Gralyn J. Photography

  This may be a no-brainer to many, but for those new photographers, photographers who have never been asked, or clients who haven't heard of this moral no-no, here we go! In the past I worked for a number of companies where clients of photographers *who will obviously remain nameless* would come in and ask (beg) that we fix either very small or very large and obvious mistakes in their images. Examples of these issues would be crop lines, uneven colours, holes in the image (yes I mean an eraser tool), and so many other things. One of the worst ones I encountered was from a big name photographer in the area I was working in,  they had attempted to combine two images (I assume) and left a HUGE line down the side of the image. The bride stormed into the little shop and was in complete hysterics, telling us how they had ruined their special day and they paid X amount for horribly done images, unprofessionalism and poor editing.  If I had been on my own I would have said no......

  Let's dive into the questions I get the most on a weekly basis! I do have a FAQ space on my website but I like to have things posted in more than just one spot so that they are easy to find. Starting from Least to Most popular; 1. Will my Wedding Photos have watermarks on them? NO. You have already paid for my services to capture your special day, this means that no watermark will be present on the high-resolution images that you receive from me. I do (with the clients consent) post some watermarked images on my social media for other couples to see, but your images from me are yours to print and share logo free. 2. Will we receive all of the images taken from our wedding? How many are included? Yes! I believe that clients should receive all of the images taken on the day (this goes for family, equine, lifestyle etc.). The number of images you receive will depend on how long you have allotted to have me at your wedding. Most of my couples end up with between 400-600 images a...

Many of you have seen my Slogan on one page or another, but the vast majority of people assume that I only photograph one genre or another. I am not exaggerating when I say "I'll Shoot Anything". I have an absolute love of all photography genres and am always up for new and exciting angles. This will be for all those who are new to my page, all those who are curious, and all those searching for a passionate photographer. I’ll just jump right into EVERYTHING that I shoot based around people. Aside from this list I also photograph barns, both wild and domestic critters, macro images including flowers and snowflakes, landscapes, arachnids and much more. Babies Boudoir Branding Couples Commercial Engagement Family Graduation Headshots Lifestyle Maternity Modelling Fur Babies Rodeo Sports/Teams Volunteer Events Weddings Whimsical And anything else you could imagine! I love what ...

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...

I'm supposed to be a Mom.  I struggle with anxiety and depression.  You won't understand what that means until you've dealt with it first hand. Sometimes it means not wanting to get out of bed, just wanting to sleep your days away. Sometimes it means being dizzy or sick all day and not being able to carry out even simple tasks. Sometimes it can drive people away, or bring you to the wrong ones. I'm supposed to be a Mom. I struggle with anxiety and depression. I have scars both physical and emotional. I have people who have called me many different things. I was never weak. I've always been the strong one. I'm supposed to be a Mom. But my children help me far more than I could ever do for them. But I'm so scared about what will happen. But I'm living for others. But I'm sick all the time. But... I'm supposed to be a Mom. My children are my pets, my Linden, my Mae and my Mav. My anxiety is a real thing. My body needs help...

 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...

    Alright, so today I am going to go through my new job; Highlights, some low lights and the overall experience of being a school photographer.     In the last month I have been traveling to various schools in my area to take school day photos--ages Kindergarten to grade 12. WOW! What an experience it has been.     I am going to try and balance the high and low lights just to keep it nice and even.     The kids are by far my favorite part- depending on the age group. High schools are very tough for me because what I experience in high school was stress, about everything! So going back into the schools was nerve wracking, but dealing with teenagers was even more so. One of my first days on the job I was set up and ready to shoot so I asked my boss about the rule on hats for the day. As usual it was first shot without, and second shot with. So that's how I shot--Until I got to the grade 12's. Yikes. I sat one guy down...