As a lifestyle photographer, I love working with talented, creative, and inspiring entrepreneurs who pour their heart and soul into their brand. I have had the pleasure of working with Janette, owner and designer of the Canadian luxury lifestyle apparel brand, Token of Virtue, many times since she launched her brand. I have many pieces of clothing from the various collections that she has launched. It’s hard not to buy everything when I’m on location with Janette for our fashion shoots…

We have so much fun on every single shoot but this shoot for the Enthusiasm and Love Collections has to be my absolute favourite shoot so far. We had a perfect early summer evening with beaming sunshine, a beautiful Ontario landscape that was perfect for Janette’s vision for these collections. We always connect for a phone call before the shoot to discuss the vibe of the collection and brainstorm location and models as well as the feeling of the images we want to produce for the collection.

It’s amazing what two passionate and dedicated women can accomplish when we work together. Janette has all of her pieces ready to go for the models and she is organized with a temporary on-site change room and shot list which ensures that we capture every piece and combination she needs for her e-commerce website and digital marketing campaigns. Since working together for every collection, Janette trusts me to capture the vision she has for each shoot and the creativity starts flowing freely.

We bring in a small group of women for each photo shoot to model the clothing line. Some who just love the excitement of photo shoots and collaborating with other women and others who have had previous modeling experience. I often work with people who have little or no modelling experience. With some direction from me as well as lots of conversation and laughter on set, we always capture the natural beauty of each and every woman that joins us for our shoot.

I knew we’d be shooting in the direct sunlight this day so my lovely husband (and  ‘sometimes’ assistant extraordinaire) was on site with us sporting his mad reflector skills to bounce all that beautiful sunlight onto our models. The sand dunes also act like a very large reflector as well, but I have always loved using reflectors on  location for creating the quality of light on my models that I am looking for. It was a family affair that day too as our daughter was also one of the models for this shoot. Each and every shoot with Janette is the perfet combination of amazing people. We always leave feeling elated with how incredibly fun and uplifting it is to work and collaborate together.

Although I work with artificial lighting all the time, I absolutely LOVE a perfect natural light day on location. Knowing how to shoot in all types of light is key to creating images that will inspire.

To love beauty is to see light. – Victor Hugo

There are a few pieces still left in the Token of Virute Love Collection and the Token of Virtue Enthusiam collection, however each collection is made in small batches and once it sells out, it’s no longer available. I look forward to seeing the 2024 collections!

There are still a few items in various sizes still available from the Token of Virtue Love Collection as well as the Token of Virtue Enthusiasm Collection on Janette’s website. Each collection is made in small batches and is only offered until each item sells out.

One of the things that I absolutely love about these pieces is the inspirational message relevant to the collection that you’ll find located in various places on the pieces. There’s also a gold ‘token’ that is hand stitched near the left hip to serve as a reminder of the virture you are embodying.