Urban Rooftop Graduation Session | Calgary Photographer

I know it’s November so you might be thinking that this isn’t the right time of year to be talking about graduation sessions, but you would be wrong!! Graduation sessions are by far my most popular sale item on Black Friday. So, in the spirit of answering some of your most frequently asked questions about graduation sessions, I will be posting some of my favourite sessions from the last couple of years.

This is the lovely Emelia. We came up with the idea for a rooftop sunset session together after she showed me her dress. I thought it was the perfect choice for this type of session. This session is such a great example of why we don’t have the session on the same day as the graduation ceremony or party. When we make it a separate event, it allows for another day to celebrate your graduate. It also allows for flexibility as far as location, time of day, and outcomes. Every grad is different so I want to make sure that their photographs always reflect that. Allowing for flexibility as far as scheduling the graduation session means we aren’t at the mercy of the weather or the crazy schedule for the day. You can spend the actual graduation day focusing on celebrating as a family and worry about portraits on another day.

This year, my own daughter is graduating and we are planning at least three different portrait sessions(because I really am that kind of crazy). This will definitely be one of the locations as I love it so much. Where would your perfect graduation portrait session location be?

Out On The Farm

I always feel like each of my family sessions are unique to the family featured in them. And, every family is so unique that maybe there lacks a certain ‘flow’ to my portfolio when my goal is to simply capture them as they are in that moment. At times, I have definitely struggled with that lack of consistency and worried about what my peers might say, but right now, I am embracing that. I see it as a reflection of my ability to truly see people and reflect their uniqueness back to them in my own quirky way.

So, this family is extremely unique…sometimes they live in town…sometimes they live on the farm. This little girl has a half brother(and another half sibling on the way) plus step parents and a strong network of friends that feel like family(or at least that’s the sense I got from the time I spent with them). So, for me…the very last image is super special as it shows this little girl sitting with her half brother while her mom adjusts her hair and her step mom adjusts her half brother because IT TAKES A VILLAGE plus TEAM WORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK. I kinda love that image as an example of modern day family. The things that stick out about a scene in front of you is what makes each photographer’s vision important. Like the ‘mystery box pick with eyes closed’ image. Or the one of mom and daughter in the kitchen(mom is an amazing cook—she turned me on to making my own pickled red onions for which my family is forever grateful). So, during a session when I am chatting with you and asking all sorts of curious questions…it’s really just my way of getting to know what’s important to you…without necessarily coming right out and asking that question. I just like to see what you are going to show me and somehow incorporate that into the images I create.

The mom in this image is also my friend and fellow photographer, Ash Nayler. Make sure to go take a look at her amazing work as well. And, if she ever offers to cook you a meal out on the farm—do not hesitate to accept.

Favorite Family Images From 2012

2012 was a long year for me...large stretches of time doing personal work or taking care of personal business. Lots of self reflection and learning have left me more critical of my own work than ever before. Which is good...and bad. To sit and sift through all of my sessions from 2012 was a good thing. I thought I'd share a few that caught my eye...

I realized in doing this that I have so many sessions that I haven't blogged...so a lot of these images are being seen here for the first time(aside from me and the families in them)...in the next couple of days, I promise to share my own favourites from my personal work(this might take more than one post) and my favourites from the weddings and couple sessions I have done. Which ones are your favourites?

Wondering what 2013 has in store for me...

~ Dana