Baby's First Year Photography Special

Did you know that I offer a special to celebrate the arrival of a new baby into your household? 

You have two options for a newborn session with me. Both are booked by your due date to secure your spot in my limited monthly calendar. One type of session takes place in my natural light studio in Okotoks. This is a great option for new parents as you don't have to clean your house in any way. Nothing to worry about except getting in your car to come visit me! We spend about an hour to an hour and a half creating roughly 40-50 images in a modern and relaxed atmosphere. I have a variety of clothing and blankets for you to use or you can bring your own. The pricing for this type of session can be found here: http://www.danapugh.com/okotoks-photography-studio-pricing/

The other type of newborn session that I offer is an in home/on location session(in the Calgary area). This allows me to fully document your new life together. The images we create are a mixed of portrait and candids. I can(and will) photograph the baby in his or her room, as well as capture more of your 'real life'. I find this is an especially nice option for families with other children. It is generally far easier for new siblings to be relaxed and themselves when they are in their own space. Together we create a series of images that work together to tell the story of exactly where you are at this point in your life. An average gallery for this type of session is closer to 80 images. The session takes between one and a half hours to two hours. The pricing for this type of session can be found here: http://www.danapugh.com/calgary-family-life-photography-session/

When you purchase a newborn session with me--whether it be in studio or on location--your maternity session will be a flat rate of $500(+gst). Together, we will create approximately 20 images from it. I will even do underwater sessions at this rate, although there are sometimes other fees for that type of session(like pool rental). 

You are also eligible for an in studio 6-9 month session at the reduced rate. So, $500(+gst) for a 45 minute studio session documenting your baby's sweet smile and chubby little rolls. We will create about 20 natural, modern. A complete way of documenting your child's first year and I am so excited to begin offering it to my clients.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am often booked a couple of weeks in advance. To book a session, fill out the contact form and you will hear from me shortly. Thanks!

The Grandparent Project

That is the working title of my latest personal project. Here is my first instalment. If you know of someone who might be a good candidate for this project, please let me know. Thank you.

Anne, Calgary, AB. Canada.

One day I came across a reading by a psychologist in the US. He said: “The great secret of enjoying life is to learn to love yourself and accept yourself and the rest will just take care of itself” and that was kind of new. From my education, you had to work hard and succeed. You had to work at it. Loving yourself didn’t come into it. 

Tommy Drummond and I used to fight for who was going to be at the top of the class. In Junior High, they posted those you know. 

It’s not over. EVER. As long as you are alive, there is something you can do. 

Appreciate who you are and what you can do. 

I stay pretty active, although my body doesn’t do what I’d like it to do all the time. I get tired. I still sing in the choir. I really have enjoyed a musical career. Of course, I have the kids and the grandkids. There’s lots going on. I’ve been president of the social club a couple of times. And I go to church and I am on a committee there…so I keep busy. I’m a soprano. They need me, too. Sopranos aren’t all over the place these days. .

My Mila | Calgary Commercial Photography

I was so excited to collaborate with My Mila for this recent commercial shoot. I love the simplicity of My Mila's clothes for babies and toddlers. Everything is so soft and comfortable looking that it left me wondering when she was going to make that maxi skirt in women's sizes ;) And, I think everyone needs a toque with a fur pompom not just the babies!!! Although, they look ridiculously cute on them. 

Now that I have my own studio space in Okotoks, I have the flexibility to do projects like this. I'll be honest and say that I like working with smaller brands because they don't just see you as an employee...as someone who is just there to push a button. They see you as a collaborator. A creative whose experience can be used to help elevate the images beyond what they can do on their own. I'm looking forward to working more with this awesome company, but would love to hear from other small companies who are looking to elevate the images they use to represent their brand. Please contact me if you are interested in a collaboration! 

~ Dana Pugh 

Living With Photographs | Okotoks Photography Studio

I am passionate about filling my walls with photographs from our travels and our life. So, when it came time to design a wall gallery for my studio, I tossed a number of different ideas around in my head before settling on what I am calling my 'website on a wall'. I wanted a way to show the visitors to my studio that displaying family photographs can be cool. 

I documented the process in a stop motion slideshow that you can see below. What we did was take the advice that we found on Pinterest about making paper templates from the Ikea Ribba Frames that we wanted to use. We had a couple of different ideas as to how to go about this, but this was by far the best solution. We did, however, make our first mistake with the templates. I assumed that the Ribba frames had not changed much over the years and used a couple of older ones that we already had as templates. They were slightly out and this tiny difference made us have to make a few adjustments when we went to hang the frames. It also meant that I am a couple of frames short of finishing. I just have to run in to Ikea to grab two more before the prints arrive. 

I know that people will wonder how much we spent on the frames and the answer is close to $600. And, they will also wonder how much we spent on the prints...close to $500(none of them were mounted...they were all simply photographic prints). So, as much as this was a 'budget' solution, it wasn't exactly a dollar store budget solution if you know what I mean. It also took us several days, so you can see the light change in the studio. I am awaiting on the prints to arrive from my lab. Once they do, I'll post the finished product. Until then...enjoy us setting it up.