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Family Photo Shoots

Tue, 23 Aug 2022 19:17:35 GMT

As Your Family Photographer...

Kids have always been one of my favorite subjects to photograph - they are so often uninhibited and content to be who they are, without reservation. Even the kids who are quiet and shy by nature show up and present themselves as they are. They photograph in an authentic way. I can often get great photos of the quiet, shy kids since they are just being themselves. I can encourage certain movements to draw something out of them but I don’t want them doing things that don’t feel natural (or look natural) to them. Generally, kids and adults alike photograph the best when they are authentic and being themselves.

Traditionally, most of my family portraits have been taken outside and on location. It can be at the beach or another location in the Lower Mainland. I really enjoy photographing outdoors. For kids, it can be helpful for them to have this sense of space and freedom around them. It's nice to be able to walk around a relatively short distance and have different options for backgrounds. While a location like the beach might offer a similar setting all around, I can generate different looks quite easily. Some photos can be on the grass with a big open space around; other photos can be taken in and around the trees; another set on the beach; close to the water; sitting on logs etc. There are quite a few options for different looks by simply moving around in a relatively small area. These are some of the major benefits of shooting outdoors.

There are some drawbacks to the outdoors and I have also been exploring family portraits in the studio setting. There are some real benefits to shooting in the studio as well. For one, the lighting can be controlled and is therefore predictable. One of the big challenges of shooting outdoors is the ever-changing weather conditions. It's beautiful and sunny one moment and then clouds over the next moment. Suddenly, the wind picks up and is blowing across your face. While this wind can be a great addition to the photos and make them look and feel natural, it can also work against you with hair flying in unwanted directions! In a studio setting, these external conditions are controlled. I also really appreciate the look of a clean background, particularly for black and white photos. A clean white background offers a wonderful modern yet classic look. I really like this look in modern homes that have a clean and minimalist aesthetic. This clean backdrop can work equally well for color photos, for those who prefer some color.

As a family photographer , I have also started working with some graphic design elements that are added to the photos. This artistic flair works well on a clean backdrop - it's almost like a blank canvas that can be painted on. Adding some graphic design elements to the individual and family portraits is something I am exploring and I'm quite excited about. I like the creativity of using graphic design elements and the ability to customize each portrait to suit the style and aesthetic of the family. Each of the family portraits can have their own design elements and this design element can act as a common thread that links the different portraits together. The graphic design is also done with the unique style and aesthetic of the family home. These portraits truly end up being art pieces to be displayed proudly in the home.

In recent years I have been shifting more and more towards creating these art pieces to display in the home. This has become the end-goal of the family portrait sessions. Everyone has countless photos on their phones, tablets and computers. The purpose of getting professional family photos is to create art that can be displayed in your home. Ideally, I visit the family home before the portrait session and do a walk-through to see potential locations where prints could be hung. I can also get a sense of the style of the home, in order to tailor the session and potentially the graphic design to the style of the family home. Having this sense of direction and clarity as to what we are aiming for is really helpful going into the portrait session.

When I'm taking family photos , whether individual portraits of family members or of the family as a whole, I have a few technical guidelines that I like to follow. I tend to photograph with a relatively low aperture in order to have a good depth of field. This results in images where the subject is clear and in focus. This tends to make the subject “pop” and really come to the foreground of the photo. This technical guideline is particularly effective with close-up photos that are really focused on the subject. At other times I will use a wider focal length lens to capture more of the surroundings in the photo. In this case, I can have more of the image in focus, since the focal point isn't just on the family members but also the surrounding setting. This is really effective in a beautiful, natural setting like the beach or an urban setting like downtown or Granville Island. This wide angle look is great for family portraits and for some people, offers the type of photos they might hang in the house. The image isn’t solely focused on the family members but is more of a landscape photo, which also features the family as part of the setting. At times I might even blur images intentionally to offer a more artistic feeling. Some families prefer this type of look - even less focused on the family, and more emphasizing an artistic look. All of these options are things I discuss with the family ahead of time!

While almost everyone has access to a phone with a very capable camera built-in, it seems more important than ever to get professional photos done. Cell phones do a great job documenting little moments in daily life that would otherwise be missed but these photos have limitations.

Professional photos can really document who the family is at a particular time, in a way that a cell phone can't capture. Professional photos also have the ability to make big enlargements that are art pieces to be displayed in the family home. More and more families are choosing art pieces of their family to display around the home. I think this is a wonderful trend and a great way to display art in the home.

Photographing Weddings

Sun, 10 Jul 2022 18:41:22 GMT

My Journey as a Wedding Photographer

The first wedding that I photographed was in 2007. I had finished a portion of the photography program at Langara College and was starting out as a professional photographer . It was the wedding of a very close family friend and I didn’t really know what to expect. I had assisted a wedding photographer before but had never had the full responsibility to myself. Looking back on that first wedding, I feel like I should have been more nervous than I was.

This was my first job as a wedding photographer. I was shooting it on a film camera with no ability to check how things are going. In this age of digital cameras, we have all become so accustomed to looking at the back of the screen. We can examine the photos, getting immediate feedback on how things are turning out. Getting that immediate feedback seems invaluable now. You can see if you are overexposed or underexposed and can confirm that the settings on the camera are as you planned. Shooting on film there is no such feedback. If you have a setting wrong on your camera, you might be taking almost unusable photos until you make an adjustment. Particularly during sensitive moments at a wedding, which are very fleeting moments, you can’t afford to have the wrong settings for an extended period of time.

Fortunately, everything went extremely well and the photos were strong. Not only that, I felt extremely comfortable and at home within the pressure and stress of the wedding. It was a huge relief knowing that there were some great wedding photos and I had managed to document everything in an authentic way.

Very shortly after this first event, I photographed my second wedding. Within a few months, my third wedding. The third wedding I photographed was a beautiful backyard event with a beautiful couple on a beautiful day. There was something special about it and that came through in the photographs. I submitted the photos to Real Weddings magazine and they published a three page spread featuring the wedding and my photos. One of the photos became the front cover of the magazine. From then on I knew wedding photography was my path.

Since my start in 2006, I have photographed hundreds of different events. To this day I take a lot of pride in my work. I have a sense of responsibility to do the best job possible, documenting these important events in people's lives. Before my jobs, my wife reminds me to go and be a memory keeper. It’s a great reminder to keep my focus on the giving aspect of the job. It’s an honor to offer such a service to people. Everyone wants the meaningful moments and memories from their wedding to be captured. I get to provide that for them which is rewarding for me. Keeping this perspective is really helpful and allows me to feel the rewarding aspects of the job on a regular basis.

Over the years, I have photographed some really memorable weddings. Some of them are memorable because of how beautiful and smooth flowing the day was - how everything just fell into place and flowed perfectly. Some of them are memorable because of all the things that went wrong.

One story that comes to mind is a beautiful wedding at the Terminal City Club. The bride and groom were both getting ready at a gorgeous house in West Vancouver, right on the water looking out towards Stanley Park. We got some great photos of the couple and of the bridal party as they were getting ready. Then it was time for the ceremony. The couple had rented a vintage car to drive them from West Vancouver to the Terminal City Club. When they went to leave for the ceremony, however, the vintage car wasn’t powerful enough to get up the steep driveway from the house. The groomsmen had to get out and push the car up the hill as the driver was flooring it. It barely made it up the hill but off they went.

After getting some memorable photos of the groomsmen pushing the car up the hill, I got into my car and followed behind them a few minutes later. As I headed towards the Lions Gate Bridge, the traffic was at a standstill. I was completely stuck with nowhere to go. I was getting a bit stressed knowing the ceremony was supposed to start soon. I wasn’t sure if the bride and groom were also caught up in this traffic, if they had somehow managed to avoid it or had gotten through before it became gridlocked.

The traffic finally started to inch forward and I approached the on-ramp to the bridge. As I approached the bridge, I saw the vintage car pulled off to the side of the road with smoke pouring out from under the hood. The vintage car had died and was the reason for all the back up in traffic. I later learned that the couple had gotten out of the car and had been offered a ride in a beat-up Honda Civic from a group of young French-Canadians who had been hiking in the mountains. They were sticky and sweaty from a day of hiking but kindly offered the couple a ride! The elegant bride and groom crammed into the back of the car and hitched a ride to their ceremony. Fortunately, I made it as well, just a minute or two behind them and we all carried on as planned. It made for a great twist and a great story, despite being a little stressful at the time!

I’m looking forward to the upcoming weddings I get to document and seeing what new stories emerge from the day.

Event Photography

Sun, 08 May 2022 01:48:25 GMT

My Start as an Event Photographer

When I started my photography career in 2006, it wasn’t fully clear on the direction I would take. What should I specialize in? What did I like to photograph and what did I want to avoid? While I wasn’t fully clear on my direction when I started, one thing that became clear quite quickly was that I wanted to photograph people.

While I love nature and being outdoors, that wasn’t going to be the primary focus of my photography career. It was also clear that product photography - taking photos of food and stationary objects was not my passion. It was clear I wanted to take photos of people.

Just as I was finishing photography school, I was asked to photograph a family friend's wedding. It was very nerve racking to be hardly finished school and already photographing my first wedding. Leading up to the wedding, I felt the pressure of documenting such a big event. The wedding was a success in the end and the photos turned out great. I really enjoyed the experience and found I didn’t feel overwhelmed in the moment. I felt very comfortable and confident as I was photographing the wedding. The couple were really happy with their photos and all-in-all it was a great success.

The success of the wedding gave me confidence to do more and sure enough, it led to another wedding and shortly after that, another wedding. The photos from my third wedding ended up being featured in REAL WEDDINGS MAGAZINE, which was a real honor! There was a 3-page spread dedicated to the wedding and showing the photos from the wedding. This publication really confirmed for me that I was on the right path.

As I photographed more weddings, I found it seamlessly transitioned into photographing commercial events, birthday parties, bar mitzvahs and more. It became clear to me that I enjoyed photographing events and really shined as an event photographer .

Over the years I have photographed hundreds of events. I have photographed weddings of all shapes and sizes. I have photographed 1st birthday parties, 95th birthday celebrations and everything in between. I have photographed commercial events, fundraising events and so much more.

While all of these events are different, the common thread is documenting the people as they mingle and interact with each other. This is what I enjoy most, capturing the people. I love how a photo of a person laughing can capture the essence of a whole party. I love how the feeling and emotion of a moment can be captured in one photo. While decor shots and detail shots can show what the event looked like to some extent, it’s primarily through documenting the people enjoying the event that you really get a sense for what the event was like.

I have always enjoyed the spontaneity and constantly changing nature of events, and the challenge of trying to document it through photography. For me, this challenge is the best part about being an event photographer.

Bar and Bat Mitzvahs

Fri, 22 Apr 2022 22:33:01 GMT

Event Photography - Bar and Bat Mitzvahs

While each bar mitzvah has similar elements and a similar flow from event to event, they are all unique in terms of photography. This is something that I really like about being an event photographer in general but particularly with bar and bat mitzvahs.

Each family and each child is unique. Some families enjoy having their pictures taken while others want to have as few shots taken as possible. Aside from that, the lighting, ambiance and decor of a room will all differ from one event to the next. Most importantly, the spontaneous moments of engagement that occur during the event are always one-of-a-kind and unpredictable.

My favorite part of photographing a bar mitzvah is trying to convey the mood of the occasion through the images. It may include capturing guests talking and laughing with one another or photographing children dancing and singing with one another.

A photograph that catches these fleeting moments and exchanges that occur during an event can reveal a lot about the event as a whole. A great photograph of kids dancing and smiling can tell such a great story and really sum up an entire event, sometimes all in one shot! I really aspire to capture that feeling and energy in the room, and to have that energy be felt by anyone looking at the photo in the future.

Getting some individual shots of the bar mitzvah boy or bat mitzvah girl is another aspect of shooting a bar or bat mitzvah that I really appreciate. Some of the kids enjoy having their photo taken and are natural and engaged in the photos, while others are less excited about the process.

Regardless, I love taking pictures of the kids, whether they're simple, classic shots or ones that have more movement and complexity. I enjoy documenting the children at this stage of their lives.

Finally, it's always wonderful to share the finished product after the event, once all of the images have been professionally edited. There are always a few images that stick out and manage to capture the emotion of the child and the occasion.

It's rewarding being an event photographer and creating images that tell a story and convey emotion. Having these images of family and friends becomes increasingly significant as time passes. It's wonderful to have photographs of family and friends celebrating, and I'm honored to be able to provide this for my clients.