Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

It’s been nearly 7 years since Larry and Debbie rounded up the kids for family photos, so a lot has changed since then! The biggest change is that “little” Luca went from being a giggly toddler to a talkative big kid. Plus, a whole bunch of doggies have been added to the collection! I went into the session clearly knowing which dogs belonged to which family because I was given each dog’s full name (dog name + family name) on the family’s intake form. (It’s important you know that one of the dogs is named Schlubby, and he was such a Schlubby they couldn’t possibly have given him another name.)

We carefully timed these multi-generation photos to take place in between rain storms and knee surgery. Luckily crutches were easy to toss to the side when it was time to pose! Aperture Park provided a gorgeous backdrop and gave the dogs lots of trees to sniff, and Luca lots of things to climb on.

It was great to catch up with this family, especially because they have so much fun when they are together and the joy is contagious!

Waterton is a special place for Bev and Dwight. Over the years, they’ve returned to the national park as their family has grown, first by children and then grandchildren. Bev spent some of her time reminiscing about how her and Dwight used to go there when it was just the two of them! This year they added a Waterton family photography session to their visit.

It was so adorable seeing how much their grandchildren loved spending time with them. Everyone vied for seats in their vintage car between photo locations!

We went on lots of fun adventures in Waterton, starting with the cliffs behind the Prince of Wales Hotel and then exploring along the beaches (with just a touch of rock climbing!). It was a beautiful day in the park and luckily all the storms just missed us.

Everyone got to follow up their photoshoot with lunch and beach time!

Baby C was adorable at her photoshoot with her big blue eyes and toothy grin! We started with an indoor photo session in their home where Baby C is happiest. She loved rolling around on their big bed and grabbing her toes. Once she had her fill of kisses from mom and dad there, we headed outside for early morning Henderson Lake family photos. Not only was I in love with her smile, but I loved watching the joy she brings her parents when they interact with her. Their grins are even bigger than hers!

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Fiona and David’s family love celebrating their heritage. One of their favorite ways to do so is with the Scottish Highland Ball that is held in Lethbridge.

The dance, put on by the Lethbridge Scottish Country Dance Club, is a big affair including a grand march led by a piper, dancing to a live band, and a delicious dinner at the Sandman Signature Hotel.

For the event, everyone dresses in full kilts and ball gowns. Even the little kids take part! This makes the day a perfect opportunity to update their family photos.

Vivianne and her family had many reasons to celebrate when they got together over the long weekend. The Easter weekend falling later this year meant it coincided with Vivianne’s landmark 85th birthday, as well as several other family members’ birthdays! Everyone decided that it would therefore be a perfect chance to plan a family reunion.

Several of the Lethbridge family members graciously hosted everyone for the weekend. I joined the family just before one of their lunches. We rounded everyone into the green space behind the house for their formal extended family photos, and had to be very careful to avoid all of the wild animal droppings! (That park is clearly a favorite hangout spot of local deer.) Although a few family members sadly couldn’t attend that weekend, it was still momentous getting that many together all at once!

My friends have all been pretty quiet in the last couple years with life change news, so it was an extra big deal when I found out one of my best friends was having a baby! Normally I hop into my clients’ lives just before the baby arrives. I wasn’t used to this anticipation for months!

Alice arrived nearly right on schedule and within a week she was home and ready for her baby girl photo session. Everyone was starting to fall into the routine of having her around, but there was still so much excitement and joy. Alice was so sweet and quiet through her session and loved being snuggled by everyone. I look forward to watching her grow up… but not too fast!

p.s. One perk of doing photos for friends is being able to feast on cake at the end of the session. Cake eating usually doesn’t factor into the time, but I’d never be opposed if offered ;)