"Dance is the hidden language of the soul of the body." -Martha Graham
Last year around this time I went to Calgary to visit family and while we were there, my sister-in-law, who also happens to be an extremely talented dance teacher, wanted to gift a dance mom a totally unique gift. Photos of her daughter, in pointe shoes, in an urban setting. Needless to say the gift was a total hit! You can see more of her images HERE.
This year, my husbands cousin asked if I would be interested in photographing her 13 year old daughter and some of her dance friends in a similar style, so of course I was up for it! We were so fortunate to have my amazing sister-in-law do all the posing again for the session. I could not have done it without her! I was pretty proud that by the end of the session, I did know what second meant. (For those who don't know, its a position of the feet in ballet.). Over the next few weeks I will be posting these beautiful ballerinas, so keep an eye on our blog for those! Here is a little sneak peek of what's to come...
A few years ago we switched around how we do things a bit to make our customer service for portrait sessions top notch. We know a few photographers in Saskatoon did this already and little did we know how much it would change everything (in a good way!). What am I talking about you may ask?
ORDERING SESSIONS!
What is an ordering session? Once the photo shoot has come and gone, we have our clients back into our studio, typically within the week following the session, to view and order their images. How did it change everything?
Well our favorite thing in the whole world is watching our clients view their images for the first time, seeing the emotions, the smiles, the tears, everything, reassures me 1000% of what I do is all worth it at that moment. Another thing that we have found since doing these sessions in person is people have no idea what to order. They typically have an idea of what they want... a big wall portrait, an album, or maybe some gift prints for their family, but the number one questions I always get asked is: "What do you think?" or "How big is that?" "Between this image or that image, which one do you prefer?" Being able to provide our clients with the expertise in giving suggestions on what to order and what size is ideal for their space is priceless.
Another thing we love about in person ordering sessions is we hear and see what our clients don't like about themselves. I know, hands down, we are all our own worst critic. I might look at an image of you and think it's absolutely beautiful, and you might look at it and all you can see is your arm that appears too big to you, or you hate your profile. This small but crucial detail has absolutely made us become better at our craft! Time and time again we hear many of the same complains about people and their thoughts about themselves, which has made us more aware during the session to avoid these things in posing etc. And for those returning clients especially... if they don't like their arms, I will be sure to pose a certain way to mask that, or if they preferred one side to another, or a smile that doesn't show their teeth, I will keep that in mind for future sessions. This is something that I would have never even realized had I not been there in person with my clients.
Walking our clients through every step of the process has become our way. Little did I know, this small step has made me improve so much as a photographer. While it does take a bit more time, we feel as it is worth every extra minute! If you are a photographer who would like more info on this topic, drop us a line! We would love to chat more!
This wedding was one I had been anticipating all summer. It was a bit different than any other wedding we had previously photographed, and a bit more special for me as it was on the same day as my wedding anniversary. It consisted of a morning ceremony, 6 hours of formals (complete with an outfit change), a backyard acreage reception under big beautiful tents, family style East Indian supper, and to top it all off, Fireworks. All of which were a first for me! The entire wedding was completely DIY, and it was so simply stunning!
6 hours of formals seems like a lot of time for formals, but I could have shot these two for another full day! They were so natural in front of the camera, and as you can tell from the images, they are extremely photogenic. I felt very fortunate our paths had crossed and to have shared so many firsts with them.
Here is a very small selection to tell their wedding day story...
Fall is a popular time for family photos here in Saskatoon. This family came from Kindersley, SK for their session. I'm so used to chasing around toddlers so having two well behaved boys who took direction like no body's business was a bit of a surprise! The whole family was so photogenic. At the end of the session the youngest said: "Can we do this everyday? That was so fun!" LOL. If I had the time, I would love to shoot you everyday buddy. You guys were a real treat. Thank you, again, for taking the time to come all the way to Saskatoon for your family photos. It was an absolute pleasure!
I took a little road trip to Battleford for this maternity session. The last time I saw this mom and dad was during their engagement session 5 years ago. Since then, they got married (in Hawaii), moved to Battleford, had a baby, who is almost 3, and now expecting their second! It's pretty crazy to think how much can change in 5 years! Needless to say, it was so wonderful to see them again in their hometown, living their dream. I can not wait to head back later this month when their newest addition is born! Here is a small selection from their maternity session.
My little girl turned 4 this summer! I can't believe it's been 4 years since we welcomed our first born into the world. She received this gorgeous dress from her Auntie who brought it all the way back from Italy for her! I knew I had to do a photoshoot of her in it. I really wanted to do something really girly with her, as that is her: Girly. I thought doing the session out at my parents flower farm would be the perfect place! (Yes, my parents grow flowers on the farm to sell to flower shops in Saskatoon. Pretty cool right?? You can keep tabs on what they are up to on their facebook page HERE) While the farm got hit with frost a few nights ago, there was still a lot in bloom and they looked amazing! We did this session in about 20 minutes, because well, that's all my girl will give me. Needless to say, I feel like I captured her personality perfectly. So here she is... my little princess. I love her to bits!!! And I'm bias, but isn't she gorgeous?
When I saw and e-mail in my inbox from a past bride, I was secretly hoping it would be an inquiry for maternity photos:). Well, after opening up the email, it was! I seriously love it when past clients call me to capture the next chapter in their lives! I photographed this bride and grooms wedding 7 years ago already! It was so awesome to get them in front of my camera again! I can't wait to meet their newest addition:). I know one thing for sure. This baby is already so loved. So I sit here and patiently wait for the call to say their little one has arrived. Until then, here are a few from their maternity session. The last sunset shot is definitely a fav!
With the fireworks festival coming up this weekend in Saskatoon I thought it would be fun to do a blog post on photographing fireworks! So.. here is a simple guide to photographing fireworks. You can find out all the details of the 2015 fireworks festival in Saskatoon HERE.
1. Put your camera on a tripod. If you don't have one, you will need a steady surface to put your camera on. Although a tripod is always best!
Put your camera on manual mode with the following settings:
ISO: 200 or 400
Aperture: F16 or around there
Shutter speed: Here is where you need to play around a bit! I would suggest starting at one second, then adjusting from there. Depending on how much ambient light there is, you may want to go a bit lower or higher than that! If the fireworks aren't the big grand ones, you will likely need to add a couple of seconds.
DISCLAIMER: These are the settings I used! They can totally depend on your surroundings etc., but this is a great starting point!!!
A great tip is when you press the shutter, hold onto the camera with both hands, and don't let go until you hear the shutter close. If you push it and release instantly, it can cause the camera to move a bit (even on a tripod), resulting in blurry pictures.
Play around with it, have fun and break the 'rules' to see what you can create!!!
**All off these images are from the Canada Day fireworks here in Saskatoon.
Adding people to the mix is a whole other ball game! Of course, I only have recent fireworks images with people in the them, being a portrait photographer and all. Keep an eye on our page for future blog posts on adding people to your fireworks pictures. For now, go out and master fireworks shots on their own.
Another thing to keep in mind is try and get some really great shots right at the start. Once a bunch of fireworks go off, it gets really smoky and they don't photograph as well.
Good Luck!
This mom and I went to photography school together. Their wedding was the second wedding I ever photographed. The not-so-little girl was just 2 when she posed for us in class. It's hard to believe she turned 10 this year! I'm grateful they come to me every year for family photos. It's pretty cool to see the kids grow up and the mom and dad look exactly the same (lucky buggers, lol). They are some of my favorite people to photograph. Thanks for supporting us over the years. It makes me so thankful to do what I do! Looking forward to capturing your family again next year!
