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The only thing better than return clients are ones who make you feel like part of the family. Lee and I hadn’t been back to see the Cole’s in a year, but that didn’t stop them from welcoming us into their home treating us like a member of the family (maybe that’s just because they can’t tell who’s related or not anymore), and putting us up for the night. If you’re into ruining the illusion of the image, you can read about details of the shoot, including behind-the-scene photos below.
This years concept was put together by all the kids, of course they chose the pool, of course it’s October in Canada. So while it may not make perfect sense to go swimming in 8 degree “heat” the pool was warm enough that they all stayed in the water once one was done shooting.
We tried to start with the mermaid further back, but because of the wide-angle optic (24mm) she was minimized so we brought her, and the others, more forward.
Potential alternate for the eldest boy, we wanted options knowing the baby was too cranky to be outside. In the end we went for him holding his brother upside-down.
You can read about last years shoot here and you can view this image larger on Flickr. Also, to achieve the almost infinite depth of field, I used my 24mm tilt-shift lens, and tilted the front element down extending the focal plane horizontally along the line of the pool, rather than a set depth in front of the camera and out to a distance. You can read about the Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5 II L at my CanonRumors.com Review.
Oct 09, 2012 | Categories: Extreme Family, Portraits | Tags: Cole, Commercial, Extreme Family, Family, Flare, Lights, Pool, portrait, Swimming | 1 Comment »
I’m proud to announce that I’ve partnered up with the much lauded website “Canon Rumors” in an ongoing series of reviews on Canon lenses, some bodies, and maybe other things as they come along.
In some cases I’m reviewing lenses I already own, and have used for a while, others are new to me and I’ll be evaluating them for a few weeks at a time. I want to keep my thoughts as short and concise as possible. No pixel peeping measurements, no charts or graphs. Just real-world use of a lens that came in the mail. Hopefully, along with all those super-technical sites, I can help guide you into make a better choice when making a purchase. The Canon Rumor Guy himself will add his take at the end, maybe we agree, maybe not. We certainly have a different viewpoint and work with different lenses regularly, so you know it’s not all #Phodo ego stroking. The first review is live now on the Canon 24mm f/3.5 L II Tilt shift, something I use every week. Let me know what you think!
Oct 04, 2012 | Categories: Gear & Tutorials, Personal | Tags: Humour, Nude, Reviews, Self Portrait | 4 Comments »
While I always try to shoot for the medium the images will be used in, sometimes I can’t help myself when a good portrait opportunity comes along. Ottawa Woman is newsprint, which means an excess of dark, or black, will smudge the paper (and fingers) around it. So it’s best to shoot lighter coloured, white, or shadowless portraits.
But when I toured the fourth floor of RCMP headquarters in Ottawa, I saw this great lit back-splash that I couldn’t help but use as a background for the portrait you see at the top of the page. Chief Superintendent Woodburn was incredibly gracious at this point, as I needed to raise her a few feet to get the background behind her (below it was a reception desk). It’s not every day you get to ask a high-ranking officer to climb up on chairs.
I filled out the shoot with some interaction shots with other officers and that was it. You can see the header image larger over on 
Flickr.
Oct 03, 2012 | Categories: Editorial, Portraits | Tags: Editorial, Ottawa Woman, portrait, RCMP, Speedlights, Strobist | Comments Off on Ottawa Editorial Portrait Photographer: Chief Superintendent CO Sharon Woodburn for Ottawa Woman
First in, hopefully, a series of Best-Friend Forever (BFF) photographic series I’ll be producing… maybe someday.
Ashley and Kristine have been BFF’s since they first met in grade 9 ten years ago (Kids!). Ashley is the General Manager at Free Form Fitness here in Ottawa, and Kristine is a stylist at The Hair Loft on Elgin st. They share common traits: Both Virgo’s at ted days apart in age, Brunettes who love doing hair and staying fit, travel and adventure; they’re like sisters, but better; they’re best friends, and they’d united by common interests and an affinity for one other. But they’re not related, that’s the interesting thing about friends. People have often told me “Blood matters,” but does it? Is your family those you’ve been born into, or those you’ve chosen. I vote for the later.
Thanks to the ladies for their time on this shoot, and Younes who reluctantly got forced into helping me out – I had to make him breakfast. You can see this image larger on Flickr.
More to come.
Oct 01, 2012 | Categories: Commercial, Personal, Portraits | 2 Comments »
I was excited to be contacted by Ottawa’s Great River Media to do some editorial photography work on the lead story for their brand new Hockey magazine “Centre Ice” with The Ottawa Senators latest draft Cody Ceci. It was a tight schedule, figuring out when to shoot Cody only a few days before deadline… he also had a cold, but he’s a tough hockey player and you really can’t tell.
“But wait Justin, isn’t there a Hockey strike?” Sure – but the Ottawa’s 67’s are still playing, making this an opportune time: they’re literally the only game in town. I shot a number of different potential cover portrait treatments, the first issue, we didn’t really know where the look was going to go. I was asked to shoot him against white, which I did, but they ended up going with this tight portrait we took just outside of the arena. The one above is a horizontal frame, different than the one used below, but one of my favourite.
Cody was fun to shoot, he’s a successful good looking kid, signed to the NHL at the tender age of 18. I reminded him that he should pay back his parents for all the years they put him and his siblings through hockey before going out and buying a sports car. A few more portrait treatments below that didn’t make the cut.
Thanks to Quinn Brown for the assist on this shoot, where I decided I’d only shoot with a beauty dish (as my main). You can read the whole magazine online here.
Sep 21, 2012 | Categories: Editorial, Portraits | Tags: Centre Ice, Cody Ceci, Editorial, Hockey, NHL, Ottawa, Ottawa_67_s, portrait, Sports | 4 Comments »
