McKeown Studios News - Summer'23

I hope you're having a beautiful summer season, so far, with time for relaxing, recharging, playing, and connecting with friends & family! Summer on my end has brought with it a very welcomed slower pace, after my hectic spring Dance School Portrait tour throughout the spring. I've been recovering and getting re-inspired - sleeping a bit more, cooking at home, going for slow walks, and making art whenever I can :)

I have a handful of interesting things coming up this fall that I want to share with you, the first being...

I am teaching a super fun workshop during the Branch Out Conference in Canmore this September!

This conference was founded by Kelly VanderBeek and I'll be co-hosting with her this year. Kelly is a retired Olympian and professional sports & portrait photographer. She created this conference, which is geared mainly at women (although all are welcome!) to enable photographers to branch out into shooting sport & live action with skill, confidence, and community. SONY is sponsoring the event, so there will be a gear demo. There will be loads of hands-on-cameras style learning - you'll get to actually photograph athletes and go home with new work in your portfolio. The atmosphere will be intimate (approximately 12-16 students) and supportive, and I heard there may be some prizes to be won as well ;)

I am so excited to be sharing my expertise in working with dancers and studio lighting in order to capture movement in beautiful, awe-inspiring ways. Photography and dance have always had a special relationship - when the two come together it can be magic, especially when you have a few key lighting techniques up your sleeve :) 

My workshop during the conference is entitled "Lighting Movement Two Ways".

We'll be working with dancers in the studio, and you'll get to learn 2 amazing lighting setups. The first being a timeless, clean look which freezes motion and captures the sculptural forms dance artists can create with their bodies. The second setup will be a bit more wild, using mixed lighting (and some of my secrets!) to create magical, playful, super kinetic images that will be sure to knock socks off.

I have a 25% OFF coupon to offer you, if you or someone you know is interested in signing up!

Book your spot here and use the code EXTRA4YOU to get 25% off.

Another cool thing: Basecamp Resorts is offering conference guests a discount, too! Use promo code BRANCHOUT for 15% - 20% off your stay in Canmore.

Another exciting thing coming up this fall - I'm going to France to be an Artist-in-Residence at Chateau Orquevaux for 2 weeks. I'll be there with 19 other artists of all genres, from all over the world, and I'll be focusing on finishing up a new series of fine art pieces that I've been working on behind the scenes, since January.

I haven't really shared this project on social media yet, since it's a new way of working for me, and it's all very personal. If you follow my instagram, you may have seen little snippets involving me bringing my still life practice and my self-portrait practice together. And if you've chatted with me in person lately, you may know that it's all about food and eating (and my dichotomously fraught relationship with these things!)

At the end of the 2-week residency, Conor will meet me in France and we'll be taking a little family holiday, so I will be away for all of October, which brings me to TWO important things:

1 - Do we know any artists who might be interested in their own residency/retreat to the mountains in October? I'm considering subletting my studio while I'm away.  I think it would be a wonderful place for someone who would like to spend a month working on their art in this inspiring mountain town. If you know of anyone who might be interested, I'd be so grateful if you connected them with me! My email is alexis@mckeownstudios.com and my phone number is 4037605624 :)

2 - My portrait session books for the rest of 2023 are filling up fast! Since I'll be away for a month, I have more-limited-than-usual availability for Simplicity Sessions, Headshot Sessions, Muse Sessions and especially my Signature Sessions. If you were hoping to visit for one of these experiences before Christmas, please grab a spot soon. I will always accommodate as many clients as possible, but of course in order to keep my service at a top-notch level, I have to limit how many shoots I do per week. I've just opened up my online booking for the rest of 2023, so grab your date asap or drop me a line with any questions at all.

My last note for now, is that in order to help me raise funds for this upcoming trip to work in France, I'm holding my first-ever POSTER SHOP SALE!

If you've ever thought you might like to hang one of my still life works on your wall, now is a great time to pull the trigger ;) The sale is site-wide and automatic, so you don't need a discount code, but you do need to shop before August 9th. The discount will be automatically applied to all posters, and phone cases (iPhones & Samsung, many models) when you get the the cart checkout page.

All of the proceeds from this sale will help get me to this fall's residency and help me take a huge step forward as an artist. I am eternally grateful for every little bit of support - whether it's a comment on my instagram, a purchase from the poster shop or a commission for your very own unique artwork. It all means the world to me, so thank you, thank you, thank you!

Thank you so much for subscribing to my studio newsletter, and for all of the other ways you show your love and support for my small, creative business. I appreciate each and every one of you.

Wishing you all the best for the rest of the summer!