At the close of another year, I want to warmly and sincerely thank my many wonderful clients for trusting me to photograph a special time in their lives.  I chose this career 33 years ago, and I have to say that I still enjoy my photography as much, if not more, than when I began.  How many people can say they love what they do after so many years?   I am nowhere near retirement as yet, and I’m looking forward to seeing many more of my past clients and meeting new ones!

I am so looking forward to what 2012 will bring. Some things will be good and some not-so-good. But, I will accept whatever comes!

I haven’t made New Year’s resolutions for many years, because the intentions are always good – but the execution rarely happens.  So what I’m doing instead is making a list of what I envision for myself and my business in the coming year.  (There’s power in the written word.)

One thing I want to do in my business is to try new things.  I will be photographing assignments just for me.  It might mean more travel photography or scenic or close-up macro photography.   But I have these visions of some beautiful, artistic life studies of people… I’m going to explore that!

Personally, I want to spend more time reading, relaxing and listening to great music.  I find that these all refresh my body and soul and that ends up making me more creative in my photography!   Amazing how that works!

As I’m sitting here, wrapping up my year, I am feeling many emotions – and the biggest is the excitement for all of the good things to come next year and a feeling of gratitude to all of the people who are a part of my life.

Happy New Year!

“It has been over 10 years since our family has taken a family portrait… 16 years ago our family suffered a great loss, losing a brother and six months later a sister… so taking a family photo comes with a range of emotions and is not as easy as it seems.  It comes with heartache, knowing we are not all there, but it comes with triumph, knowing that God has given us the strength to keep smiling… thanx to Marlene for capturing such a beautiful time and moment in our lives, we feel so blessed to have this portrait and make more memories…”  Analisa Hruda from the Alvina and Don Heinrichs Family, Mitchell Manitoba

On August 25th I had the pleasure of photographing a beautiful family.  Photographing several young children, who would rather play and run around and enjoy the gorgeous weather was a challenge – but, they always seem to co-operate for the perfect portrait!  :-)

The first family we photographed were Analisa, Matt and their boys…

Next it was Tammy and Charles and their lovely girls…

The children were tiring, so we went indoors to photograph the large family group…

Next we photographed mom and her daughters… hard to say which is the mom!

And then the lighting was perfect for outdoor portraits and so we photographed Jewel and Mike and their children…

I so often hear from people that they want to wait to have their portrait taken for one reason or another. “My child is missing a tooth.”  ”I want to lose 10 lbs.”  ”I’ll wait till they’re in school.”  ”We’re finishing up a renovation and our budget is going towards that.” And they miss out on how beautiful their children are at each stage of their life.

I recently chatted with a client that had her 2 year old daughter in for her portrait 4 years ago.  She told me that she absolutely loved that photograph of her – because “I’ll never have that two year old again if I wouldn’t have had the portrait taken. You think you will remember what she was like at that age, but you don’t – and the photograph reminds you.” Beautifully said!

“I had seen my friends get their photos done at Marlene’s Designer Portraits and I loved them.  It knew it would be professional and FUN!  :)

Marlene was so friendly and seemed honestly excited to take my portraits.  She made me feel special and not in a forced put-on type of way.  I loved posing and feeling like a super model for an hour.

I love my portraits because Marlene KNEW exactly what she was doing!  She captured my essence and my body shape perfectly.  I loved so many of the photos!  There was so much variety and I felt like Marlene put her heart into these photos.   What one word would I use to describe the portrait experience?    ”Exciting”   I will recommend Marlene to my friends and family because of the 100% money back guarantee; of the time spent with us before the session to plan and co-ordinate everything; Marlene made it a fun experience and because I believe my portraits are absolutely priceless and shows exactly what I wanted it to!” Michelle Koop, Steinbach, Manitoba

Can you see why I titled this blog post ‘Breathtaking’?    I couldn’t choose just a few photos, so sit back and scroll down and enjoy these photos.

I loved Michelle’s enthusiasm when she came in for her initial consult.  I knew at that time that I would have a great time photographing her and when she booked I was very excited.   When she came in for the portrait session – she was wearing these 5 inch heels and she had a smile on her face in anticipation.  Then she put on her grad dress and I caught my breath – she was stunning.   Here are more of my favorites from her session…

And this is probably my favorite portrait of Michelle I took that day!

Sigh – okay, I’ll say it again.  I LOVE my job!

A change of shoes … and more photos…

And … my favorite from the entire session….

The high school senior girls that came in this year had so many fabulous looking grad dresses – they were all unique and fun and classy and pretty and suited each high school senior to a ‘T’.   I get a chance to see (and photograph) these dresses before anyone else!   I love my job!

I just love this next image!!!

Allyssa wrote a few comments after she saw her images for the first time…

“Marlene takes fabulous pictures without even trying!!!  She’s awesome  :)  I had a great time during the portrait session because Marlene is so funny!   I love the portraits because they look good!   Way better than anything Lifetouch does.  What one word describes the portrait experience?   Fabulous!” Allyssa Dyck, Mitchell, Manitoba

This is my favorite image from the whole session…

Allyssa’s mom also had a few comments to make…

” In 2005 when my oldest daughter graduated high school, I took her to Marlene for photos, and a portrait went on the wall.  In 2007 my middle child graduated and again we went to see Marlene; his photos were the best I have ever seen of him, and a second wall portrait went on display.  My youngest child has been waiting 6 years for her portrait to join the other two.  Periodically over the years I have caught her looking at her siblings’ portraits and commenting that some day she will be there as well.  The portrait from 2005 looks just as fresh and modern as the 2011 portrait hanging beside it.  This has been said so many times but it is so true… Marlene has a knack for capturing a timeless moment.” Barb & Clarence Dyck,  Mitchell, Manitoba

Here are Kristy and Kyle’s photos…

and now these are joined by Allyssa’s portrait…

I photographed the Dyck Family on Easter Sunday right before Kristy flew out to Thailand to finish her Education degree as well as teaching grade 8 science to complete her practicum.   But those images will be shown in an upcoming blog post – so stay tuned!