Fall Portrait Session | Calgary Family Photographer
It’s been a busy fall season—and what a beautiful fall we have had!! This is one of my favourite families—a new family who quickly became a favourite because I already knew and loved the mama so well. We met one night for a Simply Portraits Session in Fish Creek Park. There was sunshine, fall leaves, and love…lots and lots of love.
I realized when sharing this set that I have yet to share their newborn session. I meant to share it—in fact, it’s ready to go, but I just never published it…so, I’ll do that later this week ;)
Enjoy!
Simply Portraits | A Family Studio Session
Pets are always welcome in my studio! I know that they are an essential part of your family and they deserve to be in your family portraits—whether they are on location or in studio. After the last 18 months of being your unofficial therapy pets, Let’s get them front and center in your family portraits!
Day in the Life Session | Calgary Documentary Family Photographer
Years ago, when I first started out, my goal was to move towards a more documentary approach to family portraiture that was called ‘Day in the Life’ Sessions. Over the years, those sessions morphed into a combination of portraits and documentary that I began to call ‘Adventure Sessions’. Every now and then, I still get asked to do a true Day in the Life session. I did one recently and wanted to share a sampling of the images with you. This is a half day in the life session where we focused on the morning in a very special house that they were about to say goodbye to…
A few years ago, I spent a lot of time purposely seeking out critique in an attempt to become a better photographer, but I really discovered that so many photographers wanted to fit you in a box with their critique…one of their own making. For me, it felt stifling from a creative perspective…I felt like I was losing confidence in my own vision…not my abilities, but my vision…which in the end is the only thing I have that can differentiate me from others. The last two years, I have really stepped back from the industry and it has been AMAZING. I feel like I’m coming back into myself. I’m listening to my inner voice and creating the images that speak to me. Whether they speak to other people is not something I can control…but, when I look at this collection of images, I see my humor, my tenderness, my voice again and it makes me so happy. I want to see more of this.
Enjoy…
Calgary Teen Studio Portraits
I’ve been photographing these girls for 10 years!! Back when they used to ride in their small battery operated car and jump on their backyard trampoline. Now this year, the oldest is graduating. Honestly, this has been one of my favourite things about being a family photographer—watching families grow and seeing who these small children become. And these girls are no exception…they have grown into wonderful young women with big dreams and ambitions. Such an exciting time for them.
Together, we have done so many different kinds of sessions over the years, but we had never done a studio session before, so this time, I got them in the studio for some simple portraits. I love modern and simple portraits. With teenagers, it’s nice to get the session over quickly as they are often busy and have other things on the go. I love my adventure sessions and they are great for younger families, but I truly find that a lot of families out grow them and portraits become the best option for them. Plus, you don’t have to worry about the weather or wait for the fall—it’s lovely in the studio year round.
Over the years, I have often shared their annual session because, once upon a time, a photograph that I took of these girls ended up on a billboard in Time’s Square to celebrate my win as the NAPCP’s Child Photographer of the Year back in 2011(it was for my work in 2010). Many photographers know them as the ‘hammock girls’ because of that moment in my career. That image came from our very first session together about 10 years ago!!! Their dad has been an annual client ever since and has a stack of coffee table books from each session as a way to document the girls over the years. I think he actually has more coffee table books by me than I have of my own kids. hahahahaha….I gotta get on that!!
Check out the official notice for my win below!! Hard to believe that it was 10 years ago!!
To mark the 10 years of the NAPCP, they recently published an anniversary magazine where I had a gorgeous spread…if you are a photographer(or just interested in photography), you can find it here: https://www.napcp.com/2019/12/20/december-2019-inspired-magazine-10-wonderful-years-of-napcp/ It’s a gorgeous magazine that I purchased in print and have in my studio—so, if you want to see it in all it’s gorgeous printed glory, drop by and say hi!!
2020 marks exactly 13 years of photographing families for me!! I’m determined to make it my lucky 13th year ;) Can’t wait to see what’s in store…
Dana :)