Beautiful Images Photography - Gina Ayanna

Toronto and Ajax Maternity Photographer: Burnt Orange

gina ayanna — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 13:33:18 +0000

On the road of life there are some moments that force you stop and pay attention. Becoming a parent is definitely one of those moments. Everything in your life begins to change and blossom around you. Don’t get me wrong, there are lots of hurdles as well but what I remember most about pregnancy is the beauty of the experience. It really allows you to be fully present as every experience is new and magical.

So it was extra special for me to experience it through the eyes of my long time friend Janine. We have practically grown up together, through high school, living together and now motherhood.

Janine brings light to every room that she enters and is born to be a mother. She is the kind of woman that children always surround because of her warm spirit. I know your little boy will be blessed to have you.

Can’t wait to meet the little guy…

Celebrating life and love and the everyday woman

Gina Ayanna

Toronto Contemporary Beauty/Glamour Portraits: My journey

gina ayanna — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 20:52:41 +0000

As a photographer and as a person I am always evolving and figuring out who I am and where I fit in the industry. I initially started out doing exclusively family and maternity portraits. Over the years I tried it all and wanted to do it all. I am definitely refocusing myself and keeping sight of what I truly love as a photographer. I am purging all the other aspects that I do not fancy and honing in on becoming a master at what I love to do. I love to help women feel beautiful, whether it is someone who is interested in documenting their pregnancy, celebrating life, or capturing the relationship of a mother and daughter. I am working on my craft by taking an art history course and I’ve stopped looking at what other people are doing in the industry and just focusing on what I like and what makes me happy. I am learning, growing and enjoying the journey rather than waiting to “arrive”. This session encompasses all the things I love: natural light, fashion, big hair and makeup….

Celebrating life, love and the everyday woman.

Gina Ayanna

A mothers day portrait session: Toronto and Ajax contemporary portrait photographer

gina ayanna — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 20:55:27 +0000

I do not aspire to be a fashion photographer nor do I aspire to be famous. I aspire to be the best photographer of everyday women. So when you see your final images the response is “wow, I could be on the cover of _____________magazine. As those who grace the pages of today’s magazine’s are everyday women but we have been made to believe they are somehow special or different; not true. This session was a celebration of beauty, love and life between mother and daughter. Enjoy and remember to capture the moments that matter this year with your mom!

Toronto and Ajax Portrait Photographer: Golden Maternity Session

gina ayanna — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 22:31:46 +0000

Photography is all about capturing those fleeting moments in time. This session was definitely one of those moments, an opportunity to really celebrate a new life and the changes that we go through when we become a mother. Congratulations on this new journey in your life!

xoxo,

Gina

Glam Session

gina ayanna — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 21:12:06 +0000

Finally getting some time to get the blog back on track. Here are some images from one of our past contemporary glam sessions. I believe that nothing makes a woman more beautiful than the belief that she is beautiful. A dash of the beautiful images glam team doesn’t hurt either. Enjoy!

Is it wrong for black women everywhere who feel like their black is not beautiful in Hollywood, to be upset with the casting of Zoe Saldana?

gina ayanna — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 15:26:12 +0000

That is the question that I tweeted after reading both sides of the argument for the casting of Zoe Saldana in the Nina Simone bio pic. Zoe Saldana tweeted this quote – “The meanest,most contemptible kind of praise is that which first speaks well of a man,and then qualifies it with a “but”.”~Henry W. Beecher

I definitely understand her perspective as she is an Afro-Latina and I am sure she can identify with Nina’s story as she is a person of colour in Hollywood. I also believe her to be a formidable actress who is capable of telling the story. Yet I can understand the outrage of many black women who feel that their black is not beautiful in Hollywood and this just illustrates that again. Far too many times female lead characters are uber thin, fair skinned women, especially in this case when the movie is a bio-pic and the actress hired looks nothing like the person she is hired to portray.

As a mother of a dark skinned daughter and as a photographer of women who constantly discusses self image and the media I felt compelled to write this post. I am sure Zoe Saldana feels like how dare people say I am not “black enough” to play this part. At the same time she may not be able to understand that their are millions of black women who long to see their stories, their body shapes and their complexions reflected in Hollywood. What makes this particular casting even more of a hot button is that Nina Simone’s lyrics resonated so well because she questioned these ideas (blackness and beauty) in her music. Here is one of my favourite songs by Nina Simone… When I listen to the lyrics I wonder who would Nina want to play her?

Nina Simone: Four Women

What are your thoughts on the casting of Nina Simone?

xoxo

Gina

p.s Thanks for sharing this story Trey Anthony.

Toronto: Actor/Model Headshots

gina ayanna — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 21:48:17 +0000

Photographing women and making them feel beautiful is a passion of mine. So when a friend asked me to do his Model/Actor head shots I was a little intimidated. I am very comfortable posing women but with men all the rules that I have learned over the years definitely get thrown out the window. Our session was fun none the less and it was a great opportunity for me to get out of my comfort zone. Below are some of my favourites from the session.

xoxo

Gina

Beautiful canvas print

admin — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 00:31:56 +0000

Recently I had an amazing mother and daughter glam session. The session was lots of fun and some amazing images were captured as a result. Below is one of the images that the client purchased in canvas format. I love the bold colour, which is a great choice for a canvas and I am sure it will look stunning on the wall of her home.

Celebrating life and love

Gina Ayanna

New Glam Session Promo!

gina ayanna — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 17:52:26 +0000

Glam Session day after teaser: Ajax Contemporary portrait photographer

gina ayanna — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 20:53:03 +0000

Here is the teaser from this weekend’s Glam Session. This weekend and the past glam sessions I’ve done, have really helped me to hone in on what I love to do. I realized that I do not aspire to be a fashion photographer nor do I aspire to be famous. I aspire to be the best photographer of everyday women. So when you see your final images, the response is “damn, I could be on the cover of _____________magazine.” As those who grace the pages of today’s magazine’s are everyday women but we have been made to believe, they are somehow special or different; not true.

If you would like to book a glam session or find out more, just contact us at info@beautifulimages.ca. We also have a great contest going right now where you can win a glam session all you need to do is email us a pic of yourself and tell us what beauty inside and out means to you. For more details see this link

Makeup by: Kate Easterbrook.