Urban Ballerina - Saskatoon photographers

As promised here are some of the gorgeous images we got of these beautiful ballerinas.  I photographed this stunner a little longer than the others as a thank you for organizing the whole session as well as a little added bonus for being family.  I still can't get over how much she has grown up.  With her grace and beauty, you can't take your eyes off of her.

Urban Ballerina - Saskatoon photographers

Last year around this time I went to Calgary to visit family and while we were there, my sister-in-law, who also happens to be an extremely talented dance teacher, wanted to gift a dance mom a totally unique gift.  Photos of her daughter, in pointe shoes, in an urban setting.  Needless to say the gift was a total hit!  You can see more of her images HERE.    

This year, my husbands cousin asked if I would be interested in photographing her 13 year old daughter and some of her dance friends in a similar style, so of course I was up for it!  We were so fortunate to have my amazing sister-in-law do all the posing again for the session.  I could not have done it without her!  I was pretty proud that by the end of the session, I did know what second meant.  (For those who don't know, its a position of the feet in ballet.).  Over the next few weeks I will be posting these beautiful ballerinas, so keep an eye on our blog for those!  Here is a little sneak peek of what's to come... 

Today's lesson - Saskatoon photographers

A few years ago we switched around how we do things a bit to make our customer service for portrait sessions top notch.  We know a few photographers in Saskatoon did this already and little did we know how much it would change everything (in a good way!).  What am I talking about you may ask?

ORDERING SESSIONS!

What is an ordering session?  Once the photo shoot has come and gone, we have our clients back into our studio, typically within the week following the session, to view and order their images. How did it change everything? 

Well our favorite thing in the whole world is watching our clients view their images for the first time, seeing the emotions, the smiles, the tears, everything, reassures me 1000% of what I do is all worth it at that moment.  Another thing that we have found since doing these sessions in person is people have no idea what to order.  They typically have an idea of what they want...  a big wall portrait, an album, or maybe some gift prints for their family, but the number one questions I always get asked is:  "What do you think?" or "How big is that?" "Between this image or that image, which one do you prefer?"  Being able to provide our clients with the expertise in giving suggestions on what to order and what size is ideal for their space is priceless. 

Another thing we love about in person ordering sessions is we hear and see what our clients don't like about themselves.  I know, hands down, we are all our own worst critic.  I might look at an image of you and think it's absolutely beautiful, and you might look at it and all you can see is your arm that appears too big to you, or you hate your profile.  This small but crucial detail has absolutely made us become better at our craft!  Time and time again we hear many of the same complains about people and their thoughts about themselves, which has made us more aware during the session to avoid these things in posing etc.  And for those returning clients especially... if they don't like their arms, I will be sure to pose a certain way to mask that, or if they preferred one side to another, or a smile that doesn't show their teeth, I will keep that in mind for future sessions. This is something that I would have never even realized had I not been there in person with my clients. 

Walking our clients through every step of the process has become our way.  Little did I know, this small step has made me improve so much as a photographer.  While it does take a bit more time, we feel as it is worth every extra minute!  If you are a photographer who would like more info on this topic, drop us a line!  We would love to chat more!

A gorgeous Saskatoon acreage DIY wedding

This wedding was one I had been anticipating all summer.  It was a bit different than any other wedding we had previously photographed, and a bit more special for me as it was on the same day as my wedding anniversary.  It consisted of a morning ceremony, 6 hours of formals (complete with an outfit change), a backyard acreage reception under big beautiful tents, family style East Indian supper, and to top it all off, Fireworks.  All of which were a first for me!  The entire wedding was completely DIY, and it was so simply stunning! 

6 hours of formals seems like a lot of time for formals, but I could have shot these two for another full day!  They were so natural in front of the camera, and as you can tell from the images, they are extremely photogenic.  I felt very fortunate our paths had crossed and to have shared so many firsts with them. 

Here is a very small selection to tell their wedding day story...



Saskatoon photography classes

Due to popular demand, we are hosting another beginner DSLR course here in Saskatoon on Sunday, November 22.  If you are looking for Saskatoon photography classes, and prefer hands on learning, with super small class sizes, this is the course for you.  Only 2 spots left!!!  Here are the details:

Here is what one student said about a recent course....

"I would highly recommend the DSLR course offered by Memories by Mandy Photography! I went into the course not knowing how to use any of the features on my camera, but I left with a really good understanding of how to use a number of basic features to improve the pictures I take and in which situations I would use which camera settings. What I really liked is that the course wasn't just theory, but it also included hands on learning and practicing. I'm excited to go out and use the things I learned in this course! I can already see an improvement in the pictures I'm taking."

-Becky

A few more details on our courses can be found HERE.

 

Fall family photos, Saskatoon

Fall is a popular time for family photos here in Saskatoon.  This family came from Kindersley, SK for their session.  I'm so used to chasing around toddlers so having two well behaved boys who took direction like no body's business was a bit of a surprise!  The whole family was so photogenic.  At the end of the session the youngest said:  "Can we do this everyday?  That was so fun!"  LOL.  If I had the time, I would love to shoot you everyday buddy.  You guys were a real treat.  Thank you, again, for taking the time to come all the way to Saskatoon for your family photos.  It was an absolute pleasure!

Photo Walk - Saskatoon Photographers

We are hosting our first photo walk!  I'm so excited!  We are limiting the walk only to people who have taken a DSLR course through us, to help them follow up with the skills they learned through our courses.  This is a great time to practice and ask any questions that you may have.  If you have taken our beginner DSLR course, please email us to RSVP to the walk!  We hope to see you all there!