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 Terezia: The Power Of Overcoming Depression

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

I first photographed Terezia almost 3 years ago. She needed author photos for her then upcoming book "Heart Of Love Evolution" (which is now a Bestseller). She knew exactly what she wanted but allowed me to play with that a little, which turned out into my images being front and cover of her book, so neat!

She has since become a sweet friend. Despite her struggle with depression, which she speaks openly about through her book, she is a wonderful joyful person who is not afraid to let her emotions be known. You know she IS happy to see you, not only because she says it but because all of her being smiles. She has a gorgeous big and sincere smile with a great sense of humour and a talent for chatting. Every time we see each other (which is not often considering she lives in Edmonton) we have a time constriction, but we always end up arriving late at our next commitment, because she is so fun to be around with, that you won't notice time flying by. 

A big warm hugger, Terezia came once more to me, this time for a Reveal Your True Beauty session and as always a blast and lots of belly ache laughter. She calls me her "personal photographer" and I must admit, I really like the title.

Her brother (an amazing loyal and caring brother by the way), always her close companion, best friend and confident, has been present at both her sessions. Here's what he has to say about Terezia:

"She's gregarious, outgoing. Caring and sensitive.

Intelligent. Likes intellectual games, conversation.

Enjoys gourmet food. Shy. Likes gardening and Scifi."

Terezia has come a long way. Since publishing her book she has become an Award winning author and a writer for Huffington Post, CNN and Beliefnet. If you're interested in following what she's up to, you can do so at www.tereziafarkas.com

Here is what Terezia has to say about her Reveal Your True Beauty experience:

"Second time Fela Dales had done my author photos. Drove in from out of town just so Fela would be my photographer. Her focus on revealing the inner beauty of women and young girls is inspirational. We definitely need more Fela's in our world! Thanks for an awesome time, the laughs and beautiful photos. See you a third time next year!"

7 Tips For Choosing The Right Photographer

We all love looking at photos and/or taking photos. There's a reason why all photography related apps and devices are among the favourites at all ages. Some can take amazing photos and some others think they do. Being creative is an amazing and fun activity to exercise the mind, and photography is the first choice because the result is immediate without much time consumption; though a professional fine art photographer can take hours up to days creating amazing images that surpass your imagination.

But what happens when you want state of the art images of yourself and/or family? That's when you hire a professional. The Photographer.

As you may have noticed, if you google photographers in your area, a very extensive list will appear and believe it or not, the best ones are not always the ones on top of that list; the ones with good SEO knowledge are. So how do you find the right photographer for you?

1. Browse: Yes, browsing can be exhausting but it does work better the more precise you are; you still need to invest time on this. Also consider, most photographer don't place their pricing online so you'll have to call them or email them. Most of the time, the photographer will take less than 24hrs to answer back and email or even less than 2 hours! (the beauty of small business mix with technology).

Instead of searching for "Calgary Photographer", search instead for example "beauty photographer in Calgary" or "Children photographer in Calgary". Be precise about the type of photography you're looking for and the location for it.

2. Referral: Nothing works like a charm than asking friends and family for photographers they know, or the one who took their photos. It works wonderfully if you DO like their style. This is very important. You will be investing money on this so you want to be sure you get what you want. What would the point be then if the photographer is the nicest person you've ever met but you are not keen of their style? Choose wisely and be sure you'll be completely satisfied by service and final product.

3. Style: What kind of style are you looking for? Each photographer has it's own perspective of beauty and composition and this affects the final result. If you found a portrait photographer with an amazing style but with no family gallery photos, chances are he/she will still deliver your family photos with the plus of the style you liked. All you have to do is ask. Also consider consistency and chronology in their style. Galleries are usually organized from newest to oldest; do you see improvement in their style from their first to their newest? or does it look more like some of the photos came out good by chance? 

4. Price: We all like good deals on photographers, and websites like Kijiji or Deals websites like Living Social can provide you with such things. I've seen photographers on Kijiji looking to work for free or pennies to build their portfolio and I've had many people approaching me with complains about them. The problem ladies and gentleman, is not the photographer. You can be surprised to see that one of these can actually be a good photographer that honestly wants to build their portfolio and needs subjects, but these are like a needle in the hay stack or like winning the lottery--mere chance. The problem resides in lack of research. Don't jump right on it because it's free or cheap. Always consider their style (as mentioned above). Something else to consider is that if you pay good money for your photos, you will be able to hold the photographer accountable for what they deliver and you can avoid hiccups on the way because it's a PAID service, specially if your photographer is the famous "Uncle Bob" were you also put at risk your relationship with him/her if all goes wrong. ALWAYS RESEARCH. If they are building their portfolio chances are they must have at least 3-5 images that will give you an idea of what they can deliver.

5. Time: Time is of essence for everybody. Consider when do you want your photos done. Is there a special occasion you need them for? Even if the date is still far, don't hesitate on booking asap the photographer. Spring/Summer get filled fast for family sessions and weddings and Fall/Winter get filled fast for Holiday themed sessions and weddings as well. So keep this into account depending on what the photographer specializes in so that you can have your session done close to the date you want. 

Also consider what is the delivery time frame. Photographers can take from 1 week up to months to deliver the final product after your session. This can be caused by many reasons: the amount of postproduction work for your session (usually weddings take a long time vs. family sessions), high/low season for your photographer or plain disorganization (always hoping is not the latter). When contacting a photographer, ask if they can do your session at a specific date and how long will it take him/her to deliver the final product. This is planning ahead. 

6. Safety: Going back to number 4 above (See Price) for the case of the randomly picked/unknown and inexperienced photographer looking to build their portfolio, if they insist they have nothing to show you of their previous work then ask yourself why. I prefer to err on the side of prevention and walk away from it, SPECIALLY if you're looking for Boudoir /risqué photos. If they haven't done at least a photo of a friend or family member to build their work or practice then is someone I wouldn't want to go with. Better safe than sorry but if you're still going for it, bring someone with you. 

7. Meet them first: If it's the first time you'll work with your chosen photographer, is best to meet with them first at a public place to get to know them. This also makes a big difference on the final result of your photos because you'll know them by the session date, they can suggest ideas or tips for best results and you'll feel more comfortable with her/him which reflects in the final image.

Feel free to share in the comments any other tips I might have missed or experiences good or bad that you have had and how any of these tips would have helped.

Bye for now!

FELA

Beginnings

Just moved to a new city I have to discover. I always wanted to do it, curiosity wouldn’t leave me alone. I like discovering, learning new things about me and my surroundings. Still, everything in this city seems so strange and detached though. Am I suppose to start calling it home? Such a strong word for an unknown place like this one. I’ll wait and see if this city grows on me.

The air is good here. After living in a polluted city for so long, fresh air seems unreal and light weighted; filling but barely there. Ah! Plenty of sunlight. There’s no better gift you could give a photographer; generous amounts of sunlight to play with. Us, the sunlight masters; sounds more magical than it is but I like to think of it that way.

“Alef Seladi, Permanent Resident”. I had to go all the way didn’t I? Why not just a visitor’s visa to see if I like it here first?  I thought it tedious to go through all the bureaucratic paper work again, might just do it all once. I hope I didn’t make a bad decision but I can’t afford to go anywhere else anymore so I must make the best out of this. No turning back now for nothing or no one (no one? Who am I kidding?).

My best friend is here with me, safe in his cozy bag; my gorgeous 5D camera which I bought many years ago with saved money. I worked so hard to get it! And is now here next to me, my only companion, the extension of my eye, immortalizer of my views. This city is screaming to be discovered by me and my friend; to be photographed, to be called home. I think I’ll like it here.