Richelle Ortman Shares the Inspiration Behind Her Businesses

Richelle Ortman is the co-owner of Oath&Origin Photography as well as the owner/producer of the performing arts company Dahling Productions.

She has been a dance instructor and choreographer for over 12 years. Growing up in Kindersley, SK, Ortman completed her post-secondary studies in dance ministry and leadership in Sydney, Australia for four years. She has been living and working in Kindersley for the past eight years.

Ortman is passionate about raw/pure creativity and performance, loves collaborating with other artists, and has been honoured to provide a creative outlet for youth/young adults in her community.

What inspired you to open/create this business?

I started Dahling Productions because I wanted to serve my community in any way I could when I moved home from college. I took something I enjoyed and had experience in and started doing a yearly Christmas theatre production. In this way, I was able to create opportunities for performers/artists in the community and bring some entertainment to our audiences. From there, many doors opened and we were able to grow our team and influence by creating different types of performances outside of the Christmas shows. I believe it’s these shows that had an impact on our team and people in and around our community.

My husband and I started Oath&Origin Photography because we each had a passion for photography before we met. We were lucky that we both loved it enough to start our business and now have the opportunity to capture people’s stories together.

Has this always been your passion, or did you envision yourself doing something different?

I have always loved to dance and perform, which led me to study dance and leadership in college. There, my passion for the performing arts grew and I found new skills beyond what I was already trained in. After that, I followed my heart back home and have been blessed to find like-minded people to grow my dream with!

I have loved photography since I was a young girl. Growing up on a farm in the prairies made it easy to find inspiration and practice my skills. I always wanted to be a photographer but never thought I would actually end up doing it as a job, let alone getting to work with my husband!

What challenges have you had along the way?

People-pleasing has been a challenge in my work. It is challenging to execute a vision while not letting the negative opinions of others get in the way. Finding the balance between work life and home life can also be a struggle, so my husband and I have had to work hard to find a balance between the two.

What has been your proudest moment/achievement?

A lot of hard work and long hours go into each production, so I am proud of every single performance. It is meaningful to invest in the team and see the impact it had on them during our time together and for years after. It is also incredible to see the impact the shows have had on our audiences.

With photography, it means so much when people see our work and compliment our ability to capture the subject’s personality. Connection with our clients is what makes our photography worthwhile to us!

What plans do you have for the future?

I really miss putting on shows, because I love live performances, and I miss working with a team, rehearsing, etc, because of the community aspect. But because those things aren’t really allowed or happening at this time, Dahling Productions is on pause for the time being. I am always dreaming up new ideas and definitely still finding inspiration for possible future events!

Since we are still able to run our photography business we will continue to do what we love and keep looking for ways to evolve and capture those special, candid moments for our clients.

For the latest information and for more updates on everything Kindersley ‘Like’ the Kindersley Social Facebook page below…