Women of Excellence 2018 | Shannon Mcquaig
Well the Women of Excellence Gala was as wonderful as I had hoped. Just picture a room full of inspiring women and their supportive community. Everyone gathered to recognize the contribution of these incredible people. I'm telling you, this type of positive energy is a force unlike no other!! In an effort to keep this powerful momentum going and to continue to lift these exceptional humans up after the awards have been handed out, I am excited to start sharing a photo of a nominee each week! My genuine hope is that we recognize the diversity and strength of the women in our community all year long! And that by doing so we will continually support, encourage and inspire one another!
In the Desert | Mojave Preserve California
Driving the through the desert is a magical experience (highly recommended), you come across sights that seem like they could only be from another planet. Some you drive by with eyes widened, others require you to slam on the brakes and turn that car around. This was one of those times. A lone Foo Dog just off of Route66 in California.Model: Rebecca Hughes Poncho: sweetjolieboutique.com Jewelry: volerra.com (PS. Volerra is having a HUGE sale today!!)Travel Dates for the remainder of 2018 are listed HERE on my website. I will be taking portrait and brand sessions at all locations, just shoot me an email or comment below if you have any questions!
What did I do before photography? | Embarrassing Photos Included
I recently had someone ask me, "What did you do before this."For a second I was confused, but soon after realized what she meant; what was I doing before I became a mom and started taking photos. My reply, "Nothing. This is what I went to school for!"She had no idea, and I suspect a lot of you didn't either. You guys, the becoming a professional photographer part of my life was so long ago, in fact it's been 9 years since I got that business licence. Sometimes I forget just how much that stage in my life shaped both me and my business. So what do you say, shall we do a little reminiscing today?
It all started in 9th grade when I signed up to go to Mexico with our church. Before this trip, I had been to the Calgary Zoo haha. So ya, let's call it the beginning of Karmen's love affair with travel.
My mom lent me her beloved camera (honestly still can't believe this, thanks Mom). It was her baby, a Nikon F80, silver and black, rather large for a young girls hands. Attached to the front was a zoom lens, and in the back I loaded roll after roll of film. You guys, I easily shot a roll of film a day and was quickly promoted to trip photographer lol.When I got home I dropped that giant ziploc bag of film off at the local London Drugs and waited. Oh my word, does anyone remember the gloriousness of waiting for your film to be developed?! Everything about it, right down to that weird chemical smell is something I will never forget about shooting film. When they were finally finished, my mom and I sat in the car in the parking lot (like we did every time a roll of film was developed) and looked through them all. She thought they were really good, and I mean that's all that really matters amiright?She encouraged me to enter them in some contests, I won. I was shocked..... 
But basically my head was in the game to graduate High School and to go to university for something BIG. You see, at the time, both my Mom and Nana had been single moms who devoted their lives to raising their families. No post-secondary for them meant I WAS GOING TO GO UNIVERSITY! I was going to get a degree and it was going to be for something important. Together we thought that perhaps I would be a great lawyer or a doctor (soooo not smart enough haha) or a nurse. I wanted to be a Archeologist.I focused on my core subjects throughout highschool, I didn't take a SINGLE art class haha. The irony. I had an after school job at a local coffee shop (shout out to Kavaccino's!!) and I savvvved and savved for tuition. But, truthfully, I ended up spending most (ALL) of it on a trip to Europe and then a trip to Bolivia. My logic here, the government certainly wasn't going to give me a loan to travel..... and I still needed some time to be 100% sure I knew what I wanted to be before spending an insane amount of cash on schooling...You see this idea of being a photographer was creating a lot of doubt (and excitement) in my mind, something about my previous plans just didn't seem right anymore. But a photographer? I mean, is that really something that can be a career? I decided to wait another year. I got a job at a cricket farm. Yes you heard right. I was indeed a cricket wrangler lol. During this year one of my former teachers said the magic words I needed hear, "I think you would make a fantastic photographer"... That was it, apparently that was allll the validation I needed. I decided the time had come to be brave and leave all my carefully laid plans behind for something entirely different. I was going to apply for NAIT's competitive photography program, and if I happened to be one of the 28 people chosen for the program then I would be starting school in September!! Weeee! Cue the nervous anticipation.Needless to say, I got in and, oh friends, the fit couldn't have been more perfect despite the fact that I hated the city (not for long tho, Edmonton won me over with her subtle charms). I LOOOOOVED both the artistic and technical details of photography. I loved breaking down lighting and understanding it. I loved the chemistry of developing film. I loved rich history of photography and photographers. I loved it's impact.By the end of my first year I was already working for several incredible photographers and I will always be so grateful for all the knowledge they shared. It didn't take me long however, to realize that I didn't want to work for someone else. I wanted to start my own studio. I was clueless, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.But here we are today, through all the ups and downs. 9 years, many trips and two babies later; I still LOVE it. 
Explore Edmonton
I jussssst realized that I have never blogged my session with the lovely J. She was writing a an article about hidden gems in Edmonton and I had SOO much fun wandering around some of her favorite neighbourhoods. Edmonton has become such a special place to me. It is where I went to school for photography, it's where Brad and I bought our first home, it where our oldest daughter was born!! And even though we live outside of the city now, it will always feel like home. I absolutely adore our frequent visits with it's places and wonderful people.If you are an Edmontonian or will be visiting this summer I highly recommend checking out Justine's blog posts about Highlands and Westmount. Below I've linked up some of my favorite stops, come tag along with us!
OK now let's hop and the car and head over to Highlands, shall we?
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Solid Gold Esthetics | Brand Session Sneakpeek
Last month Carla hired me to capture some photos of her studio, as well as, one of her classes and I am so excited about how much we were able to accomplish in a quick one hour session. Take a peek through the photos above!It really was such an honour to document some of Carla's incredible hard-work and talent. Carla is the owner of Solid Gold Esthetics in Blackfalds. She also happens to be the one to give my first ever tattoo!! And I know a bunch of you have noticed because I get DMs about my fab new brows all the time haha. Honestly, as girl who can barely handle mascara, Carla is basically some sort of magical creature to me. This woman effortlessly free hands the most perfect brows a girl could dream of.Annnyways, now that I am done fan-girling, let's chat quick about brand sessions and how they can add value to your business:
They help tell your brand story. Let's be real. As customers we prefer to buy from people not faceless companies. Lifestyle photos show people who YOU are and why your work matters.
They are workhorses. You can use your images in print, on instagram, on facebook, on pinterest, your website, your blog, in brochures, on business cards (I really could go on). These photos are meant to give you a visual foundation for you online and offline presence.
They show you and your business in the best light. Literally.
Lifestyle sessions are versatile and totally customizable. In an organized one or two hour session, we can capture everything from products to behind-the-scenes. This variety can serve you (and your instagram feed) for months to come!!
If you have any questions about Brand Sessions OR my micro-blading experience let me know!! I am all ears and would love to help ya out.Warmly,KarmenPS. I took daily videos during the micro-blading process. If you guys are interested and would find this sort of info helpful let me know! I will happily post them for you!
Vintage Trailer Reno | 1970s Triple E Camper
OH my goodness you guys!! I got an email from Alberta Parks saying that we can start booking camping sites at the end of the month! When I read it, two things immediately crossed my mind:
- That's flippin' crazy. Its FEBRUARY. I don't plan that far in advance.
- Weeeee camping!
And now I keep finding myself daydreaming of summer, and actually considering camping sites in February lol. So since I can't get summer off my mind anayways, I figured now would be the perfect time to share our little trailer reno here on the blog.If you follow me on instagram you have probably caught me over-sharing about our beloved little trailer already. But for those of you who haven't, I inherited this teensy little home-on-wheels when my Dad passed away and proceeded to spend a good chunk of last spring giving it a bit of a face-lift. I can honestly say that it turned out to be a wonderful healing process for both me and the trailer! We are both feeling lighter and brighter and less leaky.Here is a little glimpse at the BEFORE pictures:[gallery type="square" size="large" columns="4" link="file" ids="4725,4723,4726,4721,4724,4722"]My grandparents bought this trailer brand new in the 70s, so it is filled to the brim with road trip memories. The fabric on the cushions has already been replaced at some point, but I really wanted to keep as much of the rest as original as possible. The hardest part really was tying in the new fabrics with the (awesome) existing patterns and colours of the 70s. Not gonna lie, I think it was a wonderful success. Everything feels fresh and clean, but nothing is so precious that dirty camping fingers and muddy paws can ruin it.
Last summer we gave it a good test-run. We enjoyed every bit of our hard-work, and I reveled in the fact that I get to keep this little piece of my dad's childhood alive with my own family. To say we are excited to make some new memories this year would be a giant understatement..... So I just might have to be that person who books their camping in February lol️. How about you? Do you book early to get your favourite spots? Or do you do what I usually do and just call around until you find something available haha?P.S. If you have any questions regarding the reno let me know!! Just didn't want to bore y'all with the details 😉
HUGE thanks to Suzanne Taylor Photography for taking some photos of us hanging out on a perfect Alberta summer night. All the lovely photos of us are by her.
Randee For The Skinny | Lifestyle Fashion Brand
Randee. "I hate getting my photo taken". Also Randee. "I need to apologize in advance for how awkward I am going to be!"Well I am so glad that despite all of her fears this lovely babe travelled down from Edmonton to model some clothing for the beautifully curated shop she works at, The Skinny. I have worked with The Skinny before, but this was my first time shooting some of their women's wear and I LOVED it. So much goodness.Also, it was summer. Man, I really miss summer. Anyone else pretending this warm 0 degree day is the beginning of spring??XO,KarmenP.S. There is a part two of this shoot coming and it is fire! So stay tuned! 
