Boudoir photography.  Its different than glamour or pin-up photography where the images are highly stylized and touched up.  This style is unique.  Its a style that shows women for who they are and how beautiful they are inside and out. Tasteful, stunning and loving (and a little touched up).

I’ve been a long time fan of scrolling through boudoir photography blogs, looking at all the beauty.  I awe over the flattering light, different angles, curves, shadows and silhouettes of pretty ladies.  I decided long ago I wanted to try this style of photography out.  Over the past year I’ve had the opportunity to photograph a few friends and friends of friends.  I realized how intense the dynamic is between the photographer and the client.  If someone shows you their inner beauty, there is a lot of trust required.  The psychological portion of this session is likely as important as the actual skill set of the photographer.

I, like many of my girl friends grew up with a self confidence issue.  There was more to it than just appearances, but self image is something many females struggle with, even the ones who look as though they have it all together.  Unfortunately more often than not, we do not get excited when we look in the mirror.  Our eyes are drawn to a tiny spec of discomfort.  Whether its a wrinkle or a bulge…or my big muscular horse legs … or just something making us a little unique.  With the media portraying females they way they do, with our western culture subtly valuing specific characteristics and looks, and with our female human nature to continually analyze and compare ourselves to others around us… the struggle is understandable.  I want to be clear.  I’m not making excuses,  I know it is my decision in the end to change my mind and think new thoughts.  I’m just stating, I’ve looked at myself, my family and where we’ve come from, I’m aware we aren’t perfect but I’m also aware of how strong I have been at moments in my life.  There were phases where I was affected strongly by my lack of confidence and then times where I could step out side my security bubble to be myself.  Looking back, these are the moments where I truly think I started to become who I am and be proud of who I am.  These were also the moments where I started to wear clothing that reflected my self more positively, or more brightly

Since I was little, I’ve had this love affair with hats.  Little caps, with funky colours and even big old fancy hats!  I would purchase them but kept them up in my closet until they collected so much dust they were unwearable.  I couldn’t bring my self to wear them out of the house.  I figured they’d attract too much attention to myself.  It wasn’t until a few years ago that I actually wore a cute hat out of the house… I was uncomfortable, but I LOVED IT.  Each step I take outwards, it gets a little bit easier, its still a struggle, but at least the hat’s not dusty anymore. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to wake up everymorning, look at the mirror and smile?

To be honest.  It would be wonderful for me, but also for Shaun.  He doesn’t see the wrinkle or the bulge or the big leg muscle… he sees the smiling eyes, the curves and the strength.  And it brings him down a notch when I mumble negativity.  Its just not very becoming.  He’s asked in the past to do a portrait session with me and hinted at boudoir, but I wasn’t really sure about it.  On one particular day I was feeling quite happy with myself and almost even smiled in the mirror.  Before I could talk myself out of it, I mentioned to him it might be fun to do a portrait session.

It’s scary when the lens is on the other side… Even with the photographer being Shaun.  I had to really talk myself through it.  I’m so impressed with how many brave women there are out there, it really takes confidence to show this peaceful, loving and sexy side of yourself to the camera; the photographer; your partner and then possibly to others. (if you share some of the images on websites or blogs).

I have to say.  As scary as the initial thought was and the initial 10 minutes of shooting were… it turned out to be an amazing experience!!   (The glass of red wine definitely helped me out a little though too)  Because I completely trusted Shaun I was able to look straight into the lens as myself.  I know, now more than ever how important the relationship is between the two people.  If I were to give anybody thinking of doing this type of shoot a suggestion…it would be to meet/talk/get to know the photographer. If you like them and trust them… your images will be better than you could ever imagine.  There are many talented photographers out there, pick one who best fits with your personality.  They will make you happy!  I finished the session feeling relaxed and gorgeous. When I looked at the pictures… I was smiling.  I think I was happier with them then Shaun was. Haha. Win Win!  Originally I wasn’t sure of what we would do with the images.  Shaun had taken them, so I didn’t need to surprise him with an album or prints.

I decided to share them.  If I want to continue shooting boudoir sessions I want to be brave too.  If other beautiful girls out there are sharing them with the world, so could I.  Plus Shaun is really good at what he does.  He is trustworthy. He knows how to use the light to flatter a subject, he knows how to keep an image simple and distraction free, and he knows how to make me smile

- Steph Scade

Landon and Diane celebrated their wedding with family and friends after ten years of dating!  Everyone was excited to see it finally happen.  Photographing weddings where you can feel the love between the couples is easy.  After ten years of dating, it was still easy to feel their love.  They were surrounded by their many close friends and family as they shared vows.

We took some pictures out at the Devonian Gardens before the ceremony and moved right into a lovely reception out at Clymont hall.  This is where Landon grew up with his family.  It felt like everybody at the wedding knew each other and it was almost like a reunion, full of heartfelt speeches, catching up and DANCING.  It was wonderful.  This is what every couple hopes for.  Diane even announced in her thank you speech, that her biggest goal was to make sure everyone had fun.  People definitely had fun!  Rob, from Nuance Sound was there keeping the dance floor alive, the staff at the community hall made a delicious meal, and the decor was simply beautiful.  I even convinced Shaun to put down the camera and do some two stepping with me!

Thanks for letting us be a part of your wedding,

talk soon,
steph

]]> http://www.thescades.com/wedding-photography-edmonton/diane-landon-wedding.html/feed/ 1 http://www.thescades.com/wedding-photography-edmonton/yvonne-and-steves-wedding.html/ http://www.thescades.com/wedding-photography-edmonton/yvonne-and-steves-wedding.html/#comments Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:33:00 +0000 scade http://www.thescades.com/?p=1667

Yvonne and Steve’s wedding was something special.  We had a blast hanging out with their close knit families.  With many of them living far apart, some living across the county and some all the way in New Zealand, the wedding was a treat for them all to be celebrating together.  Yvonne’s sister….did an amazing job as the M.C, her sense of humour had the room roaring with laughter and she kept the flow of the evening going very well.  Once again, the speeches got to me.  I was standing beside a friend of theirs who was video taping during the speeches and I’m pretty sure there will be moments where they’ll hear me sniffling in the background, or bursting out with laughter.  I love hearing how proud and happy the couple’s parents are for them.  Yvonne’s dad had to pause during his speech and say: ‘You know, in all these years… I cant think of one single problem… she’s just wonderful’.

Their ceremony took place outside on the steps of the McGrath Mansion.  Yvonne and Steve shared their personal vows to each other and were both beaming with happiness through the entire ceremony.  We used the location to its fullest for the bridal party images and then used our favourite little river valley for a few extras.

Thanks for inviting us to your wonderful wedding, here are a few of our favourite images.

- Steph

Gordon has known Amber for all of her life.  He was so happy to be able to shoot her wedding. She and Mike are such a nice couple and are blissfully happy together.  The first wedding Gord ever photographed was for her parents (Wei and Diane).  That was 29 years ago.

The day was busy, Gord shot this wedding with our friend Jeff.  Thanks Jeff.  They started with hair and makeup first, then heading to the Oasis convention center, using canola fields, stopping at an A&W, then the museum and finishing off at the Mayfield Inn with a surprise Dragon Dance! It was a great day, full of love and family!

Here are some of our favourites.

Wishing you all the best, and happiest of ever afters…

- Love the Scades.

I wanted to let everyone know that our pace is slowing down a little bit here as our OWN wedding day fast approches. But, we still love you all and have so many fun posts to post!  Its taking us a little longer than we’d hoped, but keep we promise to post all the fabulous weddings we’ve been a part of this summer!

I feel so lucky to have such wonderful bride and grooms. Every one of them have been so helpful and friendly to us. They give me tips, pass along advice, spread sheets, workouts, and well wishes. Its truly wonderful to feel so supported.  I almost teared up last weekend when the bride thanked us during her speech, giving her best wishes for our wedding.

Speaking of feeling supported…We have some amazing friends and family who’ve helped us out along this process.  Last night it felt like a Martha Stewart work shop over at the Scade’s house!  Shaun and I invited  a bunch of people over to help us with a few craft projects in our wedding.  We had people cutting, glueing, assembling, and designing.  I’ve always loved crafting, and the personal touches to our decor are special for us.  Plus, I’m dutch and Shaun’s 1/2 Scottish..so saving a little money is a BIG DEAL.  haha.  Things ran super smoothly and we accomplished more than I’d expected to!  THANKYOU THANKYOU THANKYOU! (no final product pictures yet…you’ll have to check out our photographers blog post at a later day)  

Two of our paper rose assemblers

seating chart help

Little Miss Emilie helps make a mess.

9 days to go….

- Love Steph

Amy and Wilson live in Vancouver now, but they came back to Edmonton, where they grew up, to celebrate their wedding with family and friends.  Gordon and Jeff had the pleasure of shooting their beautiful wedding a few weeks ago.  Wilson and Amy met way back in kindergarten.  Interestingly, as they were sorting through childhood images to display at their wedding, they came across a kindergarten class picture with a ‘Scade Photography’ stamp on the back!

These two are such family oriented people and it showed in their wedding day. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming.  Amy wore 4 different dresses throughout the day and they wanted to have a variety of locations for the photographs. Here are some of our favourites. Thank you for asking us to be a part of your wedding day.

Congratulations to you both!

-the Scades

On a Sunday morning out at Hastings Lake Gardens, with family and friends gathered round, Kyle and Michelle shared their wedding vows.  A clarinet quartet played beautifully for the procession and when it came time for Michelle to walk down the aisle they asked their guest to join in and sing along.  It was lovely.  They sang a wedding song to the tune of ‘Morning has Broken’.  Kyle awaited with shaking knees as Michelle walked up to him.  She was beaming with excitement that was hardly contained.  When it came time to finally kiss, the marriage commissioner sure enjoyed making them wait a couple extra seconds.

It was a beautiful day, filled with family, friends, music, laughter and dancing. The reception was held at the Snow Valley Lodge.  Their friends and family beamed with pride as they spoke to the couple during speeches.  Because music is such a huge part of their lives, it went without saying there would be a live band, Martin Kerr (who was also a groomsman) and his band played two full sets, but there were also a few surprises.  Instead of sharing a traditional first dance, they played a song together for their guests; ‘When I’m 64‘ by the Beatles. Martin sang for them while Kyle played his Saxophone and Michelle was on her Clarinet.  The other surprise was for Michelle. Kyle, while playing the banjo stood up with his groomsmen (on spoons) to sing another sweet song for her.  ’All I Want is You‘ by Barry Louis

These two people have shared so many adventures around the world together already and with the love they share I cant wait to see where life takes these two wonderful people next.  Wherever it is, there’s sure to be endless laughter and smiles.  Congratulations to you both!

- Love Steph and Shaun

Family and friends sing as Michelle comes down the aisle..

First song played together as husband and wife.

Michelle’s treat

Lisa and RJ have known each other since high school.  RJ had a lovely proposal all planned out.  He had her family in on the surprise, they helped to hide the ring durning a family vacation to Hawaii over NewYears eve a couple years ago. There were big festivities happening that night and fireworks to top it off…. But Lisa wouldn’t have any of it. She was tired and not interested in partaking in any fun.  RJ had to practically drag her out of their room in order for them to even go see the fireworks.  He gave her a hug and under the sparkles in the sky and asked if she would marry him.  She..obviously didn’t believe him and laughed.  She thought he was kidding because of what she’d put him through that day.  Of course he was serious, and of course she said yes.

These two were super cute to photograph and they looked gorgeous in the evening summer light.  We’re looking forward to photographing their wedding next month!

Congrats,
Steph

Jill is a close friend of mine from my college days.  She and her husband Tanner moved to Marwayne Alberta a couple of years ago now with their son Adam.  I was lucky enough to be there when Adam was born.  He filled his his mom’s heart with more love than she knew what to do with and they share a bond that’s remarkable close!  Adam just turned 3 years old!  He went down to Drumheller Alberta to celebrate with his family and check out the dinosaurs.  Jill also wanted to have some family pictures taken for the occasion.  We only had a little bit of time available while we were in town, so Tanner had to take some time off in the morning. Thanks Tanner.

We went out to the field behind there home and when Tanner had to leave for work we photographed Jill playing with her little man.  Thanks guys.  You’re one good looking family.

Steph

Last September Shaun and I photographed Reshaun in a family session, with her mom and sister.  Reshaun graduated high school in Lloydminster this spring (congrats!! ) and asked if we could do some grad pictures.  Senior Portrait sessions have been popular in the States for years, but Canada is just starting to pick up on the idea.  Its a great, fun way to capture the time in our lives where we really get to feel like the next few decisions we make are COMPLETELY OUR OWN.  We get to decide where to go next.  We haven’t done many of these sessions yet but thought it’d be fun and different so, we went on a road trip to Lloydminster to photograph her grad pictures.  We hung out with her girls, spent some time just with Reshaun and then grabbed pictures with her boyfriend Tristen too.

Reshaun’s a gorgeous girl who has so many adventures ahead of her. She’s planning on traveling to Europe in the next year! Best of luck with all your endeavours.

-Steph

When you think about the perks of being a professional wedding photographer, it’s easy to name off a few. We get to be creative, we get to do what we love, on almost every weekend of the summer we have a fancy party to attend, and if you’re a bit of a nerd..we get to play with new software and gadgets quite regularly.  We’re always meeting new people and we get to spend the entire day with them on one of their favourite and most exciting days to date.  Sometimes if we’re lucky, we get to leave with new friends.

This was the case at Rebecca and Clint’s wedding. It turned out one of the bridesmaids was an old friend of mine from a previous job and just so happened to be a second cousin to Shaun that’d he had yet to meet. It was fun to catch up. The whole day felt like we were just guests at the wedding but we had special privileges with control over the pictures! We had an absolute blast!

It was a gorgeous wedding. Michelle French was on hand ensuring everything ran seamlessly. The weather was warm and sunny, but not too hot and there was a morning drizzle for good luck.  Rebecca and Clint wanted to start the day with a ‘first-look’ before their ceremony at McGrath Mansion started.  It was fun to set up the scene for them.  This idea is becoming more and more popular with couples.  It lets the them relax with their bridal party a little, while taking the formal portraits before the big ceremony. This way they are able to step right into the reception with their guests. Or, it gives you time to chill and go for a drink on a patio first if you like!

I unfortunately had to miss the reception this time. So Gordon stepped in to help Shaun out.  From what Shaun told me….it sounded like it was a GOOD TIME.  He couldn’t stop raving about all the great people.  At the reception the theme was a mixture of their favourite things. Favorite foods, drinks, and games. They had an Xbox and Wii set up with couches for guests to play, a candy bar to enjoy, and copious amounts of delicious food.  Mac and cheese, sliders, chicken fingers, grilled cheese and tomato soup, Prime Rib and perogies, and PIZZA!! ..and I have to say..having a midnight lunch hotdog and popcorn cart is pure genius!

Congratulations, and looking forward to seeing you both again soon.

Steph

We first met Diane at one of the bridal shows last year. She stopped by our booth to check out our work. I remember her because she was wearing a beautiful red jacket, and I’ve been looking for one for myself ever since.

As much work as the bridal shows were, in terms of prepping the display booth, and then being up on our feet all day, they proved to be successful for us. We’ve had extra attention on the website and booked more than a handful of weddings already. We originally signed up because we’d recently rebranded the company and wanted to get some more public recognition. But reflecting back on how they went I realized something. Face to face interaction definitely holds more weight than social media. Whether we like to admit it or not, we naturally make judgements and semi-conclusions about others almost instantaneously after meeting a new person. Its nothing to be ashamed of, our people skills strive off of this instinct. If a positive vibe is felt right away, there is a much likelier chance a short conversation could endure and possibly even a new friendship.

Nowadays brides are able to plan weddings almost entirely with the use of the internet. It’s a wonderful tool. As photographers we work hard to portray our personalities through our blog and website. We want people to book with us because they like our quality of work, our photographic style, and like us as people. This is why we have free consultations with everyone. Its as important for us as it is for the couple interviewing us. We need to get a good vibe from our lovely clients too.

We got a good vibe from Diane and Landon at the consultation right away. They were warm and friendly, honest about what they wanted from the photography, and they’re connection as a couple was apparent as they excitedly told us about their wedding plans. They are getting married this August and last week we went to visit them at their home in Sylvan Lake Alberta for some engagement pictures. They’re new puppy Hank made an appearance in the pictures too!

Enjoy.
Steph

Thomas knew it from the start. He knew what he wanted and he won Suzanne over. With a little romance and a whole lot of love.  Suzanne, being quite a bit younger than Thomas meant he also had to win over her parents.  It didn’t take long.  Spending just five minutes with these two is enough to tell how deeply they care about each other.  They’re love is contagious.  When Shaun and I drove home after shooting their engagement session, we couldn’t believe how cute they were.  It really was like we were witnessing one of their first dates.  You know the kind where you’re filled with glee and cant keep from kissing each other?  Their wedding day was no different.  They were attached at the hip.

Thomas watched his bride walk down the aisle and had a look of pure joy.  He knew it was Suzanne, but “she looked like a 50′s movie star!” Suzanne couldn’t keep her eyes of Thomas either.  After  saying their heartfelt vows in a lovely ceremony in the gorgeous Con Boland Gardens, we took them through Riverdale’s river valley paths and down Jasper Ave for some bridal portraits.  Hardly any direction was needed because by the time we asked them to kiss, they already were.

The dancing at the reception was top notch, with an epic ballroom  first dance, waltzes, jives and other random moves I’m not even sure what to call yet.  Thanks for a wonderful day, we had a blast photographing your wedding day.

One last thing I should mention….the cupcakes for dessert were AMAZING!!!!! One of the bridal party attendants made them and I ate 3! I couldn’t contain myself. Our videographer friend Ewen, from Vigor Media was unfortunately allergic to the nuts inside..and I know it was rude, but I couldn’t stop gushing about how delicious they were.  Mmmm, man they were yummy. He was nice and shared his with me while he ate a fruit plate.  sorry about that…

- Steph

P.S. Instead of giving traditional jewelry as a wedding gift to Suzanne, Thomas surprised her with upgrading their original wedding day coverage, to include a custom designed wedding album from us, the day after their wedding! How sweet was that?!