Photographing Moms
With Mother's Day approaching, I was considering posting all the moms I had worked with over the last year...but, that would be a very large post ;) And, what images of them do I post? You see...I photograph as a mom. Even when they're not my kids, the pictures I take are heavily influenced by what I would want to remember if it were my family. So, I kind of feel like all of my photographs are photographs of Motherhood. What you see and what you don't see of your life as a mother--the kids, your husband, YOU in the middle of it all...little stories of motherhood.
My friend and client, Jennifer Chaney, recently posted a blog post about letting your pictures show what is in your heart. It filled my heart to see her post an image I took of her and her boy where you could see her heart. 
These are my favourite kinds of images to take. The ones where you can see how much love a mother has for her child. That is a universal emotion my friends. Mothers around the world know it. I like to show you what that looks like. I also like to show it to your kids. It's like proof positive that they are the centre of your world(as if the 52 hours of labour you went through weren't enough proof!).
As much as I love these images that show me a mother's heart, I also love capturing images that either show a mom 'in action' or views that I think they probably see on a daily basis at this point in their life. It is partly why I like to do my sessions in my client's homes. These mundane moments are worth remembering because chances are you are too sleep deprived to remember it without a little bit of help ;)
So, to me...if I really think about it...motherhood is a sort of photographic style which I've embraced. I want my photographs to speak to those moments of parenthood which you want to hang on to...the big emotional ones and the little, everyday ones.
If you are ready to have some photographs like this of your family, I would love to help you out ;) If a full session isn't in the cards for you this year, I still have two spots at my Mother's Day Pop-Up Studio in downtown Calgary.
And, to all of my clients over the last year--thank you for sharing these moments with me(and for those of you who are on my blog--the world). Motherhood is a tough, but incredible job. Slow down this weekend and enjoy it a bit ;) Happy Mother's day!
~ Dana
Teacher Karlee
Teacher Karlee is Bob's cousin Karlee Demierre who lives in Trujillo, Honduras. There, she runs a school teaching English to the locals. We went to Trujillo while we were in Honduras and had the opportunity to see her school. It is in her house in downtown Trujillo. She does the most amazing job of teaching english to the kids(and some adults) through a combination of American sign language and fun games she has made up. We had such fun hanging out with her and watching her in action.
If you would like to learn more about her school, here is the Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/TrujilloCultural
If you would like to learn more about teaching English as a second language, check out the Facebook page for her book(available on Amazon here):
https://www.facebook.com/EnglishLanguageGames
And, of course, some photographs from our time there....
~ Dana
Mother's Day Pop Up
I still have a few spots left in my Mother's Day Pop Up Studio! I've decided to make it super easy for you to grab one. Just pick the time slot and pay the session fee below!! Then, I'll email you with all the final details!
2:00pm
SOLD
2:15pm
2:30pm
2:45pm
Just to be clear--these images are for moms and their kids only. Let's celebrate our mothers!!! I'm excited to see all the moms/grandmothers/aunties who are coming my way that day!!! Thank you all for your support of my friend, Jen Unplugged's fundraiser.
~ Dana
PS--as I mentioned in the last blog post about this--just moms and kids ;) Just clarifying that!
Real
I like to keep things real. I have been wanting to explore this kind of work for awhile, but have been hesitant for a number of reasons. Anyways, here is a peek at some of the personal work I've been doing this winter. I am grateful for this lovely woman for oh so many reasons, but today the first one that comes to mind is that she allowed me to share these with you all. So beautiful inside and out...
~ Dana