Biography of Lorena Smalley, of Little Bums, Fingers and Toes

By Sorcha McGinnis

When week-old Kaya Prediger let loose a howl so loud it silenced the clicking camera, her mom was convinced the professional pictures she’d arranged would be ruined.
Rachel Prediger, 31, was determined to make her firstborn’s portraits perfect and was inconsolable when the bawling infant refused to go along with the plan.
In the end, it seems, Prediger worried needlessly. One of the photos – of a slightly perturbed Kaya, her tiny hand wrapped around her dad’s fingers, mouth stuffed with a soother – is now a family favourite.

“It’s a very calming picture, even though she’d been screaming all day,” said Prediger. “The pictures captured Kaya the way she was that day. They turned out just great.”
Prediger says she now realizes a formal or stylized photo of her daughter wasn’t what she wanted at all. She praises photographer Lorena Smalley for preserving not just the high points, but also the chaos, of the family’s first week together.

Smalley, owner of Little Bums, Fingers and Toes photography, aims to get away from traditional “posed” baby photography and instead, give control to her young subjects. If a baby wants to nibble her toes, wriggle face down on the floor or fall asleep, no need to put the camera down – for Lorena, who has patience to spare, these are the mantel shots.

For 15 years, lorena had a successful part time/weekend business photographing weddings. While she enjoyed working with brides and grooms, it was the birth of her daughter in 2002 that changed her focus.
After Samantha was born, Lorena wanted to capture what “amazed” her about the little girl – her little bum, delicate fingers and toes. At home, on maternity leave with baby Samantha, now eight, and son Kent, now eleven, Lorena began to experiment with different photographic techniques. At first, she tried colour, surrounding her mostly nude daughter with props, like sunflowers and a pink feather boa. But after the first black-and-white close-ups of Samantha’s miniature parts, Lorena found a style that worked.

“I knew what I didn’t like and that was very posed pictures,” said Smalley, 44. “I wanted to do something different. I wanted to do all the things that amazed me about this baby.”

“I’m pretty fussy with what I like in a photograph, so to see something I really liked was the most incredible thing in the world.”

The photos of Samantha taken eight years ago remain some of her best and stand out among dozens of others in her west Edmonton home.

As Lorena’s friends – many of whom she’d photographed as brides – became pregnant, they asked her to take pictures of their swelling bellies and eventually, their new babies. With her maternity leave about to expire, Lorena made the snap decision to quit her government job and build a business that would allow her to spend more time with her kids and husband Mark.

Little Bums, Fingers and Toes was born.

The company specializes in black and white maternity, baby and children’s photography, and has been featured in Edmonton’s Birth Issues magazine and can be found in various places of business around Edmonton and area. Lorena is also a member of the Family Friendly Business Alliance, a group of like-minded business owners to which Lorena co-founded and serves as president.

Lorena likes that her work captures the tiny milestones parents may not think are a big deal at the time.

“You’re so busy being a new mom, you’re not a photographer. You say you’ll never forget your baby naked, but you do,” she said. “I love seeing the moms’ reactions. I love hearing them say things like, ‘Oh, she does that all the time but I can’t believe you caught it.’”

“I think that what I do is very cool, but maybe that’s because I’m so passionate about it.”

For Lorena, one of the perks of children’s photography is observing and documenting the changes in new parents. First-time moms and dads, she says, often arrive at her studio exhausted and overwhelmed. However, by the second visit, both parents exude a new found confidence.

 “You see these new parents and they’re so nervous. The baby cries and both parents are right there, changing the diapers together. It’s very nice to see,” she said.

Lorena says her goal as a businesswoman is to attract lifelong clients. As the company grows, she has made it easier for customers to gain access to her services. She maintains a website and posts proofs online so that clients and their families can order their favourite images from home. She’ll sit down with clients for hours in order to put together a personalized photo album.

She is also flexible – she’ll do her best to squeeze in maternity shots for a woman about to give birth, and works around families’ hectic schedules. Many of Lorena’s clients are now back with their second born children, or were referred by friends who appreciate the quality of her work.

Rachel Prediger came full circle.  Lorena watched through the lens as Prediger and husband, Tim, exchanged wedding vows in 2002, and again after the births of the couple’s two children, daughter Kaya and son Kage.
With each birth, Lorena drove to the hospital and photographed the children when they were just hours old.

“It was so important to me that she was willing to do that,” said Prediger. “Nothing is cut and dry with Lorena. She’ll work with you.”

Prediger says the family is at ease in Lorena’s home studio. If one of her children needs to stop for a snack or diaper change, it’s no big deal.

Kage will mark each milestone of his first year – as a swaddler, four-month-old, crawler and finally, walker – with a trip to Lorena’s studio. The family also wants to have annual portraits taken of the kids. 

Little Bums Fingers and Toes is a proud member of
The National Association of Professional Child Photographers