The Taylor Family takes on Westerner Days | Red Deer Family Photographer
Ever since having a family of my own, photographing parents and their beloved little ones has taken on a whole new meaning. I love tagging along on little outings or just spending some time documenting everyday life. This session was a first though! Thanks so much for having me join you at the Westerner Days Fair Taylor fam, I am so totally in love your photos! I hope that you are as enchanted as I am!Would you ever get your family photos taken at the fair? If not, where would be your dream location?!
May your portraits age like a fine wine!
The truth is I don't want your portraits be that cheap pair of flip-flops that broke after one summer of use and then were carelessly tossed into the garbage. I want your portraits to be that favourite pair of leather boots. You know the ones! The ones that just make you feel so darn gooooooood everytime you put them on! I want them to hang proudly on your walls or rest lovingly on your coffee table. I want your portraits to make you smile every time you walk by that gallery wall or flip through the pages of your album. I am wildly aware that this will not work for everyone's taste and/or budget and that's ok, because these days there are an incredible amount of photography options to choose from. But for YOU, you know who you are..... you think less just might actually be more, you would rather have 10 stunning prints for your wall than 100s of files lost on a hard-drive. For you, I want to create something one-of-a-kind, something long-lasting. Seriously though, is it egotistical of me to want the photos I take to be the ones handed down to your great-grandchildren? I imagine that they will lovingly look through them, perhaps they will need to smooth out a crease from it being accidentally folded into the gutter of a book, or maybe the ink will be slightly faded from sitting on that sunny livingroom shelf, and they will wonder to themselves about what life was like all the way back in 2018 with all it's strange, beautiful moments and trends.
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. 
Spring Photo-Shoot Outfit Inspiration !
I am basically rejoicing over here!! It has been 10 degrees or more all week (insert happy dance)! Man, January to... whenever the snow decides to start melting is such a long haul for me. But, the snow is melting and the sun is out. Outdoor portrait season is officially upon us!So, what better time to share some fun outfit inspiration than now. Just remember there are no rules when it comes to dressing for your portrait session. You should dress like yourself and feel good!ENJOY!Karmen 
Karmen's Capsule Wardrobe Update #1
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I’m gonna be honest here, I haven’t made much progress on my capsule wardrobe research because #life. I have really found my enthusiasm for this project waning a bit. I mean will it really be worth the effort? It’s just clothes right? And, I am a person who truly believes that beauty comes from the inside; so how important can it really be to put energy into my wardrobe? But despite my apprehension, I decided to hit up google to see if I could find some answers.
I immediately came across a podcast episode from The Lively Show featuring Caroline Rector from the blog Un-Fancy. Podcast are my jam (I probably listen to 100x more podcasts then I watch tv), so obviously I was stoked! I hit that play button and set to work on some much needed spring cleaning around the house.Fast forward 46 minute later, and I am feeling so inspired and totally reaffirmed in my decision to create am ethically-sourced capsule wardrobe. It's time to dress like me, to feel good about myself, to simplify my daily routine and to buy clothing that is ethically made. While it threw me off at first, I LOVED Caroline's comparison of herself with Bruce Wayne (I hope I don’t need this parenthesis but…. Batman) facing his fear of bats; "he is crouched down in this dark cave and there are bats swarming all around him, it's madness. He slowly unfolds and stands up straight, and the music swells and he takes this deep breath. And he is ok." Intense right?! I would have never in a million years come up with that mental picture on my my own, but it is perfect. I won't ever be able to completely remove myself from the swarm of messages I receive via ads, music, magazines, social media, television, movies, etc.... but I can teach myself to be strong and confident. I don't need a perfect body. I don't need t0 wear the latest trends. I don't need to buy into the thousands of ideas that are being sold to me everyday.So I am setting some intentions for myself this week.
- Recognize when external media sources are affecting how I feel about myself and dictating what I think I ‘need’.
- Unsubscribe from all the stores that send me coupons, catalogs, etc. UNLESS it is company whose values align with mine. (this girl still loves a good sale!)
- PURGE. Let’s get this party started. The plan is to take EVERYTHING out of my closet (literally everything) and sort it into 4 piles: Keep - Store - Giveaway-Seasonal. And since I am waiting to do my shopping until I have completed my dreaded book-keeping/taxes (<- look at me being all responsible / let’s be real, it ain’t gonna happen unless I have some sort of motivation because book-keeping is the actual worst), I will have to make do with what is left in that 'keep' pile for the time being.
- Read more of Caroline's blog!! And do more research.
So there ya have it. Man, WISH ME LUCK! I think I am going to need it lol. And thanks so much for following along on this (completely non-photography related) topic. It honestly feels so good to have a little company on this adventure!Warmly,KarmenPS. Do yourself a favour and listen to that podcast! Episode #36 was packed full of helpful bits of information for the newbie capsule wardrobist. Photo Credit: www.un-fancy.com
Nora's 2nd Birthday
So I haven't blogged in a while... let's be real I am terrible at it! I have so much to share and yet somehow I never seem to find the time to do it. I would like to make it one of my New Years Resolutions but I am a bit afraid that I will fail miserably haha... Resolutions are so much more fun when they are attainable right?!Anyways! I am popping in here because my baby, ahem... toddler, just turned 2! We just love this little girl to bits and had such a blast throwing her a Tea Party for her birthday. My sister-in-law recently started up a birthday planning business (The Small Details) and did such an AWESOME job decorating... it was so beautiful and us adults loved it every bit as much as the littles!!Cannot wait to see what this next year brings for our sweet, girly, independent (stubborn), smart little girl. It really is a joy watching your children grow up. A true blessing <3.