People often ask me how I got in to photography ...

People often ask me how I got in to photography in the first place...

I was a psychiatric nurse, so why would I branch out into this new profession? I had a love for art, fashion, and hair all along... I was a hairstylist and an aesthetician before I became a nurse. I always had a camera, and had taken to dark rooms and film as a teenager.

Well,  after many years, I had changed from working in a psychiatric hospital setting, to working with clients from my own clinic. I had an idea of how to get people to open up... especially my anorexic and bulimic clients. So I developed my own form of photo-therapy, and upgraded my camera, and well the rest is history.  I have often wanted to share how and why it is successful, What kind of process I utilize, and a bit of the ideology of it. The problem was, that meant breaching client confidentiality...so not possible. However, over the last 5 years, I have collected models, and spent many hours recreating the scenarios and techniques I utilize. I have decided to showcase that work over the next few blogs here, in a series of images and explanations.  I am looking forward to presenting this exhibition in other ways as well. Please feel free to contact me for interviews or questions in regard to this exhibition.

(403 866-7427, or joan@gainsboro.ca)

Also, although my studio has taken me deep into the portrait and commercial photography realm,  I continue to work with clientele using this method, and am willing to continue being hired for these types of sessions. 

*note: While photography has innumerable applications in the realm of therapeutic work, it is not necessarily relevant or valuable to all those living with psychological distress.