Heather Tardiff isn’t your typical wedding photographer. Sure, she’s got the eye, the technical skills, and the years of experience, but what really sets her apart is her no-nonsense approach to storytelling—one that is deeply personal, fiercely real, and refreshingly unfiltered. For Heather, wedding photography isn’t just about producing a highlight reel of picture-perfect moments; it’s about capturing the raw, unfiltered energy of the day, the kind that makes her couples look back and say, “That’s us.”
The Path to Finding Her Voice
Heather’s journey into wedding photography wasn’t exactly love at first sight. In fact, her first brush with it was a negative experience—one that left her determined to do things differently. “When I got married, our wedding photos didn’t represent us at all. They were too posed, too staged—nothing about them felt like ‘us.’” That realization stuck with her, shaping the way she approaches her own clients today.
From the beginning, Heather was committed to being an affordable yet high-quality option for couples. But it didn’t take long for her to realize that underselling herself wasn’t sustainable. “I started off charging very little, thinking I was giving people a great deal. But it wasn’t working. When I finally raised my prices to reflect my worth, I got more bookings than ever. People were skipping over me before because they thought I was ‘too cheap’—like there had to be a catch.”
That shift didn’t just change her business; it changed how she valued herself as an artist. Now, she runs her business with confidence, knowing that her clients book her because they truly value what she brings to the table.
Balancing Family and Photography
Heather isn’t just a photographer; she’s also a homeschooling mom of two, which means the idea of jet-setting around the world for destination weddings doesn’t quite fit into her reality. “I’d love to travel for weddings, but with my husband gone a lot and homeschooling the kids, it’s just not in the cards right now. It’s rough. It’s not easy.”
But that’s part of what makes Heather’s work resonate so much with her clients—she understands the beauty (and the chaos) of real life. She knows that weddings aren’t just about creating a fairytale; they’re about celebrating love in a way that feels honest and true to the people at the center of it.
A Photographer Who’s Got Your Back
For Heather, being a wedding photographer isn’t just about showing up and snapping photos. It’s about being a calming presence, a problem solver, and sometimes even an unofficial wedding coordinator. “I’ve been through some doozies—caterers not showing up, bridesmaids getting wasted before speeches, flowers arriving thirty minutes before the ceremony. I’m there to capture the day, but I’m also there to help in whatever way I can.”
She’s been known to step in and move tables, fix veils, and do whatever it takes to keep the day running smoothly. “I don’t just stand there and say, ‘Well, I’m the photographer.’ If something needs to be done, I do it. My couples know I have their back.”
That’s one of the reasons her clients rave about her. They don’t just talk about the photos—although they love those, too—but about how comfortable she made them feel. “People tell me all the time that they felt like they were just hanging out with a friend all day. That’s the biggest compliment I could ever get.”
Making Wedding Photography Personal
To Heather, getting to know her couples before the big day isn’t just a nice extra—it’s essential. She insists on meeting every couple, either in person or over video chat, before they book. “Everything can sound great over email, but you don’t really know a person until you talk to them. I want them to see me, how I am as a person, because we need to be the right fit for each other.”
She also includes engagement sessions in all of her wedding packages as a way to help couples get comfortable in front of the camera before the wedding. “It’s a chance for them to see how I work, to get used to the way I guide them. By the time the wedding day comes, they already trust me, and that makes the photos so much better.”
Heather also sends out a questionnaire to learn about her couples—how they met, how they got engaged, what matters most to them. “Unless they tell me their whole life story in the first email—which some do—I want to get a sense of who they are. That helps me bring out those little things that make their relationship special.”
Why Couples Choose Heather
So, why do couples book Heather? It’s not just because of her beautiful photography—it’s because of the way she makes them feel. “When I send out galleries, I ask for reviews. Some people send a short message, but others write these long paragraphs that leave me in tears. They tell me how comfortable they felt, how much fun they had, how I helped keep the day stress-free.”
Heather’s goal isn’t to create wedding photos that belong in a museum—it’s to create wedding photos that belong in her couples’ homes, in their albums, on their walls. The ones that make them say, “This is us.”
And that’s exactly why her clients keep coming back.
Website: htardiffphotography.ca
Instagram: @htardiffphotography
