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 :)

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.

Toronto Family Session

I took a bit of a breather in the first half of the year. I’ve been in business since 2007 and busy raising my kids so ‘a breather’ has never really naturally happened and I just felt like it was time. My goals for my work were to sit back and evaluate what it was that I truly wanted to do going forward. I was niave to think that I’d have all the answers in a few short months, but I did come up with a some of them. And, for now, that will do!!

One of the things that I was sure about was that I wanted to move more towards more Adventure Sessions. This is where my heart is…capturing families as they are…typically where they live…all the while showing their true personality. While I can appreciate the loveliness in a very curated photography style, I felt that by moving that way, I was sacrificing a family’s personality and forcing them to fit more into some imagined style I had in my head. It wasn’t working for me—much like fitting a square peg in a round hole. I just wanted to show the families who hired me exactly how beautiful their life looks. This session in Toronto is a recent session that just felt like all of that for me. Old school Dana Pugh.

It’s funny because it has occurred to me that if one’s own vision or ‘photography style’ is as unique as say a thumbprint(and I would argue that is true), then it would also mean that becoming more comfortable with yourself, would bring you more comfort with your vision. I am feeling more comfortable in my skin that I ever have…which is maybe why I just want to be me in my work. More than ever before.

So, THANK YOU to this family for braving the parking/driving situation in this part of Toronto(during a baseball game which I didn’t realize when I suggested it) and for just showing up with their hearts as their true selves. Even if dad is wearing his ugly runners that mom was mortified to realize upon starting ;) Even if some of the street shots have complete strangers in them(I actually kind of love that about those images, but I did secretly edit out a person or two). Your kids just came as themselves and showed me their awesomeness which made my job super easy.

And, OH…the mom in this session is also a photographer. Check out here work here: http://www.nicolekathlyn.com/

Make sure to scroll through all of the images because the ones at the end are all the heart eyes for me :)

Enjoy!! I still have room for a couple of Adventure Sessions before Thanksgiving if you are thinking this looks like something your family would be up for!

~ Dana

Lake Minnewanka Family Adventure Session

I’ve been thinking a lot about what people tell you is the ‘right way’ to photograph a family. It might surprise many of my clients to know that there is discussion around the proper number of images to show a client—for example….and that I fail miserably at that by all standards. I promise that I am trying desperately to get better…to truly narrow things down and only show images that I truly love. The problem is….well, my Adventure Sessions aren’t much like other photographer sessions. I want the images to both tell a story in a way, but to also truly capture portraits of who you are…and, when the adventure happens in an epic location like Banff National Park…to also share that epicness. The goal for me is far beyond just a ‘family portrait’…it’s truly so much more than that for me. With these sessions, I give my clients a piece of my heart. Truly. The images created from Adventure Sessions are a huge piece of my life’s work. Images that show more than what you look like.

I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately…all of that…and making some decisions about 2019. A new website is coming(any day really…it’s been almost ready for months so it is time to just FINISH IT ALREADY) and a new way of doing things. I can’t wait to share it with you all. For now…a fun little slideshow and some images for those who are too lazy to watch the slideshow ;)

What I love most about this session is that there is no pretense…this is them. Truthfully, it was kinda cold…so we just went with it. We took a break and had a snack in their camper van. We mostly just walked and explored and had a fun evening in the most beautiful of settings. Soooo…here’s a sample of what they got. The slideshow is about 1/3 of the images we created together.

Only very limited space left for 2019…contact me now if you are hoping for a session.

~ Dana