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….

I was delighted to shoot Pam and Gord’s (see Sneak Peek here) winter wedding in the Safari Lodge at the Calgary Zoo. It was lovely to see their personalities shining through in every aspect of their wedding. Congratulations to Pam and Gord. Check out the photos from their beautiful wedding and don’t forget the slide show at the end.

Tara Whittaker Photography will be supporting earthquake relief efforts during the month of February. I am offering mini-engagement sessions for $300 (plus gst) which include 30 minutes of shooting within the Calgary area and 20 High Resolution Images on a CD. For each mini-engagement session booked during the month of February, $150 will be donated to Help Haiti through Samaritan’s Purse. Give us a call to book your shoot at 403-247-3746.

If you’re interested in making a donation of your own, click here.

If you’re newly engaged and are looking for wedding inspiration, check out Bridal Fantasy at the Telus Convention Centre on January 17th, 2010. Be sure to stop by my booth and say hello. I look forward to meeting you.

Sometimes a “day-after” wedding shoot is the way to go. You’re relaxed, happy and the pressure of the actual wedding day is off. It’s brilliant. Such was the case for Blake and Julianna. I shot their winter wedding photos on a coooold day in December. We started out in Okotoks where Julianna had her hair and make-up done by Shea Brown at Hue Hair Salon. The inspiration for elements of this winter wedding came from Snippet & Ink. Kathryn’s amazing blog is a feast for the eyes. If you’re looking for inspiration for your own wedding, check it out.

Here are a couple of shots of Julianna and Blake. Stay tuned….

Meet Shea Brown. This shoot was a special treat for me as I’ve collaborated with Shea on a number of projects. She is a super-talented make-up artist and she works out of Hue Hair Salon in Okotoks. The last time we worked together she mentioned that she would love to do her own wedding photos over again. Ding, ding, ding. Next thing you know we were doing a very-post-wedding shoot for Shea and her husband Allan. Many thanks to Tara Watts, owner of Hue Hair Salon for working her usual magic on Shea’s hair and for allowing us to shoot in her gorgeous salon. Take note of the lovely bouquet and boutonnière that fit into our winter wonderland theme so perfectly. These were provided by Wanda of Wildflowers at Kensington. She has the most beautiful shop on 10th Street NW in Calgary so be sure to stop in the next time you’re strolling through Kensington.

Here is some eye candy for Shea & Allan. Stay tuned….

At the end of October I attended Cliff Mautner’s Lighting and Skillset Bootcamp. For those of you who haven’t heard of Cliff, he’s a renowned wedding photographer based in the Philadelphia area, and he’s an absolute lighting genius. Not only is he a wizard with natural light but with various flash techniques as well. The workshop was amazing and I’m still trying to absorb all that I learned. Here are some of the images I took during the workshop in Philadelphia. As a photographer I’m constantly trying to improve my craft and be inspired in new and different ways. This workshop succeeded on both counts.

I was excited when Bonnie and Jason decided to book my “Play Station” at their reception. It’s a great way to kick things into high gear and get the party started. Their guests did NOT disappoint. Check out the slide show.

I’m finally posting part 2 from Bonnie and Jason’s August wedding. I know their friends and family have been dying to see the photos. There’s also a slide show at the end of the post so don’t forget to watch. Photos from their “Play Station” are up next.

I wanted a fun ring shot for Bonnie and Jason’s wedding to reflect their personalities and the fact that they were going to Disneyland for their honeymoon. Who better to portray Disneyland than Mickey himself. I can’t decide which photo I like best. What is your favourite?

Bonnie and Jason’s wedding was a very special one indeed and I was so thrilled to be part of it. Had they not asked me to photograph the wedding, I would have begged and pleaded. Luckily they did and you may remember their engagement photos back in January. Bonnie is a dear friend of mine that I have known, worked with, travelled with, been neighbours with…..anyway, I love my Bonnie. She and Jason were married on perfect summer day in August. This is just the first of 3 posts on this wedding as there were too many great photos to choose from. First up, the beautiful Bride.

As some of you know, I just returned from a trip to Paris. On August 11th, we were sitting at the foot of the Eiffel Tower on the Champ de Mars, resting our tired feet, when we saw what appeared to be a wedding off in the distance. The wedding photographer in me started snapping photos. I mustered up the courage to approach the couple and see if they would like copies of the photos as a keepsake. Turns out they were Emilia and David and they were renewing their wedding vows on the Champ de Mars. Later on, David filled me in by email:

We’d been married on Christmas Eve 2008, in Glasgow. I’d kept the renewal a surprise from Emilia, but she’d been desperate to visit Amelie’s cafe in Paris (Amelie is Emilia’s favourite film ever), so whilst there I’d sprung the surprise that later that day we’d renew our vows in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, so that it was something romantic just for us and no-one else.

Congratulations – what a thrill to capture such a sweet moment in Paris (if only from a distance).