Hi friends,

I'm back from Greece with a a few thousand photos to edit. I'll do my best to post them, I'm getting better at posting I promise. 

Ali texted me before this engagement session and said, "Hey Pam, it's Ali from Ali & Shauna!" 
Like it's the Ali & Shauna show, and that's fitting, because they're both totally hilarious. The kind of hilarious that makes you a bit annoyed that you'll never be that funny, so naturally there's a ton of laughter when you're with them, and when you're photographing them. 

These two were meant for one another - so when they approached me to shoot their wedding, I was *thrilled*
They are in love, like so in love.

They accept each other completely. So often we see couples that try to change each other. These two just don't. Every moment with one another is appreciated.

I like to be super organized so that I give all the couples I work with a super personal, but consistent experience. I believe strongly in the power of systems, and having been an assistant regional manager for a fortune 500 company at one point in my life, I realized early on in the power of systems to create and execute a personal, but awesome experience for clients....

I've been meaning to blog this mini-session, which I did a while ago and have been sitting on the photos from, but have been too busy to post about. I love the cinematic (surprise, surprise!) look of this session and the dramatic light. I also love its moodiness and sensuality...

 It has been a couple of weeks, and I've been on the road, shooting, learning, and doing shit that will make me better at my practise, so my clients can also reap those benefits. I've had quite a bit of good fortune come my way, and I'm heading into a double-header wedding weekend, lots of stuff to do, lots of recent shoots, and a ton of editing (haha) - but I'll update you all on that soon....

So a huge part of my life is travel. Every year, I get to travel.

When I was in my early 20s, I remember being SO broke that travelling was something I just didn't think I'd ever get to experience in my life. Or, maybe I did believe that it would happen to me someday, but I was terrified that it wouldn't because it's something that I dreamed of doing. Who doesn't want to travel?

You know what? Boudoir sessions are a bit uncomfortable. 

Let me explain - are they empowering? Yes! Do you walk away feeling like, "WOW!" about yourself? Sure do!

But when you show up, you may have a moment where you're nervous, a bit worried, perhaps doubting yourself, etc.

More than ever in urban areas, we live in a culture where it's possible to construct and create your own reality and environment. That means if our heart desires something perhaps, different, or off-the-beaten-path, or less-traditional, or unique, or authentic, or more a reflection of your individuality and personality, you can make that dream come true.

It was the first really beautiful weekend here in the Vancouver, and it was also a long weekend. When I have the opportunity to operate at a similar pace to the rest of the 9-5 world, I seem to go with that flow.

Before you ask yourself, "WTF is this?!" please read the following:

One of my meetings for Friday got rescheduled, and since I can't bear to take a day off, I went out and did some personal work to satisfy my craving for something a bit more...light-hearted and hilarious...

This gorgeous creature came for a boudoir photoshoot, last-minute, on a whim! She was nervous, as most people are when they come for some sexy intimate boudoir portraits: Like, oh hey! Get half-naked in front of me!

This gorgeous, Vancouver-born-and-raised woman said to me, "I'll only be 25 once!" when I asked why she wanted to do a boudoir photoshoot. I love the idea that other women see the value in documenting themselves and their bodies at different times in their lives.

I have been toying with the idea of putting a monthly playlist up because music is such a huge influence in my life and on my work. I finally got over my insecurity, worried that it doesn't totally relate to what I do and my brand (it doesn't, really) but who cares?

i have been attempting various projects, mixing imagery I've taken of the real world and hand-drawn images and patterns - i dedicated today to doing something just for personal satisfaction and nothing else.

It's a strange thing, blogging intimate portrait sessions. I want to show the work (with my clients' permission of course!) but I also am just generally careful about it (for good reason). And yet, I don't want to be cheesy and and call people "Miss D" and the like. I aim to tell a bit about their stories while keeping things generally anonymous and private, though I know anyone who gives me permission to share (and thank you for that!) is okay with it. Why it shouldn't even need to be a secret is a conversation for another day, but anyway.

As we said in our last post, and everyone who entered surely knows, we collected entries for a draw at The OneLove Wedding Show for complimentary photography coverage on your wedding day. This was super exciting for us, and hopefully everyone who entered.

BEFORE you watch the video to see who won, here are the details you need to know in case you win!

Friday at noon I'll be announcing the winner for the draw we held at The OneLove Wedding Show. 

The draw was for...drum roll please...a complimentary day of photography coverage on your wedding day! It was a really fun draw that we decided to do because who doesn't love a really good prize? We are very much of the go big or go home variety. 

I was shooting in the studio space I use for intimate portraits in Gastown early in the week, and there was a stack of enormous (maybe 12x24?) matte black catalogs piled next to the couch on the floor. I'm usually on a mission the mornings of any shoots and don't have the time to stop and look through catalogs, (ha!) but I just really liked the appearance of this particular one

We have some new products at our studio which I keep pulling out and admiring every day since they came in. I feel like this is so closely tied to my philosophy about visual sensory input as language, but I promise you I will post about that another day.