Yearly Christmas Photo #2 - Hamilton

It was time once again to shoot AACreative's yearly Christmas portrait.  He shoots my Christmas photos for me and I shoot his for him.  After last year's 'Sad Reindeer' theme I was relieved that he wanted something more upbeat this year.  Plain white background, simple, classic wardrobe and a Santa hat.  I have to admit that I was not very excited to be working a white shirt against a white background with only one light but I think it turned out really well.   I ended up taking some with the hat and some without so he could use them for non-holiday purposes if he'd like.  He managed to include the ever adorable 'Fry' in some of the shots as well.  That dog is such a ham!  I'll be posting his amazing work for my Christmas photos soon, but not until I manage to finally get my cards out.  I don't want to ruin the surprise. 

More Holiday Portraits - Port Credit

This is the 'first' portrait session I talked about in my previous post.  I think this family is incredibly adorable and I loved the fast and fabulous session we had together.  This was my first time photographing this group and when I arrived bright and early on their doorstep they were ready and raring to go in coordinating outfits and had tons of creative energy.  They were so accommodating and willing to try different ideas that I think we really got a lot of great stuff out of our time working together.  Thanks for the positive energy, great choice of settings and for one heck of a kid wrangler (aka Grandma).  Special thanks to my daughter for assisting on this one too.  Check out a small selection of images from this session below. 

Christmas Portraits - Georgetown

Christmas is fast approaching and that means Christmas card season and accompanying Christmas photo sessions.  I'm actually showing this session out of order, since it came after the one I will be posting shortly, but I was playing around with a new photo grid template using these images and I wanted to share this one first.
 It was so nice to  see Alexa and Justin again and what a whirlwind session we had together scouting appropriate locations that hadn't already been previously used, figuring out wardrobe and re-arranging furniture.  Dad took a break from hanging Christmas lights to brave the basement and haul up the Christmas decoration containers so I could sort through them for handy props while Mom had to sit this one out as much as possible as she'd put her back out a few days previous.  In the end it all worked out and I think it was another successful portrait session to add to their collection.  Many thanks to AACreative for his assistance with lighting and technical support on this one.

One Year Session - Mississauga

It's hard to believe that a full twelve months have passed since I photographed this little cutie for the first time.  We had an action packed day of shooting and since the weather was unseasonably warm we spent a lot of time outside.  My favourite images from the day are definitely mom and baby reading a book under the tree in front of the library.  Mom requested that we shoot inside, but the library was closed.  I think I love this idea even more.  My second favourite images are from inside the donut shop we stopped at to grab a quick snack.  The window turned into a clean white background with the full midday sun streaming in and the ugly plastic and vinyl seats look great once converted to black and white.  Happy First Year and here's to many more fun-filled years to come. 

 

To see more images from this session, you can view the slideshow here.

Nine Month Session - Mississauga

Where has the time gone?  I can't believe this little cutie is already nine months old, it seems like yesterday I was photographing her at her one month appointment.  This was our first time working outside together and I was exited for the chance to use different locations.  It turns out that grass was a new experience for this little one and most of the photos have her looking at the ground, exploring the various foliage and trying to get various plant life into her mouth.  Though it wasn't the session I was expecting, it was yet another reminder that sometimes you just can't plan everything. 

 

To see more images from this session, please click here to view the slideshow.

40th Anniversary...revived!

Over a month ago now my external hard drive failed and I lost all unsaved work that hadn't been backed up to a second or third location. It was a truly terrible time and having to tell people I'd lost their images was an experience I don't want to have to re-live, ever. One of the things that was lost was the collection of images from my grandparents 40th wedding anniversary. People kindly offered to try and help, the drive was sent off and attempts were made for the files to be retrieved, all to no avail. The drive was well and truly dead. Once I got the news that all hope was lost on salvaging the original files I was ready to put the whole thing behind me.

As I was in the process of backing up everything I had to a new external drive and burning to DVDs, I went through my Lightroom catalog to see if there were files missing that I hadn't yet realized. While doing this I opened the folder for my Grandparents 40th and started viewing the images from the day contained in my Lightroom library. I wondered if perhaps there was any way of salvaging the preview images to at least get some sort of useable files. I opened up each file in the develop module and did a screen grab of the image, then renamed and saved the new copy to my hard drive. After cropping back to the original aspect ratio I ended up with a file, though small, was still at least useable in some capacity.

I was so excited about my discovery that I wanted to immediately tell everyone, but I didn't. I was afraid that there would be some unforeseen complication and the images would be lost a second time over. Rather than getting hopes up for no reason I waited until I'd salvaged whatever images I had imported to Lightroom from the shoot and they were all safely stored in three different places. Now I'm pleased to say that I've put a selection of those images together into a slideshow and I'm ready to share them with my family. I'm so thankful that you allowed me to photograph your special day and I'm sorry that it's taken so long for you to finally see your images. Enjoy.

To see more images from this event please click here to view the slideshow.

Newborn Shoot - Ajax

I had the privilege of getting to do a session with a brand new baby girl at only six days old.  It was the earliest I've ever photographed an infant and I had a great time.  I'm so grateful to her mom, who is a facebook friend of mine and who happened to go to high school with me, for allowing me into their home so soon after coming back from the hospital.  It was incredible for me to be able to capture this wonderful time in their lives.  Not only did I get to photograph mom and baby, I also got some images with big sister and Grandma and Grandpa were there on the day of as well.  I love the images created in this shoot and am so happy to have had the opportunity to photograph an infant at this amazing time in her life.  Babies change so fast at this age and I'm sure this little cutie has already grown in the few short days since I was blessed enough to meet her.

 

To see more photos from this session, please click here to view the slideshow.

Baptsim Shoot - Mississauga

The day threatened to be dark and rainy and I was pretty sure it was going to be a wash out when we arrived at the church in the midst of a spring deluge.  Halfway through the ceremony the clouds parted and bright sunlight filled the church and not a single drop of rain was seen the rest of the day.  It was my first Baptism and I learned a very important lesson.  Babies are much harder to shoot for formal portraits than adults and children.  I shoot infants all the time but in a more relaxed and quiet setting.  When you add seventy-five extra people, tons of visual distractions and a day that follows a somewhat strict schedule rather than following the flow of the baby's natural rhythm it's a whole different story.  I shot so many more frames simply because it took that many more to get every group shot.  Getting every member of an adult group looking at the camera, not blinking and smiling is one thing but add an infant who may be tired, hungry, cranky or just plain distracted is simply that much more difficult.  Overall the day went great, the weather turned out to be perfect and everyone had a good time celebrating.

To see more images from this event please click here to view the slideshow.

Family Photo Shoot - Georgetown

I was supposed to come out and do a lovely fresh spring shoot at the local park with two lovely kids.  The weather had other plans however as it was pouring with rain, severely overcast and nothing that any of us wanted to attempt outdoors.  We decided to keep everything inside and came up with a new game plan.  Mom and Alexa would do some baking in the kitchen, then we'd do a couple of unstructured family group shots and Dad and Justin would do an activity of their own.  Once again it was time to bring out the off camera flash as there just wasn't enough good light in the house for my liking.  Just like real life, because it is real life, the shoot was a little bit hectic mixed with a little bit of ad libbing and  some unexpected moments thrown in for good measure.  Completely not at all what any of us had planned but in the end what we got was a selection of great images and a fun day that we wouldn't have had if the weather had been 'perfect'. 

 

 

When It All Falls Apart

Two hours ago I didn't have a Disaster Recovery Plan.  Two hours ago my external hard drive hadn't died either.  If I've read one article about backing up your files and making sure you have duplicates and triplicates of everything you shoot I'm sure I've read four more just like it.  Somehow amidst the crazy, hectic days of trying to get a very long list of things done, backing up perfectly good files seems to always end up at the bottom of the list.  It's time consuming, can be quite expensive depending on how you do it and seems frivolous until you're faced with the very real possibility of losing everything you've ever done. 

Have you ever heard people talk about what they'd save if they had to choose one thing to take with them from a burning building?  That's kind of what I feel like at the moment.  I'll spend the rest of the night and most likely early into the morning backing up the files I still have on my internal drive to some spare external devices while simultaneously burning it all to DVD.  In the morning I'll get up and find a data recovery company to try and rescue the folders I hadn't had a chance (or hadn't made the time) to properly back up.  This will cost me a considerable amount of money.

The advice of everyone who knows better or who has been through this sort of thing and never wants it to happen again is solid.  Back files up to a minimum of three locations, preferably with one of those being off-site.  It seemed like overkill until one of my two back-up devices failed.  If I'd already implemented the third, perhaps I could have easily recovered from the loss.  I couldn't justify the cost of implementing a full plan while still in the midst of start up.  "You can't afford not to" seemed like a tired cliche.  The phrase has it's merits.  I can't afford the cost of attempting to recover my lost data either, and it may not even work. 

In the grand scheme of things I didn't lose as much as I could have, but enough to cause me not only distress but add extra hours of work, increased stress and loss of momentum in the business.  I have potentially lost my most recent shoots and therefore my most improved work, the trust of those who believed I would keep their memories safe until (and after) I had delivered their orders and a fair share of self-belief.  Mistakes happen, yes.  Accidents happen, true.  Technology can fail, of course.  A responsible, professional business owner who wants to be taken seriously understands this and plans accordingly.  I'm stepping up to the plate; a little late but a whole lot wiser.    

It's Who You Are, Not Just What You Look Like

Yesterday I had someone ask me how long a typical photo shoot lasts.  Since my main focus is infant portraiture I used that as my example and answered "A minimum of and hour and a half, but I've had shoots that lasted four hours."  They were surprised at my answer and told me "I wouldn't be happy if a photographer was in my house for four hours."  I was a little taken aback and it got me thinking about what it is I do as a portrait photographer.

A lot of people I have conversations with are used to going to the big box portrait studio at the local mall once or twice a year for family photos.  They may have also had a photographer from a large company come to them at the hospital or at home after having their baby to photograph their newborn.  They are familiar with the concept of walking into a busy studio, with a variety of props and backgrounds and then sitting for ten to twenty minutes of shooting resulting in a dozen or so images to choose from.  It's quick, easy, impersonal and I'd like to say it's inexpensive but that's not always the case nowadays.  This is not what I do. 

I don't work in a studio, in fact in most cases I don't even use lights, I don't have props and I definitely don't want the experience of working with me to be impersonal.  When someone books a sitting with me there is a considerable investment made on both our parts.  Not only in terms of money, but also in time and effort.  From my side I am taking the time to drive to my clients home, sometimes a fair distance away.  Once I am finished shooting I take the time to edit the resulting images to a level that I feel satisfied with and when a client places a order I go back and optimize their images so that I know they will look as good as they possibly can when those images are printed.  All of this takes time, more time than most people realize.  I only book one sitting per day so that I know I have the time set aside should I feel I need it.  I don't always need four hours, but I'd hate to be looking at my watch every few minutes and then tell someone I have to leave when I know I haven't 'got' everything I could have.  I wouldn't be doing the job I've set out to do to the best of my ability. 

When I arrive at someone's home I understand that they are making a considerable leap of faith by letting me into their lives, their homes and their personal space.  They are putting their trust in me not only as a photographer but also as a person.  This is why I believe that it is so important that potential clients consider not only whether or not they like a particular photographer's work but also if they feel comfortable with the photographer as an individual.  When you are sitting in a studio for fifteen minutes being photographed by someone who may not even know your name, it's not all that important to know whether or not you'll get along with the photographer.  What's most important is that they take a flattering photo of you and your family. 

When you invite a photographer into your home, to spend an extended amount of time with you in your personal space it's not an insignificant thing.  I feel quite honoured that clients put their trust in me in such a way.  When I'm at someone's home for a shoot, I have the privilidge of becoming an honorary family member for the day.  I'm becoming a part of their history, telling their story, living their life alongside them for the express purpose of telling that story to others through my photographs.  If a client is not comfortable enough around me to relax in front of the camera, if they're ill at ease having me wandering though various rooms in their home looking for the best light and settings, if conversation doesn't come easily and they feel they can't open up and chat in breaks between shooting then I won't be able to do my job and in the end my clients won't be happy with the images I have captured.

My job, as I see it, is not just to capture an accurate representation of what a client's child look like on the particular day I am with them.  Yes it's important that I capture images that represent them in a flattering way but more important to the experience I am trying to provide is that I capture the essence of who they are as an individual, what makes them special and unique .  When a mother sees the proofs from her infant's portrait sitting and says to me "That's totally Ethan!", when they laugh at an expression or notice a particular gesture or in some cases get a little teary-eyed,  I know I've done my job.  I was able to capture those little personal nuances that only a parent would recognize and that makes me feel a great deal of satisfaction.  Baby's grow and change so fast that gestures, expressions and habits that seem commonplace to parents when they are happening change and evolve or are left behind as the child gets older.  When I am able to capture these moments for people I am also giving them a way to look back years down the road and say "I'd forgotten about that" or "Remember when they used to do that?".

In the end what I do as a photographer is more about expressing who my client is, not just what they look like.  Yes, the investment can be significant but the end product of our collaboration can be even more significant.  I certainly want that to be the case.  What you get out of the experience is directly related to what you put into it, this is true on both our parts.  If a potential client shares my vision then there's a good chance we'll be a good fit and what we create will be well worth the time spent, however long that may be.       

Mother's Day Portraits

Nope, not portraits of me.  Portraits I took as part of my gift to my mom this year.  I offered to do a portrait session of her with my daughter so she could put a couple of the resulting photographs in the empty frames that were also part of her gift.  When we got back to my house after a wonderful late lunch yesterday it was time to set up for the shoot.  All the (good) natural light was gone from the room and I decided to use off camera flash.  Not something I normally do.  The photos were taken in my living room using my area rug, pushed up against the wall, to cover up the hardwood that I thought would be distracting.  Everyone was busy digesting, my daughter was intent on not sitting still, the animals were excited by the commotion.  In general it was kind of crazy, which is not uncommon around here.  Hope you enjoy this small selection of yesterday's work.  (I particularly like the one of my mother reading Justin Bieber while I'm taking a test shot - not something I'd normally include but I thought it was funny).

Thanks for sharing the day with me, you crazy ladies.  Hope you had as much fun as I did and you enjoy the photos as much as I do.  Let's do it again next year!

All photos copyright Love.Peace.Life Photography 2011

What It's All About: Love

Mother's Day, always an interesting day for me.  This year I'd gone shopping with my daughter to buy cards for various 'mothers' in each of our lives and while we were looking through the offerings I could practically see a light go off above her head.  She turned to me and said "Mum, I want to get a card for someone and I don't want you to see it."  I obligingly looked the other way and told her how to turn the card over in the envelope so that the cashier could still scan it, but no one would see what it said.  After she'd made her choice we were wandering the store and she came across a bag of colourful plastic cubes and asked me what kind of candy they were.  I told her they weren't candy at all, they were plastic cubes filled with water that you can put in the freezer and use instead of ice.  Her face told me that this may just be the best thing ever invented and she picked up a bag and informed me that she had to buy this for someone.  When we got to the cash I asked her if it would help if I gave her some money and she could pay for it herself.  She agreed, that would be best.  When we got to the car she asked me if I remembered what she'd purchased.  "Some candy?"  I said.  She smiled and said "Good, keep not remembering what I bought."

This morning when she came into my room and said "Happy Mother's Day Mum, open your presents now!"  (I'd already received the hand made bookmark she made at school before she'd gone to bed last night) She presented me with a shopping bag filled with tissue and tied with a big yellow bow that read "Happy Easter!"  Inside was a handmade card that she'd made at school, a store bought card and two tissue wrapped bundles.  Surprisingly, the store bought card, though definitely for me, was from the kitten.  Inside she'd written in little wobbly kitten writing how grateful he was that I'd found him and given him a home and decided to be his mom.  The first bundle was the wooden box that normally holds her pencils and erasers.  I was informed this gift was from her.  Inside was a selection of her Easter candy that she'd gotten from the Easter Bunny.  The second bundle was a mesh bag full of brightly coloured plastic ice cubes.  These were also from the kitten.  She very proudly announced that she knew I liked having ice but that it was a lot of work to fill the trays with water and they sometimes spilled on the floor (when she drops them).  Now it would be easy for me to enjoy ice, without all that hard work.  She then announced that she thought perhaps I'd like to go running with her, since it was such a nice day and I love running.  We both got dressed in our running clothes, she packed up a backpack and we grabbed the dog and went for a 1 mile run which conveniently ended at the park.  In her bag she'd packed a snack for us to share (chocolate, fish crackers and cheesy cracker sandwiches) and a game for use to play.  She'd thought this one out and I had to give her credit.  The sun was shining, we were having fun being together and for all intents and purposes all was right with the world.

I don't have a single photograph to remember this morning by and sometimes that's the way it goes.  As much as I'd like to have my own personal photographer trailing me to capture all those everyday moments that turn out to be the ones I treasure most, it's not going to happen.  I've taken a fair number of photos of my daughter since she was born and I treasure them all but days like today remind me of the photo below.  I'd announced that it was time for me to do another photo shoot with her and she'd put on her new dress and we'd gone out into the garden.  She'd been a bit shy and taken a while to warm up.   Right near the end, while I was adjusting my settings, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye.  She came barreling towards me, a huge smile on her face and laughing the knowing laugh of someone who recognizes that they've caught you off guard and there's nothing you can do about it.  I raised the camera to my face and as she went blurring by, all giggles and raw energy, I clicked the shutter knowing full well that I'd never get 'the' photo.

And isn't that just like life?  Often the moments we cherish most are the ones that from the outside might seem mundane and not all that special but the memories they call forth are powerful and significant and evocative.

School Fundraiser "En Francais"

I just managed to look through the photos from Ecole Norwood Park's annual fundraiser, Fench Cafe, for the first time.  I thought I'd share a few photos from the event.  I can't post anything involving people without having model releases from the individuals concerned (or their parents) so you get none of the real action but a little taste of the fun...

From the Food Table

 

 

One of the Prizes for the Games

Waiting for the Open House of Classrooms to Start

My Daughter

A fun night was had by all, lots of games, prizes and local vendors.  Hopefully a fair amount of money was raised for the school and the students and parents enjoyed the event.  This was my first French Cafe and being able to document the evening for them was a great experience.  Only another 12 months until we do it all over again! 

Life Lessons: Ouroboros

Today my To-Do list is longer than my arm.  I've got to download and edit the photos from last night's fundraiser (which I had planned on blogging about), keep prepping photos and writing text for the website and a whole list of things that are only relevant to me and I will spare you from having to read about.  After dropping my daughter at school this morning I arrived home ready to start the work day.  As I was trying to catch up on email/blog/twitter, I heard an unholy series of crashes from downstairs, followed by silence.  When I went down to investigate I found a pile of broken glass, tangled frames and some ruined photos at the base of the fireplace.

My dream for my fireplace mantel, up until about 20 minutes ago, was to have white frames in a variety of sizes, layered artfully atop one another, spread across the mantel, leaning against the wall and filled with B&W prints of my personal work.  I haven't gotten very far in my project.  If I find prepping photos for the web frustrating now, I've found prepping photos for print equally if not more  frustrating in the past.  Recently, I simply haven't had the time or resources to devote to editing, printing and displaying personal work, even though I've now found a lab who gives me the results I was looking for.  Those three lonely prints were the only tangible representation I had of the work I do for myself and no one else.

After locking the animals out of harm's way, I stood there staring down at the broken mess and I wasn't sure how to respond.  Part of me wanted to cry at all the lost time and effort and money that went into that venture.  Part of me wanted to rail at the kitten, whom I had lovingly adopted last week after finding him and his litter mates behind my garden shed.  A kitten who was now hiding under a bookcase after causing this whole commotion.  But, another part of me quietly spoke up and reminded me that I hadn't really been happy with the quality of those prints anyway and hadn't I recently thought that I should stop putting my work in IKEA frames?  Come to think of it, isn't this like nature's way of reminding me to clear out the old to make room for something new and possibly better to take it's place?

This new Zen part of my consciousness that has suddenly shown up is a bit annoying.  I'd rather be angry that I'm having to pick shards of glass out of white brick.  I'd rather be sad that I've lost my only printed works.  I'd rather be upset that I'm now even further behind in my workflow than I was when I woke up this morning.  Instead I find myself looking at the now blank space above the mantel and seeing an opportunity for creativity.  I've wanted a tattoo of an Ouroboros ever since I saw Scully get one way back when I actually owned a television and shows like The X-Files were brand new.  Destruction begets Creation.  Thank you for reminding me Universe, I'll bear that in mind.

Photo Sneak Peek

Taking a break from the website work to share a photo from one of my latest shoots.  That's right, just one.  Maybe I'm being much too picky but it's taking me forever to get my photos web ready and to a place where I like them enough to put them up on the site.  This photo I love.  I'd arrived at my client's house on a bright and sunny day.  I've done multiple shoots with them and I know the layout of the house.  The only space with clear access and good light is the front end of the living room which has a huge window....that faces South.  This particular day had decided to be bright and sunny, exactly what I didn't need for the shots I was trying to get.  I'd been shooting with my back to the window and avoiding all the direct sun as much as I could.  When we took a short break,  I walked around to the other side of the chair my client was sitting in and thought; "I wonder if I could make this angle work?".  I asked to turn it all around so I could shoot into the window and that's when I got this shot.  Not something I'd ever thought of doing and yet it's my favourite image of the whole day.

 

Stages of a Website

What I don't know about creating a website would fill a library.  Although I've only officially started my business as of January 1, 2011, I've been attempting to create a website I can be proud of for almost a full year.  For someone who doesn't know what they're doing and very minimal money to invest in the project, it's been a hard task for me.  I don't know the first thing about programing and I have no intention of learning.  That leaves me with templates.  They aren't the most satisfying things when you're someone who's used to being able to create exactly what you see in your head.

I'm on my third website build and host company at the moment (not including the two I paid for and then promptly opted out of once I realized they weren't what I was looking for) and I think I've finally found something that has all the basic tools I need, is easy for someone like me to use and doesn't cost a whole lot.  The problem that all my attempts thus far have had in common is my images.  They've looked terrible once I've uploaded them to my sites.  They'd look great on my screen and once I uploaded them they were horrible.  Every image looked as though I needed glasses and hadn't bothered wearing them.  That's when I realized that even though I keep feeling like I'm growing and progressing as a photographer I'm going to keep coming upon situations where I'm right back to square one.

I've done a lot of research and as I'm now trying to meticulously prepare my images for the new web galleries and slide show I'm so close to being finished that the wait has become unbearable.  It's not enough that I've agonized over which images get included on the site in the first place but now I get to agonize over whether or not those images will be displayed to their full potential.  That brings me to this chart that I came across on the internet last week.

Never was a truer representation created as far as I'm concerned.  Every time I get frustrated with this whole process I think about that graph and try to remember that it's all a process and I'll never get where I'm going without being where I am right now.

Opportunity

I was watching Jasmine Star's photography workshop on Creative Live recently and while doing so I opened up a container of chocolate nibs I'd received as a gift.  Inside I was surprised to find a 'fortune'.  As I pulled the little slip of paper out of the box it was one of those moments where everything comes together.  All ideas seem to line up and for a split second everything becomes clear.  It felt to me like Life had hit the 'pause' button and then looked me straight in the eye while saying "Pay attention to this, there's a lesson for you here."

I want those moments.  Not only do I want them, I think I need them.  Do I listen?  Do I act on the insight I am given?  Do I learn what I am supposed to?  Do I make the changes I so obviously need to make?  Not always, but I'm trying to remedy that.  It may seem silly to believe that a random offering of insight and advice could be at all useful but here's the thing; it doesn't matter that it's random and co-incidental and a little bit hokey.  What matters is that it is true, it is applicable to me and I recognize it as useful.