Fall Portraits | Okotoks Family Photographer
These are some of my favourite portraits of my girl that I have ever taken. And, that is saying a lot because I literally have thousands to choose from. We took these last fall right outside our backdoor. She wore a suit that my father gave my mother back in the 60’s. He bought it while on a work trip in Montreal.
It is fall portrait season in Calgary and that means that I will be asked a lot of questions about how to get the best portraits for your own family this fall. Here are the most important things to remember:
Consider keeping your kids up for golden hour. I know that you have an idea of the time of day that you want to have your session, but—take it from someone who has been taking fall portraits of people since 2005…the best time is that last hour and a half of sun. Especially in the fall as it really makes those fall colours pop.
Trust your photographer about when fall happens in your area. After years of fretting over how long the leaves will be on the trees, I can tell you that without a doubt, September is the best time for fall portraits in Calgary/Okotoks…especially the third week in September. After that, we are literally holding our breath for the first big windy day or snowfall. To me, the most important thing about fall portraits is that the leaves are on the trees. It’s also nice if you get a mix of colours and not just a solid wall of yellow(in these images you can see that some of the leaves are still green—these were taken very late in the fall season before Thanksgiving).
Wear layers. Plan for it to be possibly as warm as a summer day or as cold as early winter. I’ve seen it all in September and October in Alberta. Be flexible…weather can really mess up your plans, but keeping some flexibility in those plans goes a very long way. I know we all have busy lives, but leaving room to celebrate your family with a portrait session is super important, too.
Hire a photographer who suits your style. Don’t expect your photographer to take images you have seen online. Check out their portfolio. Hire them for what you see there.
Don’t worry about your children’s behaviour. Come with the idea that you are going to enjoy yourselves and have fun!! If you threaten or bribe your kids to get them to behave in a certain way, things can really go south quickly. Again, trust your photographer to do what you have hired them to do and come with a positive attitude.
I still have some room in my fall schedule so book your fall portraits now before that first snowfall takes us by surprise ;)
Branding Photography with Kourtney Branagan | Calgary Photographer
What is branding photography? Well…it’s a relatively new kind of content creation. With the rise of social media, people are now finding themselves with the need for images specifically to promote themselves and what they do. To me, it means creating images unique to YOU and your brand. You don’t want your images to look like everyone else’s in your field—you want to STAND OUT and show off who you really are…with a little planning and preparation, we can create lots of images in one session. I know a lot of ‘branding’ photographers want you to subscribe to their services and get sessions monthly, but I really don’t think you need to do that. You need to have goals for your image library and work with your photographer to meet those goals in a way that is the most economical from a time perspective.
Meet Kourtney Branagan…she is a recent branding client of mine and she is running for Calgary City Council in Ward 11!! I fully endorse her because she is organized, smart, and FUN…so full of life and ideas, but also a willing collaborator. In fact, her website is https://www.co11aborate.ca/ !! You might see her out and about on her gorgeous mint bike or at one of the many events she has planned to campaign. If you are in ward 11, I encourage you to get to know her and consider giving her your vote.
For her branding images, we wanted to try to capture the changing seasons at the well known locations around her ward. In 3 different sessions, we managed to create a large library for her to use on her website, social media and in her print materials. We took the time to change her hairstyles and outfits to help give the impression that they were taken over a greater period of time. If you are running for office or if you are just looking to improve your personal brand, I would love to work with you to create your own image library. Here is a small selection of images that I created for Kourtney!
Georgia in the Sunflowers at Paradise Hill Farms
That time Georgia came along to assist on a shoot with me and things ran late so we were able to fit in a little Georgia session. She cut her hair right after this shoot…so this is literally the only time she wore that gorgeous hair tie. Fingers crossed we make it out to the sunflower fields again this summer.
Teen portraits are definitely one of my favourite things to photograph. Just saying.
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!
