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 :)

Calgary At Home Adventure Session

One of the great things about Calgary is that so many homes back right onto beautiful natural parkland. One of the not so great things about Calgary is that the weather is incredibly unpredictable. Even thought this session happened when it was arguably NOT fall yet, we got a huge dose of fall weather. Wet, soggy, and incredibly foggy. I gotta be honest, I was a little afraid that things could go sideways pretty fast. I mean, with a not quite one year old, you never know how they will handle being uncomfortable. But, this beauty was a trooper. We ended with a warm sink bath that was completely unplanned but very necessary.

This family purchased what I call my Adventure Sessions. Which means that we try to capture a combination of portraits and documentary images. I think sometimes people get intimidated by the word ‘Adventure’ and think that they need to do something truly adventurous in order to satisfy the call…but, here’s the thing…Adventure is everywhere if you are looking for it! Bubbles, watermelon, sink baths…Grandma and Grandpa…all of this is quite adventurous when you aren’t even one year old.

So, here is a smattering of the images we created together while on our Adventure…

Thanks for stopping by my blog…if you have any questions about my Adventure Sessions, please ask!! Winter is the perfect time for one!

~ Dana

Baby Session in Studio | Okotoks Photographer

One of my favourite families came to see me in my studio for their ‘baby’ session. Families who book their maternity and newborn sessions with me have the option of adding on a ‘baby’ session as well…which means when your baby can sit and is full of big smiles and chubby limbs. It’s definitely one of my favourite times to photograph babies. In my baby plan, you can also mix and match studio sessions with in-home lifestyle sessions so that at the end of the first year, you can create a first year album that truly documents each stage of this exciting time in your family’s life.

At a ‘baby’ session, the focus is truly on your newest family member, but I love when siblings come! My studio space is natural light so there is no big, scary gear that kids can tip over. Instead there are toys and treats…and, at this session—my teenage daughter who is home schooled help with managing it all. A built in babysitter!!

Email me now to learn all about belly to baby plans in my studio!

~ Dana

Port Whitby Pier | Adventure Session in Whitby, Ontario

When I was in Ontario in July, this mom(who is also an amazing photographer) invited me to her studio for a photographer’s meetup(which was super awesome!). Then, I had the extreme pleasure of meeting her beautiful little family for a fun evening at Whitby Pier. Her beautiful dog had me wanting another puppy, but Bob has put the brakes on that desire for the time being—but, don’t you think Pughville could use a boston terrier? I’m thinking…um, yes we could!!

I’m on a blogging roll…I’m hoping to try to do this more often so people can see an entire session all together. Instagram is nice, but this is better.

Thanks!

Dana :)