Gralyn J. Photography

I have come across a lot of different situations while taking photos but there is one thing that everyone neglected to warn me about when I continued on with taking clients. It came as quite a shock to me when I realized it, as it had never crossed my mind before, photography was always such a happy occasion for me... A few years back I was looking through a newspaper (wow, I know, people still read!), and I was about to set it down when I noticed a photo that looked very farmiliar to me. My mom had taken it, it was a smiling older gentleman who I just knew as "grandpa" from my first bride (My first time photographing a wedding was with this lovely woman). He was a kind man from the small amount I had gathered from his family and it broke my heart when I noticed that this lovely photo was placed in the Obituary section.    At this point, however many years ago, it did not hit me all that hard, people age and eventually they pass on. Grandpa had lived an incredibly full lif...

This piece is going to be all about Maternity! Maternity sessions are so much fun and so beautiful, but they can be stressful to plan. I have started to get more inquiries for Maternity sessions this year and have been getting more and more questions from my expecting Mumma's.This post should clear up a lot of questions that you may have so that you go into your session feeling excited and prepared. Here are some common questions: 1. When should I book my session for? This is a *very* big questions, especially from first time Moms. You will want to book your session between 30 and 34 weeks of your pregnancy. If you are having twins you will not want to wait until you're ready to pop, for my Twin parents I would recommend around 20-25 weeks. Every woman is different and we need to keep that in mind. Some may be uncomfortable and not up for a shoot at 34 weeks, while others may want to do theirs closer to their due date so their bump shows more. Pay attention to how you...

I have learned a lot in the ten years that I have been doing professional grade photos. I could go on and on about how I got started but then I would be contributing to the blogs that make you scoll endlessly until you find the actual information in them- That's not this blog. I had a family photo session at the Armstrong pumpkin patch and after having an absolute BLAST with these wonderful people my sister-in-law, who was involved in the family photos, started posing for me. I took a handful of photos and went through them, not really sure what I was looking for, but just wanting them to be as beautiful as they were in my head. After capturing this one, I looked over it and wasn't happy with how it looked on my screen. I moved, got down into the dirt and told Tamieka to do exactly what she had before, but look down instead of out over the patch. It changed the entire "feeling" of the image! Instead of losing my subject in the background I was able to fixate on he...

Anyone who says that you need a studio to be a photographer is trying to sell you a studio- But in all seriousness, you do not NEED a studio in order to be a good photographer. A perfect example of this is a shoot I did back in December of 2020. My cousin and his wife had a baby! They wanted some baby photos done, and as per my motto "I'll Shoot Anything", I thought I would try my hand at newborn photos. This is a tough example to work with, and I am just realizing that now, because babies are SO particular during their shoots. Crank the heat and play Hawaii for a bit, because babies like it warm! Any guesses on where I took the above photo? In my cousin's home, on their air hockey table- Yes, you read that correctly, AIR HOCKEY TABLE. I didn't have any fancy light systems, a special room for it all, or my own private studio. I was winging it. Baby was only 7 days old when we did the shoot, which is right in the window of when you want to do newborn shoots, u...

How much does a Wedding Photographer generally cost? This is a hard question to answer as it is always varying between regions. Often, photographers from big cities (i.e Vancouver or Toronto areas) are going to cost more than in other, smaller areas. Other factors to consider are the services/packages they offer, experience level and travel distance of the photographer you've chosen. The average couple will spend approximately $3,000 for 6 hours of wedding day coverage, with others ranging between the $1,500 and the $8,000 mark. How much do Engagement Photos cost? Another varying cost when it comes to getting married that again depends on experience levels, packages etc. Engagment photos are often included in some photographers packages, while others will make it a seperate expense. They can range anywhere from $150 to $600. I personally recommend doing Engagement photos with your Wedding photographer to get used to them and know their personality before your big day. They...

Photographer: Sometimes I wonder if I want to take photos anymore. Mind: You should probably just quit then. Photographer: But I’ve come so far. Mind: This is a lot of heartache and emotional and financial stress. Photographer: But sometimes it's ok to not be ok. Sometimes if you want to take your business further you have to hit a low before you can go above and beyond with it. Mind: But this rough patch has lasted so long. You'll never get out of it. Photographer: Patience is powerful. Sometimes it takes a while for things to pay off. Mind: But this is too hard. Photographer: That just means you have passion. That you care. And you should never give up on something that you care this deeply about. Mind: Let’s keep everything comfortable and stop pushing ourselves. That’s so much easier. Photographer: I'm sorry. Mind: No need to apologize, lets just ease up on yourself for a while. Photographer: No, I'm not apologizing. I'm telling you I...

To the person with the abused dog; I see you. I’m not judging you. You’re being so kind and other people are looking at you so strangely, commenting on how the dog is terrified ‘of you’. I’ve heard your story, I’ve heard her story. I know her previous owner beat her, and you’re trying so hard to help. You’re trying to get her to sit with a hand signal and she is panicking, but she will understand. I promise she will see the love you’re offering her. She already trusts you so much more than her previous person. Keep going. Keep being kind. Keep loving her as much as you do. Ignore others who jump to conclusions. They don’t know. From the Mom of a rescue dog.

Beautiful. When I was a kid I heard it all the time, how beautiful I was. Now that I'm older I continue to hear it, not near as much because I'm a young woman, but still. Is it ok to think of YOURSELF as beautiful/handsome? You all know that one person that thinks its a privilege to be around them and that scared you, you never wanted that. You know, that person with the big ego (Maybe even a big truck). They think they're all that; Smart, pretty/handsome, talented, the list goes on. Everytime I'm around one of these people I think "Wow they really are confident, why can't I have that?", but is it confidence? Or narcissism? In Greek mythology, Narcissus was a hunter from Thespiae who was known for his looks. He was proud, in that he disdained those who loved him. Narcissus was drawn to a pool, where he saw his own reflection in the water and fell in love with it. Unable to leave the beauty of his reflection, Narcissus lost his will...

I'm sore all over from working a job I actually enjoy for once, and not sleeping at night because I'm panicking about life. No reason in particular, just the fact that I have no idea what the heck I'm doing. I'm 20, fresh out of teenage hood and finished my first year of schooling, now beginning to doubt everything I've ever thought about in life. I had a recent set back which took me back to when I was alone and scared. My parents were divorced and not speaking which made it tough for me to get any information to or from them. I found a group I thought would help and they did for a while... Until everything went wrong. I lost friends, connections, and people I thought I could genuinely trust in my life. Why is this affecting me now? I have no idea. It's something that still hasn't left me. It still keeps me up at night- Why would someone do these things? Why did this happen? What could I have done to stop it? It put me back in 16 year old me's s...

 I am so excited. I also haven't really been ranting lately, Oops! But oh well, I have been writing since I was really little. Before I could spell I was writing stories and I finally published a book! Then another!     Running From Survival was the third book I ever wrote. My first one was started when I was in Elementary school and I was bullied so badly for wanting to be a writer that I gave up. I put the pencil down and played sports for a while, like people wanted me to. I played lots of soccer, I worked on art, school of course, and worked around the farm. When I reached middle school we started different writing projects, all of which I got full marks in. It re-ignited the passion that I had for writing and I started again. Short stories about haunted summer camps, vampires, and lost creatures from other dimensions caught my friends interests and kept them reading, which kept me writing. One of my friends wanted to use the first book in the sequence, 'Ibli...

Sometimes you can remedy things on your own, but others you need a little help.      For the last three years I've landed myself in a hospital bed for chest pains so bad I thought I was having a heart attack.                --Just Kidding, it was anxiety-- So I was put back onto the same meds I was on before, they tackled anxiety as well as the depression symptoms that I was showing. After nearly two months of being back on them I was still not sleeping, not eating properly and not able to answer simple questions without crying or getting angry. So I tried a new doctor after I got a new job and was stressing out even more about the little things in life, and stuff that was actually supposed to be stressful (Like hating your new job). Hiking has become so much more regular again, which is nice now that our valley isn't engulfed in wildfire smoke. Photos have taken over my life! I love ...

    Wholly cow I'm published! I can't believe it.     I've been writing since before I could even spell, my journals from school were filled with short stories.     When I got into middle school I wrote for fun, constantly going over my novellas looking for things to be improved. My friend would take the books and read them over and over again, constantly waiting for me to come out with new and exciting adventures. She will be the first one with a copy.     The book I've published (finally) was in the works for the past six years and has been read over by a number of different friends and editors, I'm hoping you all like it... https://www.amazon.com/dp/1520575394?ref_=pe_870760_150889320 Photo provided by gralynjphotos.wix.com/official

I can honestly say I've never been so exhausted in my life. After being on medication for nearly a year I felt that I was in a strong enough place to stop and be ok on my own. I went three months without my medication before I began feeling exhausted and run down all the time. I watched TV until 12 sometimes 2 in the morning to escape my thoughts, I didn't sleep when I tried and studying was a chore. After my week of exams I started working full time hours again, which at my job was easy to do because my coworkers (boss included) were so damn wonderful. But my sleep continued to be patchy and out of sorts, forcing me back into the doctors office. I asked about my sleep and the all around patterns I had been seeing in myself, landing myself back on my original medication and dosage. After an array of flu symptoms and a numb face, I went to see a different Dr because mine wasn't in the office. After pokes and prodes it was determined that I hadn't had a stoke. Yay? Bu...

Ok. I've been seeing a ton of animal rights groups on Facebook and Instagram fighting for... well fighting against anything and everything to do with animals. According to them, we aren't even allowed to have pets. I'm going to start with my dog... Linden is spoiled. To the point that I'm pretty sure she doesn't know she's a dog. She's my baby. She is actually treated better than some of the people in todays world. The closest thing to animal abuse that she has experianced is when I put a rain jacket on her. She honestly doesn't like the rain, and doesn't seem to mind her pink paw print coat. Now to my farm girls... My chickens; My girls, and of course my boys are treated awesome. I can't exaggerate the number of times I've heard people say "Go Vegan" because there is no such thing as a "humane egg". YES THERE IS. What people see are the big corporations run by mass distributors who genetically modify their animals ...