Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

Congratulations to the nursing grads of 2021/22! The University of Lethbridge was finally able to have in-person convocation ceremonies again and the nursing class was able to have their pinning ceremony. The event was held in the ballroom at the university with graduates, faculty members, and their family in attendance.

This year’s graduates had unique challenges during their education. Their time at school saw a pandemic, online classes, and a faculty strike. Making it this far was even more of an accomplishment than any of them had anticipated.

Thank you for having me photograph your University of Lethbridge Nursing Faculty pinning ceremony!

Katon was in need of some new headshots and professional but casual portraits when he contacted me to do his photoshoot. It’s not super often that I get to do a session that is exclusively men’s portraiture, but I love this change from working with families!

I love taking photos at the University of Lethbridge campus because it offers such a great mix of urban and nature locations right next to each other. The urban look was more of what Katon was going for and primarily chose in the end, but I couldn’t resist how great the foliage looked with the autumn colours.

For individual portraits, I always recommend bringing at least two outfits. Katon chose a great contrasting set, including both a more formal dressed up look, as well as a casual look that showed off his tattoos.

Torrince enjoys the company of her family, some close friends and the limelight at her Lethbridge graduation celebration

Torrince’s hair was swept up with tiny jewels sparkling inside it. Her makeup was smooth, her eyes smokey, and when I asked her to strike a pose, she moved with ease – like she’d been doing it her whole life! Like a young, Hollywood starlet, Torrince was a natural in front of the camera, and as her parents (dad, Quentin and step-mom, April) proudly looked on, it was all they could do to keep from tearing up throughout their daughter’s high school graduation portrait session – which did happen once or twice :).

I met Richard through my BNI networking group and it didn’t take long to see how much he cares about his work. Richard runs Empower Potential Coaching and his passion for helping people is obvious in everything he does. He needed a business branding session for his new website so we brainstormed the feeling he wanted to convey and worked from there!

The rain forced us to stay indoors, but the new science building at the university provided the bright, welcoming feel I had wanted to capture in Richard’s photos. We started by staging a few photos of Richard working with clients. Freeze frames of people speaking can capture a lot of awkward moments, so we did a lot of gesturing with hands without actual speaking!

Another important element in Richard’s life and the inspiration for the work he does is his family and relationship with his wife. They agreed to model for us too! I wanted to show the connection and joy they feel together, and the kids all did fantastic (thanks to some bribing and a stern talking to beforehand, according to their mom).

In between the guest appearances, we were able to get a number of headshots of Richard himself with a variety of looks. Once he put his suit on at the end and we really worked with the architecture of the building, he looked like he was transformed into a high end CEO!

It’s a big deal when Bob and Linda come to visit! These sweet grandparents live in northern Canada, but their grandson and his family and sister are in Lethbridge while he completes his degree. Bob and Linda planned a special trip to see their great grandchildren and have a family photo session while they were in the city.

We picked the University of Lethbridge as our backdrop both because of the wind and because the location is meaningful while Ken goes to school there. (Usually my clients get a little worried about getting lost on campus, but Ken easily knew his way around!) We explored the new Science Commons building and the kids loved all the elevator rides!

Bob’s great grandson is named after him, so he brought along special matching embroidered hats for the two of them to wear. I’m only disappointed the elder Bob didn’t have bright green hair like his great grandson ;)

Ami-Marie and Devin’s Readymade autumn wedding was full of laughter and happy tears… many, many happy tears. Ami-Marie spent a good chunk of the day reassuring people through her sobbing that she was very happy despite all the crying!

The couple met while working at the University of Lethbridge so we started the day there. For their first look, we picked the amazing staircase in the building where they first met. (With lots of tears, of course.) We later learned Ami-Marie would make special trips to visit Devin. They truly have a story of love at first sight!

They chose the Readymade Community Centre as both their ceremony and reception venue in large part because of its proximity to Ami’s family’s farm where she grew up. Their reception program highlighted parent speeches that felt more like comedy routines than a proper welcome to the family. It was quickly obvious where Ami-Marie and Devin get their senses of humour from!

It’s been ten years since I first met Ami-Marie at her friend’s wedding and I’m so happy to see her at this point in her life so in love with Devin!

Congratulations, Ami-Marie and Devin!