A Fitting Image

By Toronto4Kids

Longtime Photographer and Graphic Designer Thea Menagh founded B&T Graphic Communications Inc. in 1990 (with its division, A Fitting Image Family, Business & Event Photography). With a professional career of over 25 years prior to 1990 as a personal & executive secretary, international correspondent & translator, copywriter & editor, graphic & commercial artist & photographer, her love of photography and marketing & advertising work for Canadian and International clients made the decision to go it alone and follow her passion on her own terms, a natural progression.

Today, at 63, all those lifelong dreams are being fulfilled. "I'd rather do this than breathe", says Thea, "and each photo shoot is more exciting than the last".

Photography has provided her with a great artistic outlet and a way to spend time with little-and-bigger people in their everyday situations, and during their family and business events. With few photos of herself taken during her 43 years of marriage, Thea sees just how important those maternity, baby and family photos are. She laughingly suggests, “You'll want those pictures for your senior years! Trust me. I'm there, and I wish I had them."

Developing this business was a lot of hard work, but as in most everything, if you follow your passion and stay true to your goals, success will follow. Her passion for people and her love of photography and graphic design was the inspiration behind 'A Fitting Image'. The first company Thea formed in the mid 60's was Earlybirds, with which she organize and ran garage and content sales for numerous clients around Toronto and the GTA until the late 90's. Every penny earned was stashed into a B&T account ... to purchase her cameras, computers, a car, and everything else to get her business started.

And after 25 years, 'A Fitting Image' is now a successful company, offering maternity, baby, toddler, child & family portraits, pet pictures, wedding & event photography, and a wide range of business & product photography. The graphic art and design experience and skill are evident in the one-of-a-kind collages, magazine covers, custom greeting & holiday cards, and birth announcements, as well as individually-designed business cards and postcards. Thea also creates camera-ready ads, offers photo restoration services, teaches private one-on-one Photoshop Lessons, and still finds time for fun weekends with her favourite 2 little girls, her grand-daughters.

Thea’s company is unique in that she does absolutely everything herself. Her clients always deal only with her, and she's the photographer who shows up when they book a session. No confusion. No mix-ups. She is home-based and works only on location. Her clients love the convenience of the in-home photo sessions. And Thea loves the challenge of having to quickly decide on a design and layout of the photos she takes. As a grandmother, she adores babies and children, and has a special bond with them and their parents - all of which bring out very special emotions in her photographs. "It's easy," says Thea. "I'm the 'family photographer' for several of my clients, and have done their engagement portrait, wedding, maternity shoot, baby portraits, and annual family portrait Christmas cards. It doesn't get any better than that!"

Her company was built on faith and trust, and Thea goes out of her way to ensure the people she spends time with are happy and comfortable, and always get more than they expect. “I'm honest and fair, and fortunate to finally be in the position of being able to do this for the sheer love of it. Photography is a very personal thing for me. For a little while, my clients actually share their children, parents and homes with me. That's a huge responsibility, not only at the time I'm actually there, but always, with the quality and kind of the photos I give them. I want moms to comfortably share their maternity photos with their pre-schoolers. I always concentrate on the older, very special members of every family. They've experienced, know and feel things many of us will never know, but are revealed in their eyes if you sit quietly and look very carefully. Sometimes, I'm able to catch it. And when photographing a baby, I always make sure my photos aren't going to embarass this beautiful wee one when he or she is 13. 'Guilt-free' and 'ethical' photography!! This work makes ME happy - and my arthritis doesn't bother me when the camera's around my neck. Miracles do happen!"

Her enthusiasm not only comes from her love of photography but she thrives on the positive vibes during a shoot. “When I feel and capture in a photograph the love shared by couples or members of a family, I'm so excited I can't stand it. My passion for photography is all about how people feel about each other, and how they show it. I do my best to quickly set everyone at ease, so I get the most natural look possible. I'm energized by what I see, and often overwhelmed and exhausted when I leave. I sometimes get in my car, drive around the corner, and sit for a little while to 'calm down'. I never do more than one shoot per day, so I can totally immerse myself in that particular family, and am never rushed to get to another shoot. I'm never time-sensitive, and concentrate totally on who I'm with and where I am."

So what’s in store for this self-motivated and dynamic photographer? To slow down just a teeny-tiny-little-bit and every now-and-then, let a younger, bouncier photographer shoot some of the larger, longer events. At 63, she finds that she doesn’t quite have the energy she had at 40 ... but she will never give up what she is doing. She feels she has achieved all her goals and considers herself to be very blessed.

“I'll never ever give up my work. It keeps me young, and I want to continue to offer the most natural, beautiful and happy photographs of families to enjoy in all their years together, and create lasting memories for their children - because when those children are much older, photos will be their most cherished possessions."

For more information on 'A Fitting Image', you can visit their website at www.afittingimage.com.