Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

A chilly spring engagement shoot with Sam, Brietta and their trusty side-kick, Bakon the Dog

A surprise April snowfall didn’t dampen Brietta’s spirits when I told her the forecast.

“I bought a dress,” Brietta said. “I am going to wear it anyways! Haha.”

I’ve known Brietta for a few years, I first met her when she was the Event & Volunteer Engagement Coordinator for the MS Walk when I did volunteer photography for the walk. Brietta’s fiery; a go-getter. So her resolve to embrace the moment didn’t surprise me one bit!

How Chelsea created lasting memories for her favourite ‘partner in crime’

His brilliant butterscotch fur was perfectly pressed, his teeth bright and breath fresh. It was a special spring day for Louis the Chihuahua.

Louis’ owner, Chelsea wanted to make his 10th birthday something unique – something to remember.

“He’s been the perfect partner in crime!” Chelsea said of Louis. “We have been on SO many adventures. Recently, I purchased a small dog-friendly pet carrier so he can still be a part of all our favourite summer adventures. He especially likes canoe rides.”

So to make his big day memorable, Chelsea prepared a picnic, made a cake and planned a special walk through Aperture Park at the University of Lethbridge. To cap it all off, she wanted to document the special day with a personalized pet photography session, so she called me!

Amari has arrived! Not long after coming home from the hospital she had her Lethbridge newborn baby photos. Since I last saw her parents, Mom is now rocking a super cute short hair cut, and both of them look way happier than before to have such a sweetheart in their lives.

Amari was a pro at her first photoshoot, bouncing in and out of sleep with hardly any fuss. She is so adorable!

Barkley’s human dad came up with a great Christmas gift idea for his wife: gorgeous portraits of their new puppy! Barkley made a special trip all the way to Lethbridge for his Indian Battle Park winter puppy photos.

After only a few months, Barkley is already the size of most dogs. There is definitely Saint Bernard and Bernese Mountain Dog in those giant paws of his!

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If we’re in Lethbridge over the Christmas holidays, I’m always happy to squeeze in families who are together for a few days. Chris and Udo had their daughters visit them for Christmas and took the opportunity to do Lethbridge indoor winter family photos at the University.

Grandma and Grandpa came along too! Grandma had the biggest smiles and was so happy to be around her beautiful granddaughters and their boyfriends.

Udo is significantly taller than everyone else in his family so he was like our anchor in every photo (while the family joked about always having him sit).

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Christina and Layne chose a beautiful sunny day for their river bottom winter maternity photos. I absolutely love golden hour at this time of year with how much the warm tones glow in the sun. We only had a bit of snow to deal with in the background! Christina radiated joy for her baby arriving soon.

She and Layne also brought along their first child, JackJack. JackJack is a very small dog with a blonde mohawk! I have never seen such a unique dog before! He wasn’t so sure about what we were up to but he was a good sport about the whole thing.

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