Gralyn J. Photography

 Long time no chat!  It's been a very busy last few months and there's no doubt been some feathers ruffled. I do my best to keep everyone happy and sometimes life doesn't work out the way everyone wants it to. I like to encourage and help as much as I possibly can, but there is only so much you can do when someone doesn't take advice- No matter how blunt.  Let's roll right into this. I spend time with a great number of photographers and have a good list of "safe" shooters. These are the people I will gladly be seen working with, representing their brand and recommending them to people in their areas, or if I am unavailable in my area. Recently though there have been the odd few that like to push just a bit too hard, so I thought I could tackle that in a way that wraps everything up with nice little bow, but doesn't sound rude or single people out in any way. If you are interacting with people and they have a photographer for something- Leave. Them. Alo...

  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......

 Last weekend I was photographing a wedding and my husband was invited as a guest. Often times he will help me with switching lenses, packing my bag or backgrounds etc. He kept me laughing all day, as did the wedding party, and on our drive home I looked at him and said, “Don’t ever change”. It took me a moment when I really stopped and thought about that phrase, “Don’t ever change”. I had meant it in a kind way, a way of love and appreciation as he makes me smile and keeps everything light even in stressful situations. But as I thought more about it I realized how confining that term was.  Don’t Change. That’s scary. As much as I’d like to think that change is scary, not changing is even worse. I look back at myself even just two years ago and recognize how much I have changed for the better since then. I am far more outgoing, can strike up conversations with just about anyone, and business practices- Forget about it. I wouldn’t be where I am in my business if I hadn’t grown ...

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...

This was written by a carpenter, I have taken it and changed it to fit a photographers point of view, I think it puts it into perspective nicely. A customer asked a photographer how much it would cost to photograph their 8 hour wedding day... Photographer: "$ 2,800 for an 8 hour package" Customer: "That expensive for just 8 hours? That's $350 an hour!" Photographer: "How much do you think it would cost you?" Customer: "$800 maximum... That's a pretty easy job right?!" Photographer: "Ok, For $800 I invite you to second shoot a wedding with me." Customer: "But.... I don't know how to." Photographer: "For $800 I'll teach you how to. So besides saving $2,100, you'll get the knowledge for the next time you want to do it." That sounded fair so the customer agreed. Photographer: "But to get started: you need the tools: A professional or entry professional camera, cards, lenses, flash, c...

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 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...

For anyone who knows me, photography is my wellbeing. It's what keeps me grounded, puts me back on track when I feel like I'm going crazy and teaches me a ton of patience. I'm slowly learning to laugh at little things and smile when it rains. Today I took Linden (my pup) out for our daily gander and up to one of our favourite spots. After Lou ran her sillies out she was ready to pose for me. At the base of the wall there are steps up so she run back and forth on the concrete until I stopped her. This one was a rare beauty. Of the 257 photos that I took today I chose around 6 to share on social media. My favourite being the compass with Linden's new tag. Linden is so patient with me! I took about 12 of these before I got the lighting right on the compass. She tried to sit at one point which got all sorts of weird noises from me. My compass is like my "flat stanley", it comes everywhere with me so if it every broke I would be 'Lost'. *I like to ...

Today was supposed to be my two month mark until I left for Europe, but due to recent  events including the terror attacks that took place in London, I will be postponing for a year or two. The funny thing is everyone said "Oh I knew the travel bug would hit you." But it really didn't.  I wanted the photos, that's all I really thought about was coming home and looking at the buildings and the canals and so on. Now that my trip is diverted I really could care less if I'm going or not. I'm really just not someone who needs to travel.      Other than that I will be throwing myself into my photography after my first year of school is completed. In April of last year I volunteered to take photos for a local organization that's main goal is to spread awareness for mental health and end the stigma behind it. Being an anxiety ridden person myself I felt a strong pull towards the cause even though the social anxiety around the thought of going could've kille...