ashley skjaveland | photographer bio picture

Welcome~

This is my online journal {aka blog}.  This is the place to come for current news, recent sessions and occasional ramblings!  My name is Ashley Skjaveland and I am a Central Alberta fine art photographer.  My main subjects are newborn babies and their beautiful Mommies .  Please feel free to scroll down to browse the images and posts, both old and new.  My goal is to update the blog as often as possible with new goodness, so bookmark this page and come on back!  Please also know that comments are truly welcome and always appreciated.

If you have the chance, please be sure to also check out my main site to browse my image galleries and to find more detailed session information.  The main web site can be found by following this link :: ashley skjaveland photography.  Please enjoy!



brand new ~

Hello!  Sorry I haven’t been around much.  I have been super busy meeting some amazing, brand new babies and their fantastic families.  I am also getting to the point where I will need to start getting ready for our new peanut to arrive.  I have been so busy that I haven’t even thought about getting her new room ready, never mind finding the time to start!  September is sneaking up fast too!

*Current Availability & Maternity Leave*

Session availability is *extremely limited* now, with only a single date left for a full session between now and when my babe arrives.  I have also had an awesome response to the Pure & Simple mini sessions for July!  I only have two spots left specifically for mini sessions so if you were holding off, don’t hold out much longer!  (I may decide to make these mini sessions a regular event in the future, if the continued interest is there.  If you would like to see mini sessions offered again, drop me a line and let me know!)

Now to answer a question I am being asked a lot - yes, after my baby arrives I do plan on taking *very limited* sessions dates!  I have begun booking these limited dates starting October 2009 and beyond, so please do not wait.  If you are in your second trimester or farther along and have decided that I am the photographer for you, please give me a shout.  I anticipate the remainder of my 2009 schedule to continue to book  very quickly.  To avoid disappointment, I truly encourage you to secure your session early!

I will leave you with some images of a handsome lil’ man I had the pleasure of photographing a couple weeks ago!  (Yes, I am behind in blogging - hahaha!  I will attempt to catch up over the next couple days if I can.)

I am a mushy sap for the details of a newborn baby.  Subtle details.  The ones that a mother notices and stares in awe at when she looks at her new little wonder.  The details that fade and change.  The details you try so hard to remember so you can appreciate them again.  I love those details.  I capture those details because they fill my heart and make me happy.

red deer newborn photography

red deer newborn photography

red deer newborn photography

Love Ashley ~

christine - wow, these are so breathtakingly beautiful!! :) love them all!

corey civetta - These are absolutely stunning! Love your work!

melissa deakin - oh my goodness. these are absolutely amazing. incredible. you are so talented!

jaime - what an angel! i love the up close and the feel you got with them! gorgeous work and get your own self ready for that peanut!

Morgan Chapman - As always, these are gorgeous. Love love love the cuddled up cocoon shot, and the tiny little toes.

stacey woods - these are amazing, ashley. looove the macro shot of the piggies.

Carmen - Beautiful as always Ashley! So excited for you!

pure & simple ~

newborn baby photography

baby ~

This little girlie was such a good, sweet model for me!  I loved getting to meet her and her lovely parents recently at the studio for her newborn session.

I totally love these images individually.  I think they are both so precious and highlight what a little button she is.  I also can’t help but love seeing these two images side by side.  The darker black and white on one and the greenish/chartreuse on the other makes for a delicious color combo!

newborn photography red deer

Love Ashley ~

jaime - OMG! these are fabulous! i love the color and it completely accents the other! you wrap those angels so well! absolutely fantastic!

renee hindman - Wow! I LOVE these images. Amazing job!

Michele Dyson - WOW girl! These two images...well, I am speechless, and trust me that RARELY happens! I am a huge fan of Carrie Sandoval & Brittany Woodall's for babe photography, but the image on the left is my new all-time favourite newborn image. It is truly incredible. You have such a style....so clean and pure and simple. LOVELY!

Tracy Holmes - Simply beautiful.

andrea - two of my all time favourites of yours girl. extraordinary.

sylvia - beautiful!!

Lana Bell - simply so beautiful, gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous!!

Connie Pruden - Love her, my little "Sweet P'. Perfect!

Megan - They are oh so gorgeous! The greenish one is my favourite, she looks so sweet.

shannon - just beautiful!!

Kristen Cook - Oh ASHLEY... seriously, these are breathtakingly beautiful. I am speechless!

maternity ~

I am so grateful to be chosen to capture such amazing moments for my clients.  I love that through my vision, my heart and my camera that I am given a chance to bottle a moment .. to capture a feeling.  I have a chance to give something to my clients that will last.  Something with heart and meaning that they can pass to their children .. their grandchildren.

Thank you.  A million times thank you.

red deer maternity photography

Happy Sunday Everyone!

Ashley ~

Jessica - Beyond beautiful, Ashley--the words and the images:).

Amanda Keeping - Breathtaking!

Danna - just gorgeous Ash!

newly born ~

I am busy as a bee working away and editing a number of sessions.  I thought I would stop by quick to post a couple that I am working on.  This little peanut was such a good girlie and had an  awesome head of hair!  She was a breach baby and felt comfy as can be folded up with her legs by her sweet little head!

red deer newborn photography

red deer newborn photography

b3

Each of these sweet new people just amaze me.  They are pure beauty.

Love Ashley ~

fiona andersen - Gorgeous!!!! Just gorgeous

Kelly - Awesome!

johnwaire | photo - wow...those are some long legs. great shots ashley.

grad 2009 ~

Hello friends!

I am head over heels in love with what I get to do in life.  I am in a creative field and have an artists heart that craves to try new things.  Near the end of May, I had a fabulous oppertunity to push myself in a different way and to try something new.  I got to photograph the most beautiful, outgoing and smart young woman who is one of the fabulous high school grad’s of 2009!  We ventured out of the studio to hit up some of the nooks and crannies downtown.  It was also so much fun to just to get outside and hang out for a bit!

Here is just a quick couple of my fav’s ..

red deer grad photography

red deer grad photography

red deer grad photography

L & S - It was so awesome you meet you guys!  Thank you for the fabulous day!

Love Ashley~

Mom - Ashley, YOU are amazing - you have captured her beauty ~ inside and out! The pictures definitely 'whisper' to my heart and touch my soul. Hugs xoxo

jenn - Looove the light in the last shot...beautiful!!

Lyndsey - Awsome! Love the last one :)

alicia - These are stunning Ash! Looks like you rocked this new opportunity. The colors are awesome!

Danna - Ashley, these are beautiful..she is beautiful!

johnwaire | photo - that last shot....straight out of a magazine! awesome.

the view ~

I loved how this Mama’s cute red toes were peeking out from the skirt.  This is the view from up here looking down - belly and toes.  I think every Mama can relate to this!  lol!

maternity photography red deer

maternity photography red deer

Love Ashley ~

andrea - LOVE those belly shots! pretty soon that view is going to be next to impossible to capture without your own in the way, lol.

shannon - i LOVE the first shots! so, so wonderful!!! she is beautiful!

toddler ~

Being a toddler is silly, drooly & sleepy (but there is too much to miss if you actually have a nap) business.  Babies are awesome!  Seriously awesome.

red deer baby photography

red deer baby photography

Love Ashley ~

stacey woods - precious, just precious!!

stacey woods - precious, just precious!

fiona andersen - Seriously very divine little gem. This is such a great age. Check out those cheeks. Wonderful capture Ashley

brenda - seriously? OMG...adorable! What a little ham!!

Anna - oh my - how adorable!!! LOVE the last shot - it is absolutely gorgeous!

jennifer - omgoodness these are beautiful, and so so adorable

Lyndsey - Love the last one so much!!

andrea - so so sweet! i just love these ash.

jaime - ooh the last one is adorable! love the smiles, too!

alicia - these make me smile! you sooo captured that baby just being a baby. your colors are gorgeous!

Brandy - This is just so adorable! I love your tones, looks like something out of a magazine!

hard cover book ~

Hello Lovelies!

I have been wanting to pop in and say hi, but the time just keeps slipping by me!  I am starting to feel much more pregnant these days and getting noticeably larger over the last couple weeks especially.  No slowing down yet for me though!  I have many, many more sessions to go and many sweet little babies to meet before I get to meet my own little peanut.

Right now I am working hard on a bunch of galleries and will try to post some images soon.  Until then, I wanted to share some images of a hard cover book that has arrived to the studio.  Hard cover books are completely custom designed and are such an awesome, beautiful way to display your session images.

professional photography hard cover book

Be back soon!

Love Ashley~

Terri - I love stopping by the blog and site very often, love your work SO much, and love that I get to see pics of my babe all the time too and the truly AMAZING work of him you created!! Always coming up with new ways that show off your talent and offer us parents great keepsakes!

brenda - I adore this...what a wonderful keepsake for any parent or grandparent! As usual...gorgeous work Ashley!!

denise bovee - You make such yummy albums! So sleek and classic...love love :)

Anya - oh YUM!!!!! These books are absolutely priceless. I swear I wish I had one with all 5 of my kids and I am totally getting one with my next babe.

Anna - This book is absolutely stunning!! So simple and so beautiful, a definate creative masterpiece worth having.

sylvia - these books are simply gorgeous! a perfect keepsake to have of your images.

Karen Linnee - i just love these books. they are so worth the investment!

stacey woods - gorgeous work, ashley. i love your layout, and your book looks fantastic. is that a quote inside the cover? mmm, what a lucky client!!

a beautiful family~

The studio represents such a huge accomplishment for me and the direction that my art and business has gone over the years.  This session was offically the first to be photographed in the new space.  I truly could not have asked for a better family to be the ones to help me break it in.

My first contact with this family of three brothers (and one sister I hope to meet someday!), was back in April of 2007.  I was honoured to be asked to photograph the newborn daughter of one brother and his wife, the beautiful Miss. G.  In February of 2008,  I got the email saying another brother and his wife was going to have a baby girl, the delightful Miss. C.  And once again this family has welcomed another princess to the family, the third brother and his wife had yes - a baby girl!  Earlier this month I had the pleasure of photographing the darling Miss. S.  I can’t tell you what an honour it is to be the one chosen to capture a family’s memories.  It means so, so much to be the one to help tell this story for them.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  oxox

Now for a couple images!  The color was a little too delicious this day to hold back.  This first image I think, is pretty dang cool.  We have done a variation of this particular pose with each of the cousins.  It offers a bit of a connection between the cousins and their daddy’s.

newborn photography red deer

newborn photography red deer

newborn photography red deer

newborn photography red deer

Thank you *P* Family!  You are all so beautiful~

Love Ashley~

Mandie Wright - WOW! The color on these is nothing like I have ever seen! GORGEOUS

sylvia - gorgeous images and beautiful lighting.

Laurie - Love all the white and gorgeous light! Beautiful as always...

jaime - WOW! i love the simple, clean and white! absolutely gorgeous! such inspiration!

kate - you are the MASTER of natural light. lovely studio--congratulations!

Natalie - beautiful! love the last one! ..and congrats on your new studio! :)

andrea - so so beautiful my friend. i love the detail in the wall, and that chair shot... to die for.

Lyndsey - Absolutly beautiful as always!! I love love love the last two :)

Jeanette LeBlanc - Beautiful shots darlin' You've always had the magic though, and I can say I knew you way back when :) I had a newborn shoot this morning too, and the little guy didn't sleep at all. I've never had a shoot where a 5 day old baby was awake for 4 hours straight, but this one was....whew - I'm worn out:) Congrats on your studio - I am so happy for you! You deserve all the success in the world!