Dear sweet woman,
she who has just received a diagnosis…
or is overcoming a betrayal…
or who brought home a baby and became seemingly invisible to loved ones…
or who is so completely happy with where she’s at in life and wants an image of this chapter…
or. at a young age, is confronting just how mean teenage girls can be…
or who is embarking on a new career and needs a power headshot to match her mojo…
or who consistently puts everyone else’s needs first…
or who realizes the only photos she’s in are arm’s length selfies or shots she had to beg her family for that were also fraught with argument…
or is struggling with self-confidence…
or who loved one photographer’s work on insta, summoned her nerve and reached out to book a session but was turned away as she was ‘outside my demographic of client’ #sigh…
or is in the best shape of her life…
or is adjusting to an ‘empty nest’…
or wants to commemorate a milestone birthday…
or is wondering when the clock might slow down…
dear. sweet. woman:
I SEE YOU, I AM YOU, I LOVE YOU…
And you deserve a portrait you love. At every stage and phase.
Booking a portrait session with me means that - from the very first contact to the finished prints and beyond - you will receive my devoted attention, genuine empathy, and every tool I’ve (l)earned through my life to create authentic portraiture for YOU.
My toolkit obviously includes my training in portrait photography and equipped studio, but - and I’d argue more importantly - it also holds my lived experience of: having been a teenage girl, losing people I loved and wondering how the world just kept on spinning, betrayal + the ‘phoenix rising’, gaining weight + losing weight, required grit, motherhood (and ALL it entails), DIY bangs, dye jobs + uneven eyebrows, health scares + interventions (incorporating ancient modalities with Western medicine - both so needed!), of friendship and the loss of friendship… not every woman will walk the same path, but there is a sacred knowing amongst us and THAT is what I endeavour to honour in every session and is what fuels my heart’s work.
“You are so lovely and a magician with the camera. I absolutely loved the pictures and cried when I saw them, it was an emotional experience for my husband as well. He said “you finally see you how I see you.” I cannot express to you enough how much I enjoyed the experience, your empowerment and warm presence having allowed for that. It means a great deal to me that the smile on my face is authentic in those pictures. I felt joy for just being me. For having you help me celebrate it, well, there are just no words for the deep gratitude I feel.” ~ tt
The women below came to me for assorted reasons, not necessarily outlined above, but for each of whom having their portrait made was an act of courage. I thank them for their trust + their inspiration.
May you choose today to lean into what it would mean TO YOU to be empowered in this way - to have the proverbial mirror held up so that YOU might see what your loved ones see: BEAUTY. STRENGTH. GRACE. ✨
And for those of you reading this who recognize a woman you love in the above 👉 GIFT HER this amazing experience, an experience that she so deserves but may never arrange for herself. (gift cards available here)
I’ve said it a gazillion times already but the fact that, in preparing Mom’s obituary, we didn’t have a portrait to use that I knew SHE loved, was gutting for me… ladies, your loved ones want photographic record of you in all phases and stages and I want you to have photos YOU love to share with them. 💞 Just as my kids know what their Grandma Susan looked like - who passed before they got to meet her - so too will my grandkids and great-grandkids know what I looked like… the poignance and importance of history in photographs can not be overstated.
Photos from my life that I am so happy to have in print, for me, for my kids, and for those who come later. ⭕️
📸: Dad ❤️
#calgary
📸: João, Bella’s big brother who asked if I’d help him build his portfolio.
#natal
📸: self portrait in studio
#calgary
You deserve this experience that will empower + buoy you, that will put that extra ‘pep in your step,’ and provide you with portraiture you love. 🙌
I can’t wait to help celebrate YOU! 🦋
xo Lori