Helen Tansey
Photographer, Podcaster, Model, Author of Wild Horse (coming soon)
Helen Tansey is one of North America’s leading portrait and corporate photographers. With a career spanning more than three decades, Helen has photographed actors, CEOs, celebrities, families, and the women of her beloved Sundari Women project, which celebrates women and the beauty of aging from all walks of life.
Helen has had the honor and privilege of photographing some recognizable names, including Gordon Ramsay, Christopher Noth, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jason Isaacs, Colin Mochrie, and many others. Her photography has been featured in ELLE, Vogue, Toronto Life, Flare, Zoom, and More Magazine. Helen has also appeared on CBC Television, Breakfast Television, Fashion Television, and Discovery Channel’s Behind the Lens.
But Helen’s story with the camera actually began on the other side of it.
She started her career as a professional model in Europe, an experience that would quietly shape the photographer she would later become. Helen knows what it feels like to stand in front of a lens. She understands the vulnerability of being seen and the difference between simply taking someone’s photograph and truly seeing the person standing in front of you. Perhaps that is why people feel comfortable with her. There is no need to perform. She creates a space where people can simply be themselves, and that is often where the most beautiful photographs begin.
Today, Helen’s creative life reaches far beyond photography.
She is the host of the popular podcast Coming Into Focus, featuring conversations with guests including Elle Macpherson, Nancy Travis, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, and Mariel Hemingway about life, reinvention, creativity, aging, and what we discover about ourselves as we get older.
Helen is also the author of the upcoming memoir Wild Horse. Told with honesty and without apology, Helen shares the story of a life that has held addiction, abuse, loss, love, survival, and reinvention. But Wild Horse is not simply about what Helen has lived through. It is about what she has come to understand because of it. Through sharing her story, Helen invites women to see pieces of themselves within the pages, to reflect on the experiences that have shaped them, the stories they have carried, and perhaps to look at their own lives with a little more compassion, honesty, and understanding.
Photographer. Model. Author. Podcast Host. Storyteller.
Whether Helen is capturing photographs, speaking with someone on her podcast, or writing the pages of her book, she brings the same qualities to everything she touches: honesty, curiosity, compassion, and a genuine interest in the stories we carry.
PHOTOGRAPHY & PACKAGES
CORPORATE & BRANDING
ACTORS
KIDS & TEENS
FAMILY
SUNDARI WOMEN
AS SEEN ON
Sundari Women
Sundari Women is about celebrating women over 40 for exactly who they are. It’s a space where beauty, wisdom, and life experience are seen and honored. Through simple black-and-white portraits, I capture each woman’s presence in a way that feels honest and real.
This project is about shifting how we look at aging, seeing it not as something to hide from, but as something to embrace. Sundari Women is a reminder that every stage of life holds strength, grace, and a story worth sharing.
TESTIMONIALS
Chris Noth: Actor/Sex in the City/The Good Wife/Law & Order
“Helen is a dream to work with, I always think I don’t photograph well and then I saw the pictures she took of me and thought, is that really me? Damn, she made me look better than when I did Sex and the City !! I love this artist!”
Helen Tansey Presents
Coming Into Focus, a podcast, YouTube channel, and space to pause, breathe, and see yourself more clearly.
Through my lens as a photographer and my journey as a storyteller, I’ve learned that focus isn’t about perfection , it’s about presence. It’s about how we choose to see ourselves as we age, grow, and step into new seasons of life.
Here, you’ll find honest conversations and reflections on resilience, creativity, and becoming. My hope is that each episode leaves you feeling grounded, inspired, and reminded of the beauty within your own unfolding story.
Subscribe for weekly episodes that honor the art of living fully, always coming into focus.
In The Press
Helen's passion project, Sundari Women, was transformed into a beautiful coffee table book that has since sold out. The response to Helen's vision and her passion for celebrating women as they age was incredible. She was featured on many morning shows and news outlets, sharing her vision to celebrate and empower women as they age. Here are few of the clips and press that Helen received.
Artist Helen Tansey challenges aging myths by capturing the raw and natural beauty of women over 40
We’ve all heard the bitching and moaning, and it isn’t pretty. Most of us females over 40 have indulged in this bad habit ourselves: “I look old! I look fat! I hate pictures of myself!” Well, artist Helen Tansey got tired of all the negative self-talk going around, and she decided to do something about it.
Her new book, Sundari Women, published earlier this month, is her artistic and political statement, an effort to reclaim the narrative around women and aging. Sundari means beautiful in Sanskrit. And it comes in the form of a coffee-table book, a shiny Trojan Horse to disguise a serious message. “We women need to embrace the gift of aging and feel gratitude for the opportunity to do so.”
She put out a call to arms, got friends to ask friends, and made a few cold calls to people whose strength she admired. The casting snowballed, and she ultimately gathered together 42 Canadian women — between the ages of 40 to 96 — who were more than just pretty faces.
There are a few familiar names in the mix, including actors Jennifer Dale, 65, and Wendy Crewson, 63, and skin-care guru Elizabeth Grant, 96. “But we are all regular gals,” says Tansey, who appears on the cover, “all dealing with the same thing.”
The black-and-white portraits are stripped down, so each woman’s personality shines through. More importantly, they are accompanied by each sitter’s thoughts on aging. And even if they were outside their comfort zone going into the project, by the time they wrote their thoughts afterward, there was only collective enthusiasm for the cause. “When we listen to women speak, it empowers us,” she says.
Tansey’s method involved hair and makeup, but the looks were kept minimal; it was more of a quiet time to talk and warm up. “I wanted the photos to have a natural feel and a rawness and edge to them. They are shot on black background with natural light and no retouching,” she says.
Of the results, she says, “When their walls come down, you get a true sense of who they are. The place between confidence and vulnerability. To be vulnerable takes great strength.”
Tansey, who is 53, started out as a model, working the European fashion circuit from the time she was 17. When she moved back home after a loss in her family, she began working as a receptionist for a photographer who shot a lot of actors. Her test shots got the attention of agents, and she began shooting. Today she does a blend of portraiture, corporate and individual. This book was her passion project……to read more click here
Let’s Work Together
Helen's studio is nestled in the heart of Liberty Village, a dynamic and bustling neighbourhood that promises more than just a photography session. Here, you'll find an eclectic mix of cafes, restaurants, bakeries, and spas, all within a stone's throw of the studio's welcoming doors.
Immerse yourself in the vibrant atmosphere of Liberty Village as you plan your visit. Before or after your session, indulge in the flavours of the neighbourhood's diverse culinary scene, from cozy cafes serving artisanal coffee to charming bakeries tempting you with freshly baked delights. Savour delectable meals at the local restaurants, offering a wide range of cuisines to suit every palate.
Incorporate these delightful options into your day, making your visit to Helen's studio not only a creative endeavour but a memorable and holistic experience that captures the essence of Liberty Village's vibrant lifestyle.
Our Address:
123 Jefferson Ave,
Toronto, ON M6K 3E4
416-504-5130