Holiday Mini Sessions 2020 - November 21st and 22nd 2020

Hi Everyone,

Wow! Can you believe it’s that time of year to start thinking about holiday decor and shopping? Or even update your family portrait to put on the walls and send out to grandparents. Make THIS the year you send out those holiday cards! That’s more of a reminder for me than you lol I’m completely guilty over here raising a young busy family - who’s with me? ;)

The garage space has been great for the summer and fall sessions I’ve been having but I’m super thrilled to find a home for the winter at The Hive Local right in the heart of Whitby. An easy 20min drive from Rouge Valley. Won’t you come join me on November 21st + 22nd for a warm and cozy 20min session in front of my lens?

What’s awesome about these sessions is that even through there isn’t any holiday decor, you can bring your own such as dressing up in holiday jammies, wearing santa hats or keep it season-less and wear what’s on my suggested list in my confirmation email.

Here are the details:

-20 min session (only 2 families per hour to ensure sanitizing in between and a separate waiting area)

-all bw + colour images (15+)

-delivered 1 week after your session via download link/gallery

$250 +hst

Please call me at 4167165500 or email me at [email protected] to book your time slot today.

Happy Holidays,

Kristina

Minimalism Studio Portraits - Saturday July 25th 2020 - Light Backdrop

For years I have LOVED Scandinavian art and it’s flavour of minimalism. It’s what inspires my fine art images of The Rouge. And so now, I hope to bring that inspiration to these sessions. Welcome to the quintessential minimalism portrait session. One light, one space, one backdrop. Timeless black and white images of your loved ones. These portraits are meant to be printed BIG - think 24x36 framed or canvas. But they would look beautiful at any size in a gallery collection or on a mantel.

Who is this session for? It’s perfect for your little’s, grads, couples, updated family portraits and lifestyle headshots.

This is EXCLUSIVE pricing to participate with only 10 spots available. Your online gallery will be available the following weekend in the comfort of your own home for 3 days - buy only what you love ♥️

$99+hst - 15 min session + 1 digital file delivered via online gallery (bw only)

$49+hst each additional digital image
$150+hst Full Collection (7+ images)

Prints, canvas and gift certificate options available.

10% off custom framing at Framing Dames

10% of all sales from this session will go towards a local family charity.

Galleries will be available only for 3 days the following Friday.

Please read your confirmation email for covid-19 policy details.
All model release contracts and session MUST be signed and paid PRE-SHOOT. No exceptions.

If you cancel, your session is non-refundable but can be applied to another date or custom session.
If you have a gift certificate, you may use it for this session - please include that info when you email to book.

July 25th (I will open up a 2nd day if there is a waiting list)

NOTE: I am only offering 2 - 15 minute sessions per hour to ensure enough time to disinfect between sessions. There will also be a designated area for a hand sanitizer station and social distancing. These details will be provided in your email. Rain date is the next day on the Sunday.

9:30am - OPEN

10:00am - OPEN
10:30am - Booked
11:00am - OPEN

11:30am - OPEN

2:30pm - OPEN

3:00pm - Booked
3:30pm - OPEN

4:00pm - Booked
4:30pm - OPEN

Please book via email with the time slot you would like.

Minimalism Studio Portraits - Saturday June 27th 2020 - Dark Backdrop

For years I have LOVED Scandinavian art and it’s flavour of minimalism. It’s what inspires my fine art images of The Rouge. And so now, I hope to bring that inspiration to these sessions. Welcome to the quintessential minimalism portrait session. One light, one space, one backdrop. Timeless black and white images of your loved ones. These portraits are meant to be printed BIG - think 24x36 framed or canvas. But they would look beautiful at any size in a gallery collection or on a mantel.

Who is this session for? It’s perfect for your little’s, grads, couples, updated family portraits and lifestyle headshots.

This is exclusive pricing to purchase online in the gallery the following weekend - buy only what you love ♥️

$99+hst - 15 min session + 1 digital file delivered via online gallery (bw only)

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$49+hst each additional digital image
$150+hst Full Collection (7+ images)

Prints, canvas and gift certificate options available.

10% off custom framing at Framing Dames

10% of all sales from this session will go towards an amazing humanitarian who fights for accessibility for all in our community and is now bringing more awareness through her advocacy as an ambassador for the Rick Hanson Foundation, Sinead Zalitach. You can read more about her story below. https://ca.gofundme.com/f/herlifein4paws

Galleries will be available only for 3 days the following Friday.

Please read your confirmation email for covid-19 policy details.
All model release contracts and session MUST be signed and paid PRE-SHOOT. No exceptions.

If you cancel, your session is non-refundable but can be applied to another date or custom session.
If you have a gift certificate, you may use it for this session - please include that info when you email to book.

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June 27th (I will open up a 2nd day if there is a waiting list)

NOTE: I am only offering 2 - 15 minute sessions per hour to ensure enough time to disinfect between sessions. There will also be a designated area for a hand sanitizer station and social distancing. These details will be provided in your email. Rain date will be provided the 2nd week of July after the long weekend.

10:00am - Booked
10:30am - OPEN
11:00am - OPEN
11:30am - OPEN
12:00pm - Booked
12:30pm - OPEN
1:00pm - OPEN
1:30pm - Booked
2:00pm - OPEN
2:30pm - OPEN
3:00pm - Booked

Please book through the contact page stating which time slot you would like. First come, first serve :)

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Who are we raising for?

Many charities are hurting during these uncertain and trouble times and I want to be able to help as many as I can locally with your help.

Sinead Zalitach is a young woman who happens to live with an exceptionally rare, life-threatening and degenerative condition called Parkes Weber Syndrome (PKWS).

Foreman is the first dog in a partnership between MSAR Service Dogs and DogSchool Israel. He is a combination of: a mobility, PTSD, medical alert & response and performs tasks tailored to help make Sinead’s life easier. 

Due to the severity of Sinead’s medical needs, MSAR Service Dogs was kind enough to place foreman with Sinead before he has been fully paid off. Since being placed with Sinead in November of 2019, Foreman has saved her life numerous times. He has detected multiple blood clots, severe infections as well as dangerous spikes and drops in her blood pressure and heart rate.

Currently there is no government funding for service dogs. Due to the unique and complex nature of Sinead’s needs, she did not qualify for a service dog through charitable service dog organizations as they could not accommodate her needs. There are also no charities that provide the funding for individuals to obtain a service dog.

As you can imagine, a dog who requires such specialized training and possesses the life saving capabilities (mentioned above) comes with an extremely high cost.  Foreman’s cost is $35,000 and while Sinead and her family have been able to raise an amazing $20,539, they still have $14,461 to go. Unfortunately, like many things covid-19 has put any possibility of in person fundraising on hold.

For more information you can find Sinead’s Go Fund me page here https://ca.gofundme.com/f/herlifein4paws

For more on this story, you can read it here on the blog:

https://www.westrougephoto.co/blog/2020/7/5/her-life-in-four-paws-the-story-of-sinead-zalitach

West Rouge Photo Co. COVID-19 Policies

YAY! I am officially open for business! Here is an update regarding company policies. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me to discuss your session so I can ensure that everyone stays safe.

Motherhood: A Love Letter

What started out as a passion project to work on my craft became so much more than I imagined.

The goal:
Create a film celebrating motherhood at various stages of childhood.
Include audio - interview kids after shooting
Shoot everything in 24fps
No stabilization tools except camera strap + body
Manual focus - Because Nikon D5’s lol
Shoot approx. 10 finished photographs per family

As I spent about 2 hours with each family and then interviewing the kids with just 3 questions, I found myself starting to let go of my original intent (the box I created lol) and just let the creative process take over. Learning how to interview a 2 year old vs a teenager are VERY different and Im so grateful for the opportunity that the moms gave me to go behind the scenes and that the kids trusted me enough to be so candid. We talked, laughed, cried and connected. I truly enjoyed sifting through the audio bits to craft the narrative while staying true to the moments. And that alone was no small feat. Allowing this project to simmer and come together when it was time was truly an aha moment.

What I learned was that even though our kids need us in different ways at every age and even though we are busy within our lives or the confines of our careers and feel the mom guilt - they notice the why. They notice the efforts even when we think they aren't paying attention. And they love us for it. They truly do. Even if they don't say it everyday. Because parenthood is the most thankless job on the planet but the most rewarding one. And we don't need a thank-you everyday. Our kids show us in the way they are raised. When they are happy, confident and feeling supported. When they are being good humans you know you have done your job. And as a proud mother of two boys - I know that is the greatest gift of all.

So cheers to mother’s everywhere and everyday. You are seen, loved and appreciated - even when you aren’t looking ️♥️

Happy Mother’s Day 🌼

Toronto Greek Orthodox Baptism

I love photographing baptisms. Especially this one at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church. It’s right in the heart of where I grew up and it’s where I photographed my first Greek wedding sixteen years ago. I always find myself photographing a slightly different angle every time. It is considered one of the darkest churches in the city, but as a photographer, I always welcome that challenge because I love geeking out on light. But one of my favourite things they have done over the years is add a spotlight above the alter which adds just the right amount of contrast and brightness which gives me some variety in creativity. Plus, the priests are always so lovely to work with and I always feel welcomed ♥️

Toronto Family Film - Documenting Childhood

This was my first ever motion only film. The others before this were called fusion - a blend of motion and stills (photos) together. It was shot 3 years ago when my son was just turning two and I was taking Courtney Holmes Filming Life course. Total game changer on how I saw and filmed families. If anything - I’m so happy to have shot this. I forgot how little he was then and Matthew had just been born. This was the director’s cut - a slightly longer version - because this was for me. I want to remember how his little hands would pick up his dinos and obsessively place them all in a row. How his face looked when he’d roared. Don’t they grow up so fast? Do you have a milestone coming up? Or a life event that you want captured and bottled up into a little film? Call or email me and let’s talk about how I can do that for you so you can relive your favourite moments ❤

Family Summer Time - Frenchman's Bay, Pickering

I always love capturing my boys and have been wanting to create a Super 8mm film for the longest time. Being apart of The Filming Life Academy for the past 2.5 years continues to inspire me in this medium. This was the perfect opportunity to explore these editing techniques in Premiere Pro using a digital camera. I’ve also been exploring the Tribe Archipelago 1888ad preset and applying it to a few of my films. I truly enjoyed experimenting that early evening because it’s the best way that we grow as artists. I went from using using aperture f2 all the way to f8 + These images turned out much darker and moodier than I normally post process but working with hard light at about 6pm in the summer time - I didn’t want to blow out the highlights. Looking at these images and film, I’ll always be reminded of their splashing feet, their obsession with filling buckets up with water, their innate curiosity to find the biggest rocks and how much they love spending time with us. It’s pretty amazing to see their reactions when I cast this onto the big screen and they watch themselves. I want them to always be reminded of these times that we took when we stepped back from our busy daily lives and just enjoyed free time as a family.