It Has Been a Loooooong Time

 Life got busy.  And hard.  Photography felt like too much.  The responsibility of capturing the best of an individual or family, delivering top quality images, and talking about payment felt like too much on top of schoolwork, caring for my elderly mother, and caring for a family member struggling with their mental health.

Recently though, the families of a few of my favourite students contacted me because those little boys I first met when they were barely out of toddlerhood, who I had the privilege of helping educate right up until I took a leave from my regular job - are graduating high school.

My instinct was to say no.  It’s too much, it has been too long since picked up my gear, I’m not confident enough.

But my students become part of my heart, and I found myself saying yes despite my misgivings.

By the end of the shoot, my heart was full, my soul was fed, and I knew it was time to get back behind the glass.

Winnipeg Autumn Family Photos

September and October are always popular months for photos, and this year was no exception.  Although the weather was particularly unpredictable and overall pretty rainy, I was still lucky enough to catch some time with these four families!

Some of them you'll recognize from previous photos, and a couple of them are new to the Zaniac family.

more after the jump.

Winnipeg Graduation Photos

High School graduation is such an exciting time.  You've worked hard for at least 13 years to accomplish this goal - and you deserve to be celebrated!

With that in mind, I'd like to congratulate Shay on her hard work and perseverance and wish her the best in this next stage of her life!

You are a courageous and beautiful young woman and you will no doubt do big things in your life!

December Family Photos in Winnipeg

C has been my neighbour and friend for about 10 years, but the only time I've ever done any photos for her was the time that she needed a single photo for her son's school project!
This year she decided that photos of her and the kids would make a great Christmas gift for her family - and she was right!

We found a little window of time that they were all free in between trips to the rinks and headed off in the cold.

More after the jump...

Winnipeg Family Photographer December 2015

This was a really fun shoot!  Not only did I get to catch up with mum, who's been a friend of my sister forever, but I got a private concert from her extremely talented sons!

Seriously, these guys are amazing!

More after the jump.

Surprise, we're getting on a plane!

So, my mum is the president of the Manitoba Federation of Union Retirees, and occasionally she gets to has to go out of town on business trips.  My son always asks to go with her and the answer is always, "no" because he has school/she has meetings or conferences the whole time/his airfare would be expensive, etc.

Well, this time she was going at the end of November, and I thought - "hey, why not".  It was in between terms at school for my son,  and the stars aligned for the rest of the usual issues and I decided that he and I would go with her to Ottawa, but it would be a surprise!  Neither he nor I have ever been, so I was really excited.

I booked tickets and hotel rooms, coordinated with his teachers and even managed to pack our suitcase without my son having any clue.  I told him he had an orthodontist appointment on the morning of our flight, but we had to leave early so we could take Grammy to the airport.

When we got to the airport, I told him that we were actually there to catch our flight (Grammy was taking a later flight on a different airline) because we were going to Ottawa.  He was very surprised, but just as excited as I was.  I even managed to get him to take a selfie (albeit a kind of reluctant one, lol) at the airport before we boarded our flight.

We had a blast though and we walked sooooo much.  Downtown Ottawa is very walkable.  They're currently building a light rail system (lucky!) though, so I think the construction actually rivalled that in Winnipeg this year, which is a pretty significant accomplishment if you ask me!

Parliament Hill is absolutely stunning and it was incredible to see - something everything Canadian or fan of Canada should have an opportunity to see at least once in their lifetime.  

We ended up trading camera favours with an adorable couple who were also visiting Parliament Hill for the first time.

We're big fans of poutine, so we made it our mission to try a different poutine every day, since we were so close to Quebec.

Really though, the star of the experience was the sightseeing.

The remains of Canada's unknown soldier.

More after the jump...

Winnipeg Autumn Family Photos

I bet this family looks familiar!  Every single time I get to photograph this family, I realize how fortunate I am.  Seeing these boys grow up is such a pleasure!  I am so thankful that they have allowed me to be a small part in the family traditions they make.

So many smiles, and even more laughs!

We do this next shot every time and I love it!

More after the jump.

Winnipeg Senior Photos 2015

Have you ever walked on a railroad bridge?  If you’ve watched the movie, Stand By Me, then you remember the scene where the boys cross the railroad bridge.  If you haven’t seen the movie - watch it right now.  Seriously.  Drop whatever you’re doing and watch it.

WARNING - some NSFW language, and some viewers may find the scene disturbing.

I am not the copyright holder of this material and I make no claims of ownership.  This material is owned by Stephen King, Act III Productions and Columbia Pictures.

Anyhow, in my opinion, this is an extremely accurate depiction of walking on a railroad bridge, even if it’s just a few metres onto it…

Before these photos were taken, I don’t think I’d ever actually been frozen by fear before.  I didn’t realize I was such a chicken!

In my defence, the gaps between the railroad ties are HUGE, and they’re not perfectly even and railroad bridges are kind of shaky, and even if there are sides on the bridge, there’s a good metre wide gap between the wall and the end of the railroad tie.  

Did I mention that the gaps are huge?

I’m not ashamed to tell you, beloved reader - I crawled like Verne until I got back to solid ground.  Then I took some photos.

The beautiful Ms. M was much more brave.

More after the jump!

Winnipeg Family Photos 2015

Jaime was one of my first clients waaaaaay back when she was pregnant with her first daughter.  I was delighted when she called me to do maternity photos for her again a few years later.  This summer, I had the privilege of making some new photos for her and her beautiful daughters.

We thought a lovely golden hour shoot in August would be good, so we met at one of my favourite locations and set out.  I think we lasted 20 minutes, maybe 30.  We were chased out by the mosquitos!

We got some lovely shots, but agreed that we’d try again in the fall when the leaves were changing the mosquitos were (hopefully) gone for the season.

October was free of mosquitos, but chilly!

Winnipeg Wedding Party Photos 2015

Post-ceremony is both a favourite and kind of a dreaded time for me at any wedding.  On the one hand, everyone is relaxed and relieved the smilies are plentiful, but on the other hand, the wedding party’s minds are on a million different things and everyone wants a moment of their attention.

Sometimes I find myself so wrapped up in watching people showering the couple with congratulations that I forget that I’m there to do a job!

AFTER THE CEREMONY:

The party continues after the jump!

Wedding Photos Winnipeg 2015

The ceremony was beautiful, full of memories and hope, laughs and tears and tributes to the incredible love of this couple!

Congratulations Julie and Nick!

The Ceremony.

More after the jump!

Winnipeg Wedding Photographer 2015

Wedding bells were ringing for this couple in early July.  If you scroll back through a few posts, you might recognize them.

What a beautiful day spent with two wonderful families and their guests, uniting in love and fun.

The day started off cloudy, drizzly and cool.  We were sure the real rain would start at any moment, but it didn’t and when it came time for the ceremony, the clouds parted, the sun shone brilliantly and all was well.

This wedding will be split into three separate posts; pre-ceremony, ceremony and post-ceremony.

PRE-CEREMONY

They had a lovely vintage shabby chic theme.

But there are some modern amenities we just can’t give up…

After the jump, that magical first look…

Snow Day Discount!

We won’t get the day off from school or work, but we’re still having our first significant snowfall of the season and that’s reason to celebrate!

Book your family photo session by midnight on Thursday, November 26, 2015 for use by December 31, 2015 and you will receive a 15% discount, that’s $27!

Who am I kidding?  $27 isn’t a neat number - let’s make it $30 and we’ll all be able to sleep at night.

That’s right, instead of $180, you’ll pay only $150 for memories that will last a lifetime.  You can book an outdoor session, or I can haul my gear to your place and turn your space into a mini studio!

Not fond of your own family?  I get it.  It happens.  Why not surprise a family you DO like with a gift certificate; the discount applies to those too!  The December 31st deadline for use doesn’t apply though, because that would be pretty crummy of me, lol.

There are no time limits on family photo sessions.  If it takes us 30 minutes to capture some great memories, super (and surprising, you must have exceptionally well-behaved family, perhaps they can teach mine!), if it takes us an hour and a half, that’s super too!

There are no shot limits either.  This isn’t Walmart, people.  You don’t have to choose the first shot that looks half decent and then pay a 100 MEEELLION DOLLARS to get the photos you actually kind of like where no one is blinking or picking their nose.

Your disc is going to have at least 40 shots on it, I promise.  And they’re going to be pretty.  I promise that too.  If you don’t think they’re pretty, we’re going to do it all again until you do think they’re pretty.


So now you’re asking, “HOW DO I GET IN ON THIS FABULOUS DEAL, Deanna?”.

I’LL TELL YOU, MOST BELOVED CLIENT!

You email me at info at zaniacphoto dot com (but you format it properly because you’re not a filthy bot seeking to spam me into oblivion) and you say, “Deanna!  I need to get in on this Snow Day Discount thing!  Hook me up!”.

That’s it.  Pretty simple, right?

Let’s get it done, beloved client.  I look forward to working with you!

Winnipeg Engagement Photos 2015

Back in September, I promised that you’d see this family again - and here’s the beautiful Julie and her (then) fiancé.   These two are so much fun and we had a great time shooting these photos.  We encountered some suspicious deer and some surprisingly spongy ground, but we came away with all of our shoes and some great photos!

Stay tuned for the rest of the family and the big event!

Winnipeg Family Photos April 2015

I had a chance to spend some time with this great family in the Spring.  They hadn’t all been together in the same place for years, so it was really nice to be able to preserve some memories for them.  Really funny, friendly people!

HILARIOUS!