Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

Judy and Charlie planned out this beautiful photo session with the help of their daughters. It was so great that the kids could have Lethbridge fall photos with their grandparents before any of them started graduating high school. The cousins had such a perfect close age range that they could be friends and drive each other crazy at the same time (though the crazy part was usually in the sibling pairs).

I was continually surprised how much colour I kept finding in the river bottom into the end of October that year! Judy had requested a log she liked in the river bottom, but since we couldn’t pinpoint where it was, I chose the most log-rich area in Indian Battle Park.

Darlene and Stuart had all of their kids come home so they could update their wall portraits with all their new grandchildren for their Taber fall family photos. The morning was chilly but everyone came ready in long sleeves and coats just out of the frame (behind the camera I was dressed for winter!). The MD Park in Taber looked gorgeous that weekend and all of their grandkids were so cute together (especially when they held hands!).

COVID travel restrictions kept a lot of families apart for way too long. Val and Larry weren’t able to see their son’s family for long time with them living in the US. Finally at Christmas they were able to make a surprise trip to Lethbridge to visit the rest of the family! Val and Larry’s daughter, being in on the surprise, made sure to schedule Galt Museum extended family photos during her brother’s visit to help celebrate their much anticipated family reunion. These photos were even more special since they hadn’t had them done in 8 years!

Even though it wasn’t cold out yet, we opted to do the photos indoors at the Galt Museum in Lethbridge to avoid the wind. Val and Larry were so obviously excited to see all of their grandchildren together again, and the cousins were having a great time with the visit. We got through the photos super efficiently so they could go back to their Christmas celebrations sooner (and so we wouldn’t overextend any of the teenagers’ patience).

Don’t let the warm colours in Meredith and Guerrino’s Indian Battle Park autumn extended family photos fool you. It was starting to snow during their October session and that may have been my fastest extended family shoot ever to get them back to warmth!

I have photographed their son’s family-in-law a bunch of times, so it was great to meet his side this time. All of their children and grandchildren were able to be there and despite the cold, it was so pretty in the river bottom that afternoon.

Thank you for freezing with me, everyone! :)

Russ and Teresa’s boys took a little convincing to get them onboard for a session, but Teresa was persuasive! (When Mom really wants something, it’s best to go along with it.) Their High Level Bridge winter family photos were a little colder than they were used to… the family had just gotten back to Lethbridge from a warm vacation! Between that and the little kids, we moved fast, and the boys were probably very grateful ;)

Jen and Tim got all of their adult kids and grandchildren together for three generations of extended family photos. We hit the perfect date in autumn where the first batch of leaves in Indian Battle Park had turned orange, which doesn’t last for very long! They brought along the family dog Cooper, and their son and his partner even brought along their adventure cat!

Most of the session turned into an hour of playing for their two grandkids who were doted on by everyone there :)