Architectural & Interior Design Photography, Corporate Commercial Photography, Advertising & Portrait Photographer | Ottawa | 613-558-7585 | justin.vanleeuwen@gmail.com
It’s hard to escape the need for a good professional portrait or headshot these days. Between social media outlets like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or whatever else the kids are using these days an avatar that isn’t a heavily cropped cell-phone shot of your drunk with an ex boyfriend or girlfriend (you know the one I’m […]
A few weeks ago I got a call from my good friends at MediaStyle to come photograph in their newly opened “IdeaSpace”; a creative hub that is available for special events and as a location studio if necessary. Since I don’t have a studio of my own, the ability to have a big and beautiful […]
I had the absolute fortune to work with the lovely Toosje Delaney on a fantastic evening on the Ottawa River. I was writing a review for the Canon 200-400 f/4 L IS 1.4 (in laymen terms: really big expensive lens), and wanted to take the unique opportunity to get outside and really work some portraits. […]
What do you do if you’re approached by a beautiful, charming, and good friend to help her with a collaborative fundraising calendar portrait, including some of the best wedding, portrait, and commercial photographers in Ottawa? Of course, you say “yes!”
First workshop taught. Check that off my to do list. I had a great group of students at Saturday’s “Learn your Lights” Photography workshop at the JVLPopUp studio here in Ottawa. I chose to do a one-day intensive so we could all keep our Sundays as a weekend day and not run into any trouble […]
It’s been an incredible first week at the JVLPopUp photo studio. We had an opening party which (though I didn’t tell anyone this) marked two years in full-time photo business for me, with incredible food by Essence Catering, drinks from Beyond the Pale, perfectly rendered and HUGE canvases by CanvasPop. I’ve entertained a few headshot […]
My friends over at MediaStyle called me in to cover some stills for a commercial video shoot they were on. In-between takes, I was to create some portraits to update photography for their client Jonathan Chant, CEO of Fitness for Freedom. Jonathan and his team are personal trainers who make house calls, trying to keep […]
It’s been a busy couple months around here, and while I’ve taken the time out to post some tutorials, there’s some stuff going on outside of this blog that I should link to.
Some people just prefer to be in the water. For the third year in a row (I think I’m onto something here), Julie Cole invited me to come photograph her wonderful family of 8. For the second year in a row, they chose to do it in their bathing suits. Julie and I realized the […]
Ghetto-Flo Intro I was introduced to the “Ghetto-Flo” lights after reading the excellent blog of New York-based photographer Brad Trent. He had mounted 4 standard workshop flourescent light fixtures into light-stand mountable strip lights. “Ghetto-Flo” because they’re similar in use to the much more expensive Kino-Flo lights, though there are advantages to the later (variable […]
Some subjects have no interest in having their portrait taken, they don’t want you there and even 5 minutes is too much to ask. Max wasn’t one of those people. What a delight to travel an hour out of Ottawa for an editorial photography job to come to the welcoming face of Max Hamlyn. A […]
Often I get caught up in the day-to-day of my work, prep, pack, shoot, load photos onto my computer, cull, process, proof, deliver – repeat. You can lose a bit of your creativity in this repetition, relying on more comfortable techniques and “safe” shots. There’s also the need to meet your clients vision, which, in […]
Sometimes a shoot just works out perfectly. Erin’s a bit of an online friend, I had known *of* her for a number of years, following her exploits as she was married, had a lovely little daughter, and she’s helped come out and model for a few of my shoots with said adorable fam. When it […]
We worked pretty hard on the image above. Had them move, adjust, and straighten the ambulance in place. Set up our lights in and around the vehicle, then drafted someone to come and start the truck, to get the lights *going* for about 30 seconds as they ran out of the cab and ducked out […]
It was great to work on the cover and shoot the opening editorial spread for the latest issue of Ottawa-Woman. This time I got to work with the talented “shark” criminal lawyer Natasha Calvinho. Despite being a pleasant mother of two, her teeth come out when it comes to defending her clients, which often consist […]
This was a self-assigned cover photo for Kitchissippi. Do I get to dictate what I shoot when I want? No. But if I have a good idea, and already make the plans to make it happen, it’s a good chance someone will pick it up
Knowing your subjects always helps. Often getting to know your subjects means doing some research, google, a bit of social media stalking, to get a feel for who they are, what they’ve accomplished, so that you have a familiarity going into the shoot. Of course, actually previously knowing your subject makes it all that much […]
Steve came to me asking for help conveying an image that he had in his head, it was a visual representation of how he felt. Scared, sexually abused, and silenced as a young boy, Steve has grown into a very capable and accomplished man. He’s a professional athlete, Iron-man competitor, and barefoot runner. You look […]
When the editor of Centre Ice Magazine proposing a two-page editorial spread I jumped at the chance. Every photographer wants their images printed big, and usually interior images are cropped down to make room for text and copy. In this case, the image was a function of the story, with text to be overlayed pointing […]
Spring is in the air here in Ottawa. Which is basically the familiar musk of rotting leaves and the leftovers of many a dog-walker from the winter, I swear, it’s worse than Paris in my Hintonburg neighbourhood. That said, I don’t think Winter is quite done yet, there’s always some sort of snowfall come April. […]
One of the problems I encounter as an editorial photographer is that the medium can dictate how we’re supposed to shoot. Newsprint, for example, doesn’t reproduce details well, and prints “wet” which can lead to ink transfers when the images contain too many black or dark colours.
I have some editorial portrait photography stuff in the works, but while I wait on that to go to print I have another review out on Canonrumors.com. This one’s for the flashes, and if you know me, you know I *love* to flash people… ahem.
A few portraits today. Typically, the new year starts of pretty slow for me, my clients rub off their hungover weary holiday eyes, realize they’ve spent all their money on egg-nog and iPads and need to hold off a bit until February to start booking me again. Thankfully, the Kitchissippi Times wanted the first issue […]
Working with Margot Johnston on an editorial photography shoot for Ottawa Magazine’s 2013 Interiors issue was a real treat. Mrs. Johnston’s father was the director of the National Gallery of Canada during a period that many consider an artistic Canadian renaissance. She had interactions with Prime Ministers, and many, now, famous artists. Apparently, having these […]
