My most popular time of year for family photos is coming up next month, the fall season in Winnipeg! The weather is not as hot and muggy, the sun sets earlier for beautiful golden light at a family-friendly time of day and the the colours in the trees are starting to change.
My mini sessions are happening on Saturday September 6th – it’s perfect for families who want a quick and fun way of updating their photos without a long session or having to purchase a large photo package.
At the lake is where generations of families make memories – there’s something about a family cottage that gathers people, builds connections and creates memories that go beyond a lifetime. It was such a joy to be able to capture all this love and to honour the memories of the family members that started this legacy.
We began the session with photos at the cottage followed by a walk to the beach for a few more shots. We managed to schedule it in just before a big downpour! What a fun family – it was a delight to create these images for them and help them honour the past and cherish the present.
If you’d like to book me as your local photographer in Victoria Beach for your next family photo session, send me a message!
I met up with this extended family in the heart of St. Boniface at the cathedral under a perfect evening sun and it was nothing but fun energy, laughs and true connections of love. So easy to capture! I hardly had to direct them, they were always giving me some dynamic poses and candid moments. I love this location for the mix of old and modern architecture and lots of greenery. In under an hour, we were able to capture hundreds of frames! Such an efficient group! Here are some of my favourite highlights here:
Irene had a vision in mind for her family photos and after showing her photo galleries from several different locations around Winnipeg, she fell in love with this location: Lagimodière-Gaboury Park. We scheduled the session in the evening when the sunlight would be gorgeous through the trees and the light did not disappoint!
I had so much fun with her family! Of course we did the standard posed group shots, but we also set up some fun candid moments to capture the real laughs and authentic expressions. The kiddos were super cute and everyone had genuine smiles – the mark of a family well connected and well loved. Here are some of the photos we captured that evening:
Every May, I offer spring mini photo sessions for families who want to capture fun, meaningful memories in just 15 minutes. These short and sweet family photo shoots are ideal for parents with young kids — quick, fun, and low-stress!
This year we met up at St. Vital park on a beautiful evening with a glowing sun and thankfully zero mosquitoes! Here are some of the best moments that we captured:
I met up with Dean at the Forks to update his actor headshots earlier this winter. The last time I took his professional headshots was well over a decade ago, so it was due time to catch up and create some new portraits for him. He’s been working on projects and needing updated headshots for upcoming auditions, so we spent an hour at the Forks taking a variety of poses, backgrounds and looks.
I had the pleasure of meeting up with Jamie McEwan to create a new collection of realtor headshots for her as she starts her career as a real estate agent in rural Manitoba and Winnipeg.
Choosing the right location goes a long way in creating headshots that are warm, approachable and naturally confident. Having access to a light-filled home with a bright, open environment and minimalist decor was perfect for Jamie. Her photos communicate her true personality: friendly, empathetic and knowledgeable.
Corporate headshots come in many different styles, but one of my favourite ways of taking professional headshots is by using natural light and a dynamic background.
Instead of setting up studio lights and using a solid white background, I took these headshots for the Université de Saint-Boniface staff in their natural light atrium. We had lots of depth, dynamic soft light and interesting texture for these photos which allowed me to run free with creativity. I also had my favourite lens on my camera, one that gives me tack sharp focus and buttery soft out of focus backgrounds. LOVE.
This session was set up with 5 minutes per person, to give them several different options to choose from for their final two images each.
Here are some of the highlights from the headshot photo shoot:
I was super excited to meet up with Sunny’s family at the U of M campus to take their photos. I always know they’re going to bring ALL the fun to a session. And they sure did! We took some “nice” posed photos, but I also let them do their own thing, which was never not entertaining. 🙂
Sunny is a fellow photographer and someone I’m grateful to have in my community of photographers – her creativity and commitment to work is an inspiration to me. Check out her amazing studio work here.
Here are some of the many (many!) photos we took that evening at the University of Manitoba:
Spring time photos in Winnipeg can be beautiful, especially in early June and in the morning! Most people think of family photos in the evening, but when the weather is warmer, a morning photo session is a great choice especially with little kids.
I met up with the Giesbrecht family at Kings Park in south Winnipeg and we had the park pretty much all to ourselves! We did the shoot at 9:30am, catching that beautiful light and colour that the morning brings.
We got a few large group shots, but also took individual mini photo shoots with each family so that everyone had their own photos from this multi-family session. Here are some highlights!
Graduating high school is a big milestone and celebrating with friends for a formal grad photo shoot is exactly what this group did in June last year! I met up with them at Kings Park in Winnipeg and we spent an hour taking photos around the waterfall, flower gardens, bridges and through the greenery at the park. It’s such a beautiful location to get a variety of poses and photos, as well as some fun candid shots we captured in between. They also brought a basketball for one fun photo, but for the rest we just used the natural beauty of our surroundings.
If you’re looking to take grad photos this year, consider booking the shoot together with your group of friends! Everyone still gets individual headshots, but you also get fun photos together with your friends.
When Helen messaged me, she expressed wanting great portraits and candid shots of her with her four boys to blow up and put on their walls at home. We immediately started planning a sunset session at Birds Hill Park, to capture a variety of landscapes: both fields and forests but also the beach.
We scheduled it on a warm July evening at exactly the right time to capture all that magical golden sun that we all get nostalgic about. (This hour changes depending on the time of year, but generally it’s about 1-2 hours before sunset).
We started taking photos on the edge of a tree line for photos in the shade, then we moved to an open grassy field before finishing the session at the beach as the sun got lower in the sky.
Here are some highlights from our fun photo shoot. Her boys were the sweetest most adorable set of brothers ever! They posed for some lovely photos with their mom, but we also gave them space to run around and have fun to get all those candid shots.
The warmer season is just around the corner and you might be planning your family’s annual photo session at this point. I’m going to share 5 ways to plan your session for success this year.
NUMBER 1: BOOK YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER IN ADVANCE
Good photographers tend to book up fast during the most popular dates of the year, so reserving yours ahead of time means you’ll get the best option. You want to avoid scrambling at the last minute to book a photographer when the season is almost over and photographers have very little availability left.
NUMBER 2: BOOK THE BEST DATE
When is the best date for outdoor family photos in Winnipeg? In the 17 years I’ve been doing this, the most beautiful colours and weather tends to be between September 28 and October 10. And the prettiest hour of light on those days is generally between 5pm and 6pm.
Some people prefer spring photos, or even winter photos, but the vast majority of my clients love fall photos. The weather isn’t too hot or too cold, the colours are spectacular and the beautiful pre-sunset time is at a reasonable time of the day for kiddos who might be going to be early. It’s a win-win for a lot of families.
NUMBER 3: PICK A LOCATION THAT WORKS WELL FOR PHOTOS
Some of my favourite locations are ones that have lots of trees, but also a lot of variety in landscape. This means picking locations that have a mix of forest, water, fields, trails, elevation, etc. I also avoid picking locations that only have wide open spaces because not having any shade to use could be a problem on a very sunny day.
A good location also factors in accessibility (it has to be easy to get to for all family members). However, if your family is up for an adventure, picking a location that includes some hiking or trailblazing to find the best spots could be fun!
Here are some of my favourite locations in Winnipeg for fall photos:
Henteleff ParkLagimodière-Gaboury ParkKings ParkThe English Garden at Assiniboine ParkUpper Fort Garry ParkAssiniboine ForestHarbourView ParkSt. Boniface CathedralCrescent Drive ParkBois-des-EspritsBirds Hill ParkWhittier Park
NUMBER 4: DECIDE WHAT TO WEAR
One of the most common questions asked is what should the family wear for their photos. My go to answer is always this:
For colours, I recommend a light & neutral colour palette. For example, greys, beige, cream mixed in with pastels of pinks, greens and/or blues is good. You can add one or two patterns (a floral or a low contrast stripe in the same colour palette). Things to avoid: bright saturated colours, high contrast, logos, graphics or lettering. I also recommend avoiding wearing black (if possible) as black cotton tends to show white lint a lot more on camera than when we see it in real life.
I have a Pinterest board with photo examples of what works well. Click here to see it:
Click here to view my Pinterest board with ideas for how to pick outfits for your family photo shoot.
NUMBER 5: TRUST YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER
One of the hardest things is to trust the photographer to lead you, if you haven’t had much experience with a professional photo shoot before. I know how much work and energy it takes to plan a photo shoot for your family, and when you finally do show up, the stakes feel high. I often have moms arrive at a session worried their kids won’t cooperate, or that their outfits don’t work, or that everyone will look awkward posing for photos.
All I can say is – trust your photographer.
I’m the professional and my job is to take all the personality dynamics, the energy, the colours, backgrounds, sunlight, angles and MAKE SURE your photos turn out amazing.
I’m just as invested in the outcome of the photos as my families are. I want my families to be happy with their photos, but I also want the photos to look amazing for my own portfolio! Taking photos of families especially with younger kids is my specialty, and I’m more than prepared for the challenge.
I also know that kids can move quickly, and making sure to catch action shots, or shallow depth of field photos can be hard. I often use the auto-eye-tracker on my mirrorless cameras to nail the focus, even in fast moving subjects (hello toddlers!). Combined with my beautiful Sigma Art Lens, I’m all about catching those gorgeous moments that I’m seeing moving quickly before me.
So remember, trust your photographer and give yourself permission to let loose to enjoy the process. The family photo session is a place for you to play, to enjoy the company of your family and to spend time bonding with your spouse and kids. When that is your only focus, the rest will fall into place. I promise.
Congratulations to Lyndsay and Brendan! These two have a love and connection that I can’t describe with words, but I was thrilled to be able to capture it with photos. Look at the photos, especially the one at the pub, when everyone else is eating nachos, they’ve got their full attention on each other. This was unposed, and is exactly how these two are with each other! So much love.
We did their first look just off Waterfront Drive in the Exchange District, and made a stop at Little Brown Jug to grab some drinks and a bite to eat. We then headed over to the Winnipeg Art Gallery, one of my favourite architectural spots in the city, where the light, angles and textures are gorgeous.
It’s been a pleasure getting to know Lyndsay through our volunteering at CreativeMornings Winnipeg. I value our friendship and the fun she brings to every event we work on. Getting to know Brendan has been just as wonderful and seeing them together makes so much sense – they are the right fit! They have a kind, generous and easy-going way about them, and being their wedding photographer was SO much fun. Here is a small preview of their photos from their wedding day:
The first look got us ALL teary-eyed.Finding them like this was a constant. So adorable! A fun stop at Little Brown Jug.Winnipeg Art Gallery’s Front EntranceWe absolutely had to include every member of the family.
I had the delight of taking photos for Thousand Hills Coffee, a local small business in Winnipeg selling delicious coffee beans run by Simeon and Julia. As their website says, they serve “the best specialty coffee from the heart of Africa in the heart of Canada.” If you haven’t checked out their coffee yet, here’s the link to their online shop: https://thousandhillscoffee.com/
The photo shoot included styled product photography and some lifestyle photos of the owners making coffee. The goal was to update their website photos, create high-quality branding images that showcase the quality of their products. Here is a preview from the photo shoot:
I love going to the Leaf for photo shoots, especially for professional headshots. There is a good variety of backgrounds, textures and colours to choose from and the space is always full of light. It’s one of my favourite indoor locations in Winnipeg, especially in the colder months when going outside isn’t always an option. Here are some highlights from a recent headshot session I did in the biomes:
Idunnu was looking to get professional headshots for her real estate work and I had the pleasure of meeting her up at a friend’s beautiful modern house to take the photos.
We took some with natural light and some with studio lights in front of a white backdrop. I also made sure to include the natural environment of the home in the background to include more context and warmth for her headshots. And to add to the variety of photos, we had 3 outfits to keep things more interesting!
Here are some of the photos she picked for her website:
This past summer I had the joy of meeting up with April and Matias for a family portrait session with their beautiful dog, Penny. The bond they share is deep, and seeing them prioritize a photo session to capture their connection was really beautiful. We had a lot of fun running around Kilcona Off-Leash Dog Park and making the most of the beautiful evening light. When a dog completes a family as much as Penny does for these two, a photo shoot is definitely worth planning for! Here are some highlights from our time together:
For Almond Nail Bar’s updated brand photos I gathered a team at Allure Studios in Winnipeg with models, a photo stylist and lots of props to bring the client’s vision to life. It was a full day with lighting and styling, and what a joy it was to work on this creative project with this talented team. Here are highlights from the final collection of photos:
One of the most common ways of taking headshots for my clients is by setting up my mobile studio in their office space. This includes a simple backdrop (in this case it was white, and they requested a slight grey tone, which was adjusted by lighting the scene slightly darker).
This set up is conveniently installed in the board room and one by one, staff can come in to get their photos taken. It’s a great way to update staff headshots without having to travel to a location off-site from your office. Here are the results:
My 2-light mobile studio, set up in my client’s boardroom.
Dr. Melanie Leppelmann of Uptown Integrative Health contacted me to schedule a branding photography session to create customized images of her new clinic space for her website. Knowing the value of using authentic photos on her website (rather than stock images), we scheduled a one-hour session to capture the look & feel of the space.
Screenshot of Dr. Leppelmann’s home page with updated photos.
This includes photos that demonstrate the experience and help potential clients connect to the personal interaction they can expect to find at the clinic.
Using clean lighting and creative angles, I captured this collection of images that Dr. Leppelmann can now showcase on her website for her clients.
I had the pleasure of going to Applifast’s office to take updated headshots of all their staff for their new website. They requested a blurry environmental background to create photos that were more casual, yet personable. I set up studio lights in their boardroom and mixed in natural window light to get the effect.
I had such a great time with all of them! I was really impressed by their company culture – so friendly, welcoming, knowledgeable and professional. I look forward to more projects with them in the near future!
The last trimester: that time when the last few weeks are counting down, and soon you’re going from two to three. There’s a certain excitement, anticipation and wonder that comes with this time. It’s such a joy to capture!
With Kim and Nic, there’s no hiding their absolute love for each other. They are so connected to each other and it’s so beautiful to see their love growing into a new chapter in their life. Their story is building and being there to preserve the feelings and memories for them is such a delight.
We met up at The Leaf at Assiniboine Park, and it is my absolute favourite location to visit in Winnipeg in the middle of the winter! Not only for the warmth, the live plants, and all the lush greenery, but also for the gorgeous backdrops for photo shoots.
We started off in the Tropical Biome then we went to the Mediterranean Biome and Babs Asper Display House. I was so happy to see the sunlight poke through the overcast skies to get that warm, humid glowing light that only a tropical setting can give you. My lenses were fogging up – and for a few shots, I intentionally left the fog on my lens for that extra “mood”. Why not? 🙂
The first weeks of having a newborn can feel like an overwhelming blur – from an abundance of fatigue, but also from an overflowing sense of love. When I come to your home, my sole focus is to capture the beauty of that new relationship, and making sure to create images that honour the best of this dizzying, exciting and exhausting time.
When I walked into their home I instantly felt the warmth and sheer joy of two parents completely over the moon with love for their new baby. I swaddled Johnny for a few posed photos in a basket, but the majority of the time was him in his mom and dad’s arms. He even gave us a few sleep smiles!
I love focusing on naturally posed (and unposed) photos, capturing the real moments of connection and bonding in those first few days at home. Here are some highlights from our two hours together.
If you’re thinking of booking an at-home session for your newborn photos, contact me a few months early to allow space in my schedule and then once baby is born, send me a message and we’ll set a date and time for the photo session.
When Behie approached me to take their headshots, we came up with a shoot plan that would cover two locations in under 90 minutes to get different background options for their photos.
Our first location was in downtown Winnipeg at Millennium Library Park. This location has greenery, architecture and water – perfect for capturing a variety of photos in one efficient stop.
We finished the session in their office where I set up my mobile headshot photo studio: a simple white backdrop with studio lights.
Peach Lasers approached me to create their website’s hero section video, a short and fun 30-second video to welcome visitors on their home page. The goal of the top banner video is to make a strong first impression and communicate the quality service they offer.
After storyboarding some ideas and setting a shoot plan, we set a shoot date and I got to work with a model to capture this video. We wanted the video to communicate professionalism while still showcasing the welcoming and personable service that theirs customers experience. By using a custom, branded video they are able to stand out and inspire more trust in their audience (unlike stock videos).
This was a really fun project to work on. I love helping businesses showcase their unique brand and creating 30-second hero videos is an effective way of doing it.
A quality headshot photo will build trust, communicate authenticity and grow a bond with your audience online. When Sabrina explained the importance of updating her portraits, I started the session by making sure we used flattering natural light and poses that showed her approachability and professionalism. I also used backgrounds that communicated warmth and openness, knowing that these photos will give a look and feel that will set the tone for how she is perceived by her followers online.
All these elements are crucial parts that communicate not only Sabrina’s personality and kindness, but also her professionalism and trustworthiness. This is the power of a good headshot: it shows more than just your smiling face, it tells a story and builds trust.
We took the photos at the Forks Market on a weekday when the crowds weren’t so busy and the natural window light was gorgeous. Here are some highlights from our session:
Freynet-Gagné Translation and Consulting wanted their website photos to feel more personal and approachable so they contacted me to plan a photo shoot for this project. To move away from the stock images they had on their website, we focused on creating real, custom photos of their actual team.
We started by taking professional headshots for their team then we staged team collaboration shots in a co-working space to capture the energy of their work.
Creating custom photos like this showcases the real people behind the business and this gives their website a more authentic, human touch.
Shooting in a dark office after sunset presented some challenges, but by setting up my off-camera lighting, I was able to brighten up the space without losing the natural, inviting atmosphere they wanted.
Our location, without proper lighting.
The results after setting up my lights.
The result: sharp, high-quality images that felt both professional and genuine—perfect for reflecting their true brand.
Big shout out to Launch Co-Working space for letting us rent their offices for the photo shoot!
Freynet-Gagné’s website now has a fresh, polished look, and my goal is to help visitors connect with them and feel more confident in their services.
The team at DBT Winnipeg, a mental health collective, needed updated photos for their website so I came in for an afternoon to do their headshots and interior office photography.
DBT Winnipeg’s Home Page
I was instantly greeted by some of the kindest and warmest people and walked into a beautiful space in the heart of Winnipeg’s historic Exchange District. Beautifully designed and decorated, their spaces were as warm and inviting as their clinicians.
It was a joy to take their photos and provide high-quality photos for them to update their website.
In late fall, natural window light can be tricky to work with so I came in with three off-camera lights to help light the photos. Here are a few highlights from the session including some behind the scenes photos.
DBT Winnipeg’s Website
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