Oh Canada

One of the great things about shooting weddings is all the different cultures we get to see...and now you get to see them too. Canada is truly the best country in the world to have been born in. Ok...maybe Costa Rica would have been nice too.

This coverage was by Rachelle...a francophone photographer who is full time at the studio.

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Hilton Lac Leamy Wedding

The Hilton Lac Leamy has to be one of our fave locations. This venue has it all...great food, avant guard decor and even a park right outside the door. Isn`t this a great dress....

Summer IS coming.

Man o man...it was a hot day to shoot a wedding. The backyard pool sure helped the reception, though I was disappointed nobody jumped in. I would have, but I was working.

Rockeries and The Courtyard Restaurant

Some locations are trickier than others as far as shooting. Unless you know what you are doing and have the equipment to pull it off, a lot of locations like Montebello, The Chateau Laurier and the Courtyard Restaurant tend to look like giant black holes. Experience is the key...1000 weddings to date!!!....and counting.

Centretown Ottawa Indoor Studio.

We see a lot of photographers advertise their companies as XYZ "Studio".

There are actually only a half dozen "studios" in Ottawa and ours has been quite busy this summer as the Ottawa Monsoon Season was wacky to say the least. We prefer to shoot outdoors and we do have a lot of ideas on alternate locations indoors in case of bad weather. Its really nice however, to have a large centrally located studio in case the weatherman does not cooperate with your plans for a portrait in the park or some wedding groups.

We actually do rent it to other photographers but not on Saturdays as we like to keep it for our clients. There is btw, no extra fee for our clients to shoot in the studio. Even better, we have full time office staff and are competitive with a lot of folks who work from their home.

How do we do it....come on by and I`ll tell you the secrets.






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Better Business Bureau of Ottawa

Its no fun to get all serious about such a happy topic as wedding photography.

This summer, however, we received a high number of emails asking our advice on the topic of Ottawa wedding photography. Sadly, many with tales of woe.

We have seen roughly 800 Ottawa and area photographers come and go in our 30 years in business. Currently there are roughly 200 Ottawa Wedding Photographer websites the majority of which are different from what we saw 5 years ago...and 5 years from now there will be a different 200.

When we started, you needed a business licence and you could not operate from your basement.
The population of the city supported about 20 excellent portrait and wedding specialists. Today,
all you need is a laptop, a dozen cool shots on a website and you`re in business...for a while.

Are some of the new crop good enough to last...yes. We recommend a mix of new and established studios when we are fully booked on a date.

Are we concerned about competition...no...frankly we love it...thats what keeps us on
our toes.

We are concerned however about the number of couples who contact us to
located their missing photographer, fix their digital files or make them an album
when their photographer does not provide this service.

After this much time in the industry, we have concerns about the reputation of our profession.

Soooo...we strongly suggest that couples use that old standby, THE OTTAWA BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU to check out photographers reputations. We did, and were shocked to
find how many rated low. Check it out for yourself.

You WILL find one AAA ...we're proud to say.

PS...Yes, we will offer the service of correcting your wedding files and making you an album, but sorry - we can no longer help you track down your photographer or offer legal advice. We are
too busy serving our own customers. Frankly, we have been so busy this summer I have not posted as many shots as I would like...I`ll correct that soon.

Ok...enough said...back to smiling faces....




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These people know how to have fun...

I would love to have been there....

Candids VS Photojournalism

Just so we are on the same page when discussing wedding styles...the top photo is wedding photojournalism....shooting unposed images. The bottom shot, while a lot of fun, is what is now
being called "candid" groups...ie more fun in posing. These need time and a cool location. People do not naturally do the things that you see in a lot of wedding photos...if you invest the time, we can create some great images.

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.

Ottawa Wedding Photographers

So what I`d like to do first is post some of my faves over the last couple of years and

tell you a little bit about our style....

This engagement photograph was done this spring in my studio on Gladstone Street. The couple were a lot of fun to work with...and it really helped set the tone for their
wedding shoot a couple of months later. Many of their wedding images are now up on our new Flash site, which can be viewed here.

Here is the first wedding EVER at the new Metropolitan Bible Church...

We had a great time shooting at the Mill in Perth this summer. The area is full of great locations, some of which are also on the new Couvrette Site.

Got Bikes? We are the only studio in the city with the ability to shoot motorcycles in a controlled lighting setup. How about bringing your bike in for a coooool engagement portrait.

Here is the first shot of one of my favorite coverages of this summer...Bring on those Italian
Weddings.

Yes... that IS her home, not the Chateau Laurier. We covered this wedding last summer on a beautiful day at her house on the St. Lawrence Seaway. Sara was such a nice bride, relaxed, cordial, and yes, on time for the shoot.

A bit of photojournalism by one of my photographers at a fun country wedding...

Serge captured this one in an elevator... good one buddy.

Here's one I got on a crazy rainy day... we could not resist this old barn as we drove by on the way to the reception.

Once again, Serge caught this shot at what must have been his most fun assignment of the summer.

Okay... so we played with this one a bit in Photoshop.

If I was entering this in a competition I would probably entitle it "Runaway Bride"... but no, she did stay for the wedding.

I shot this at the Bride's parents soybean farm silo this fall. Who knows what you will find when you get out of the city. In Ottawa, some fancy architect would charge you a fortune to put this post modern look on your house...lol

Who says studio portraits can`t be cool...

This was taken at Strathmere... sometimes I see things at locations that many photographers walk right by...

What do you do when a couple comes in for an engagement portrait in full Korean Wedding dress... this was my solution. Somehow they wouldn't have looked right in a gritty street or running through a park... Each couple has a unique image... and our job is to find out how to capture it.