Finding My Way Inside

Constantly in life, we are told that the magic happens when we step outside of our comfort zone. We all know that we grow the most when we step away from what we know and work to learn new things. I have taken a big step in that direction this winter, to challenge myself in new and frightening ways!

I have leased a STUDIO!

I've teamed up with Makers  & Mentors (a mother-daughter pair who teach artisan workshops) to create a collaborative space that doubles as a photo studio. Our space is in Timbre Studios, and although it's not 100% set up yet I have already done three shoots there. 

The thing about having a studio is - it is forcing me to reimagine my style. I have become so versed in outdoor shooting, weddings, and events, that it is very rare I have had to photograph a person in an unnatural environment. I am starting to settle into the process now, but some things that I am learning and growing into are:

1) How to get people to feel comfortable in a small room with lights shining in their faces. 

2) How to instruct people into different poses more frequently - I can't move around them for a different angle and background... my only variable is THEM. Encouraging changes in the way they are sitting, standing, relating to one another, interacting with the camera, etc. has been the steepest learning curve of all. 

3) Dealing with mixed light. The overhead lights in our studio are a cozy in-home yellow feel, while my studio lights are bright white like daylight. When they mix the result is BAD. Adding equipment as I go, and finding out just how many lights I need to mimic natural daylight has been interesting. Surprisingly, what I've found to be my favourite is just shooting with only the natural light in the building, and not using any of my professional studio lights. I find my subjects are more comfortable, I have more flexibility with what angle I can shoot from without adjusting any lighting first, and I am able to be more spontaneous when shooting. Luckily I have a camera that can handle low light very well, and the ability to scrap the traditional studio set up when I need to. 

I'm not surprised to find that I don't like shooting in the traditional "studio" way - with vinyl backgrounds, props, and lights. As in everything I do, I'm a little bit left of center. I'm not sure I will always want a studio, since my first love is still shooting outside, but this has already been a fantastic learning experience for me to grow my skills and diversify my style. 

Here are some samples of what I've been able to create there so far, with a few of my incredible clients! 

Timbre Studios is hosting a public open house on December 16, 2016. Register for a free ticket here and come check out the studio! There will be fires, Mayday Hotdogs, and Blindman Beer, as well as a DJ and several other great start-up businesses for you to meet! 

See you there! 

Honeymooning

Akumal Beach, Mexico

Neil and I had a destination wedding in Halifax, so we waited a full year before we took a traditional "get away from it all" honeymoon. We went to Mexico just after our one-year anniversary and were amazed to learn, after we had booked, how many people we knew had been to Tulum. Everyone we talked to mentioned the ruins, the resorts, and the beaches. In my perspective, above all those things, Tulum is an amazing place for the animal lover. We got to feed monkies, swim belly-to-belly with dolphins, play games with incredible parrots, and that's not even including the massive coral reef there, which is one of the best if you like fish! 

My top recommendation if you're planning a trip to the area is the Akumal Monkey Sanctuary. They take in all sorts of animals that are rescued from illegal housing, the circus, or unsafe living conditions. I can't express how amazing it was to feed the little squirrel monkies and have them jump up and down on our heads!

Next time, I've promised Neil more relaxing and less adventuring... the jury is still out on whether I'll be capable of delivering on that promise!

The Grand Oasis, Tulum

Cory + Kelly

Let Your Photographer Know You

In the midst of this summer/fall rollercoaster I've been able to fit in some of my favourite clients... the people I get to spend next summer with! Kelly + Cory have booked me for Canada Day 2017, when they will tie the knot. My engagement session with them got me thinking about the importance of getting to know your photographer.

I was referred to Kelly and Cory by my friends at Coffee Jockey (a dynamic wedding DJ duo) and we had our first blind date at Remedy a few days later. I'm glad they could tell from that first hour together that we were going to be a good fit because I could too! Still, I want more than a coffee date to prepare for the wedding, so the next step when you book with me is always an engagement session. The engagement session is a crucial part of my business model because it is a crucial part of my creative process. I offer that session for free so we can both get our nerves out - YES, I GET NERVOUS TOO! I guess I'm a bit shy about gushy lovey stuff, so it really puts me outside my comfort zone to ask people I hardly know if they'll share a kiss, look longingly at each other, etc, let alone be as bossy about it as I need to be to get the shots I want! 

The engagement session is my pre-drinking party. It loosens me up with my couples so I can see how they react to certain kinds of direction. This is where we joke around and take pictures of their pets to ease the tension. We find topics that we can talk about between shots, and most importantly, I learn how they communicate with each other, the camera, and me. If there is something I ask them to do that makes them uncomfortable I remember that for next time. Since "next time" is usually their wedding day, when I want them to have ZERO discomfort and 100% confidence taking pictures with me, I can't think of anything more important than this pre-wedding meet, greet, and engagement session.

There is another aspect of the engagement session that has proven invaluable for me, and that is the delivery process. When I deliver a photo set I pay attention to which images my clients share, which ones they download first. This gives me a clear indication of what they like. If they download all of the bright airy photos, and not the darker ones with more mystery, then I know the photos I take on their wedding day should allign with the bright, airy feel. If they don't share any of the pictures where they have serious, pensive looks on their faces then I know they want me to capture them smiling and laughing. That doesn't mean I will shoot less of the mysterious shots, or the pensive faces. I shoot those pictures for me, because those are the ones that keep me excited as an artist, but I will spend more time editing and delivering the pictures that I know will make them happy. As a people pleaser, there is nothing more gratifying for me than feeling like I've done my research, I've made a personal connection with someone, and I am going into a wedding 100% prepared to deliver what they want. 

After saying all that, I want to air out the idea that an engagement session with me can be LITERALLY ANYTHING. I have had some couples say to me that they aren't really the "engagement pictures" type, or that they don't really stand and pose very well. I wanted to book with Kelly and Cory while they were getting tattoos together, but due to logistics we ended up doing and in-home/outdoors lifestyle session instead. These are never just stand and pose photos with me, and I always aim to capture my couples in a place of authenticity for them. I want to challenge the couples of the world to stop thinking of engagement photos as a way to show off how perfect and cute your relationship is, and instead think of them as an opportunity to conserve a timeless reminder of this time you are sharing with one another. Go to a place that's special to you - go have fun somewhere, choose a rollercoaster, a poker game, a night at the movies. Do whatever you usually do together, and in the end the by-product will always be a collection of amazing photos that show off how perfect and cute your relationship is, but they will show it in a unique way that is distinctly YOU. 

Inviting your photographer along to get to know not only how you stand in front of a camera, but also what you do together for fun will be the beginning of a strong relationship, and result in better, more authentic pictures. I can actually say that I know Cory and Kelly now. I know their pets, and how passionate they are about rescuing and fostering animals. This will no doubt give us better conversation on their wedding day, but it also equips me to communicate with them better, and notice ways to capture their personality in the moment that I may have otherwise missed.