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 the late Gerald Trottier.
My second interior design shoot with Emma from Grassroots Design & Build was another caring project that helped incorporate the age of the home and function of the space with a small three-person family. Like the last shoot, Grassroots stuck with the original space, only removing an obstructing centre unit that kept the kitchen cramped with little counter-space.
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 her own business creating visual media (animations) for the scientific community. A huge leap? Nah, Shelley took art and animation in college. Having worked extensively in the medical not-for-profit field myself, I know exactly how important seemingly simple animations and illustrations are to help normal people understand, otherwise complex, cellular, chemical, and surgical events. We chose to keep Shelley away from a sterile medical environment for her portraits, appealing more to her artistic side; no more lab coat.
You never know when you’re going to get your next great client. Emma Doucet’s youngest daughter and my youngest son both go to the same daycare. Normally you spend your time making trivial kid-based chit-chat about poop and food and growing out of clothes, but after a year your’e sure to learn something interesting about someone. As it turns out, Emma’s been running her own interior design company Grassroots Design for the past few years and I happen to be an interiors photographer!
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, I can attest to the determination it takes to devote one’s entire career and life to philanthropic pursuits. And I was glad Kitchissippi Times brought me in to photograph the feature story.
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