Revealing Kada: The True Beauty Of A Makeup Artist

Hair and Makeup by Kada from Bombay Beauty Loft. Clothes by Studio Intent Boutique

If you have been in front of my lens, you have met Kada. She is the talented lady who does all my clients hair and makeup. Why do I love her? Well, let's begin with the fact that she's easy to love. Not only is she a great professional in her area who always understand what I want her to do (I love how good she is at cleaning the skin on site, she has saved me lots of editing hours that have helped me to deliver your photos very quick. Win for all!) but above all, she is such a sweetheart; always supporting what I do, encouraging me to keep doing what I do and a lady full of kindness and generosity towards our clients, her staff and just everyone around her. Their is a reason why Pritma, her business partner calls her "my business wife".

If you have been in front of my lens, you have enjoyed at least an hour of good conversation with her, laughing and feeling at ease in trusted hands. You have been impressed at how strong the makeup feels at the moment but in awe at how natural it looks in photos and specially, how you still look like yourself. Yes, I REALLY love Kada's work. And as a friend, she is as awesome too.

So what do I see as her true beauty? Her selflessness. Her willing to give her all in everything she does and do it well. Her ability to engage with everyone she talks to and the gentleness of her manners. She is kind and bold enough to say what's on her mind but always with respect. She's also humble enough to laugh at her own mistakes and rejoices as much as you when something good happens to you.

Also, even though she won't admit to it, she is hot. But I don't think I have to tell you this, because you can see it. And now she does too.

Do you know Kada? Share with her on the comments below what you think of her true colours. Words of appreciation are more powerful than you think!

Revealing Lana: Passion For Other People

Hair and Makeup by Kada from Bombay Beauty Loft. Clothes from Studio Intent

Lana is a fun enthusiastic lady who fell in love with the concept behind Reveal Your True Beauty from the moment we talked. She is passionate about entrepreneurship but specially keen of entrepreneurship with a social mission. So is no surprise that she works behind the scenes of REAP Calgary and Kensington Village supporting everything local and/or sustainable.

I have to admit I enjoyed how awkward she felt at the beginning of her session because she made it fun. She would laugh about herself and joked about it and tried hard to focus to no avail but then the awkwardness disappeared and I was able to capture all of her awesome personality, specially her "daydreaming" (as seen above). I personally love it because you know she's processing, thinking, solving and creating ideas on those moments. Moments in which her eyes start drifting into oblivion as you are talking to her, and then all of a sudden she wakes up and tells you all about it with excitement. It's always fun and great doing creative pow wows with her.

As better described by one of her friends:

"Lana is a compassionate, enthusiastic person with great passion for other people".

In her own words:

"I would recommend this experience to other people because I think it's something we don't consider to do for ourselves... You get to keep these beautiful photos for many years... It reminds yourself how beautiful you are".

Want to know more about Lana's story? Check her video interview HERE

Revealing Nash: The True Beauty Of A TV Host

The first time I met Nash, she took over my photo booth installation at the CAPD Fundraiser Gala event to interview the organizers for her show (inside joke).

The second time was at Sustainable Style YYC where I recognized her and help her find her way through the event. We exchange cards and we soon were meeting over coffee and talking like a pair of "wet parrots" who needed to catch up on each other's lives and dreams as if we had found each other after a long separation.

As described by her husband, Nash is:

"smart, strong independent and tenacious, loving mother and wife. Great spirit and tender heart". 

When we talked about what Reveal Your True Beauty is about, she immediately fell in love with it and asked me if she could film us for her TV Show the next time we had a session. My answer was: 

"I don't think you'll get the grasp of what Reveal Your True Beauty REALLY, truly is, by filming someone else's session. YOU HAVE TO LIVE IT TO FEEL IT. What about we film Your session instead?"

She hesitated and got nervous but immediately shook herself out of it, puffed her chest and said with a nervous laugh: "Ok. Let's do this. I'm so nervous already!"

With the help of her faithful, professional and perfectionist videographer, Mauricio, from Amaca Productions, we began the little adventure of filming everything from beginning to end for her TV Show Conectate con Nash for OmniTV. 

The Result: A fun episode where you can experience through Nash's shoes a Reveal Your True Beauty Session, which you can watch below. Though must of it is in Spanish, english is spoken in some parts of it and language doesn't really affect the viewing experience but rather give you a better insight of it all, in case you were wondering of course (which I hope you were!).

NASH, FELA PHOTOGRAPHY REVELA TU VERDADERA BELLEZA from AMACA PRODUCTIONS on Vimeo.


In Nash's words, the experience was:

"I have to share my wonderful experience with Fela Photography in this great project 'Reveal your true beauty'. Such an amazing way to help people feel like a super star! Since I had this experience I felt comfortable to wear different lipstick colors, try new fabrics and I learned about myself,;I recommend this experience :) thank you girls, you have a great project and a wonderful team!"

If you know Nash, share with us why you think she's a truly beautiful woman in the comments section below. Let her know how amazing she is in your eyes. Words of affirmation can go a long way.

Revealing Chantal: The True Beauty Of A Small Business Owner

Hair And Makeup by Kada Issa from Bombay Beauty Loft, Fashion Styling by Studio Intent Boutique

Chantal Barchard. I'm sure many of you know her. She's the amazing lady behind Studio Intent Boutique. Yes, the same one that styles all the amazing ladies that have been in front of my camera so far. It was about time we revealed her true beauty too, right?

She is indeed an amazing woman; kind, generous, poise, always looking amazing and elegant in everything she does and one of my favourite things, she stands to her word. You can trust that she'll do as she says (I love that because I'm the same and feels sometimes like is hard to find that nowadays); very trustworthy. She's been such a big supporter of Reveal Your True Beauty! And I want to share with you the story:

I've been a photographer for 10 years now; ten years! Makes me feel old hahaha! And I began my photography business in Canada in 2011. But it was this year that I pushed the reset button for my business and started putting all my attention on my new baby: the Reveal Your True Beauty Project. I needed to spread the word to all women in Calgary, but how? So an idea came to mind; reach out to local boutiques and give them 5 sessions to gift their clients, free of charge. Only 3 would get this offer. The intention was to help them market themselves, increase sales, and spreading the word of what I do would tag along. My "sample" work were pictures of my mom and a close friend. I had an impeccable presentation and my fashion portfolio to show as well. Of all the boutiques I reached out to (and it was a lot of boutiques), only Chantal agreed to meet with me and she understood the concept, the passion behind it and the opportunity of giving something special and meaningful to 5 of her clients. The rest, as you can see, is history. 

I find it very interesting how someone's decision can create a ripple effect. Have you been aware of it in your life? Have you noticed that word, that drop that falls out of your mouth or others and transforms your life... or others'? Isn't that amazing??

I'm grateful beyond words for getting to know her and sharing in the adventures this year have brought, but specially for those seconds when she said "Yes" to my project. I support her work too, because it is made with great intention behind, just like the name of her boutique and with a passionate heart for what she does; you can feel it as you walk in her store. As all our clients have experienced, and I'm sure you agree, going to her boutique is like walking inside your dream closet and play dress up. Picture it. That's how fun it is!

So thank you Chantal for putting your trust in me but most of all for how amazing and awesome you are. There's definitely not two like you; I'm happy you are part of my life now. A truly beautiful person on the inside and outside.

Have you met Chantal? Share her awesomeness on the comments; it's a great opportunity for you to celebrate her too!

Being Grateful: An Open Letter To A Group Of Amazing Women

So far, this has been a year of changes. As I announced at the beginning of the year through my mailing list and my social media networks, I made the decision of revamping my business to focus on something I'm passionate about, to make my photography, my skills, more than just taking photos but leaving a mark, being able to influence my subjects by helping them see the beauty within each one of them. Everything has been about using my talent to do good, one person at a time.

Well, I have been blessed with an amazing, beautiful group of women who understand my vision and dream, who see the potential and who decided to help pull the cart too. I'm overwhelmed with affection for you. I'm not good at expressing my feelings in front of people (I'm actually quite shy when it comes to that), so I'm writing this for each one of you today. It comes from the bottom of my heart.

Kada: You were the first person I called to talk about the Reveal Your True Beauty Concept. I wanted one of the best on board to do hair and makeup. Not only because of your skills but because of your character. You are a very sweet soul Kada; I love how diplomatic you can be but always with gentleness. I love that we can talk about anything and everything at the same time and be bubbly together. 

I came to you humbled and with honesty and I confess, I was nervous. I was nervous because I was afraid you would say no, because I was talking to you about something very close to my heart and that made me feel vulnerable. But you embraced the idea with excitement and a vision too. You helped me when I had nothing to show you or give you in return for your support but just an idea in my head. Thank you so much for placing your trust in me.

Chantal: You know this already; You were the first (and so far only) boutique owner in the city who saw the value of the Reveal Your True Beauty concept. When so many said no, you said YES! But what I value the most is that it gave me the opportunity to know you and our relationship extended further than just the project for your boutique. Chantal, you are a very gentle and generous lady, someone on whom I see wisdom and who understands the value of words. I trust you fully. I'm grateful for your thoughtfulness in providing me with ideas and tools to grow my business constantly. I hope you know that I'm here for you in anything you need. You just have to say it. 

Lana: I'm so grateful for your generosity and positive attitude! I love how excited you are about the RYTB concept, specially that you like to dream big, like me. You saw the potential and jumped in without hesitation. I love it when we throw ideas and your eyes start sparkling with excitement (yes they do!), it's so awesome to see you enjoy what you do so much. Even though what you do is mostly behind the curtains, it means a lot to the team, and it means a lot to me. I'm so happy to be able to come to you with an idea I have and you are honest about it and help me tweak it if necessary. I value a lot what you have to say and how approachable and awesome you are.

Pritma: Even though you got officially involved very recently with the RYTB concept, I am grateful for you. I'm grateful because you have been there from the beginning, behind Kada, kind of in the shadows, allowing me to setup my mini studio at Bombay Beauty Loft and supporting the concept. It made me happy to see you step out of the shadows and get involved. You are a very business oriented person with a lot of experience and I appreciate everything you bring to the table. I'm not as experienced in the business world as you are; in fact, I'm the youngest of the whole team when it comes to business experience, but I'm grateful that I get the opportunity to learn from you. You are a very structured and focused lady which pushes me to step up and deliver the same to keep up with the game; it keeps my focus sharp which is highly needed to achieve the success we want and I'm confident that with you involved to "tight the screws" when we need it, we'll get there soon.

It is with excitement that I welcome every opportunity I get to see each one of you, because being around you motivates me to keep going and keep growing as a person and in my business. It's an amazing thing to be around like-minded, inspiring people who bring their best to everything they do. I know each person that discovers their true beauty through my photos is a collective achievement because each one of you have started paving the road with love and encouragement in them; when they are finally in front of me, I see the path you guys have built almost done and I'm just putting the final touches, the flashing sign that says "This Way". 

With all my heart, THANK YOU. Can't wait to see what the future hold with all of you in it!

FELA