Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

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!

Iris and Gerald had an Indian Battle Park maternity session during golden hour in the Lethbridge river bottom, with their dog Luna. I started off the session focusing on beautiful mom-to-be Iris while Gerald went to pick up Luna. Iris handled her baby bump like a pro, gladly climbing over logs and through bushes to get to the best spots. Her and Gerald picked a very special day to do their maternity photos – their wedding anniversary day! It was a great way to celebrate the next chapter of their lives together.

Baby Adelita has arrived! (Which means Groot the dog is a big brother now!) I got to meet her at her Coaldale newborn session and loved seeing how happy her parents are every time they look at her. Adelita was used to company by now because her grandmother was visiting to help the first time parents out.

I was so excited to hear from Kelsie and Scott a few years after their wedding when they were expecting their first baby! We patiently waited through a few snow-postponements for their Aperture Park maternity session. Kelsie had picked out such a vibrant green dress to wear and didn’t want to lose it by bundling up in winter gear!

They brought along their fur baby Groot, who had a blast at the park. Despite their best efforts to run off his energy earlier that day, the new smells were just too exciting! Groot, however, was on his best behaviour and paused from bouncing around any time he was needed for a photo.

Odessa and her family wanted to update their family photos to celebrate their move to the city. They thought it would be fun to have something iconic to Lethbridge in their photos, and what could be more Lethbridge than the high level bridge?

We worked out a date when Odessa’s oldest son was visiting from university. The younger twins had a blast hanging out with their big brother again. The three of them had competitions of jumping over posts in the park, took turns giving each other piggyback rides, and enjoyed climbing on the bridge even when it wasn’t part of the photos.

Their family has such an amazing connection to each other, making the photo session feel more like a playful outing than an actual photoshoot!