Kamloops Photographer - XO CAPTURES | Beauty Portraiture 2015 | Model -Ali Hanney

Had a great time adventuring into the snowy wild with Model Ali Hanney - well that might be a bit of an exaggeration as it wasn't really "wild" per say. But we hung out at an icy waterfall took some beautiful photos drinking one of my favourite teas. { Fantasy Island- from David's tea } I have decided that a Thermos of hot tea is a must for all winter shoots ;) And we even had some nice warm sunshine. 

This time last year was my first time working with Ali and I captured some of my favourite images. This time around it wasn't snowing but I think we captured some awesome shots, a few that I will be adding to my personal favourites. 
It's always a pleasure working with Ali, she's up for pretty much anything, is easy going and everything just flows so well during our shoots. 
So here are some beautiful shots of a beautiful woman freezing her tush off for me a second time ;) 
( It wasn't actually too cold that day, unless you're standing half naked directly in front of a half frozen waterfall getting sprayed with icy cool beads of water. Thanks Ali) 
Be sure to check out her website and facebook page to see more of her work. 

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Thanks for taking the time to check out my work :)

xo

Kamloops Maternity Photographer - XO CAPTURES | Winter Maternity 2015

You wouldn't guess this gorgeous Mama is due next month. She looks amazing for 34 weeks!

So when we scheduled this session last week I was hoping for a little bit of snow to fall. It was in the forecast and there wasn't any on the ground at that time.  So I got what I asked for - and it was a "be careful what you wish for"moment for me. Because that was not what I had in mind when I was wishing for a "bit" of snow! So we not only had to change locations the night before but after getting my vehicle all cleared off and dug out of the snow I back out into the cul-de-sac and get stuck! How embarrassing! So then for the first time ever I was the one to have to reschedule - which I still feel bad about. Lucky for me as I'm out there swearing under my breath a few of my neighbours who had been watching joined me and helped get me back into my parking spot.

So the next day staying at my Aunt and Uncles I was able to walk to the location as the ploughs had yet to clear the roads. So I set out to meet up with this lovely expectant couple who despite the rain made the best of it and totally rocked it. This Mama was never without a smile and she was trudging around in snow up to her knees - literally! I had a hard time myself so imagine doing it 8 months preggers! I give her so much credit for getting out there and just embracing it for what it was. She deserves a cookie and a gold star ;) This was my first session of 2015 and it was definitely one to remember! Congratulations to you both and all the best with your new adventures in parenthood, may 2015 be your best year yet!

xo

Blush coloured Ashleigh Maternity gown - Just Hatched Designs Photography Props

Kamloops Photographer XO CAPTURES | Re-Visit the Dress Winter 2014

I absolutely love winter photo shoots! I'm so happy with this session and how everything came together so beautifully! I had an excellent team to help make this concept come to life. Big thank you to Shannon of Beauty has Endless possibilities for doing an awesome job on make-up. And Angela of Anjera Hair Design + Anjera Kanzashi Design  who did hair and supplied a beautiful gold sunburst necklace. My aunt Raelene who found me the fur stole at a little boutique in Vernon that I was so desperately searching for. Our lovely model Jodi, who braved the cold, and to Opal of Opal Michel Photos for collaborating with me again on this Yuletide concept. A BIG Thank you to you all :D

After seeing an image posted on Kamloops Photographers Network of a pipe that had burst out at Pine park along Tranquille creek we knew we had to check it out as a possible location as the snow this year has been a little scarce. When I went out there scouting it was a beautiful sunny day and I actually passed the location with the pipe burst the first time without noticing it lol. On my way back I thankfully seen it and investigated further, I'm glad that I did ;)

Although on the day of the photo shoot the icicles were more ice blobs from all the build up in some areas and there aren't as many pine trees as I would have hoped for - seriously don't know why they called it pine park- I'm happy with how the images turned out and had fun despite the cold, poor Jodi, what a trooper. So without further adieu ......

Kamloops B.C, Photographer XO CAPTURES | Winter Portrait Photograpy 2014 -

I was delighted when I received a text from this beauty asking if I had any time for a winter photo shoot. Not only do I love winter photos but I really liked working with her this past summer as she's so sweet and wonderful to be around.

I live just north of town and the snow seemed to be getting heavier, so I warmed up my vehicle and set off a bit earlier so that I wouldn't be rushed if the roads were bad. It wasn't snowing as hard in town and by the time we pulled up to the location the snow had moved on.

I felt bad for my lovely client all dressed up and looking good in a skirt and here I am bundled up like a marshmallow and still chilly. We had a nice little walk/ tried not to biff it on the sheer ice on parts of the walkway. Seen a hawk chilling on a branch - took these lovely images ... then speed walked our frozen tushes back to the tramp ( aka my crv - has horrible tribal decals which I refer to as tramp stamps) I love snowy images so I added in snow falling in post processing - giving her both the edit with and without the snow in case it's not to her liking. I think it was worth venturing out into the cold and will be doing it again this Thursday for my creative collaboration with Opal Michel Photos  , Beauty has Endless Possibilities and Anjera Hair Design. Stay tunned and stay warm ;)

Kamloops Photographer XO CAPTURES | Artistic Portrait Collaboration with Opal Michel photos - Behind the Scenes + More

As promised.... a little bit of behind the scenes from my collaboration with Opal Michel Photos.

Opal did hair and make-up on our lovely model - who believe it or not has a 4 month old! Props to her for coming out and spending the day with us. 

We started off with combining a few concepts - some big wild hair to start of course

Alexis putting o her younique mascara which she so kindly convinced me to try lol it really was a pretty amazing difference.

then we moved onto make-up - something bold 

Always a good idea to have your concept inspirations at hand ;) Pinterest is my fav

Adding a bit of red as a finishing touch. And off to our location we went.

The lighting in this spot was pure magic. I was in awe of the images I was capturing and the amazing haze we were getting. Here's Opal chimping with our model, showing her how awesome she looked ;)

A few adjustments - addition of the antlers that I borrowed from my Uncle and I make-shift attached to a headband with some black lace so that I could easily return them without any damage.

And Bam! 

Here's a SOOC ( straight out of camera ) and finished edit  Before and After shot. 

Thank you again to all those who helped out or contributed to this stylised session. It was nice to be shooting something totally different and have such creative freedom. And just one more image from this lovely session .....

Be sure to check back for the upcoming Winter beauty session in early December ;)

Kamloops Photographer XO CAPTURES | Childrens photographer - "little angel"

I haven't had a chance to take any Christmas photos quite yet as I was hoping for snow ;) but really wanted to re-create an old postcard that I had seen. It was a child posing as an angel with her hands under her chin and looking up, as if she was looking towards heaven. I found it so striking and had to give it a go with my little angel  - who by the way was a little devil during this shoot! There is a possibility of me re-doing this shoot but I thought I would share anyhow :) 

Kamloops Photographer XO CAPTURES | Artistic Collaboration With Opal Michel Photos

This past Tuesday I paired up with Opal Michel Photos to do an artistic collaboration and it was really nice to do something a little different for a change. The day went by so fast! We started with Opal doing hair and make-up while we all chatted and got to know each other and then off we went to our location.

We had gone out and scouted the location prior and because I wasn't sure where the path actually was, we made out own, kind of. Ya we pretty much were crawling around in sage brush and cactus thinking what have we got ourselves into lol. We ran into a couple and decided to see if they knew where the path was located and they unfortunately had the same question for us. Oh well, I really like hiking and I didn't mind the poky things and dirt that filled my shoes all that much and the occasional cactus that found its way onto my pant leg or sole of my runners. The next day I got a guided tour from my aunt who is part of Kamloops Ventures, so she actually knew where she was going, unlike myself. Thankfully that path, that was actually a path, was far less steep and wasn't riddled with cactus.

It was such a beautiful sunny day and our lovely model was so easy to work with and up for anything, which was awesome because we strapped some antlers on her head that I borrowed from my Uncle (thank you again). Everything went great and we had some pretty sweet lighting going on, especially at the end when we were pretty much running down the path to the grassy area at the bottom before the sun disappeared on us - or at least I was lol. All in all I would say that the shoot went well and I am quite happy with how things turned out. Opal was great to work with and it's really neat to see how two people can be in the same place and taking the same shots and they can look so different. I love that we could learn from each other and share our knowledge.

Thank you to everyone who had a part in making this come together :)
Thank you Opal for sharing this experience, your knowledge and mad skills. Thank you to My Aunt Raelene who took me out to show me the way around and also for my awesome fur blanket ( b-day gift) I love it ! Thank you to my Uncle for the use of your antlers. Thank you to Alexis for being a part of this project and being an awesome model. It was great to work with you and thanks for letting me try your younique mascara lol. And thank you to all my friends and family who are ceaselessly supportive of all my hair brained ideas. And to you for actually taking the time to read this - I assume that you must like what you see - so that makes me happy.

I will be doing a behind the scenes post but be patient with me though, I'm getting old ya know. So for now here are a few shots for you to enjoy :)