Architectural & Interior Design Photography, Corporate Commercial Photography, Advertising & Portrait Photographer | Ottawa | 613-558-7585 | justin.vanleeuwen@gmail.com
I’ve always been a photographer whose style reflects his client’s needs. While I certainly put my own creative and technical spin on everything I do, it’s rare that I take the time to create images that are reflective of what I’m purely interested in. So, despite the popularity and praise I receive for my interior […]
Portraits and Headshots have long been one of my favourite parts of photography. I enjoy the challenges of taking photos of people on-location and trying to work through someone’s own potential inhibitions in having their photo taken. I try create a portrait that represents them as a person, but also is useful to them in […]
After waking Fred up for sunrise at my Ottawa Magazine Hendrick Farm photoshoot, he must have thought “I want to do that again” as they brought me back in to work on their custom commercial portrait photography for the team. And, what started off as a dismally foggy day, with delayed portraits, ended as a […]
Most of my photography work is corporate-commercial which means I’m often shooting environmental portraits, interiors, or whatever for a pre-determined output; like brochures, reports and, most commonly, websites. There’s no doubt that having a strong visual to accompany your website is an important factor of design, and sometimes the framework of that website needs the […]
For the second year in a row I visited the Parkdale Food Centre to make portraits for a new batch of thirteen youths. The “Thirteen” is a social enterprise for youth under the Parkdale Food Centre in Ottawa. The year-long project is an entrepreneurial training program for teens aged 14-18 with help and support by […]
It’s very rare that sitting at home, wishing you had more editorial photography assignments and portrait work, pays off. But that’s pretty much exactly what happened when the folks at Grocery Business Magazine contacted me to to photograph local entrepreneurs, co-owners of Kardish Health Food Centres, and brothers Carey and Robert Assaf. The creative agency, […]
As a commercial photographer, I’m not always given the opportunity to explore more creative portraiture. We work to serve our clients needs, and rarely does that allow for some of my more outlandish ideas to come through (of course, some exceptional clients definitely like to “play” right along with me.) The ability to have creative […]
I find that Extreme Family Photography goes in waves. It’s not something everyone needs every year, and that’s fair, because it’s a lot of work. Take the Stewart/Doubt/Howell/Evraire family above. Easily my largest composite image to date: 8 adults and 3 children (no pets in this one, thankfully).
What a summer! There wasn’t a day in July that I wasn’t out shooting. Corporate headshots, custom stock, editorial photography and events all kept this photographer as busy as he’s ever been. Bu,t in that time, I put aside a critical part of what I should be doing: I didn’t share my work! Now these […]
The kind folks at MediaStyle were some of my first commercial photography clients in Ottawa. In 2011 I went for a hard-edged ring-light look to their corporate headshots. While I did follow-up portraits in the following years, nothing stood out quite like that first portrait set, so I wanted to go back to a more […]
On a cold winter morning earlier this year I teamed up with Ottawa Singer/Songwriter Danielle Allard and body-paint specialist May Mutter to produce the promotional and cover images for Danielle’s forthcoming album, Chameleon.
It’s a great feeling when your editorial photography is strong enough for a university magazine to call you, without any prior relationship, to photograph their cover story. Gleefully accepting this important assignment to photograph Wilfred Laurier University Alumni Carolyn Wilkins, the first female Senior Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada, I wasted no time […]
This past July my trusty Alex and I took a road-trip past Toronto to Burlington, Hamilton, and Mississauga to photograph some amazing Extreme Families. This has become a sort of annual tradition for me, but I’ve certainly never photographed so many families in such a short amount of time. Usually, I’ve gone to photograph one […]
I was thrilled to work with my long-time clients the Canadian Internet Registration Authority on their Annual Report to Members. This is the quintessential type of work for a corporate photographer: more than just headshots and portraits, we need to convey the people that are behind the organization. We only had a morning to work, […]
A portrait photographer often has to push people and seek out the best shot of an individual, sometimes they’re hard to coax in front of the camera and unwilling to do anything that would lend themselves to a good portrait. Sometimes they offer to light their hat on fire. Chef Patrick Garland of Absinthe Cafe […]
It’s been a while since my last blog post, and while this may not be the most exciting of projects, it’s the type of corporate photography I do that helps pay the bills. It’s high-volume, multi use, kinda stuff and it’s important for a company, and their brand, to showcase their talent and not just […]
I received some exciting editorial photography assignments from Ottawa Magazine this past spring. First, I was privileged enough to work with the lovely and talented Sarah Mercer. Suffering from chronic health conditions, the feature story by Roger Collier covers Sarah’s transition from the “All-in-one” healthcare environment of the Children’s Hospital, to the fragmented and cold […]
I have this running joke with friends that Real Estate agents consistently have some of the cheesiest portraits. They’re almost always in their suits, in a very typical and traditional studio pose; maybe leaning forward, maybe seated with their hands in their lap, a male agent standing tall with a wide friendly grin. I get […]
April was a whirlwind month of mixed interior, commercial, portrait, and editorial photography, with almost daily shoots and tight deadlines. One of my long-time favourite interior design clients, Turnbull Design Consultants, recently had a complete brand makeover with Ottawa-based creative firm Cinnamon Toast. Parallel 45 is the same great team, with a fresh new brand […]
I love taking environmental portraits, and as an editorial portrait photographer I get the opportunity to photograph unique people in very cool places that the general public may not have access to. This was the case when I was contracted by Ottawa Magazine to photograph Catherine Sinclair and the galleries recent donation of work by […]
I love a good personal branding photoshoot. More than just a headshot, personal branding will give a subject the opportunity to showcase their personality over a series of different looks and setups. Shelley contacted me after a recent life-shift. She moved to Ottawa and has also left the boring life of a scientist to start […]
I love being an editorial photographer. With almost no effort at all, I get to meet some of the most fascinating and wonderful people in the world. Barbara McInnes has recently stepped down as the president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Ottawa. Having spent six years working in the not for profit sector, […]
It’s no secret that my favourite thing about photography is all the people I get to meet. I especially love taking their portraits in environmental situations that are relevant to them as a person or, at the very least, look cool. That’s why I was so happy when the editors at Ottawa Magazine asked me […]
I absolutely love shooting comprehensive campaign work for my clients. As a commercial photographer, working on images from the very inception of the concept is where I like to be. I was thrilled to receive a call from Claire at Bikram Yoga Ottawa to revamp her images for their new website and other potential ad […]
