IYrma, cesar, Rebecca & Jamie-Grace

Sometimes, sessions like these remind me why I do what I do.

One early morning at Thunder Cove Beach, way before the crowds started showing up, I met a family that had traveled a very long way to be here. They had recently moved to Canada which means they had just moved to a new country, with a new language and pretty much new everything. And their dream was to vacation to Prince Edward Island. They wanted their kids to experience our red cliffs, our beautiful shores and they chose the most perfect time for it, with Iyrma expecting their third child. We scheduled their session pretty last minute as I wanted to help them capture exactly as they were: happy, hopeful, and finally on PEI.

From the moment I walked up with my camera and noticed their matching colourful outfits, I could feel how tight-knit this family was. Maybe it was the way the kids leaned into their parents without being asked or how they all seem to fit into each other somehow so naturally. They all spoke Spanish and I should mention that because French is my first language and that I also speak Italian (and because French and Spanish share so much DNA in their Latin roots), I found that I could mostly understand what they were saying to each other. I even decided to try my hand at speaking Spanish and although it wasn't perfect, it made them feel so seen. And in those small exchanges, something really beautiful happened because we didn't need perfect grammar, we just needed to be present.

I was just so happy to be there. To be the one holding the camera while their dream unfolded right in front of me. To watch them hug so familiarly in between moments, to see how the little ones were so excited to be on the beach and to become big sisters. To know that when they look back at these images in 10, 20 or maybe 30 years, they'll remember not just PEI, but who they were as a family in this season of their lives. That's what I want every vacationing family on PEI to understand. You don't need to perfect and you certainly don't need any more iPhone photos. You basically just need to show up and be yourself, here on our beautiful Island, and let someone else hold the camera while you hold each other. And if that happens to be me? I'll always meet you where you are, even try a few words in your language if I can, and make sure every person in your family feels seen 100%.

There's something really special about Prince Edward Island in the summer and the truth is, it's fleeting. From what I've learned after years of photographing families on vacation here, it's that it's worth it. The way you feel here, the way your kids cling to you after a long day of exploring the beach, the way you watched every colour of the sunset fade into blue hour and nobody looked at a single screen? All that deserves more than a couple photos buried in your camera roll. You deserve memories of that red sand between their little toesies, of that golden hour light hitting their biggest smile ever, and you deserve to print & hang those in your home so that on the hard days and all the busy mornings, you can look up and remember: We're still that family.

So yeah, I meet families at Thunder Cove and at Brackley Beach and at hidden lookouts that aren't even on the map (but a dropped pin will do!) and I get to tell the story of where they came from and who they're becoming. And every single time, I get to tell myself: "Let me show you how the Island welcomes you and how you belong here."

And to that beautiful family, if you're reading this, thank you for letting me share that morning with you. Thank you for trusting me with your dreams and for letting me in, it was a tremendous honour. And to every other family planning a PEI vacation: what are you dreaming of? I'd love to help out!

XO,

Vee