Family Photography Experience

I am excited to now be offering family portrait photography to my clients. It has taken me a long time to admit that I like or want to be doing this kind of photography, but I have decided to officially make it a part of my professional practice. Here is my pitch:

A creative family portrait experience awaits you. Choose your favourite location, whether it is a park or your own backyard. Your family can be photographed in your own special place. Or, go traditional, and set up a temporary studio in your home. The choice is yours. We will create your memories together.

Contact me for further information and pricing.

Keegan

What a cutie! Keegan graciously worked with me for over two hours without crying or falling asleep. He did pee a few times though, mostly on his daddy, but what do you expect from a 6-week old.

This shot was lit with a softbox hanging from a boom over top and using the silver panel of a MultiDisk for fill. Keeg's dad did the post on this image and gave it the nice soft desaturated look.

Noah

I am working hard on the "Boys Project" this week with a couple of shoots booked.

This first is Noah here. He's about 14 months old and he's a real bookworm. This shot captures a genuine moment from our time together, no forced smiles, just Noah being his curious self.

It took us awhile to connect, but once we did, things really clicked, and clicked. Two hundred shots later and we were both ready for bed!

Lighting was an umbrella front left, a 2'x3' soft box up high and slightly behind the right side as a hair light, and a 3'x4' white scrim as fill on the right side. I was shooting from a small space between the umbrella and the fill. This is the lighting set up I usually use for corporate portraits. I like using a soft box as a hair light. It's a bit smoother than a grid spot. This lighting set up also gives one large catch light in the eyes, which I like.

Calgary Cares

A unique print of this photograph has been donated to Calgary Cares, a fund raiser for AIDS Calgary, for their silent auction happening during their big event on March 29, 2008.

About this piece
Photographer: Marlene Hielema
Title: Taylor
Date: 2008
Medium: Giclee on Vinyl
Dimension: 35” x 27” Framed

The first photograph I ever envisioned and captured was of my two year-old brother, when I was six. He was sitting on the front step of our farmhouse wearing dad's cap and holding a box of Ritz crackers. I remember looking at him in that moment and thinking, "That would make a great picture." I ran inside and asked my mom if I could use the camera - a Kodak box camera. That was the start of a lifelong project of portraits of boys.

Why boys? Access mostly. I am the only girl in my family. When my brothers eventually married they also had male offspring. All of my closest friends seem to have boys, and my partner recently became a grandparent to, you guessed it, a boy. As a result I have a comfort level with boys of all ages which allows me to photograph them easily.

This particular photo comes from a portrait session I had with two brothers. They chose the location and borrowed a buddy's truck for the afternoon. It was one of those amazing shoots where everything was in sync: weather, location, and personalities, to provide a memorable creative experience for all involved.

I have been experimenting with printing on metal for the last five years and this presentation is part of that research. This image was printed on outdoor use vinyl using an ink jet (Giclee) printer. I hope to some day compile a show or a book of the photographs of boys that I have taken over the years.

This photograph is also on display at the Alberta College of Art + Design Faculty Show in the ACAD Illingworth Kerr Gallery, which runs from March 20 to April 19, 2008.