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Welcome to Nayanna Arts. My name is Andrée and I will be your photographer today. Keep following and you might stumble onto some great specials, irresistible sneak peaks and much MUCH more. Being a mother of two, you might find that it gets quiet between posts, it’s not from lack of trying, trust me 
On top of being busy with the household, working this great adventure that is photography, I also wear the toolbelt around here and I always have a new project at home that is taking up the remaining time I actually don’t have. But stay with me and I’ll show you what great people, places and things I find through my lens.
The photography industry is up in arms!
I think this is probably one of the most entertaining moments the photography industry has had since I joined it 4 years ago. The instant messaging, tweeting, posting, texting of information has made anyone’s opinion readily available to the masses. I say entertaining, because some of the drama is laughable, but also because some of the information that is being passed around is just as laughable. It’s very much like reality tv on the internet. Is this stuff scripted?? Crazy.
On the other hand, it is a subject that is also quite serious. This is a real industry, not just a playplace where you can have some good laughs, try stuff out at the expense of other people’s precious memories and then decide you’re hanging it all up after making so many people regret their investment in you, no matter if that investment was only their time or if it was massive amounts of money. They invested their hopes and feelings in you as a professional, you BETTER have the chops to back it up!
If what I’m saying is out of the blue for any of you, please go ahead and read this fantastic blog post about some of the points of contention we are currently dealing with in this industry (and many other parts of the artistic industry in general I’m sure) http://www.photographersdonotbend.com/2012/03/27/what-i-am-and-what-im-not/. Everything that was said is dead on. Except for the *ten years in business* part, I could have written every word. I hope that by the time *I* am “ten years in business” we’ll all be laughing about this point in our industry’s history and how it was a growing pain that just had to happen, sort of like going through the *terrible twos… and threes…etc* with your children or anyone else’s child you know.
Thank you to all my clients that DO value my work, not just because they LOVE it (thank you for that too!), but that they monetarily value it as well. All the love for my work in the world will not pay my bills. Those of you that actually put your money where your mouth is, I bow my hat to you as you truly know the value of what you purchased and I really don’t have to defend my work to you. You make all the hard work and long hours worth it by standing beside my work.
Long lost Photographer??
Wow. I’ve been away for a LONG while! Seems like it wasn’t all that long ago, but apparently it is! The last few months have been harder to go through than I thought they would be. After my mother’s birthday in August (which I will talk more about as well), came the start of the school year. Then my eldest’s 7 birthday, my dear husband’s month of November crunch time and then we all know how quickly December goes once you start planning things! And this year, December was bitter sweet. All these and more, I wish to share with you all. I’ve got quite a few things to share about a few different topics. I want to talk about that great workshop I attended at the end of September. Truly revolutionary in my mind. I’ve got some preschool portraits I am just elated to share and a very recent family portrait I can’t wait to show off.
I’m also putting together my very first true Newsletter! What out for that in the coming weeks! I ran a couple specials over the holiday, a boxing day/week thing. One was for past clients and the other for potential new clients. Here they are. If you fall into either category, call or email before midnight today!
http://mim.io/dd8122 &Â http://mim.io/4f7022
Calling Montreal Photogs!
I’ve recently had the pleasure of receiving the Professional Photographer’s of Canada (PPOC) Newsletter and within found a nugget of gold I tell you! I am forever looking for learning opportunities and if they also happen to be in Montreal, then I am all over it! It seems this very talented Photographer & Photoshop guru-esque Irishman, Guy Gowan, is coming back to Canada for a second tour with an all new seminar package.
Well, first of all, WHY hadn’t I heard of him before??? Probably because I hadn’t yet joined the PPOC (currently an observer level member) nor was I also on DWF (The Digital Wedding *and Portrait* Forum), where apparently he is talked about on several threads! Off I went to check out his website and search on DWF for more information about him. Wow, the reviews and comments I found were, of themselves, very convincing! Then I listened to his videos… Himself, sitting in front of a very streamlined looking computer setup, white background, no fuss, no muss, just telling it like he sees it, all about photography and Photoshop. I was sold at that point already.
Of course, being that I never (or at least try not to too often!) take a decision without tangible opinions, I asked a fellow DWF member & Montrealer what she thought of his seminar and she was gushing over it. 
So, Thursday, September 22th & Friday, September 23rd, I will be attending this FABULOUS seminar and hopefully I’ll be able to inhale as much information as I can and further my craft as well as my editing process. If I can spend less time sitting at the computer and more time either shooting or with my family, then that is money well spent any day!
J2 Wedding
I already posted these to Facebook here, but they do warrant their own post! The day was EXCELLENT, the weather PERFECT and the people, a complete DELIGHT! I won’t lie, I was bone tired and hurting. Of course, having several camera’s hung on your person for 15 hours will do that to anyone! But in the end, I have to say, it was worth it. It was a great learning opportunity and I am fairly proud of myself. Will I go into weddings, I don’t think so. The stress of it might bring me down. I’m already a very stressful person *inside* but when it starts coming out, it’s scary, which is why I like the more casual lifestyle photography arena.
I still had a grand time and captured what I hope are some timeless memories for the newlywed couple.
E-session
Well, this isn’t a regular occurrence. I tell anyone that asks: “I don’t do weddings”. So, naturally, I don’t do engagements portraits either, right? Well, true. But last fall, some very good friends of ours announced that they would wed this year. Before I could contain my own excitement, I offered to photograph their wedding, that is, unless they had already made their choice of wedding photographer. They hadn’t!! WOOT! Then I started shaking in my boots…
Well, not exactly right at that moment, but as the months passed and the date loomed closer, I decided we both needed to get a first session together under our belt so that we both got an idea of how to interact with each other. Insert engagement shoot here! Actually, these sessions are twofold. First, they let the couple have romantic imagery of themselves together without all the hoopla surrounding the wedding day, as well as the stress that goes with it! Secondly, it is the perfect time to gauge each other’s wants and needs so that the day of, the photog can have a better understanding of what they might do before they do it and also, the clients get a chance to know how their photographer works and what he expects of them at certain moments. It really is a win win
So, I proposed one and they accepted heartily! We had a blast, I got a chance to try out new techniques and they ended up with a great portrait to have for their signing mat at the reception!
Miss T, contortionist extraordinaire!
After a 39 week scare that made us all scramble like headless chickens, dearest miss T decided she would NOT budge until she was good and ready. 10 days overdue that is! Regardless of when she finally made her debut, she was one cute little “sumo wrestler” as her dad put it on Facebook! When their came time for their newborn session, she was nothing but the cutest little girly girl!
Enter Baby S
He’s here! Little S was born in late March with all ten toes and all ten fingers. Poor little guy spent some extra time at the hospital and was very jaundiced when I was there. He’s pulled through like a champ and is keeping his parent’s on their toes, as all babies should And let me tell you, these were dedicated clients! Our shoot was scheduled to be at day 5 (5 day old newborn) and they didn’t postpone it even though they only came back from the hospital the day before! If they hadn’t told me, I’d never have known! Frazzled, of course; tired, for sure; both both I would expect from any new parent! They are strong and will make it through many ups and downs in life with the way they carried themselves whilst living through those feelings. Baby S even had to go back to the hospital only a few days after our shoot too! I tip my hat to them both, great parents with the sweetest baby boy!
The Gunter Family
I had the immense pleasure to meet Angela & Marshall Gunter earlier this March. First pregnancy, everything going smoothly and lots of excitement to add a “real” baby to their fur baby family. You see, they have, oh, 4 cats: Kelly, Abe, Timmy and Doobie. Now don’t ask me which is feature here, although I have a feeling it’s Kelly. I think she (at least I think it’s a she!) was the only one that spent the entire pregnancy perched on top of Angela’s belly. All of their fur babies are cute as can be! I should have tried harder to get a pic of thumbed Abe
Keep cooking!
Over the past 7 years, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know so many different women having their first, second, fourth and fifth child. There has been laughter and daydreams and way too much information passed between us that the average person may not even be aware could happen to any “body”. These women live all over the continent, some overseas and am also very lucky to have quite a few of them live geographically near me as well.
Now, in all that time, there has also been many hardships, although I like to think not as much as there has been joy. Many of these good friends, from here and around the world, have lost their children before they could see the light of day. Those are very dark days for all of us who call that woman friend.
But sometimes, a ray of light shines on one of them and they are spared that hardship this time around.
This session had FINALLY been schedule, after playing tango with different dates, colds, appointments, emails, voicemails… The evening before the shoot, she calls me. She’s in the hospital. Her 39.5 week baby girl has flipped feet first onto her cervix and the painful pressure could very likely cause labor requiring a C-section as feet first just doesn’t work. After thinking things over for a few minutes, I decided this was too important to her (we’d been talking about it forever!) to NOT do. So calling her back, I told her I’d be there in the morning for an impromptu photo shoot, right there in her hospital room. I even called the hospital to check that everything was ok before calling her back. Front desk even remembered her coming in as a 39 weeker flipping after being head down is a very rare occurrence indeed!
So right there, in her shared hospital room, just before “the” Doc was due to come and *flip* baby girl, we had her maternity session.
Stay tuned for the second chapter of this adventure…
Thank goodness for rainbows
I sit here wondering how to start again. I just reread my previous entry, from April, and wondered “how do I just jump back into this blog thing”. Then something I read on Facebook today **What makes you smile everyday?**, from The Joy of Marketing, reminded me of something wonderful I saw yesterday evening. I was hurrying out to buy some last few things I needed to finish up the girl’s “playroom” (converted bedroom) and I saw the biggest, hugest, brightest rainbow ever! It was the entire semi circle, ending just about in front of the street I was driving down.
And it made my day, my week, my month. Made my face hurt I smiled so much! As I walked into a hardware store, I couldn’t help but wonder why no one else was smiling as broadly! Why wasn’t anyone pointing it out to their kids, looking at it in awe. I just wanted to stand there and stare at it until it faded. It lasted for over a half hour, easy. It was still there when I came out of the first store. If I could see a rainbow like that everyday, life would be that much sweeter. Now, the sad part, I had NO CAMERA ON ME! Not even my phone!! But the image is imprinted on my retina and I will hold onto it for as long as I can. Hopefully, next time such a beautiful thing is laid in front of my eyes, I will have the means to still that image forever, to enjoy for a lifetime.
However, I do have many other beautiful images to share and will do just that in the next few posts!