Tara Whittaker Photography

I just spent an incredible afternoon with Michelle and Luke and couldn’t wait to post a few photos. They were sizzling! Stay tuned….

Back in August, I traveled to Paris with my friend Colleen. If you’re a regular follower of my blog, you may remember the photo shoot I did with Sara and Mike, who were on their honeymoon in Paris. Well I also did a photo shoot for my friend Colleen. She never lets me do photo shoots of her but for Paris, she made an exception. Enjoy and don’t forget the slide show at the end!

I first met Palma back in January when we both worked on Second Bloom, a theatre production of Fire Exit Theatre Company. Palma did an amazing job of the make-up for Second Bloom and I had fun doing some shots of her during the application process backstage. I met up with Palma and Zoltan for a shoot on a VERY chilly morning but they were excellent sports with a lot of personality. You gotta love a girl who understands the necessity of wardrobe changes. Many thanks to The Art Gallery of Calgary for allowing us to shoot in their outstanding venue and warm our frozen fingers.

Happy New Year to all. I’ll leave you with a few shots of my niece and nephews taken on Boxing Day.

My first shoot with this family was back in June to honour the 1st birthday of their daughter Ella. At the time they told me they were expecting their second child and we tentatively booked a session for November-ish. Well I finally got to meet little Ethan when we did a photo session in a warm house on a very wintery day. It is such a privilege to witness families as they grow and change. Enjoy the photos and don’t forget the slide show at the end.

This photo was an “oops” but I still love how it turned out.

I love how Ella had her hand on Ethan – just letting him know that Big Sister was there.

I was first introduced to Totally Rad Actions about 18 months ago and I’m a huge fan. They have become a staple in my editing process. When I heard that Doug Boutwell had come out with a new set of textures, I had to have them. They just up the “cool factor” of a photo. Check them out.

A few weeks ago I did a newborn shoot for little Hugo – fantastic name btw! You may remember his sneak peek. He is a much-loved little boy and it was fun to spend the afternoon with this family. Congratulations!

If you follow my blog, you probably know that I attended Cliff Mautner’s Lighting and Skillset Bootcamp back in October. My first shoot after arriving back from Philadelphia was a maternity shoot for Shauna and Mason (see the sneak peek here). Don’t be fooled by the warm glow of the photos – it was a very cold day in Calgary and they were real troopers. Thanks to Shauna and Mason for being “guinea pigs” for me – the results are beautiful. I’m looking forward to meeting your new little bundle next year.

Yesterday I did a fun, 1920-30’s themed shoot with Tara Watts of Hue Hair Salon, and her daughter, Mya. Tara and I have collaborated on a number of other projects so it was great to get Tara in front of the camera and get some unique family shots for her. Tara is an amazingly creative person and I’m always surprised and delighted with the results we come up with together. Special thanks to Shea Brown for doing make-up for us yesterday.

Here is a little tidbit from a newborn session on the weekend. More to come soon.

Just one pic for Shauna, who was pretty chilly today during our shoot. The results were completely gorgeous though. Stay tuned for more pics down the road.

I met up with one of my favourite families on a cold afternoon a few weeks back. The cold weather definitely worked in our favour though because it made for some very snuggly photos. I know the Kims from CSC where we volunteer together. I just love their girls. Not only do they usually wear the greatest polka dot tights, but they are also so sweet and polite. You may have seen Milton on my blog before because he also leads a jazz ensemble called Mingus Jazz. Enjoy the pics.

This was my second portrait session with this delightful family. I first met them back in June when we did a birthday session for their youngest daughter. Since then, she has started walking/running/scampering/dashing everywhere. Sometimes I go into a session with ideas in mind but when the action is this good, you have to throw your preconceived notions out the window. Makes for great photos and memories. Don’t forget the slide show at the end. Enjoy!

The shoot with this family was on our first wintery day in Calgary so we headed downtown and indoors. Their little guy, Anderson, was a blur of activity. He was the first of a few shoots recently with kids who have started walking and will not be slowed down. You take them to a new place for a photo shoot and they have no time for photos, they are off exploring. Don’t forget the slide show at the end. Enjoy!

I did a portrait session for this family back in June. At the time I was eyeing a certain product for creating slide shows and embedding them into my blog but I hadn’t purchased it yet. I promised that when I did, I would make a slide show from their portrait session. When I heard that Ella’s nickname was Sweet Pea, I knew exactly what to do.