Architectural & Interior Design Photography, Corporate Commercial Photography, Advertising & Portrait Photographer | Ottawa | 613-558-7585 | justin.vanleeuwen@gmail.com
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 […]
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. […]
The NiceJewishGadgetFamily is a blended family, a single mom isn’t so single anymore thanks to her superman (he’s Jewish, quite nice, and she likes gadgets). As always, the style of my Extreme family portraits lends itself more to my commercial photography, than a traditional family portrait. You might recognize GadgetGirl from the shoots I did […]
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 […]
I have a bunch of editorial photography in the backlog just waiting to go to print, I can’t wait to share it with you, but until that time you get to enjoy my adorable family just a little bit more. My parents came down for the beginning of this week to hang out with the […]
Today’s a good day, lots of new folks are coming to this site via Julie Cole’s blog post on YummyMummyClub and if you’re looking for *my* look at Julie’s family – I wrote about it here. It’s funny how some things lead to others. I was recommended to Julie by-way of a friend of hers […]
The Extreme family portrait series picks up back in Burlington Ontario, another family run business called that makes gummy vitamins, IRONKIDS & Adult Essentials. These things are delicious a great way to get your kids to take their vitamins, since they’re a candy that’s good for you; the only problem I’ve had with the boys […]
The monkey house has been of great support to this blog over the past few years, helping me customize the layout of my website and a lot of behind the scenes tinkering. I am grateful for the work, and it was only appropriate that, someday, they’d have a more extreme portrait taken for me to […]
Do you know how HARD it is to do a shallow dof self-family-portrait with three kids by the river? You can see some details over on Flickr. As a PC user (by habit only, I assure you) you might find it as odd as I do that you can find me, not once, but TWICE […]
Hello Eagen family, this has been a long time coming. I originally met with the lovely young daughters of the Eagens sometime last year, December maybe? (time flies) We had planned something in the new addition to the house, in front of the new fireplace that mom had been BEGGING for for years – in […]
Another awesome family, another fun extreme portrait. The Buell’s (I’ll refrain from the Ferris jokes) contacted me about creating their own unique family portrait. Unlike Nadine, though, they didn’t have a clear vision of what they wanted – just that they wanted something different than your every-day family portrait. Well that’s what I do, isn’t […]
I like the adventure, the thrill, the danger that it brings. I leave myself exposed and open – that’s right – I don’t use a UV filter to protect my lens glass. This is a controversial subject among “#phodo gear-heads, and I’ve read as many good reasons as bad as to the use of a […]
Other way guys… see? I told you I was taking photos of other families. Maybe a bit less “extreme” than maybe some of my previous posts, this was a concept Nadine and I met and discussed. She was pretty clear about what she wanted – which makes it that much easier for me – it […]
A challenge with these composite images is that it’s hard enough to just keep your kids still, and if they start moving things around they can really mess up your shot. The more elements you incorporate into the frame, the more chances you have of something screwing up. Also, if they decide to move your […]
Before the new year, I wrote about my favourite portable softboxes to use with speedlights, and promised a follow-up post on my favourite flash-triggers. This is not that post. What I will talk about is ONE trigger that I’ve been using with increased frequency: FlashZebra’s 16 foot TTL cord. This thing gives me a 8x […]
Many of you know me as an International superstar photographer, though those of you who have known me the longest are privy to the gentler, less glamourous role that I play. Tuesday marked a new start for me and Mel, of sorts. She’s gone back to work after 3 years off raising our kids (and, […]
While living in Ottawa is pretty standard fare for a “major” city, we are fortunate to be very close to some lovely greenspace… or this time of year, orange and yellow space. The fam and I took a quick expedition to Gatineau Park last weekend to enjoy the last of the fall weather. Of course […]
Family portrait taken in Ottawa. I hadn’t used much rim/separation lighting in the past (the light behind them), and as such I’m laying it on a bit thick on my shots right now. Like most things, it’ll take some practice to finesse it into something a bit more natural and subtle. I have a different […]
These are the best two portraits I could get out of my kids after a solid day of trying. I wanted to try a few different lighting setups and, for lack of subjects, I try to stick my kids in front of the lens. Problem there is that the eldest is more interested in the […]
Stardom! What a fan-freakin-tastic last name. These guys were awesomesauce times a million. I showed up on time but Leo (the little guy) didn’t feel like wakin’ up – probably because he had a rough go of the party the night before – so that dude slept for, like, AN HOUR! No problem though, because […]
Quinn regarding the outdoors, eager to explore and share. Owen, fiddling and introverted. I think this family if finally rounding the bend. No major illnesses afflicting us, irritability and fighting are at an all time (this year) low – Owen’s having some trouble at school but he’s a pre-teen and if he wasn’t I’d be […]
This is stressful – have a good day everyone! (did Santa bring you cool camera gear? leave a comment.) If you’re interested in a quick batch of family photos you can see them here.
