When people hear the words portrait photography, they often picture something fairly traditional. Sit here. Look at the camera. Smile. Maybe something you'll give Grandma for Christmas. Perfectly nice. Also… not the only option.
A portrait can absolutely be a beautiful photograph of you smiling at the camera. But it can also be bold, quiet, dramatic, colourful, slightly strange, beautifully simple or completely unexpected. Because really, a portrait isn't just about what you look like. It's about you.
Portraits Don't Have to Fit a Formula
One of the things we love about portrait photography is that there isn't one correct way to do it. Some people want something classic and polished. Some want photographs that feel relaxed and natural. Others walk into the studio wanting colour, unusual lighting, dramatic shadows or something that feels much more creative. And some have absolutely no idea what they want.
That's okay too. You don't need to arrive at the studio with a Pinterest board, a carefully developed concept and seventeen outfit changes. That's part of our job. We'll talk about what you're drawn to, what you definitely *aren't* drawn to, how you'd like to be photographed and what you'd actually like to do with the photographs afterwards. Then we build from there.
A Portrait Isn't Just a Bigger Headshot
A headshot generally has a specific job to do. It needs to show what you look like clearly and professionally, usually for work, business or another particular purpose. A portrait has considerably more freedom.
It can be about personality, relationships, a particular moment in your life — or simply creating something you love. There's room to experiment. To make it personal. To create something that doesn't necessarily need to *do* anything other than be a photograph you're really glad exists.
You Don't Need a Reason to Have Your Portrait Taken
This might be our favourite bit! Somewhere along the way, we've developed the idea that professional photographs need an occasion attached to them. Graduation. Engagement. Anniversary. New baby. New job. Significant birthday. All perfectly good reasons. But "I'd really like some great photographs of myself" is also a perfectly good reason.
You don't have to be celebrating anything. You don't have to have reached a particular weight, grown your hair, lost your hair, found the perfect outfit or finally become comfortable in front of a camera. And you definitely don't need to wait until you feel photogenic. Whatever that means.
"But I'm Awkward in Photos"
Welcome to a very large club. Most people we photograph aren't professional models. They don't instinctively know where to put their hands, which way to turn or what on earth they're supposed to do with their face when somebody points a camera at them. We don't expect them to.
Good portrait photography isn't about leaving someone in front of a backdrop and hoping they'll magically know what to do. It's directed. Hayley works with posing, body position, expression, lighting and movement throughout the session. Sometimes the smallest adjustment — a shoulder, a chin, where you're looking — completely changes a photograph. Your job is essentially to show up. We'll deal with the rest.
A Portrait Can Show More Than One Side of You
This is where studio portrait photography gets particularly interesting. Change the lighting and the entire mood changes. Change the background and it changes again. Add colour, move the light, create a harder shadow or simplify everything down to almost nothing. Suddenly the same person can be photographed in completely different ways without any of those photographs feeling false. Because none of us is only one thing.
You can be professional and playful. Quiet and confident. Elegant and slightly ridiculous. And frankly, slightly ridiculous can make a very good photograph.
The Studio Gives Us Room to Play
Having our own photography studio in Willoughby, Langley means we're not dependent on the weather behaving itself — always a questionable strategy in BC. More importantly, it gives us control. We can control the light, backgrounds, colour and atmosphere. We can keep things clean and simple or start experimenting. Our studio gives us the flexibility to create completely different looks within the same space — from bright and polished to colourful, dramatic or something a little less expected. That's part of what makes the space fun.
Portraits of One Person — or the People Who Matter to You
Portrait photography doesn't have to mean coming in alone either. Sometimes the photograph is about one person. Sometimes it's about a couple, siblings, parents and their grown children, a family or several generations together. Those photographs become particularly valuable because life has an irritating habit of moving rather quickly.
People change. Kids grow. Families change shape. Hairstyles improve — usually. A good family portrait doesn't need everyone lined up in matching shirts grinning obediently at the camera. We'd much rather create something that actually feels like the people in it.
Your Photographs Should Look Like You — Not Everybody Else
There are photography trends just like everything else. Certain colours become popular. Certain poses appear everywhere. Editing styles come and go. We'd rather start with the person standing in front of the camera.
That's one of the reasons our portrait sessions aren't designed around reproducing exactly the same collection of photographs for every client. We want consistency in the quality of the work. Not sameness. If your photographs could belong to absolutely anybody, we've probably missed the point.
Maybe It's Time to Exist in the Photographs
Most of us have thousands of photographs on our phones. The dog. Dinners (lots of dinners!). Vacations. Children. Friends. A suspicious number of screenshots we apparently thought we'd need again someday.
But when was the last time you had a photograph of yourself that you genuinely loved? Not a selfie. Not a photograph where you happened to be standing at the edge of somebody else's picture. Not one you've tolerated because everyone else looked good. An actual portrait of you.
You don't need a milestone. You don't need an excuse. And you certainly don't need to wait until some imaginary future version of yourself appears.
The one who's lost the weight. Got fitter. Fixed their teeth. Grown their hair. Found more confidence. Finally learned what to do in front of a camera. That person keeps moving the goalposts. You can have photographs of the person you are now. You can just decide you'd like to be photographed. We think that's reason enough.
So, Ready for a Portrait?
Not Normal Photography creates distinctive portrait photography in Langley, BC, for individuals, couples and families from our studio in Willoughby, conveniently located at 80th Ave and 206th St.
Our Portrait Experience is designed for people who want something more personal than a quick photo session — with professional direction, creative lighting and portraits made intentionally around the people in them. See our Portrait Experience or get in touch to start planning your session.
