Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

Photoshoots like this are why I do what I do. Puma was early in an untreatable cancer diagnosis when his humans contacted me for his photoshoot. This adorable boy had no idea he was sick (or at least didn’t show it). This Lethbridge backyard cat photography session was such a special experience for all of us.

Puma and his brother Jag had the best time playing in the yard and working for treats. I followed them around as they explored the garden and once in a while we would bribe them into action.

I am proud of all of us for holding it together emotionally during the session <3

Ralphie & Lady’s human mom Taelynn booked her girls a cat photo session. Taelynn cited “cats being adorable” as their special occasion for the photos, and I couldn’t agree more! Both kitties are 10 years old but still extremely playful, especially once catnip gets brought out. You need to work with cats in ways where they are always comfortable, so there was a lot of chasing as we bounced from one piece of their favourite furniture to another.

We mostly focused on the cats, but Taelynn was on hand to jump in for a few photos and offer assistance wildly waving toys around (her hand made it into a lot of hilarious action shots). I had so much fun playing with the kitties!

This year we had very ambitious goals for Santa Paws! With the opening of The Bone & Biscuit’s second Lethbridge location on Mayor Magrath this year, we decided to do two days of Santa visiting pets. It’s a good thing we had the extra space available because even with doubling the number of appointments we took per hour from last year, we filled every spot and had to turn many pups away!

We saw the return of many familiar faces (and whiskers), some of which added new members to their family, and we made lots of new friends. So many more kitties came to see Santa this year, and everyone was on their best behaviour. Santa got lots of kisses but hardly got de-bearded, and never got knocked over once. We did hit a new record with 4 potty accidents on one day though!

Money was raised for Wag-A-Muffins Animals Rescue and we thank everyone who brought their pets for helping support this rescue.

I’m so grateful for families who take me along on the journey as their family grows. It’s been amazing watching Lindsay and Terry go from their engagement to welcoming Jaxson home. Aside from some perfectly normal fatigue from him keeping them up all night, the two of them are so completely in love with their baby. I got to meet him for his Lethbridge newborn photography session, which must have been a pretty exciting day for him seeing as how he didn’t sleep at all through the session! Any sleeping photos are completely fake moments where he relaxed and rested his eyes for a moment ;)

Weddings and events may have been postponed in 2020 due to COVID, but once restrictions eased up in the summer, everyone was grateful to spend time outdoors with their families! I was so thankful we have such beautiful, wide open outdoor spaces around Lethbridge so I could keep photographing all of these awesome families. I ended up hoarse on many occasions from yelling through my mask, but it was always worth it.

Two of the biggest trends I noticed this year were all of the babies who arrived (and these aren’t even the quarantine babies yet!) and all of the larger families who made an effort to celebrate important anniversaries and birthdays. I adapted quickly by bringing most of the newborns outdoors on warm days and talking their parents through poses. Everyone did so well!

Some highlights from 2020 include not one but TWO marriage proposals, a cat birthday, and a few more secret projects to come that I can’t share yet, including album art for local musicians and a children’s book. Each season was so amazing this year, from the long blossom season we had to the vibrant colours in the fall. Even the early snow was warm enough for outdoor photos!

Our Santa Paws photos looked a little different this year with Coronavirus, but we found new ways to make it work! Santa came to visit us at the Bone & Biscuit location in Crossings in west Lethbridge wearing a very festive mask. We safely spaced out all of our pet families with appointment times, and loved it so much that we’ll do it again! Our more anxious dogs got to have more time to sniff Santa without a bunch of other dogs waiting and watching.

This year all money raised was in support of Windy City Canine Rescue. We were visited by 60 dogs, 4 cats, and broke our average of one dog peeing on the floor with more than 3 accidents! Luckily, Santa did not get peed on this year, and thanks to his mask, you couldn’t tell if a dog had tugged on his beard a little too hard. (However, Santa WAS knocked out of his chair at least twice by excited pooches.)

We saw the return of quite a few favourites from last year (including the small crying boy who, sure enough, still cried at the sight of Santa), and hope to see everyone again next Christmas!