Baby’s First Year, A Book of Photography

Posted on May 6, 2013 by admin

Baby’s First Year, A Book of Photography, Calgary:  Jaime picked up the book we created to highlight a year of photo sessions staring her son, Liam.  The sessions began in our studio when Jaime was eight months pregnant and finished when we visited their home to capture images of Liam at Christmas.

The book was around fifty pages and was 12×12 inches complete with dust cover.  I have chosen a few pages to feature in this post.   Please note that the foxfoto watermark was not on the actual book….of course.

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Babys-first-year-photography-foxfoto-L3We spend much time with the newborn session, as this is so meaningful to the family. Although we always do many images of the newborn, we like to feature the relationship of the baby to all family members, including big brothers and  sisters.  These are treasured more and more as time goes by.  We offer to do the newborn portraits in two sessions, one with the darker backgrounds and then in the second session we use a white background.  Almost everyone chooses to do both sessions.

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Photographing a baby’s first year allows us to see the amazing growth and changes that occur in only a few months.  With Liam’s big brother Aiden, we watched how lovingly he handled his baby brother.  Aiden was always ready for his “close-up” and to be photographed with the family.  He would then return to his iPad while things carried on around him.

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We have clothing in our studio for our clients, whether it is for maternity or baby.  My stock of hats, props and little outfits is growing by the week.

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The bath tub is always fun.  We keep a jar of bubbles just for this session.

There is always one outdoor session.   We met with Jaime, Jeff, Aiden and Liam at Confederation Park and walked around, taking many candid portraits of the boys playing.  Liam was most curious about the tall grass and the dandelions, just like his big brother.

Thank you, Jaime and Jeff.  We look forward to seeing you again.

To view more maternity images please check out this link: http://foxfoto.ca/blog/index.php/2011/11/19/calgary-maternity-photography-portraits-of-beauty/

To view a post featuring newborn baby Kian: http://foxfoto.ca/blog/index.php/2012/02/14/calgary-baby-photographers-baby-kian/

We invite you to go to our website and see more of our work:   www.foxfoto.ca

Posted in Calgary Baby Photography, Calgary Childrens Photography, Calgary Family Photographer, Calgary Maternity and Baby Photography, Calgary Maternity Photography, Studio Photography | Leave a comment

Banff Springs Hotel Wedding Photography

Posted on May 3, 2013 by admin

Banff Springs Hotel Wedding Photography  Is there a more stunning place for a wedding?   Last summer we were at the hotel to photograph the wedding of Ann-Marie and Trevor.  It was a beautiful sunny day.   The sky was filled with clouds that added so much to the images.  The wedding ceremony was held out on the terrace overlooking the mountains.

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After the ceremony, we began photographing the family and various groupings on the terrace, then moved to the lawn, and finally to the hotel.

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All couples want a portrait that shows where the wedding took place and contains every family member.  This was very important to Ann-Marie and Trevor.

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We love the incredible architecture  of the Banff Springs Hotel.  In this passage way, we wanted to preserve the ambiance of this space and still beautifully light Ann-Marie.  We did this by setting the exposure to the ambient light levels, and then adding just a “pop” of off-camera-flash with the white balance set to “Flash”  If we had just used an on-camera flash, the warm and wonderful colors of the background lamps would have been lost.  Using the off-camera flash (with the umbrella) highlighted the soft folds in Ann-Marie’s dress.

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The many stairways gave different “points of view” for the photography.   Here, Keith is holding the off camera flash (with umbrella) on the stairs to the right of Ann-Marie and Trevor.  My viewpoint with the camera is at the upper level, leaning forward.   Again, the off-camera flash allowed the soft ambient light to give a rich look to the image.

What a memorable wedding this was!  The bride and groom were truly a kind and thoughtful couple and it was a joy to be with them on this day.  It was obvious to all how much in love they were.  Thank you, Ann-Marie and Trevor, for allowing us to be a part of your amazing wedding!

If you would like to visit another wedding related blog post, please view this one featuring many weddings party groupings:  http://foxfoto.ca/blog/index.php/2012/01/01/calgary-wedding-photographer-wedding-party-portraits/

You can visit our website at:   www.foxfoto.ca

Posted in Banff Springs Hotel Wedding Photography, Calgary and area wedding photography, Calgary Wedding Photographer, Calgary Wedding Photography, Canmore-Banff Mountain Wedding, Mountain Wedding Photography | Leave a comment

Couples’ Photography: A National Accreditation

Posted on May 2, 2013 by admin

Couples’ Photography: A National Accreditation.  We are thrilled to announce that we have received a national accreditation in “Couples’ Photography.”  Most of our images sent for judging were taken from our engagement photos, but we included two wonderful images from our maternity portraits.

This brings the number of national accreditations that Fox Foto has obtained to thirteen.  An accreditation may be achieved by a professional photographer who submits ten images to the national jury.  All ten images must fall into the same category, such as “couples,” “children,” etc.  The judges examine each image for creativity, proper lighting, storytelling, technical expertise, and other elements of a good photograph.  Each image must be accepted by the judges before a national accreditation is awarded.

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The above ten images are the ones we entered to receive our accreditation.  In accordance to the requirements, we needed to have portraits taken both inside, and at outdoor locations.  We love our maternity couples and so we included two of these images.

To see the engagment album we created for Andrew and Ela, the couple whose image appears at the top of the post please click here:  http://foxfoto.ca/blog/index.php/2011/12/30/calgary-engagement-photography-the-album/

Accreditations are important to clients.  When the client sees that an accreditation has been awarded, they have the assurance that their chosen photographer has had their work reviewed by a panel of the best photographic artists in the country. This award is given by the Professional Photographers of Canada.

Thank you so much to our wonderful couples.  Every time we look at the images we are reminded of the time we spent together and the shared laughter.  Couples’ photography is all about love and we feel privileged to record these most precious memories.

If you want a professional photographer to capture special images for you, please visit our website,  www.foxfoto.ca  or call us at 403-246-0216.  We would welcome your call!

Posted in Calgary Engagement Photography, Couples Photos, Fish Creek Engagement Photography, Professional Photographers of Canada | Leave a comment

Studio Maternity Photography: Rachelle and Brendan

Posted on June 26, 2012 by admin

I love doing studio maternity photography.  In our Calgary studio we are able to do several “looks” using the high key (white) background, the black background and our virtual background machine.  With the background machine, we can drop in a variety of backgrounds in seconds to match whatever outfit the mom-to-be is wearing.

Rachelle and Brendan were expecting their first child.  Since we did these images, they now have a beautiful little girl, Baylee Marie!   Congratulations!!!

We really have come to love the profile portraits of the couple and are doing several versions at each session.  The image is all about the baby and the lighting is more dramatic.  This particular image was a favorite of Rachelle and Brendan.

Another image features Brendan and the “belly.”   We also do very tight shots of the dad-to-be with the belly.   This shows the beginning of a special love story:  dad and baby.  Now that baby Baylee is here, that love will grow daily,  even through the teething, the terrible twos, and the early teens.  :-)

Studio maternity photography can offer the crisp and clean look of High Key.

This photo of Rachelle is shown as a soft black and white.

Thank you, Rachelle and Brendan.   Our very best to you in this incredible new role as parents.

Studio maternity photography gives warmth and privacy to the couple and allows us to complete the session despite the changing Calgary weather.   We do outdoor maternity photography as well.  The deciding factor is always what the couple prefers.  Calgary has beautiful parks, many with bubbling steams, gnarled old trees, and tall grasses, great spaces for maternity shots.

If you are looking for a  photographer, we invite you to go to our website and look at our portfolio and sessions.   www.foxfoto.ca   403-246-0216.   Give us a call or an email and we can talk about what you have in mind.  

Posted in Calgary Bellies and Babies, Calgary Maternity and Baby Photographers, Calgary Maternity and Baby Photography, Calgary Maternity Photography, Calgary Studio Photography | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Calgary Family Photographers: A High Key National Accreditation

Posted on April 25, 2012 by admin

As Calgary family photographers, we take many portraits both in the studio and outside in the city parks.   I have just received some good news about our studio photography.  My submission to the Professional Photographers of Canada to become accredited in High Key portraiture has been accepted.   We are thrilled to hear this.

An accreditation is an award given to a professional photographer who has demonstrated to the national panel of judges that he/she can consistently deliver quality images in a given area of expertise.   The submitting photographer must send 10 images taken from 10 different sessions using 10 different people.   The judges look for posing, lighting, story-telling and other elements in the portraits.   All ten images are judged and each one must be passed in order for the submission to be successful.

I love high key portraits.  These are the photos that have the light/white tones in clothing and background.   We have our large white background set up permanently on one side of our studio.  It is used often for maternity, baby, family and bridal sessions.

I am posting some of the images that were used in our successful submission.  I tried to have all aspects of our photography represented.

Our studio does Baby Photography, Children and Family Photography, Maternity Portraits, Executive Business portraiture, and Wedding Photography.  The high key approach works well with all of these but when our clients come to our studio, we also offer different backgrounds so that they can have a greater choice of images.

This is our 9th accreditation.   Why is getting an accredited photographer important to you?   If you are looking at Fox Foto, it means that our work has been reviewed by a panel of judges, consisting of some of the best photographers in the country, and we have been awarded with nine national accreditations.  When you come to us for your photography, you have the assurance that we will present to you quality prints in any of these nine areas:   Maternity, Children and Infant Photography, Executive Business Portraiture, Portraiture, Studio Portraiture, Environmental Portraiture, Wedding Formals, Environmental Wedding Photography, and now High Key.

Our thanks to the those who have allowed us to use their portraits.   We are truly grateful to our clients for their continuing support!

You can check out our website to see more of our images:   www.foxfoto.ca

Posted in Calgary Baby Photography, Calgary Bridal Photography, Calgary Family Photographer, Calgary Maternity Photography | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Calgary Wedding Photographers: Portraits in the Mountains

Posted on April 24, 2012 by admin

Shortly after Rachel and Shady returned to Calgary from their honeymoon, we went to the mountains for some post wedding photography

We stopped at the church near Morley.

We were the only ones at McDougall Church, and took advantage of having the whole area to ourselves.   After much fun and many photo, we packed up and headed towards Nakoda Lodge.

The area surrounding Nakoda Lodge is spectacular, with the lake and the mountains in the background.  With Shady coming from Egypt, it is tough to find a place that can rival the pyramids. We love the relaxed feeling that comes with the post wedding sessions.  There is no stress at all.  The bride doesn’t have to be worried about getting to the reception.   The day is always perfect.  The only session that we can’t change is the actual wedding.  That is fixed in stone.  But for the post wedding session, if the bride looks out the window and it is pouring rain, she can reschedule.  Usually we do these on week-days or Sunday and have gone to farms, to the mountains, to bars, or just to favorite locations in the city.

Most of our brides don’t want to trash the wedding dress.  They just want to put it on one more time and go to a location that they couldn’t have even considered for their fast paced wedding day.  However, we have had our share of brides who went into the water. Some have even taken their groom with them and gotten very memorable images.

This is the last blog post featuring the Calgary wedding of Rachel and Shady.   We have shown highlights of their love story, including engagement, studio pre-wedding bridal portraits, their Calgary wedding day, and lastly, the mountain post wedding session.   Our thanks to you, Rachel and Shady.  This has been such a joyous time for us, seeing you again after so many years, Rachel, and being the ones to photograph your wedding.   Much love to you both!

We invite you to have a look at our website to see more of our Calgary Wedding Photography:   www.foxfoto.ca

Posted in Calgary Post Wedding Photos, Calgary Wedding Photographer, Mountain Wedding Photography | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Calgary Wedding Photographers: A Beautiful March Wedding

Posted on April 23, 2012 by admin

Rachel and Shady had their wedding on the last day of March.   With our unsettled spring weather, the day can vary from huge snow to wild wind blasts.   This is a time when all Calgary wedding photographers are glued to the weather channel.  For Rachel and Shady, the day was incredible.

Our associate, Pat Johnston, was with us for the day.   Thank you Pat!

We began at Lakeview Baptist Church for the ceremony.

The bride and groom included the Sand Ceremony.  This is such a meaningful and beautiful addition.  We have noticed that more  brides are now using this ceremony to compliment their own wedding vows.

Lakeview has a balcony, and Keith positioned himself there with the telephoto lens.  He also carries with him the fish-eye lens for an occasional photo.   The above image was with the fisheye lens.  In a wedding album, this makes a fantastic background spread over two pages.

The formal portraits were taken at Confederation Park in the city’s north-west.

The bridesmaids’ purple dresses and the matching vests on the groomsmen gave needed color to the sepia landscape.

We were pleased to do a Three Generations Portrait, with Rachel, her mom and her grandmother.

During the formal portraits, Keith acts as our lighting expert and operates our off-camera battery operated flash unit.  His job is to move the flash/umbrella into the best position possible.    With the image above, I was standing in front of Rachel and Shady getting a portrait that showed the look of the park.

Pat had crossed the little stream and crouched down under the foot-bride to get a completely different look.  The two images were taken seconds apart.  Both of us were using the flash unit.  I love the look of Pat’s image, showing the reflection.

This highlights the value of having a team covering a wedding.  We can give to our couples different perspectives, different angles, and also…more image possibilities.

Another of Pat’s images!

We did some posing on the rocks.  This allows for a casual portrait.   Confederation Park offers all sorts of “backdrops” for wedding photography.

The reception was held at Varsity Acres Community Hall.  When Rachel and Shady arrived, everyone came out for a full-group photo.   While this was being set up, Pat went inside to take pictures of the decor.   We brought a ladder along, and Keith went to the top to take this photos.   It was getting chilly outside so a big thank you to all those who left the warmth of the hall to participate.

The post wedding photos will be on the blog shortly.   We went west of Calgary to the historic McDougall Church near Morley, then drove to the mountains.

Check out our website at:  www.foxfoto.ca 

Posted in Calgary and area wedding photography, Calgary Wedding Photographer, Confederation Park Wedding Photography | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Calgary Family Photographer: Rachel’s Family

Posted on April 18, 2012 by admin

The blog posts I am doing now are related to Rachel’s and Shady’s wedding here in Calgary.   We often do family portraits at this time because people are coming from around the country to join in the celebrations.

Here are a couple of images of Rachel and Shady taken during a snowfall.

Yesterday, I featured some of the pre-wedding Bridal Session images of Rachel and her bridesmaids.  Today, you will see some family images.

Becca and Blair came for a mini-session.   We spent about 15 minutes and got some lovely images of them.   Several years ago, we did their engagement portraits in Edworthy Park, and Becca’s studio bridal session.  They came from northern BC for Rachel and Shady’s wedding.

Becca and Blair were in the bridal party.

Matt, Stephanie and little Alexander came from Ontario.  We also  had a mini session with them.  It has been quite a while since we last saw them.  We photographed their Calgary wedding during one of the rainiest days in our city’s history.  Both Stephanie and Matt were in Rachel’s wedding party.

Alexander loves being photographed.  He is a charming little fellow with wild curly hair and a sweet disposition.

Tomorrow, I will put up some favorite wedding day portraits.

Have a look at our website to see more of our images.   www.foxfoto.ca   Thanks for visiting our blog, and please come back often to see some of the things we are doing.

Posted in Calgary Baby Photography, Calgary Family Photographer, Calgary Studio Photography | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Calgary Wedding Photographer: Rachel’s Studio Bridal Portraits

Posted on April 17, 2012 by admin

One thing that I love about being a Calgary wedding photographer is that the happy occasions can re-occur.  We get to see former clients as other family members plan their own weddings.     We had a great time photographing Rachel in her wedding gown just before her wedding day.  She brought her bridesmaids to be included in the portrait session.   This was especially exciting for us, as we photographed all of the ladies before and we were thrilled to see them again.

We offer a complimentary studio bridal session to all of our wedding clients.  This is a relaxed time when the bride and her guests come to our studio, before the day of the wedding, and have some lovely photos taken.  Then, no matter how wild the wind blows on the wedding day, how hard the rain is pouring, or how cold it is, we know that we have some fantastic photos of the bride already.

We have the white background set up permanently on one of the studio walls.  The High Key look is always popular, no matter what the session is for.

Rachel is very beautiful and looked elegant in her gown and veil.

When we first developed a studio in our home, Rachel’s family were our very first clients.  We have many fond memories this amazing family!

Rachel’s bridesmaids were all family members.  Becca and Amy are Rachel’s sisters,  and Stephanie is her sister-in-law.

I will be posting more blogs about the wedding.  One will be the studio family session we had with Becca and Blair, and with Stephanie and Matt and their young son, Alexander.  One will be of the wedding day, and finally we will have some images of the post-wedding session near the mountains.

Thanks, ladies, for coming in to the studio!

If you are having a Calgary or surrounding area wedding, please check out our website at:   www.foxfoto.ca    You can contact me through the website, or phone:  403-246-0216.

Posted in Calgary and area wedding photography, Calgary Bridal Photography, Calgary Wedding Photography | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Calgary Children Photography: Miriam, Mathew and Andrew

Posted on April 2, 2012 by admin

We had another opportunity to photograph Miriam, Mathew and Andrew as their mom and dad brought them to our studio for some High Key portraits…those done on a white background.  Having a studio allows our Calgary children photography clients the opportunity to have the images taken outside at a favorite location or indoors on the colder days.

I love this image of Miriam.  There is great charm using the white background. The portraits are crisp and clean, with all the attention of the viewer going right to the face.

The three children are extremely photogenic, and very creative in their own posing ideas.  The one thing that stands out when working with Miriam, Matt and Andrew is how genuinely fond of each other they are.

I used one of the portraits from the family’s fall session in my successful submission for a national accreditation in children and baby photography.  If you wish to see the blog entry containing all ten images used for that accreditation, please click here:  http://foxfoto.ca/blog/index.php/2012/02/15/calgary-childrens-photography-national-accreditation/

I always comment on how well-behaved the three kids are.  They have a good time and show a lot of humor but just before I click the shutter, they waste no time in striking the pose.  They are photographers dream models.

An interesting thing about the above image is that it can be rotated and still look good.  This pose was Andrew’s request.

And here is a pose that we always do on a summer/fall outdoor session, but it translates well to the studio.

Our thanks to Miriam, Matt and Andrew and their wonderful parents for allowing us to create these images for them.

If you are looking for a Calgary Family Photographer to take portraits of your kids, either in the park, or in a studio, please have a look at other images on our site: www.foxfoto.ca   You can email or phone us at 403-246-0216 to discuss what you are looking for.  We would love to hear from you!

Posted in Calgary Childrens Photography, Calgary Family Photographer, Calgary Studio Photography | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment