Sneak peek at our latest work.

I was in the Arctic last week covering the Olympic marathon, so our staff photographer Rachelle Latremouille shot this great cover for Ottawa Life. She still has lots of openings for next year ...portraits, boudoir and weddings with a female touch and Francophone to boot!

Photographs worth a thousand words.

In law, they used to use the term "photographic evidence"...not any more. In the digital age, photographs can be downright misleading...
We see a lot of websites and blogs showing a half dozen shots per wedding. That's no way to judge any photographer's skills. Frankly, even our trainees come up with a few good shots per wedding. The real test is whether they can cover the whole day from portraits to candids.

Sooooo...I thought I would post a recent wedding that shows what we do on a real job. If you want a fair comparison........ask other photogs to do the same.

Service with a Smile

Your call is important to us!.....Press 8 while standing on one leg and and holding your breath so we can transfer your call to our operator in Bangladesh.

In todays world that's pretty well the norm, but not at Couvrette Studio. We've employed a full time office manager and support staff since the start of our studio in the seventies. Booking a part time photographer that works from home may look like a bargain, but in the end you may find otherwise. A wedding is generally comprised of 3 to 10 hours of photography and 25 hours of coordination, planning and post production. Our office manager and support staff work 9 to 5 weekdays and your call will always be answered right away, or within the hour if we are on the line serving another customer.
Yes, we are not open til midnight on Tuesdays ...that's because we operate a full time studio not a hobby business out of our homes in the evenings.

Sometimes we all get caught up looking at price so much that we forget to compare service. It is a huge part of coodinating and creating a fantastic wedding album or a beautiful wall portrait and delivering it flawlessly and on time. I`ll confess that I buy our paper towels at Costco..but when it comes to something really important like our cameras...we go pro all the way.

There are only 5 studios in Ottawa who have flourished for over 25 years....now you know one of the reasons why...



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Ottawa Wedding Makeup

Looking over the post below, it occurs to me that I should mention some dependable and talented
Ottawa wedding makeup artists. We have worked with quite a few and while style is very individual (ask for a test run) professionalism and timing are what impresses us.
First, I would stay away from most hair/makeup salons unless they can guarantee that you are the only wedding there that morning. Hair salons tend to overbook and we have seen more lateness from salons than from individual artists that go to your location. No matter how great your hair and makeup look for that critical 12hrs, your photographs will be around for many thousand times those hours...and all the makeup in the world won`t hide a look of stress....The most dependable salon if you do go that route in town...Rinaldos.
As far as individual services, Weddings by Tracy and Ottawa Makeup Artists are really professional. We also like the work we have seen from Seema Haider..but have not shot with her yet.

Ottawa Wedding on Youtube

We posted this wedding on Youtube not too long ago and now its up over 2000 hits...wow.
The bride is coming in for a pregnancy portrait next week...I guess that's a
testimonial to my work...and theirs.

Ottawa Wedding Receptions.

In the coming weeks, I hope to post some images of many popular Ottawa Wedding Reception venues and photo locations. Having covered over 1000 weddings to date...who better to ask than someone who has seen his share of rubber chickens and fine cuisine.

For now, here are some observations about some of the popular Ottawa and Gatineau area reception venues. The comments are derived from our photographers experiences and this post will be updated as new info comes in. Feel free to add your comments and this can be a resource for those seeking to choose the ideal location for their event.

Strathmere... If the couple enjoy a rural setting and a lot less stress this is one of the best spots in the area. Food is a 7 to 8 on 10. The staff are friendly and the exterior locations for photos are
plentiful if you have a good eye. Only downside..the interior of the main manor is small and could use a new paint job..hint hint.

Stanleys Maple Farm... Once again, a rural setting...not quite as pretty as Strathmere for photographs...but the food is on par. The big plus...a great wagon ride...especially beautiful in the fall. They have also recently put in a nice garden that serves as a good photo spot.

Chateau Laurier...The best indoor location in Ottawa. Food varies widely....at the low end menus its a 6 or 7 given the price/quality ratio...BUT....at the high end, such as what one sees in the Quebec suite at its premium menu...its a 10. Parking will cost you big time...but hey, its once in a lifetime.
Update Mar 09....just enjoyed a great wedding, food, service and coordination was A+
The couple chose a buffet type service and it was well coordinated and the food was excellent.

The Schoolhouse....a special little spot in the west end (max 70people) that is worth a look.
http://attheschoolhouse.ca/history.php We have not been there, so don`t take our word on the
food...but the place itself seems quaint.


Holiday Inn Kanata...surprisingly nice. Food is above what one would expect for a Holiday Inn and the lobby is small, but not too bad for some nice shots on a rainy or winter wedding. Parking if free and plentiful.

Westin Hotel. Food is widely varied...at their best its still a 7 or 8. Not much thought was put into indoor locations for photos...always a problem in Ottawa...especially in the winter. The main reception areas are not that exciting, so unless you spend a fortune on decor your wedding
may not look much more exciting than a dentists convention.
If you have the budget, the suites on the top floor have some of the best views of Ottawa and make a great location...but get your wallet out. On a sunny day, the rooftop garden
works well too....

Delta...Nice staff, food is average. The lobby area is pretty busy to shoot in...but its better than
the Westin.

Hilton Lac Leamy....Food is a 9 or a 10 most of the time. Great decor...lots of photo spots indoors and out. One of our favorite spots. Check the rest of my blog and my site for some pix.

Beantown Ranch...a hidden surprise...Food is excellent and staff VERY friendly. Its very rural,
but worth the drive..lots of great photo locations. They really care about weddings! AAAA

Sala San Marco....Food is always great....not surprisingly,they are excellent at Italian. Lobby is a bit small..and no place for pictures...too bad. Its a short jaunt down to Dows Lake or the Experimental Farm for some shots of the gang.

Italian Soccer Club....Decor is plain ....But the food once again is tops. Italian weddings
demand nothing but the best. Parking is free.

Skyline Hotel...food is pretty standard, though once again, you should consider that as you move into the higher brackets on any hotel menu price wise...the food gets better (gosh, that works in a lot of services doesn`t it)..no great photo locations at the hotel, although the view from the top is spectacular, shooting groups there is not advisable since its all glass.

Tudor Inn...location needs a makeover...food is a bit above average. Parking is free.
Lobby is not a place for group shots..try Mooneys Bay park on the way out there...some
nice white bridges and water.
Update...we were back in May 09...and rate it the same

Ottawa Hunt Club. Food and service are great, view is fantastic. A little formal, but if
thats your schtick...enjoy. Group shots can be done on the front lawn...though you have
to contend with a lot of traffic...we advise shooting elsewhere unless you are really stuck for time.

Empire Grill.....great food and service. Perfect for a wedding of under 75 people...
Parking is best at the lot behind the Basilica on Sussex....a two minute walk.

Royal Ottawa Golf Club Food is traditional..but very well done. Surprisingly, they don`t even let you near the beautiful course for pix...hmmmn. Stop along the Parkway for group shots or use the nice front verandah....if you want varied locations, perhaps even stop at the island in the middle of Champlain Bridge.

Cedarhill...food is average, decor is too. Photo locations...minimal. The good news...nice view of the greenery and a nice area for cocktails...plus, no charge to park.
Update...Summer 09 we saw an increase in the quality of food and service.

Loch March...food is average to slightly above. I hear the price is decent.(Update: Had a great steak dinner recently...if you can budget for that....you are OK) Not much in indoor or outdoor photo locations...which is surprising, given that its a golf course. It just happens that all the best angles are dangerous to stand a bride and groom in... A wonderful course btw...my fave in Ottawa. A good photo location on the way out there is Andrew Haydon park.

National Art Gallery...Great location rain or shine. Food is super..and the parking is even reasonable. Every couple of years some new civil servant changes the rules on where you
can take photographs..sigh. Make sure you clear it all well in advance.

Museum of Civilization. Wonderful photo location....a bit crowded most Saturdays in tourist season though. Food is average to good...depending on what you pay for it.... If you want GRAND..the Main Hall is really super with its view of Parliament at sunset.

Calagogie Peaks...a hidden gem. Great locations both indoor and out. Make sure you get some
shots on top of the ski hill. The food was excellent!!!




Cordon Blue.....Magnifique....some of the best food in town. Great decor and even a couple of
photo spots indoors. A little formal for most....but hey...live a little. Nice park..Strathcona..across the street.

Lord Elgin Hotel....have not been there in a while...but nothing really special last time we went.
No great spots to shoot in either. Food was competent, but not exciting, possibly try the higher end menus. There is a nice park across the street for photos...with rain, I suppose you could walk over to City Hall. The hotel lobby is far too busy.

Wakefield Mill....very nice location for photos...food is a consistent 9....staff are a little formal..but that may have changed since we last shot there. Not much space for groups indoors on a rainy day.

Courtyard....food was very traditional...but competent. Great locations for shots just outside the
restaurant. A walkabout on the market for those candid shots is lots of fun.

Centurion... Food is dependable...but not exciting. Locale is pretty industrial. It IS possible
to shoot some groups on the second floor in case of rain.
Update FEB 2010, check out the top of our blog for a post entitled Oh Canada...which was held
at Centurion...
http://www.couvrette-photography.on.ca/blog/

Montebello. A beautiful secluded location with fine food. The rooms are a little in need of sprucing up for the price they charge. As well, shooting in the main foyer is tough because it has a tendency to turn out dark when shot by anyone but an extremely goooood photographer. One tip, try booking their smaller venue at the golf course..beautiful and a little less pricey.

Brookstreet....I have not had the luck of being there yet...but my staff say the food is great. Not the best for photo locations...so hope for sun. The nearest great photo location is Andrew
Haydon Park...but not on a windy or cold day.

A good way to compare hotels is actually a site called Trip Advisor. They rate via actual feedback
from customers...check this one...about midway down...OUCH

Officers Mess, Somerset Street....good conservative food...one room is not bad for indoor shots.

18 Beautiful decor, great food..perfect for a group of 50 or less...No location indoors that is big enough for group shots...but on a nice day, Major Hills Park and the Market are right there.

The Mill.....I have not been there in a few years...thankfully. Great location, but boring cuisine and poor service the last time I was there a few years back.

Southway Inn.....excellent food and service at a reasonable price. Not much by way of photo spots though.

Ottawa Congress Centre...now being torn down...thank goodness...boring food and a location that resembled a prison...Hopefully the new one will shine..we need it.

Orchard View...great photo locations, food is a bit above average. Staff are very cooperative and
friendly....something we see at a lot of the locations outside the city core.


One more thing to consider...having the wedding outside of a normal venue and utilizing the
services of a caterer...I will post some thoughts on the local scene in the coming months, but for now I would say that my faves are Tulips and Maple as well as Thyme and Again...but then thats just my taste...I like creative, inventive and good wholesome food...not a chicken fingers guy at all.
Update....a reader suggested I add Dish Catering....and yes, they rock....how did I forget them,
heck, I did their portraits.



I would strongly advise you to do a sample meal before booking any of these locations as chefs and staff are constantly changing and some of my comments may be out of date... Its best to ask
friends who have had recent weddings at these locations, for things change in the catering biz
really fast.

Well, thats it for now. Just one closing comment. With all the money spent on weddings at these venues I am disappointed that most have not even considered setting aside space and budget to
create decor that works for wedding photography. I have been asked to consult with
a couple of these locations on the topic of decor for photos and their attitude has been less than enthusiastic about spending time and a little money on making weddings look better... how sad.
When you meet with the various reception planners take note of this, as its a mark of how much
they care for your business.

One last thing...I am open to comments on this thread, so post a comment on the blog or e me
privately if you have any flowers or bricks to throw at these reception locations...I will update
this every week.

Oh...one more thing...check out my site if you would like to see shots of some Ottawa and area locations we have covered...there are lots more examples at the studio.

UPDATE Feb 2010...check out our newest blog entries...lots of shots of local venues.
http://www.couvrette-photography.on.ca/blog/


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Digital files and making your own albums.

Digital files, a thorny issue indeed. Having the experience of a few decades in this industry I am often asked to speak to groups of photographers at Conventions across Canada regarding our business and this topic keeps coming up.

There are two schools of thought...photographers that simply shoot a wedding and let the clients print their own...and photographers who insist on total control.

We actually don`t fall into either camp...since our policies allow for both.

What do I think about the idea of having clients create their own prints and albums?...My opinion is that in 90% of all cases it is a bad choice for the client to try to make their own wedding albums unless they have top level skills and lots of free time. I can`t tell you how many people walk up to me at weddings and bemoan the fact they have no wedding prints...its really sad.

The image above shows what a great Photoshop artist can do in half an hour with retouching, skin tone and effects. What you see on this screen is exactly what our printer actually prints and what our client actually recieves. This is called a color managed system, which has taken us years to perfect and a lot of coordination with our lab. The combined experience at my studio is roughly 60 years in total time that my staff and I have been dealing with photography and digital. We have won over 100 awards for our work. Yes, there is a difference.

Occasionally we find one of our clients is a digital whiz kid and hey....we are open to discuss rates for including the files. As well, some of our clients simply want to make up some 4 by 6's for the inlaws and are not as concerned about these as their final album.

One thing I do caution against is selecting a photographer who will not make you prints. This is no bargain...I get emails all the time from brides asking if we will correct these "bargain" photographers digital files and make them prints. Sometimes I feel like Mike Holmes (you know,the guy from Holmes on Homes), but not quite as cranky. Yes, we have provided this service...but as they say..you can pay me now...or pay me a lot more later.

One final thought..... woe be the groom, who promises to make up a wedding album for his new bride and not deliver on that promise. Its a formidable task and to my mind, best left to a professional.

Ottawa Wedding

Sometimes simple and timeless works best. I chose this location because the detail on the brides dress matched the detail on the doors of Parliament (sorry if thats not evident on your monitor).

We spent a great couple of hours just doing a walkabout with the bride, groom and their flower girls (their kids). We forget sometimes that Ottawa has some national treasures up on Wellington Street that we all take for granted. I use them in my work quite a lot and am constantly finding new angles on these architectural gems.

Strathmere wedding photos

Color like this can`t be missed. I believe the thing that seperates a run of the mill photographer from a very good one is simply the ability to visualize things that others don`t see and then have the technical skills to record them. Having trained dozens of local photographers, many of whom are still shooting for Couvrette Studio, it becomes apparent really quickly which ones have the gift.

It`s probably possible to save a few hundred dollars on wedding photography...but isn`t that about 1 or 2% of the total spent on a wedding by everyone concerned from the engagement party to the honeymoon. It seems to come down to whether people really care about photographs and what I have discovered is that some people really don`t make that a top priority....and hey..thats ok...its just not my kind of client.

I wonder though..when they invite people to their home and look over the wedding shots a year down the road...do they feel good good about their decision.

BTW...for another shot of this Strathmere wedding scroll down to the bottom of the page and
see the shot of the bride and groom in a soy field...that's one of the many great locations out there.

Chateau Laurier Wedding Ottawa

The light quality of the day made this shot. Some people hope for a sunny day, but frankly the best light...if you know how to expose for it...is overcast light.

Ottawa Wedding Portrait Lac Leamy Casino Wedding

We stopped at a little island in downtown Gatineau which was a great location for a series of bride and groom portaits. This was one of my faves, partly because of the color and composition and partly because it reminds me of one of the nicer couples of the year....

Ottawa Wedding Photography

We shot this wedding a couple of years back but I still think its one of the most interesting shoots.
Check it out on Youtube or better yet, call the studio and come see the full album...

Youtube. Ottawa Wedding Pictures

I posted a wedding from last year on Youtube just for fun...well now it seems that its a hit with
over 2000 downloads in a few months. Here it is...enjoy.

The wedding took place at Stanley's Maple Farm near Russell Ontario. I remember the bride asking us if we would drive that far...lol. I told her we had recently shot a wedding in New York
City...!...so Russell was a cinch.

Oh...the horses were apropos...the Groom is a blacksmith.


Btw...pardon the poor quality of Youtube....come see it in the studio if you really want a good look.