beadwork By Halle!

When dad sneaks up behind you during the photo session.

Head to kristenpayphotography.com to send me an email, and claim your spot! I would be so grateful if you would share this! How awesome would it be to have a big 'ol donation for SAINTS rescue!?!

This is our tabby cat, Blue, and tomorrow he loses his left eye. He’s spunky, cuddly, and has the softest little chirpy meow. He loves treats, prefers his water cold in a tall glass, and greets Jamie and I in bed every morning with snuggles - he lays on Jamie’s chest while we pet and lavish him with love. We found a spot on his eye a number of weeks ago, and today it was confirmed by his specialist that it is indeed a tumour. He’s having it (and therefore his eye) removed t...omorrow. As long as he’s okay, that’s all that matters. I’m running a special for the remainder of the month, and for all of June. Any portrait packages booked referencing the special will be 50% off! Of the amount paid, 25% will go towards Blue’s surgery, and the remaining 75% will be donated to SAINTS rescue in Mission.

The rain stopped, and the sun made an epic appearance for yesterday’s wedding. . . . I’m taking limited bookings for 2022 weddings! If you’re considering me as your photographer, act fast!

Heyo friends! I've been pretty quiet over here lately. Most of the action is over on my Instagram page - so if you're not already following, head over there ASAP! Anyway. Spring has sprung, the weather is gorgeous, and I'm getting married to this hunk in 10 freaking days! *cue happy dance*... This splendid human is my best friend for life. The head of my entire world. He's my person. My everything. I can't imagine navigating this life without him, and my GOD, words cannot express how excited I am to take this leap hand-in-hand with him! We're very excited for an intimate ceremony with just our kiddos and parents - the most important people in our lives. The Wild Hearts Collective

2020 was a massive year of growth for me. Early in the year I came to a bit of a crossroads: continue on with my shitty self esteem and base my entire self-worth on my body, or learn to embrace myself as I am and love every inch of my being. I chose the latter. Let me tell you, learning to say fuck it and leave your insecurities behind you is really, really hard. It’s a process. It’s not black and white, and it certainly doesn’t happen over night. See, I’ve been at va...rious stages of chubby, curvy, overweight, and thick my entire life. As long as I can remember the one constant thought permeating my conscious being was I want to lose weight - dating back to five year old me. Looking back at this now completely blows me away - for nearly 32 years losing weight and being ideal by societal standards has been at the forefront of my thought process. That’s FUCKED. I’m turning 37 this year. Just prior to my 36th birthday I made the choice to choose self-love. It’s been quite the journey, and it’s definitely not over. Throw in some mental health issues like anxiety and ADHD, and you’ve got yourself quite the little concoction! I try to look at my body with love instead of finding the issues I want to change. I started doing regular yoga with a trainer and built up my strength. I’m now working out with her four days a week to gain strength and cardio, and start burning fat - but that’s not the focus. My focus has shifted. I love how I’m feeling - my heart, my head, and my body. I still have days where my dark thoughts get the best of me, but they seem to be fewer and fewer as time goes on. Today I was feeling extra cute (probably just the adrenaline from checking out motorcycles), so I set up a little self-portrait session. These are so invigorating and always leave me feeling so full of life. Do I look like a Victoria’s Secret model? Fuck no. Am I chubby? Fuck yes. Do I care? NOT ANYMORE. Fuck societal standards. I could write a novel on the things I’ve been through in life, but for now I’ll stick to these Instagram posts hoping I can shine a little light onto someone else’s day. If you ever need to chat, hit me up.

This year I’m following the lead of my very talented and brilliant fiance, and building a business plan for myself, as well as defining what my mission statement is. He’s a talented business lawyer, and knows his shit, people. Part of my mission statement is that I want my ventures to be client-needs driven. This means YOU come first. I want you to feel like you’re being taken care of, that you’re being heard, and that there’s an unequivocal trust between us. I n...ever want you to feel like I’ve left you hanging, that things come out of left field, or that you’re not my priority. I’ve always had these values, but it’s awesome to put them into an actual document, you know? Being a photographer means I’m part of the service industry, and without my amazing couples and families that build my client base, I’d be nowhere. Consider this a massive shout-out to all of my clients - past, present, and future - thank you for being incredible, for being rad, and for amplifying mutual respect and trust. Y’all are the bees knees.

Today was a beauty day. I'm so thankful the sun came out to play - my head and my heart (mostly my heart) REALLY needed it.

Lately I’ve been really enjoying reading with my 7 year old. Watching him grow in his abilities has been nothing short of incredible. He struggled with reading last year, and helping him with and watching his development has been so awesome! Recently he’s been enjoying this super fun book of poems by Shel Silverstein: Where the Sidewalk Ends. It’s full of entertaining drawings and playful poems, and my little dude requests to read it every single night. One of the pieces w...e read last night was simply titled Lester. About a young man who is granted a magic wish by a nearby goblin. A long poem short, he uses that wish to wish for more wishes - and those wishes to wish for more, and so on and so forth - until he is an old man and has wishes upon wishes stacked mountain-high, like stacks of gold. While other people smiled and cried and loved and reached and touched and felt. Lester sat amid his wealth.Then, one Thursday night they find him dead, with his wishes piled around him, unused. In a world of apples and kisses and shoes he wasted his wishes on wishing. So. That jumped at me. Stop wishing. Start living.

Today I had the pleasure of meeting these two rays of sunshine, and it was totally worth braving the cold! What a couple of sweethearts! <3.

Is everyone getting excited for the holiday season? I sure as heck am! Since gatherings are going to be limited, we've decided to go a little "extra" on the homefront - decorations, lights, candles - I'm going all out this year, lol. Where are your favourite spots for local Christmas shopping?

Is everyone getting excited for the holiday season? I sure as heck am! Since gatherings are going to be limited, we've decided to go a little "extra" on the homefront - decorations, lights, candles - I'm going all out this year, lol. Where are your favourite spots for local Christmas shopping?

Hey gang! Heads up! I just sent out some emails for a holiday promotion I'm running on greeting cards! 25% off greeting cards! ... For any of my clients who have received their galleries through Pic-Time, you'll be receiving an email with a code for 25% off greeting cards! These are PERFECT for sending out your holiday greetings! There are a ton of designs to choose from (over 30!) and like 14 different colour options! SWEEET! I'll be placing my own order ASAP! I screenshot some samples below with my two youngest kiddos, but if you head to your gallery you can see the samples with your own photos! Cool beans! Cheers!

I should seriously consider hiring a social media manager. I'm legitimately the worst at staying on top of more than one platform! I've had a lot of feels recently. The whole Covid situation is low-key making my anxiety spiral. In an effort to contain the beast, I took my younger two kiddos out on a mini-adventure during their Pro-D day earlier this week. Our location scouting adventure did not dissappoint! I have another session coming up in this exact spot later this... week, and I'm pretty damn excited! Note: this spot would be AMAZING for a couples/engagement sesh. I'm picturing smoke bombs and champagne popping!

While editing this photo the song 'Kiss Me' by Sixpence None the Richer popped in my head. Now I'll be humming "kiss me, out of the bearded barley..." all frigging day. Awesome. Thanks, 1999.

Discovering yourself. It’s weird. You go your whole life thinking you’re a certain way, only to realize at some point that it’s a sham. You haven’t been living for yourself, you’ve been trying to please others - in your activities, your wardrobe, your hair, your makeup, your personality, your actions, your words - it’s all been because it’s what was expected, wanted, or promised. But DAMN - when that awakening comes - it’s something to be reckoned with. Finding yourself. ...Discovering your true talents. Realizing your loves, your motivations, and what drives you. It creates this fantastic new person who shines. It’s who you were MEANT to be that whole time, and who is finally getting to escape your inner shell. FUCK. It’s amazing.

Hot damn what a beautiful family. . Late summer family photos are always so perfect.