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.
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 ;)
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 :)
An At Home Adventure Session
Sometimes you just want to have photographs to remember what a normal Saturday morning was in your home. With the kids playing 'hockey' in the living room while mom and dad watch the news. Or, getting carried away with water balloons from Costco. Or just cuddling with your mom or dad on the front steps. These things are all worth remembering.
