Images By Bethany Photo Shoot Review & Giveaway

Our family has done a number of photo shoots over the years with different photographers each time.  And each time we do one, I'm nervous.  Nervous that Lil J will throw a tantrum, or that Baby Z will have a crying fit, or that our pictures don't turn out the way I've envisioned them.

I always go into a photo shoot with mediocre expectations and no real vision of how I want each of us to look in the pictures - probably to avoid disappointment.  There's always those super professional looking photos of perfect GAP ad-worthy families that I see around the blogosphere or on my Facebook feed, and that's pretty much how I want our photos to turn out.  Each and every single time.

When I received an email from Bethany Schiedel, of Images by Bethany, with an opportunity to work with her, I couldn't pass it up.  Her initial email was precise and full of answers to all of my questions about how the photo shoot would work, what to wear, what to expect, and so forth.  I was already impressed by Bethany's thoroughness and attention to detail!

We met Bethany in her studio on a cool early October day for our much anticipated family photo shoot.  She instantly put us at ease and explained her vision of what she had in mind for us.  Her quaint Gastown studio is small but Bethany definitely knows how to work with it and use every inch of it to compliment every one of our shots.  The studio boasts floor to ceiling windows which bring in natural light and original hardwood floors which I loved!

After we finished discussing how our session would proceed, we started out with family shots:

Bethany also made sure to capture individual photos of the kids:

Lil J

Baby Z

Miss S

And you can't forget Mommy and Daddy!

After our studio session, we went for a short walk over to the Seawall to capture a few action shots.  Again, it was amazing to see Bethany's vision hard at work.  Her ideas seemed spontaneous but, at the same time, she was very professional and knowledgeable.  We definitely had a fun session with Bethany!

A few weeks later, my husband and I {along with a sleeping Baby Z} met with Bethany in her studio to view our edited photos.  She makes her viewing sessions personable by providing tea and a snack while showing her clients their photos via a slideshow with appropriate songs to create the extra emotional impact.

And were we ever impressed!  Bethany, being ever so talented with her craft, was able to capture the uniqueness of each person in our family.  Through her pictures, our individual personalities, character and qualities were showcased perfectly.  Needless to say, we were speechless and in absolute awe at the finished product.

{Win It!}

Bethany Schiedel of Images by Bethany is giving one of our lucky readers a chance to win a one hour session in-studio or on location, a viewing/ordering session, an online viewing gallery for three months, and an 8x10 print of your choice.  To enter, please use the Rafflecopter entry form below.  This giveaway is open to Greater Vancouver residents only and ends at 9pm PST on Tuesday, January 22, 2013.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure:  The views expressed in this post are my own and do not represent the opinions or views of Images by Bethany.  We received a complementary photo session from Images by Bethany in order to conduct this review.  Note that {swank}mama does not accept responsibility for sponsors that do not fulfill their giveaway duties.  Winner will be contacted via email and will have 48 hours to respond, otherwise, a new winner will be chosen at random.