I have known this family for some time and I am FINALLY having the opportunity to capture the love and the silliness that is uniquely them. We spent a cloudy(but not rainy) evening walking around their neighbourhood just chatting and laughing–and, oh yeah–taking some pictures! Some kids are just so full of character that my job is made pretty easy. This guy is one of those kids

And, in case you can’t tell…his parents love him a whole bunch!

I had to put in this last one because in our presession discussions this mom joked that she would like to look like Uma Thurman. Ummm, hello beautiful!!! Uma has nothing on you, babe!

And there is one image that needs to be shared seperately. A new favorite…

Thanks again guys for a wonderful evening! I hope these images bring you joy for years to come!

~ Dana

PS–the mom in this session is a wonderfully funny and sweet(not to mention TOTALLY uncheesy and trustworthy) Calgary real estate agent. If you are buying or selling your house, give Melody Chenowyth a call

PPS–the dad is a vet(I didn’t want you to feel left out, Iain). Thus the totally cool Italian dog of some sort named Toni.

If you are a blog regular, you will recognize the lovely, Kim Flanagan from Mommy Wear Daily in this crowd of natural beauties. The other ladies are Sue Bradley and Tina Varuhese. Together they make up the trio responsible for the event Balance, Boundaries and Blahniks. A fun night for the ladies on June 21st where these three lovely ladies will help you discover how to be the best you! And, Domingo–the only guy up there? Well, he’ll help you learn how to walk more confidently in your Blahniks. True story. So, get your girlfriends together, put on your best pair of shoes and take a night off!! You deserve it!

I have just emerged from a string of newborn sessions and this is the only baby girl in the bunch. I think it is fair to say that she will be well loved ;)

She was so petite and new. Her features were so dainty that it was more like photographing a wee fairy that had come to rest in her parent’s home. One of my favorite shots is the image of her ear. I love her perfect little hair that her grandmother so lovingly combed to prepare her for her first portrait session.

It makes my job so much easier when there is this much love in a house Can’t you just sense the quiet and the calm of the first few days at home alone with babe?

It’s exhausting being a model. Thank you to this lovely family for welcoming me into your home and trusting me to document such a beautiful time in your life!!! Enjoy every second of it!

~ Dana

A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to meet a wonderful photographer from Kelowna named Tasha Jean. Right away, I learned that not only was she an awesome photographer, but her kids were GORGEOUS! A couple of times we had chatted about her coming to Calgary and me capturing her family for her. Well, when we were going to be passing through Kelowna on our way home from our Epic Adventure, I contacted her and she booked me for two sessions. I already blogged the other one here. Today I am blogging her family

I have been booked to shoot a number of photographers this summer. It is always great as it is an obvious compliment to my work, but–on the other hand–it is a little bit nerve wracking. Especially when my husband comes with me and looks around their house seeing all the fabulous images of their kids–and then HE gets nervous for me. SERIOUSLY, dude? All I can do is some deep breathing and get to it My focus for someone who is a photographer is to capture some awesome shots of them with the people they love. I know, firsthand, how few images there are of you when you are the photographer These photographs of her and her kids and her husband are some of my favorite shots ever…

I love it when family’s show me their true personality. It happened on this evening when they pulled out the stilts. STILTS???? Are you kidding me??? Fabulous

Right near the end, I discovered the little stick shack their son had built behind his house. I had to pull out my fisheye. When I did, Tasha gave out this little noise of excitement. It’s funny…I get a lot of talk from other photographers about this lens. Here’s the thing, I don’t use it much. And, there is no rhyme nor reason to when I pull it out. I pull it out when I ’see it’. These are some of my favorite fisheye shots…and I am LOVING black and whites right now as well…so I had to share.

Soooooo…at the end, this was one of my largest client galleries ever. Lots of new favorites…and some new friends as well!  So fun to see their sweet faces again while I blog this…I thought it would be a lovely way to start off the week…

Enjoy!

~Dana

I am off on a family vacation–a bit of a breather before I return to the rush of Spring, Summer, fall I will have some internet access and will be returning emails and phone calls as promptly as possible. AND–I have tried to schedule a couple of blogposts while I am away. We’ll see if I did it right or not!!! Happy Easter everyone!

And how about becoming my fan on FACEBOOK? Go here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Short-and-Sweet-Photography-by-Dana-Pugh/59505282776?ref=ts

Do you twitter?? I do: http://twitter.com/shortandsweet

***just a quick note that to receive the referral coupon, your friend’s session must be booked and paid for first there’s always gotta be some fine print

People send me stuff. This caught everyone in Pughville’s attention so I thought I would share. Thanks, Jess. Enjoy,

Dana

Remember this family??? Well, they are one of my annual clients. We have a standing date in January A casual session in their home filled with love, hugs, and crazy fun!!! This family is soooooo high energy and full of life. I can tell that they laugh ALOT together and that is the most important thing in a family. At least, it is in my opinion.

Soooooo…who is this family??? It belongs to none other than Calgary’s fabulous stylist, Kim Flanagan(formerly Mommy Wear Daily). Do you know why she is so fabulous??? She helps you shop your own closet!!! For a green mama like me that is the best kind of shopping. If you follow her blog, she gives lots of fabulous fashion tips and advice–everything from Joe Fresh to Holt Renfrew. She even told me about this one mom who hired her to help  her preteen daughter work through that awkward transition period and learn how to dress cool without dressing too old for her age. She even helped one of my clients put together their outfits for their session.  And, knowing her like I do…working with Kim would never be stressful it would be FUN!!

Anyways…on to her family. They want a shot in the same spot every year to celebrate how they’ve grown and changed…those are the first couple of shots:

Thanks again, Kim(and for the fabulous jean advice)…

Dana

I sit here in tears after reading my good friend, Shaun’s most recent blog post and I know that I have to share it with all of you. Shaun, his fiance Stephanie, and his dad, Gord are all photograpahers whom I know and love. Shaun and I had the pleasure of attending a lifechanging, business altering workshop by the wonderful Jesh deRox a couple of years ago. It is an experience I reflect on often–especially right now as I head to the largest photography convention and hope to be able to hear Jesh speak once again. Just now as I read Shaun’s blog post ‘Everyone has a story‘, I knew that I had to share it with you.

He’s right…everyone does have a story. I picked up a camera about 4 years ago when I was unhappy with the images others were taking of my uncooperative daughter and I knew that there had to be an easier way. It slowly became an all consuming passion–keeping me up at night(seriously), soaking in as much as I can. Do you know what is great about photography? Aside from the things that Shaun speaks of like the ability for it to allow you to recall certain events emotionally, as a photographer there is always something new to learn. I love that. It makes it easy to stay interested and excited and passionate because there is always something new for me to try.

Something that Shaun spoke of really hit home for me. Being a woman, I hate having my picture taken. I know that most people consider this to be beyond painful. I find myself always wishing I was thinner or younger looking or that my hair looked better. One of the greatest gifts of being a photographer for me is watching other women struggle through this same thing and then realizing that all I see when I look at their images is beauty…the beauty of the love they feel for their family or that they feel for her. And, it made me realize that there needs to be more images of me–depsite all of my hesitations. That I need these images for my children and for their children and so on. I have often said when parents are reluctant to have their picture taken that I am not taking it for them. I am taking it for their children. And, so despite the fact that I feel old and chubby most days, I am excited to be having our own family images done in April. Nervous about what to wear(but I think I found the right jeans today), but excited to see the love my family feels for each other in print. And on my walls.

I encourage everyone to read Shaun’s blog post. I feel particularly touched as he has asked me and my lovely friend, Alicia Price to be the photographers at his wedding to the lovely, Stephanie. I can’t wait.

Just felt like sharing tonight,

Dana