At Home Adventure Session | Calgary Family Photographer
My second Black Friday offering is $200 off of an Adventure Session. What is an adventure session you might ask? Well, it is a mix of portraits and documentary images celebrating your family with a diverse set of images to illustrate the uniqueness of who you are as a family. These sessions can be done at home, at one of Calgary’s many parks or amazing local attractions, or—for the really adventurous—out in our beautiful rocky mountains. We plan the session around your family and pick activities to do together. This allows for a casual session with no pressure. For some reason, I see so many parents opting for mini sessions. They have this idea in their head that everyone needs to “behave appropriately” during a session, but if you can just let go and let everyone be themselves not only will the images be more authentic, but the experience will be better. The less pressure you can put on everyone(not just the kids—dad's always feel a lot of pressure as well)—the better. This cannot be done in a time crunch.
When I was first starting out as a photographer, I wanted to create something out of the box for the families that I work with. I wasn’t interested in perfect outfits and perfect poses. I wanted to see the way you look at each other, the games you play together, the little moments that truly illustrate the bond that you all share. That is worth remembering. That is how my adventure sessions were born. In the 18 years since I started my photography journey, a lot has changed. And, I think in large part thanks to social media, many parents feel this immense pressure to show the world a glossy version of their life. I want to encourage you to show your truth. And, we do that by spending some time together.
If you have any questions about Adventure Sessions, please reach out. I would love to chat with you about my vision for family photography and how it might fit with your own family.
This session is from last year, but I love it so much. I’ve been photographing these kids at least once a year since they were born. It’s always a treat to see them again.
Adventure Session Out At The Barn
Everybody always seems to be in such a hurry these days. Especially families with teens. We are so busy running them to all of their things. But, the thing is…as you near the end of your 18 summers(have you all read that quote about 18 summers?), you realize how important it is to take time to slow down and just be together. That’s the adventure that we did for this family. A night at the barn where their daughter spends a lot of time and all of their pets could roam comfortably and be a part of the session.
I know the trend is to go small with a portrait session now—to rush it and go for a quick mini session, but, for me, my heart will always be in these longer sessions. The time and space allows everyone to relax and just be themselves. We are able to create a space where your family can just be together without constraints or cell phones or worrying about fitting everything in. We give ourselves the time for things to unfold organically. Yes, you get a lot of photographs and maybe you think you only need a few, but if you haven’t seen these photographs yet—how do you know what you are missing? I can tell you that in a mini session, there is no time to capture the true personality of your crew. I also know that if you wear clothes that aren’t your own or your force kids into stuffy outfits that they are uncomfortable in, that you won’t see your true selves in the photographs. I want to show you who you are in your family portraits. Maybe that’s something you feel has been missing in your past family portraits—so, if you are ready to see the beauty of your life, try an Adventure Session with me this fall. I still have room in my schedule. before the snow flies.
An At Home Adventure | Calgary Family Photographer
Not all adventures have to be big. When you have a toddler, every day is an adventure. So, why not document a little bit of your every day? For this family, we just had an evening walk around the neighborhood with a stop at their favourite park. Then, I photographed bath and bed time. It’s a true snapshot of what your family’s life is really like right now. The opposite of a mini session…this is the full meal deal!! I like to think of my Adventure sessions as slow portraiture. It’s my way of trying to calm everyone right down and just be in the moment. Some families take longer than others. Some families never calm down(ha). But, when there is enough time and space to relax a bit, your family’s true personality shines through. If you are someone who wants candid images full of connection…THIS is the way to get them. Not a mini session. The FULL MEAL DEAL.
This family is so calm that the whole session was super chill. This guy might be little, but this is his third session with me. He knows a good thing when he sees it. hahahahahahaha. But, no really…I feel like I am training the whole family to get the best photographs possible. Here is a small sampling of the images we created together.
Adventure Session with Teens | Calgary Family Photographer
Adventure Sessions at home are always one of my favourite things. I love documenting kids in their rooms. It is such a marker of time. It’s not about the room being perfectly clean or decorated to look like it should be in a magazine…it’s about the imperfect beauty of a child’s bedroom and how it evolves over time. The room in and of itself tells a story of who that child is so creating a portrait of them in that space is so powerful to me. Even if there is an issue and the bed didn’t arrive in time for the photo shoot(as so happened in this session). Kids—especially teens—spend a lot of time in their bedrooms. They should be documented. When we do an Adventure Session in your home, it allows for me to really capture a glimpse of who you are as a family in a way that just isn’t possible anyplace else.
This Black Friday(November 25th) my Adventure Sessions will be discounted for 2023. As I’ve become busier doing larger commercial jobs, these sessions will be my focus for next year. There will be 10 up for sale at $250 off the regular rate. It will require a $250(+gst) deposit along with the month in which you wish for the session to happen. Everything else will be worked out in January. If you are planning on a session with me next year, this is the day to book that session. My email list will get an email at 8:00am with the link to purchase. If you wish to be added to that list, contact me though the contact form on this website. At 9:00am, the link will be made public via my social media channels.
Let me know if you have any questions. For now, here is a wonderful example of an at home session. This is about 1/3rd of the photographs that they received from me(for reference).
