NEW YEAR - NEW YOU - NEW OFFER!

Get slim and save $90!

How many times have you said, I'll organise a family portrait when I've lost a few more pounds?! 
Well, we'd like to give you an incentive to lose some weight and get some great family portraits at the same time!
For a limited time, we are offering a great deal - for just $50 we will create a wonderful portrait of that slimmer you! 

You will have a beautiful hand retouched 5x7 print plus a portrait shoot (value $140) and you can even bring the family and do a full family portrait session! 

Make an appointment today for your 'before' shot, or take it yourself and book your shoot for anytime before April 30th.  What a great incentive!

To book, simply call us at the studio on 519 886 1313 or email info@artandsoulcanada.com and mention 'New Year - New You' offer! 

Christmas Greetings to one and all!

Element Dance Arts - Cambridge’s Newest Prestigious Dance Studio

Wow! At last we can share the hopes and dreams of one of our favourite clients.

Last year we showcased the wedding of Larry and Michele Smith, a livewire couple who took wedding day fun to a whole different level.  This year, Michele asked us to get involved in the photography of a fantastic new project, the creation of her lifetime ambition, her own Dance studio in Cambridge, Ontario.

A few weeks ago we opened our studio to Michele, Stephanie (her talented sister), her friend Cat and a whole team of dancers and little girls of all ages. As well as Larry who came along as moral support and whatever he could lend a hand to. The idea was to capture the talent of Michele and a flavour for the many dance styles available for the promotion and website of Element Dance Arts Inc, Cambridge’s fantastic new dance studio. The girls were amazing!

Of course, for professional reasons, Michele was keeping the project under wraps.  Today we are happy to say that Michele has announced the opening of her new dance studio as of July 2011. Available immediately will be summer camps and a few open classes as well as a full season which will be underway starting in September.




When Michele told me about her new Dance Studio building I was blown away. She's starting a new business life in a brand new property with three large studio spaces, each with professionally sprung dance floors, spacious mirrors, high ceilings, and impressive sound systems.

Way to go Michele!

Michele’ s dance credentials are pretty impressive but you only have to hang around her for 10 minutes to know that it’s her bubbly personality and positive attitude that going to make this new business fly.

You can check out Michele’s website complete with our photographs of course at http://www.elementdancearts.com/

Good Luck Michele!

A Canadian Legend - Roberto Alomar at Art and Soul Studio for KR3

Although we didn't arrive on the last banana boat and are careful to add "eh" after every sentence, some events in life just serve to remind us that we didn't grow up in Canada.  In fact we often smile and tell other Canadians that living here is like coming in half way through a movie. We know the story line from when ...we joined, but every day a little bit of the plot is revealed.

This works fine if nobody leaves the movie before we arrive. I believe this is the reason it took a bit of time and discussion to realise that on Tuesday morning we were comissioned to photograph a Canadian legend, Roberto Alomar.

Of course we had put in the usual 200% into the planning and preparation of the shots which we had discussed with the client (KR3, one of Canada's top baseball bat manufacturers) in detail beforehand and we had dozens of great ideas with a limited time to try the best of them.

As you may know, we are no strangers to photographing celebrities and are blessed to have never dealt with the difficult ones. Robbie was no exception. His willingness to help in the shoot and even try his own ideas made it a dream gig. A real professional. He even made time to sign autographs and be photographed with us after the shoot.

Robbie tells us that he is to be inducted into the baseball hall of fame this year. We wish him every success.
 

Asters and Goldenrod - First Birthday Portrait for Cohen

I guess that as adults we forget that kids see the world as a different place. But when you photograph kids for a living you get to go back down there again and see how beautiful the world is at a level you forgot all about.

Our favourite field had suddenly come alive with beautiful fall Asters and Goldenrod so when Gran Maggie and Mom Stephanie brought Cohen in to celebrate his first birthday we knew just the place to go. It’s become a bit of a family tradition to photograph the kids at this age. Sister Mia who is now 5 had her photos done at just the same age so Stephanie and Maggie were keen to make sure Cohen didn’t miss out.

What a fun afternoon. We got the most enjoyment watching Mia picking the flowers in the field and looking after Cohen while Cohen was just as content sitting watching the grasses blowing in the wind. The world must be a wonderful place when you’re a 1 year old.

Just for a bit of variety we took some shots down by the river and in our Cambridge studio and it was in the studio that Mia really came into her own. She jumped and danced making our job so easy. But she never forgot it was Cohen’s day and she sat patiently by while Cohen was dressed in a cute little miniature hockey outfit.

The kids worked so well together it was a real pleasure. I guess to Cohen it was just another exciting day but now he has some amazing images which the family can share with him to help remember the days when he saw the world from a very different angle

If it’s top secret, why is it on the blog?

We’re not even telling the names of these 5 fun girls.

Suffice to say that they decided to get together to award a very special guy with a great selection of images from their recent shoot. Of course we know who this man and no, he’s not a gigolo. Just a great dad and husband.

We immediately decided we would wait till after “Gift Day” to tell this story. But the girls wouldn’t hear of it. “He doesn’t have a Facebook account” they say and “He doesn’t subscribe to your blog either”. The first we can understand but in the second we say he doesn’t know what he is missing! LOL

OK girls, be it on your own head. Oh and thanks for the fun evening. It was the best!

It's Never Too Late To Make Mother's Day

I bumped into Ed Carrington looking for a last minute Mother’s Day gift for his wife Jazzmine. He saw our gallery in Conestoga Mall and decided to purchase a certificate for a family portrait session.

But Ed is in construction management and it's summer so squeezing in time for a shoot proved more difficult than he thought. Still, the best things in life are worth waiting for, right?

Mother's Day eventually came to be just a few weeks ago when Ed and Jazz came in to see their portrait presentation. They loved their shoot and so they should, as all the planning really paid off - coordinating work, sleep and feeding schedules! 

It’s always difficult choosing which prints to put up on the blog and this little family made things doubly difficult.  They make a real handsome couple do Jazz and Ed, but the icing on the cake was their two gorgeous children Marabella and Madalena.  

Every season brings different light and backgrounds in the landscape around our studio on the banks of the Eramosa river.  An enchanting meadow near our studio came to life with beautiful blue flowers and made an amazing setting for some close family shots. This also gave us an extra location for what was already a very varied shoot. Next day it was mowed down but it was great while it lasted.

Ed and Jazzmine now have some great images to remind them of a beautiful summer morning in 2010 and we have the memories of a great experience with their amazing kids.