Family Portraits They Can Be Fun

As i grew up the idea of getting our family portrait "done" loomed over us every few years
and honestly I don't know why people have such an aversion to them. Certainly in my day, it was such a formal event but here we are now in 2018 and the style of family portraits has definitely changed .
Clothing and photo styles? Funky clothing,unusual locations and less formal studio setups,more relaxed "poses",bringing in our wild and crazy pets ( a must in my opinion) but most importantly the "feeling of connecting" with real expression.

Recently the Mayor Lyn Hall and his wife Lorrelle and daughters and beau  along with Arlo the adorable mini Aussie (who stole the show). We were doing a formal Portrait for the Mayoral B&W Ball,  but the for the family, we wanted a lighter side so these are some of the ones we created for them.

                                                                               

Maybe its your first family photo shoot or its been a few years,let us help make it a fun process as we know how to make it enjoyable.

Exist in your photos as waiting to be the "exact" person you want to be can go on for years and your families will change and sometimes it just doesn't get done.

Give us a call and let's talk at least about it and start booking a date and soon you  will be looking at your proofs ordering the images for your home and sitting back and looking at them over and over saying " I am so happy we finally got it together and had them taken, it was alot of fun to do , what were we so afraid of?"

MOTHER'S DAY - We Have You Covered.

OK I know this one is a little crazy Just wanted to show you how many it takes before I get one I like.

I have been delighted working with people in my new space on Dominion Street and am nearly ready to announce the address and the opening of it officially you know with a cake and fanfare!!
But  I have been so busy working and testing and teaching that I just can't set a date yet. Honestly it will probably be JUNE at the rate I am going! If you have driven down Dominion you will see it though as the signs were just put up last month by ALL MOBILE SIGNS . We had to wait till the weather warmed up enough and we all know how long THAT took. 

So I am booking already into May and June and August ( Sept is practically full)  for family sessions as well as Business Profile Sessions that I wanted to say if you are serious about wanting to give someone a Super Mother's Day gift we have GIFT CARDS available in a number of denominations that you can easily order them from us and drop them into your MOTHERS DAY cards to put an even bigger smile on her face!! All our sessions come with hair and makeup and can be indoor or outdoor on location.

PHONE ME at 250 301-4744 (c) or email me phil@phughesphotography.ca and I will get those to you.

Prince George Citizen

The Local Paper - The Citizen, called and asked for an interview
as they heard about the article  published in The Lancet.

 I also have to mention that Allan from CFIS-FM had called me as well for a radio interview  on the same subject.

" How did a photographer from Prince George BC Canada get the job of photographing for the Prestigious Medical Journal The LANCET?" You will have to read the article to know that answer!
Or read my previous Post on my Blog!

The article is about me essentially, these were the 2 images that were chosen to accompany the article.
 I was thrilled to see Megan Hunt and Earl Henderson taking up the majority of the page. LOVE the image of Megan and to bring attention to both what  she and others do for so so many deserves the focus.  Thanks so much to the Citizen and their new writer - Stuart Neatby for writing it. Stuart is new to Prince George so watch out as he was an excellent listener.

Now as a followup to all this ...do you see that there is a call for Nominations  for Healthier You also in the Citizen Newspaper? Its right there beside the photo of Earl.
It turns out that a couple of people from the articles were Nominated including Dr Nadine Caron and Myself!  We all have no idea who put our name up for nomination but we thank you who ever you are. The chance to bring more attention to what good work is being done here is most appreciated!!
So on April 6th we will be attending the Awards Night presented by PG Citizen. Good luck to all nominees and  I will follow up and let you know how that turns out!

‘Reprinted from The Lancet, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30468-9, Palmer, Picturing health: health advocates for Indigenous communities in British Columbia, Canada, Copyright (2018), with permission from Elsevie

Photography, The Lancet and Instagram

 As a portrait photographer every once in a while you actually get an opportunity that you can not believe comes your way. For Me it was in January when a past client recommended me to work on a project that was looking for a photographer to document the focus on Indigenous Health and Wellness in Northern BC. Honestly at first when the people at The Lancet (a prestigious Medical Journal in Oxford England) looked at my website to see if I was a fit for them there was doubt. So I asked them to check my Instagram thread and with that I was offered the job of producing 10 images to show case Indigenous Peoples who are working within the medical  system as physicians,social workers,elders to help improve  health and wellness.
There was alot of coordinating of schedules in a short amount of time as we had to get everyone to answer 3 questions about their job and for me to figure out from those answers where was the best place to take those images. Thanks to Nadine Caron and her husband and daughter (and yes the family dog!)  for the fun shoot we did for the Lancet. Nadine and Patrick are both physicians who I met when their daughter was a baby and came to me for a newborn session. Nadine was the one who put my name forward to the people at the Lancet and I am so grateful that it meant we got to work together again.

Here is the link to the article and photos
http://www.thelancet.com/gallery/lancet/canada



: ‘Reprinted from The Lancet, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30468-9, Palmer, Picturing health: health advocates for Indigenous communities in British Columbia, Canada, Copyright (2018), with permission from Elsevier’

January - What are you taking up this year? Photography? Knitting? Writing?

Not going to lie, last day of the month nearly and here I am getting down to Writing my Blog
which I always wonder is it being read?

Regardless, I feel it is important to write, to give myself a goal of connecting to you but I don't feel
so connected when I don't hear back from anyone. So IF you read this, please can you send me a
note and tell me? Tell Me what is on your mind that you and I could Solve. Nothing Earth shattering but something doable like learning something you have always wanted to learn or book a photo session with me.

 I have 5 people with me right now who are taking a photography class with me. Yes I am teaching again.  Night Class so they come 2 hours once a week for 6 weeks.  So Here's to THEM who actually signed up paid the bucks and are doing the work of learning their camera. This is the second Basic Class I have taught since Sept. 

There will be the Improving your Photography one next in April open to those who have done the 1st one or have my permission ( by way of a portfolio review/interview). That runs April 12,19,26 May 3,10,17 in the evenings 530 -730pm . Limited sitting so 2 seats gone already. PM at phil@phughesphotography.ca if you want to have a spot or gift one .

I also held an Introduction to Instagram for a couple of artists which was a 5 hour workshop .
I have been asked to hold another follow up one for them so will have to see if I have the time to
slip one in . If you know of anyone else who is in need of learning it please let them know I am here,
It isn't overly difficult but there are some things to figure out before to make it work for you better.

PS I took a writing course last year with Vivien Lougheed and I am looking for one maybe on knitting next!!

The Last Hours of 2017 What are Yout Thinking About ?

photo by chris harris canada

photo by jo blackwell uk

So is it just me or do you feel like oh my i had wanted to get around to doing such and such before the end of the year but didn't? So here it is, a few hours left to at least write one Last Blog and that was on my list!!

This year I have been thankful for still being employed and in this industry. I am happy to say that I still ENJOY and LOVE what I get to do for People in photographing them.

I choose these 2 images to remind myself how it is important to put life in perspective - that we are so tiny and not as Big in the scheme of things as we sometimes find ourselves thinking we are.
Thanks to Chris Harris who took it of me ( yes that little "thing" sticking out on the ground is me - but it could be YOU if you like) when I took a 3 day workshop with him along with 6 others in 100 Milehouse 2 summers ago. The "heart" shape above me really gives me shivers too as we are not alone but a Creator is watching over us and yes I see Hands holding the Heart ( do you?).

The other is from this past fall, when someone I just met in Los Angeles in May, invited me to visit her if I was in England so I did. Jo is another photographer who was taking  a workshop for women over 50 still in photography or starting out in it and wondering how to do it with our Mentor Sue Bryce. We photographed and talked the 48 hours we had together from the moment she and her husband picked me up in Nottingham thru photographing 3 women, from going out to dinner and  into the next morning dashing to the train station (The Pic was taken on the road literally to the train).

 What I learned and wanted to share is I/we are not alone in this journey (as a photographer for me - insert your profession/passion) and that sometimes being honest and sharing the fears one has with someone else just allows it to be a little lighter. There is always time to make things happen if you truly want to work at it. Keeping one's eye on your own story instead of looking at who is doing what is a challenge but I am working on it. I am SO looking forward to 2018 and sharing my next great change in my community of Prince George.

With all this I sincerely wish you all Happiness in 2018 in what ever shape that comes and If I can be apart of making your year please do call . Love to meet you and yes photograph you and those you love.

Dec 31,2017 5:00pm

Top 7 Things BEFORE YOU BUY a CAMERA

If you are someone who is looking to ask for a camera or pick up a camera for someone then there are some things to consider BEFORE you make this purchase.
As a Professional Photographer who has been using a camera since I was 11 years old I have been through alot of them.I actually saved up and bought my first one a Kodak Instamatic point and shoot. How I choose it I do not honestly remember but I do Remember how proud I was of making this purchase. After that it became cemented that I LOVED this Direction and for years would ask anyone remotely interested in photography to tell me THEIR opinion of what was the BEST camera I should buy.
As I have learned over the following years using everything from Canon to Hasselblads to Nikon is the following:

1.TAKE YOUR TIME CHOOSING...Do Not Rush into this no matter what "imagined" Need you have. It is a BIG decision that will set the course of what you will build on with lenses so take time.
There is no This is Better than That one ( Canon vs Nikon etc). IT is as personal as some people Like Macs and others PC, Androids vs Apples.It has to meet your needs ( and pocketbook).

2.HOLD AS MANY CAMERAS as you can and I mean really HOLD Them. See how it feels in
YOUR hands as this is going to be YOUR camera and how it fits in your spouses hands and yours is entirely different. Do your fingers reach them with ease or do you have to go searching in the menus to change the ISO/APERTURE/SHUTTER Speeds ( and if you do not know what these mean I suggested you learn before buying one)

3. SEE FOR YOUR SELF HOW IMAGES LOOK  If you already have a camera and you are not entirely happy with it then bring your card from your camera to other cameras and take some photos with it in the shop or wherever you are and take those pics back to your desktop to see how they look. You might find you see things you couldn't see on the small screen.

4. IF YOU ARE GIVING A GIFT...Consider giving a loaded visa or money as you will find it alot easier to support their journey to find the perfect camera for themselves then hear all about the limitations of the Camera YOU Got them! If you get a something for only one shop that really restricts them. There are lots of places to look on line which can be ship. London Drugs (Prince George)   Beau Photo( https://www.beauphoto.com/)  (  Vancouver )   The Camera Store (http://www.thecamerastore.com/ ) ( Calgary)  Vistek (https://www.vistek.ca/) ( Toronto) B&H (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/) (New York)

5. WEIGHT/SIZE OF EQUIPMENT. Are you planning to travel with these? Hike? Drive ? Have your spouse carry your equipment ( cause they are too heavy for you?) Do you need to consider a smaller point and shoot or DSLR ( want lens for or do not want to bother ). Look at other brand cameras ( ie Fuji Film) Or do you only want to expand on your current Line?

6.ACCESSORIES what do you want?  They already have a camera but you know that giving them a new ____ would be super, but what is the ___ they need? Maybe they don't know either.
That is harder. Is it to learn the camera they already have ? Or a new lens? If so which one?
Here comes that cash solution again but maybe also be creative and research a couple options out for them and make them something with ideas and give them the cash to cover it.

7. TAKE A CLASS..ok yes this is a plug for me..but there are other classes and online options out there. Be Honest. Will a new lens solve your problem..when really you aren't sure which one to get or how to use the ones you already have (or were given). Learning along side others that also find photography fabulous  ( unlike your spouse/family) is more valuable than you might think. It is a real call to action but if you REALLY want to make a wise investment learning with others could be for you.  Check out the local night classes/workshops/photo clubs and see what's for you . ( and yes check out my classes .they are small and 6 classes, not too long so  see our website for more info http://www.phughesphotography.ca/#!/PHOTOGRAPHY_Courses)