Joel Yana Photography

High Key Imagery – Calgary Studio Photographer

Joel — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 03:19:33 +0000

Here’s a triptych (3 image composite) of images from my recent shoot with model Amira. I love shooting high-key setups for their simplicity and clean look!

Aidan – Calgary Children’s Photographer

Joel — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 20:19:24 +0000

That feeling when the rain clouds give way to blue skies and sunshine – that’s how I feel when my oldest son cooperates in the studio! I’ll love him forever even though 99.99999% of the time he’ll never sit still for even one frame. But on the day this frame was taken he actually listened to me! Miracles DO happen! Here’s an image that put a smile on my face that was even bigger than his.

My next challenge? His little brother! Cheers.

Amira Sneak Peek – Calgary Studio Photographer

Joel — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 03:24:09 +0000

I recently had the opportunity to shoot a creative with actress and dancer Amira. We took advantage of a break in her hectic schedule (she wrapped up filming for a movie, completed a commercial shoot for Tourism BC, volunteers with the elderly, and always seems to be dancing!) and shot a variety of looks which will be the subject of a future post. She’s got a very unique look and is such a versatile model! Here’s a sneak peek from our shoot. High key studio setup for a nice clean and crisp look. Cheers.

Veterinary Students Have More Fun! – Photobooth

Joel — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 21:49:02 +0000

A short while back I received a call from Alissa, a veterinary student at the University of Calgary. She was referred to me by one of my old high school friends, Dr. Tom Leboldus. Tom also happens to be one of the owners of Woodlands Veterinary Hospital and Animal Dental Centre which is a great facility if you are looking for quality animal health care. Alissa was organizing “Vetball” which was meant to be an informal grad of sorts for the Calgary Association of Veterinary Students (CAVS) third year class who would be heading off into the real world for their final year. Alissa hired my studio to set up a photobooth and to provide coverage of the evenings events.

The evening was filled with viewings of various CAVS students’ video contest entries (there were some truly hilarious videos!) and some great humour by the two co-MC’s. There were many finely dressed DVM’s in-training, and some individuals that were both uniquely dressed and well dressed! Throughout the night the co-MC’s handed out many awards and it was clearly evident that CAVS was quite a close-knit group.

Here’s a photobooth frame of some of the many awardees. I’ll update this blog post hopefully later tonight with a link to the rest of the booth images. Alissa and her crew did a great job in organizing a fun evening for her fellow students.

Special thanks to Natalie for assisting me with setup/takedown and for second shooting the event. What a fun night! Cheers.

UPDATE: CAVS members – the rest of the booth images are online. To access them:

Visit my Facebook page here (and click the “Like” button on your way in!).
Once you’ve entered my Facebook page, click on the “VetBall Photobooth – Calgary Association of Veterinary Students” photo album. From there CAVS Vetball guests are free to tag themselves, share the image, or post it to their own profiles as long they keep the original image intact (no cropping or alternations).
Laugh, giggle, and enjoy the images!

Happy New Year! – Calgary Family Photographer

Joel — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 03:34:31 +0000

Happy New Year! 2012 is here and Calgary continues to be greeted with mild temperature. Here’s an image from my first shoot of the year. Fittingly, it’s an image of one of my favourite couples: Meaghan’s folks. They are heading home after a great Christmas visit in Calgary, so I thought I’d take advantage of the great weather and shoot some images for them in Fish Creek Park.

They’ve been together for 45 years and still going strong. It just goes to show you that when you commit to a life journey together, every year brings more memories and new beginnings. Cheers.

Merry Christmas! – Calgary Lifestyle & Wedding Photographer

Joel — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 18:30:50 +0000

If your household was anything like mine earlier this morning, it was filled with the sound of kids waking early (wayyyy too early!), chomping at the bit to get at the presents under the Christmas tree. Now that the morning mayhem has subsided, I thought I’d post up a few images from yesterday evening’s get together. It was our second annual Christmas Eve family fondue, steak and prawn fest, and this time I thought I’d spice things up with a family photobooth and even my sons, my nephew and my niece joined in the fun!

The stars of the show were my Dad and my father-in-law. My father-in-law quickly embraced the spirit of the photobooth and created some truly outstanding looks (and gestures!) that had us in stitches. I put together a slideshow later in the evening and we all had a great laugh.

I liked the idea of the photobooth because it gets everyone to loosen up and have fun. With all of the running around and stress that everyone seems to carry during the build-up to Christmas, I think it’s important to remember that Christmas isn’t really about presents and having everything perfect and “just so” – it’s about getting together with family and close friends and appreciating the great people, the fantastic experiences and the valuable life lessons that have blessed our life journeys.

Merry Christmas, and I hope you and your family enjoy a memory filled 2012. I’ll leave you with a just a few of our crazy family’s photobooth pics. As for me, I’m resting up for another family get-together, this time at my brother’s place. Turkey anyone? Cheers.

Absolute Dance – Calgary Commercial Photographer

Joel — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 18:27:59 +0000

I’m a bit behind in blogging – I was in New York City for a fantastic family wedding with my wife and two sons. It was nice to be a wedding guest for once not be behind a camera at a wedding for once!) It was an adventure for sure – Manhattan got hit with their first snowstorm of the winter while we were there!!!

Now that I’m back in town, there will be more posts to come very soon. Stay tuned!

Before our trip I shot some new website and promotional content for Absolute Dance. Absolute Dance is located in NW Calgary and offers fantastic dance and fitness classes for children as young as 3 years old as well as offerings for adults! Here are a couple frames from that shoot.

Autumn Weddings…and Giggles – Calgary Wedding Photographer

Joel — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 18:37:22 +0000

Enter Luc swooping in for a kiss. Cue Jacquie giggling.

Here’s a frame from yesterday’s giggle session er, um, I mean wedding. Cheers!

Why I do It – Calgary Wedding Photographer

Joel — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 19:21:28 +0000

I’m gearing up for another wedding shoot tomorrow. It might be the last one before autumn gives way to winter!

And as I was going through my checklist, charging batteries, cleaning my lenses, and everything else that goes in to prepping for a shoot, I asked myself what I love most about documenting a wedding day.

I came back to this image of Isabel. Her first time seeing Colin in his tux. I realized that I was able to document her honest display of emotion. And in that moment she is realizing that this has become one of the happiest days of her life.

That’s why I shoot weddings. Cheers.

Environmental Portraits – Calgary Photographer

Joel — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 03:34:47 +0000

Yesterday I attended a full day lighting workshop offered by talented Crossfield photographer Kurtis Kristianson, owner of Spindrift Photography. As photographers, we constantly strive to better our technical and artistic skills, and Kurtis’ workshop proved to be a worthwhile investment in lighting know-how and hands on instruction. We spent a few hours in the classroom, and then Kurtis took the workshop participants outdoors for some instruction in the field, and finally he turned us loose to create our own setups.

Thank you, Kurtis, for a great day of learning! Here are a couple creations from the day. Cheers.