Sunshine, Orange Juice and Duck Bombs

The morning of this session seemed so cold. At the time. :) This is the lovely Laurie Souchotte. She has both mentored with me and assisted for me from time to time. It is lovely to be able to get her whole family in front of my lens :) They joined me for a super early fall session. There was orange juice, banana bread, and strawberries. There were ducks photobombing us(I showed that image before on my Facebook page). And, there was a whole lot of love.

Don't grow up. It's a trap ;) That's what his t-shirt says(in case you can't read it in any of the pictures). How true is that? I have been watching my kids grow at a rapidly increasing pace lately and I want to scream that at them daily.

~ Dana

No Two The Same

Sometimes I feel like no two family sessions of mine are anything alike. I used to actually see that as a problem. Like, I was maybe a bi-polar photographer of sorts. Then I realized that no two families are alike so, if I am trying to capture that unique 'thing' that makes each family awesome then it would only make sense that no two sessions were alike. Of course, there are certain things that I capture that maybe others don't. I focus on the things that I find appealing about each family. The things that, if I was their mom, I'd want to remember. Sometimes I am an observer when I do that and, other times, I am a director. Some families need more direction than others. Some need none at all. All of these things affect what I end up capturing while I am there. This was the first time this family had been in front of my lens. A rarity, if I'm honest because 75% or more of my clients are repeat. But, I had the advantage with this family as I have mentored their mom from time to time. The level of trust was higher than most first time families. We just hung out at their home making popcorn, jumping on the trampoline and taking a quick hike to the nearby woods. It ended moments before that freak snow storm happened in September.

So, here is the reason why I don't blog too many full sessions...unlike smarter photographers(ones who maybe strive for efficiency with their time), I tend to create huge galleries. You see...I am a sentimental sort. I rarely aim for that 'normal concept of perfection' that you see so often because that doesn't really appeal to me. What appeals to me are the little moments. The moments when mom wipe boogers from noses, kids climb up on countertops to get the popcorn bowl, or I say throw one piece of popcorn at dad and that unruly child throws a handful. If these were my kids, I'd want to remember how the little girl absolutely could NOT figure out how to cross her legs. No sirreeeeee...not even after having been shown many, many times. And, I love when daddies play with their kiddos and mommies cuddle them up. I want to see real interactions and fun expressions...and, honestly, those don't happen in a quick session. And, there is no way I could ever narrow a session down to 30 or 40 images. I couldn't even narrow this blog post down to that few!!

So, I know this is a long post(and I have more long posts to come as well), but please take the time to scroll through and search for the thing in each image that caught my attention.

As I said, this mom has mentored with me before. I am gearing up to offer mentoring again this winter. Both one on one mentoring via Skype and an online group mentoring opportunity for the month of February. If you are interested in getting on the wait list, just pop me an email and let me know!

Thanks!

Dana

Details

Sometimes I think people wonder what I am taking a photograph of. Family photographs are, of course, supposed to be a certain way. Even those people who know me and my crazy ways...who are used to sitting in front of my camera...sometimes wonder. The thing is, and many people don't understand this, to get the truly great photographs, there has to be a certain level of trust on both sides. My subjects have to trust me to capture things in a way that they find artistically pleasing, as well as, authentic to their own story. And, I have to trust them to show up. To come to a session not ready to behave, but ready to be themselves. It is a heavy demand on both sides the first time around. Lucky for me that most of my clients nowadays have been in front of my camera more than once. A lot of people think that photographers are all the same. That all they do is click a button and, for that, why should they be compensated much--especially enough to make a career out of it. It is so simple after all. Clicking that button. We all do it all the time with our phones. Heck, there are literally thousands of people begging you to hire them right now. A worldwide lovefest of photography has literally exploded across the world thanks to the latest and greatest technology. I got in early...I've been doing this clicking for almost 10 years(professionally for over 7). I am not going to beg you to hire me. What I am going to do is tell you that your family deserves more than photographs that tell you what you look like in your Sunday best. Even if you are sitting in a beautiful park setting or some propped up studio. There are so many photographers out there now that I think, should you decide to invest in family portraiture, you should, in fact, invest in photographs that speak to your heart. There are no rules anymore. And, there certainly is no reason for you to have mediocre memories created with a simple click. No matter how little they cost you.

Well...who knew that's what I was going to blog about on this early winter day? But, there you have it.

I wanted to show you these two lovely photographs. I love when a viewer can see that I was having an unspoken conversation with this little girl. She gave me 'the look'...the look like 'hey, I'm pretty gosh darn lucky here'. That look. I'm sure her parents were wondering what look she was giving me to cause me to quickly jump down and take this shot. I bet they wondered even more when I took the next shot. You see, as a storyteller, I know that sometimes the story can be seen in the details. And, in their handholding, you can see that there is love and peace in that family. Two beautiful things that deserve to be captured with a click.

~ Dana

Beautiful Baby Boy | Calgary Newborn Photographer

I love seeing parents embracing the beauty of welcoming a new little one into their lives. It is such a treat for me to witness. I am currently booking maternity and newborn sessions throughout the winter. Did you know that you should book by your due date? I only take a limited number of sessions a month and that is the best way to ensure that you will have a spot in my calendar. Some months fill up far in advance. I also have specials for clients looking for both maternity and newborn.

~ Dana