Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

They finally got snow! For two years in a row, Braxton’s family had tried to do Christmas photos in November and it always ended up being a beautiful fall day. This year they were finally able to send out appropriately themed wintery family photography for the holidays!

We went through photos quickly so they could be without coats in the snow for as little time as possible. Braxton is always so good in front of the camera, so it’s no surprise he was able to pull out his acting skills and not show how cold he was. Snuggling Mom and Dad definitely helped!

Kennie and Josh had some of their family members come along for their late winter extended family photos. This way their son Lochlan could get photos with lots of his favourite people! Lochlan had a great time with his grandparents and his aunty and couldn’t decide who he wanted to hang out with more. (Hint: it was usually someone different than who was supposed to be in a photo with him at any given time.)

After getting through his shy spell, Lochlan loved doing photos. He made sure we got lots of action shots and took over my job of posing everyone by the end!

We made use of the high level bridge to add some character to the background since it was still before the spring greens arrived.

After two family weddings with Karen’s children, it was time to get the family together for a new photoshoot now that a few new members have joined the crew. The Christmas holidays were their first time all being together since the newest baby arrived! We opted for Galt Museum family photos since everyone was visiting during the coldest week of the year.

It was so awesome to see everyone again and meet the new family members!

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! :)

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of vibrant colours, so of course I love how Twyla and Frederick coordinated their outfits for their Henderson Lake morning family portraits. Their red and blue colour scheme looked so great with the vivid summer colours at the lake!

Their youngest, Tarick, had a blast at the session. It was obvious from the very beginning how much he adores his older siblings, so being able to run around the park with them was the best! (Though not quite as amazing and being swing around by his dad.)