National Dog Magazine Cover of an Ottawa Pomeranian

Photographing animals requires some special skills. I`m a cat person and I can tell you that
cats are the toughest. Next comes small dogs. Here is one amazing little Pom we shot for an
Ottawa breeder who was featured on the cover of this months Dog Digest. Shooting for magazine covers is tough since their technical standards are quite high. We love the challenge!

Merry Christmas to All

Thanks to all our Commercial Clients and fans for making this
a great year at the studio....More to come in 2010!

BEST OF THE SEASON TO ALL OF YOU!

Paul Couvrette and the staff of Couvrette Studio.

Oh and thanks to my "model" family, Suzanne, Alana and Lauren.

Fashion Cover for Ottawa Life.

We have really been tooooo busy. I was off shooting the Olympic marathon in the Canadian Artic and meanwhile, our main photog Rachelle was back in Ottawa putting her talents to good use shooting this fashion cover for OL. We just loaded a couple of her shots into our main wedding site slide show at http://www.couvrette-photography.on.ca/flash/

Dropping names....

The coolest thing about my career is the people I get to meet. I have photographed the weddings of Chief Justice Barbara McLachlin, designer Justina McCaffrey and socialites like Mike and Marlen Cowpland and the Potters. My commercial site shows portraits of every Prime Minister from Trudeau to Harper . I believe I am the only photographer who has been given this honor.

Ok...that was a long preamble...but what I really wanted to show you was a new site featuring some of my work with my friend Kim Campbell. Enjoy.

Thanks for the link Kim....hey I guess that must be what they call a testimonial...lol

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13 Strings, Ottawa Classical Music

Here is my poster and web shot for Ottawa's own 13 Strings. They said they wanted fun....so we gave it to them.
Check out their website and by all means go see a concert...they are some of the best in town.




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Better Business Bureau of Ottawa Photographer Recommendations

Seems to be my lucky week...lol.

I had no idea people actually still looked at the BBB for referrals, but a new client
actually told me that they found me there....so I looked up local photographers...and
was surprised at what I found...or perhaps I should say what I didn't find.

Here`s our listing...go ahead...compare.

http://www.bbb.org/ottawa/business-reviews/photographers-commercial/paul-couvrette-photography-in-ottawa-on-10588


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My fifteen minutes..extended.

The current issue of Ottawa Life features Ottawa's Top 50 Citizens and guess who made the it on the cover. Nice to be in the company of Larry O'Brien and Michael Ignatieff. Read all about it here.

Paul and Friends

Some days I remember why I chose this profession. Its rare to get me in front of the camera
and rarer for me to post it...but this one I could not resist. Here I am backstage with my friends Kiss and Shannon Tweed, Playboy model and former Ottawan. We met many moons ago when I shot her modelling portfolio and one of the images was chosen as the "before" shot in Playboy.
No, I`m not that short...everyone else was wearing high heels...

Here is a link to the backstage shoot and a few concert snaps for diehard fans.

http://www.couvrette-photography.on.ca/KISS_Blues_Festival_2009_gallery/index.htm

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Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed party in Ottawa.

As promised...your invite to a private party, that was wild. Click on.....

Have Fun!




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Shannon Tweed and Gene Simmons KISS Ottawa.

Shannon Tweed and Gene Simmons are set to arrive in Ottawa and from the Tuesday evening party to the Bluesfest concert it should be lots of fun.

We will be covering most of the events so stay tuned to the blog and you will see a post on Wednesday showing how much fun you can have in the town that fun forgot...Its your backstage pass to the party of the year in Ottawa.

I want to thank all the residents of Ottawa who called and wrote in offering their support for
Shannon Tweed Day and their kind offers of goods and services to show Shannon and Gene that we really do know how to party. The response from the real people of Ottawa has been outstanding.

One bit of media I did want to clear up is the report that I shot Shannon for Playboy. While I do shoot for such publications for Time, Newsweek,Macleans and Businessweek...the feature in Playboy was shot by their staff photographer. The image I sold Playboy...my first big magazine sale about a quarter century ago..was a model test shot done for Lorraine Hammond modelling agency.

To those in Ottawa who tongues are still wagging over the Tweed Day debacle, I should note that Marilyn Monroe and Gina Lollobrigida appeared topless in film and print over 50 years ago.

Someone once wrote that living well is the best revenge...I think laughing well ain`t bad either.

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Ottawa bodybuilder's portfolio

No, this is not me with my shirt off...lol.

Editorial Assignment with Sonja Smits

In early June we were off shooting Ottawa-born actress Sonja Smits at her winery, Clossen Chase near Picton in Prince Edward County . It was a nice mix of tourism, architectural and portrait photography. Sonja was great...and even gave us a bottle of her celebrity wine to keep on our shelf...
I`m beginning to think this type of photography is some of my favorite work. Since I shoot editorial, architecture, groups, aerial, product, conventions, portraits, construction, headshots, corporate, advertising, lifestyle, stock, tourism, executives, photojournalism, portfolio, legal, medical and catalogue photographs...whew...it's tough to decide.

Guess I'll wait til I grow up.....


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Ottawa Gothic

Here is the current cover of Ottawa Life with a slightly different image than our norm thanks to a classic American painting, a magazine owner with an open mind and some nice photoshop interpretation by our own Rachelle Latremouille. Its nice to stretch the creative wings once in a while...

Stock from our Ottawa Archive.

We sell a fair bit of stock...whether its from personal work or from images we retained the rights to from assignments. Its great to get paid again for a shot you did 20 years ago... I`ll never figure
out why most photogs don`t keep an organized stock library...but then again, I`ll never figure out most photogs..lol.

Btw...here is a link to the site...a worthy cause indeed.
http://www.answertocancerottawa.ca/en/index.php

To top it off...I even got this thank you today. 4/6/09

I just wanted to say thanks for the photos on the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation's Lottery brochure. We'd received some great feedback, and appreciate your help. Our client is so impressed that we were able to acquire such great shots of Ottawa.

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Ottawa Photojournalist

I wear a lot of hats...

My first assignment in photography was tagging along with noted photojournalist Peter Bregg, formerly of Macleans and now Hello Magazine. To date I have worked for roughly 40 major mags including Time, Newsweek, Forbes and Playboy. I have produced over 250 magazine cover shots from Time Canada and Macleans to our own Ottawa Life and Homes and Land.

Recently I was honored to be asked to join Canadian Press, Canada`s premier agency that supplies the creme de la creme of photojournalists across Canada.

Time to buy another hat....

OH...btw...we also shoot weddings in a photojournalistic style. Check it out.
Seems it's trendy these days to say you`re a "wedding photojournalist".

Wonder who the other guys shoot for.....you might want to ask. Frankly, the
only photojournalist I know who shoots weddings is Bill Grimshaw, whose
edgy stuff if kinda cool. Just because you got the best man to put on sunglasses
for his portrait doesn`t make you a photojournalist.


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Executive Portrait of a BC Lawyer.

We photograph a lot of Judges and Lawyers.
I have done official portraits, event coverage and architectural
work for the Supreme Court, the Federal Court and the Tax Court
of Canada for over 30 years...



The way I see it..if a lawyer writes you a testimonial it should give you double bonus points...lol

Check it out...

Commercial Photographers...Who Ya Gonna Trust.

The web is a great place to compare services, but it has its limitations. It doesn`t take much to set up a website with a few shots that looks really cool.
The real test is Googling the actual names of a couple of photographers you like. Don`t bother with their own sites (of course we all make ourselves look pretty) Read what others say about them and where their work is published. You`ll learn a lot more than looking at pretty pictures...even mine.

Wanna play...start here!

Ottawa Headshot.

Here`s one for the girls...just a nice clean headshot for an aspiring model/actor. We have shot hundreds of these and its always rewarding when we see our work helping others find their calling.

Video Rental.

We rented the studio for a video yesterday...a crazy day indeed with probably 100 people running around the building getting busy. The guy on the left is probably our next Prime Minister. These guys from Toronto sure know how to do lunch...

Web site concept and Executive Photography.

Now what do these funky family shots have to do with commercial photography. For the answer, go to Winning Charities and check out their site, especially the staff head shots.This group came to our studio in Ottawa from Brockville just to do the shoot. We came up with the concept and I think it really works in todays business environment where showing more than a corporate look
can separate you from the crowd. Nice working with you guys and gals.

BTW....this just came in from the client....unsolicited.

Hello Paul

I wanted to let you know that our website is slowing working its way to completion. We have a few pages online, at www.winningcharities.com

Thanks again for the great day at your studios. We had a great time, and the website (and soon to be marketing materials) are going to look great because of it.

Hope we can work together again. We highly recommend you!

Abby MacIntosh-Hooper

Vice President, Marketing | Winning Charities

Testimonials...simple and sweet.

Travelling to do commercial photography is one of those fantasies that is a lot more idyllic than realistic. I am happier when I get clients from other parts of the world...and they come to me!

We have catered to Toronto execs who actually flew in for a portrait, New York musicians who drove here and even a lady from Newfoundland who came all that way for a boudoir shoot.
Lately we have had a run of clients from along the St Lawrence. We had a lot of fun with this real estate group who drove up from Kingston for a shoot for their upcoming web site.

Then I saw this and wow.

Awwww Thanks ladies!

Ottawa Fashion Headshot

We shot this for a makeup salon in Saudi Arabia... How did I get a client in Saudi Arabia...that's a long story. Our model btw was from Angies in Ottawa...very nice working with them as always.

Ottawa Fashion Photography

Motorcycle photography at our studio in Ottawa

Owning a large Centretown studio brings us lots of interesting shoots. This motorcycle was shot
for a major US magazine. Lighting this much chrome without any reflections,priceless....hey,don`t try this at home kids.

Executive Portraits on location in Toronto

Here are the behind the scenes shots and final image of a series of executive portraits I shot for Magna International and CBC in Toronto to promote the Next Great Canadian Prime Minister TV show. I have been photographing PM's for all of my career and have done portraits of every last one...from Trudeau to Harper. This year, Alex Trebek was the host and I had time to shoot some great stuff with the worlds most famous game show celebrity. He is a riot off camera...so we had a lot of fun.
This is my fourth year shooting the portraits for Magna International and my third year shooting the show for CBC....and their trust in my work is warmly appreciated. Not many photographers get the opportunity to do the work I do.

The final shots appeared on the covers of 7 major Canadian newspapers today with my credit
displayed from Coast to Coast. Mom and Dad...this post is for you.


The candids were shot by my assistant Frédéric Solenthaler...as you can see...I'm happy to be
out of the limelight.

Fashion and Product Photography

I started my career shooting Fashion and Glamour for Ottawa designers and models. The experience was great and led me to assignments from international cosmetics companies. I keep the rust off by doing some local sessions with upcoming models and actors. This shot is part of a major ad campaign that recently appeared in Vogue and InStyle. We have worked with Jessica
Simpson, Clean, and Fusion Beauty creating websites, ads and posters.
Here is the website for Keratin...which I think is really nicely done. We also shot all the product photography that appears on the site and the packaging.

Ottawa Life Magazine Editorial Cover

The current issue of Ottawa Life features our work on its cover . We had a great time shooting these stylish women in our studio and creating some cool executive portraits for the inside spread. I wanted to create a relaxed look and give it a fashionable edge. Preplanning the cover
layout was half the work....shooting the ladies...easy.

Tom Hanson

Today I spent some time going over the portfolio of Tom Hanson who passed away suddenly at 41 yesterday. We met occasionally on assignments that we both carried out for Time and Canadian Press and only last week I was admiring his shot of Stephen Harper in Times Square.

Tom was one of the good guys. A great eye, and a concern for industry rights. He is gone too soon.

Live every day they say....condolences to his family.

Couvrette Studio

Recently I decided to research the history of my building on Gladstone Avenue. The shape of the building always puzzled me and the City Archives finally solved the mystery.
Couvrette Studio was built in 1910 as a Livery (horse and carriage depot)by one of Ottawa`s top hotels, The Alexandria on Bank Street founded by entrepreneur Thomas Babin. By 1923 it became Horner Motor Sales, the first automobile showroom in the city. In the mid thirties it was the home of Progressive Printers and was heavily reinforced to hold huge presses on the second floor. The building is so solid that it easily withstood a car crashing in the front window last year.
Kinda reminds me of my company, which has withstood three recessions so far and counting. Yes, we started in 1977...making us one of the longest standing studios in the city.

Dollco took over the printing business and 430 Gladstone became one of Ottawa`s original hi tech companies in the mid sixties.I purchased the building in the mid 1990's and after extensive renos...voila, Couvrette Studio.


When I started my business there were 15 studios owned by photographers in the downtown core, bounded by Bronson, the Ottawa River, the Queensway and the Rideau River. How times change...now its just us......STABLE .you betcha! (its a joke,...livery (stable) oh well.

It sure would be nice to have some shots of horses and Model T`s in front of our building...maybe a project for the 100th anniversary next year!

How much should you spend on a photograph...

We quote on jobs all day long...some we get..others we don`t. Thats life.

Ottawa is a very competitive market and hey...competition is what makes life fun.

How much should a great executive portrait that will sell your personality cost?
What should you pay for that product shot that drags customers to your door?
Whats the right fee for a portfolio to sell your services as a model or actor?

The answer is...as much as you can budget.

I look at it this way....how much do large successful companies pay for their ad shots. They pay top dollar.
Why...because they know a couple of things about running a successful business. First, if you pay peanuts you get...well you know_____________. Second, a great image IS worth a thousand words. Third, given the cost of running an ad, creating a web site or
publishing posters and flyers...the cost of the image is really...well....tiny. Is it wise to save a hundred dollars on an image that you will use in ten thousand dollars worth of ads in the next year or two...
If you are trying to sell a service, a product or your own talents...don`t go cheap. Sometimes a bargain is simply a bad investment that doesn`t make the photographer or you a profit.
If I take for example the real estate industry, it seems that the top 10 in the city all have great
shots and invested in those shots even when they started out...How do I know this...because most of them are still my clients.

New Movie Poster shoot

You will see this poster appearing all over town these days. We shot the motorcycle
and the actors in the studio during the last days before the snow fell. Having a ground floor studio has its benefits...

Karsh and I

I am honored that the Ottawa Citizen has chosen to feature me in their story on Yousuf Karsh of Ottawa.
We met many times and I told him of the influence he had on my career. My one regret is never having had him take my own portrait or never having taken his, thought I did have the pleasure of taking a portrait of his brother Malak Karsh. As well, I wisely purchased an original print by Yousuf that he signed for me. The image is, in my opinion his finest work, a portrait of Pablo Casals.
My Karsh stories are many and I will save them for my own eventual book, but suffice to say I
was honored when he referred a number of clients to me upon closing his studio and equally honored when a number of corporate clients considered me as his replacement. Karsh was an artist, a businessman and one of the most refined gentlemen I have ever met...he truly possessed an old world charm that is rarely seen today. Without Karsh, I doubt my career would have developed technically and artistically as it did.

Click on this link to the Citizen page and if you click on my self portrait you can hear me speak on Karsh.

Xmas Card by Couvrette Studio

To those who aren`t on our list...here is our 2008 Christmas card. Each year for the last 20 years I have created a custom card for the studio, with the last 13 years featuring my daughters in a range of timely concepts. This year they were both into gymnastics and dance...

My new site for Xmas cards had a nice jump in traffic thanks to Tony Lofaro of the Ottawa Citizen putting it in his blog Tellittotony. Believe it or not we just sold rights to an image yesterday....sheesh....and I thought I was late with my cards.

Ottawa Christmas Cards Stock Gallery

No...the canal is not open yet!

This is one of my shots from my my new site Ottawa Christmas Cards in which I feature some of my archive of images that individuals and companies can use for creating their own custom cards and email greetings.

Ottawa Stock Photography

Here is another of my stock shots for use on Christmas cards...this one would also look nice in bw or sepia...

Stock Photos of Winter on Parliament Hill.

One more of my stock shots...from my new site....

Ottawa Commercial Still Life Product Photography.

This is one of the most extensive retouches we have ever done on an image. On the web, it may not be apparent, but in print in a hi end fashion magazine, every pixel needs to perfect.
We built a light tent around the products and lit it with giant softboxes, but even then its a real
challenge to light a dome shaped silver item. This is the kind of shoot that gives new meaning to the phrase.."pain in the neck"...but in the end its nice to finally pull it off. Much credit goes to my digital guys, David and Jeremy and Mike for their work over the years.

Ottawa Conference and Convention Photography

Here is a collage of images from a recent convention in Ottawa. The trade show was really interesting..all sorts of cool hi tech medical devices. Good place to have a heart attack too...since there were about 800 doctors there...

Ottawa Fashion Model Headshot.

I started my biz by shooting hundreds of model portfolios and its fun to return to that once in a while. Its kind of nice to know that my shots have launched the careers of some very famous people who have left Ottawa to make it big in Tokyo, Paris and LA. My kids are always amazed to learn that I did the original headshots of Shannon Tweed that were featured in Playboy and that Alanis Morrisette sat in on my shoots when she yearned to be a photographer. I remember advising her to stick with music...

Nowadays I still shoot portfolios on occasion for actors, models and musicians. They let me get my creative side out. We are always keen to shoot cool ideas and offer aspiring models and actors reasonable rates since we know how tough it is to get a good start in the acting and modelling business. (my two daughters are at it too).

To see more of our work...click here.

Simon Pulsifer, Time Man of the Year Shoot

We were just negotiating rights to this shot for a book on Wikipedia when I realized that it might be fun to tell the tale on my blog. Simon is an Ottawa supersleuth who is one of the most prodigious writers in Wiki. We did this shot for Time in their Man of the Year issue that featured YOU as the man of the year. The location was the Ottawa U library where Simon actually does much of his research. Rodin anybody...

Group Portrait at our Ottawa Studio

We shot this for a local ad agency last week...a fun afternoon was had by all..even though
we all had to battle a snowstorm and the OC strike to get here. These are all member of
the Armed Forces band who were dressed to the nines for these shots which will eventually be used for PR.

Xmas corporate group portrait.

We shot this a couple of weeks ago for a local group that needed an image for their Christmas card. The shoot was pretty smooth...other than the fact that I had to crawl over a safety railing and lean over a ledge...thank goodness I have no fear of heights.

Paul Martin at Press Conference/Book Launch

Paul and I go way back...how far...my Dad was his babysitter...true story! I have photographed Paul on a half dozen occassions from Time Man of the Year shoots to portraits when he was the Minister of Finance. A memorable one was an exterior portrait on one of the coldest days of January 2004.

My client for this shoot was actually a Scotch company....does it get any better.

Paul was launching his new book...and they even gave me a signed copy...

Environmental Portrait.

If there ever was a perfect subject for an environmental portrait, it would be an exec from the World Wildlife Federation. HQ in Toronto asked me to coordinate the shoot and get them an image that showed this exec was a WWF representative in Ottawa...this was my solution.

Nice working with ya guys....Save the Planet.

Ottawa Architectural Photography

I now have a US agent for my architectural work..yippee. This was my first shoot for one of his clients, Marvin Windows. I traveled just across the border to Alexandria Bay NY to get this shot. I am looking forward to more of this type of work...its a peaceful respite from the madness of covering events and dealing with deadlines...though that can be fun too.

We are looking forward to finally getting my stock work online through my agent...when we get some free time from assignment work.

Mental Health Convention.

A lot of photogs find conventions and meetings boring...not me. Why, because I find it interesting to hear whats going on...especially at medical conventions. This was a shot from the launch of a new Canada Post stamp at a Mental Health convention. The speakers were really compelling and I got to hang out with Susan Agulnik, the noted singer. Besides, the chocolate souffle was delish.....

Ottawa Architectural Photography

This was a shot for a local magazine, Homes and Land, that I was particularly happy with. While I was shooting it, another photog ran around for the real estate company and probably did
50 shots in the time I spent doing one...For some reason they chose mine for the cover of the mag...hmmmn. I have no idea why someone would try to sell a million dollar house with a ten cent picture, but it happens all the time. To date, after a year with this mag, I estimate my work has helped sell ten million in homes. Seems simple to me, large corporations don`t spend the time on their images because they are philanthropists...they know it works.

Ottawa Executive Portaits

Commercial photography is not just shots of guys in mines (though I have done that too) but its also images that serve the purpose of showing executives and sales personel in a manner in which their image sells the company vision.

The net provides a great way to see exactly what talents a photographer has and its been a great boon to my portrait business. Potential clients who see our work on the net and still decide based on the lowest quote...well...we are happy to do their next portrait...and that is a common occurance.

I just can`t figure out why a person appointed to select a photographer for their boss would take the chance to shop solely on price, expecially when the spread between a great photog and the bargain basement is so small. Nor can I figure out why a real estate salesperson would save a hundred on a portrait that they spend tens of thousands running over the next couple of years...funny.

Corporate Photography Ottawa Annual Report

This might look like a casual snap of the staff at LIVE 88....but every square inch was art
directed by a Toronto Agency.

Ottawa Fashion Portfolio Shoot

Having a large studio affords me lots of opportunity to shoot big groups but also lets me
create more action in sessions. This is from a recent model portfolio shoot.

Rental of the studio to an Ottawa ad agency for filming.

Aha...here is a better shot of the studio during a rental to a local ad agency for filming
a corporate video....and no, we won`t rent it for your Christmas party.
We have decided to be a little more selective on our rentals so we will not do any one
day rentals that involve complete soundproofing unless they are done on a weekend.

UPDATE...we just set up a page to view details of the rental studio here.

Ottawa Product Photography

This looks easier than it is...

Note to self...never put a round metallic object beside a cylindrical metallic object.

The image is in the current issue of InStyle...

An Ottawa Editorial Photography session.

This was fun...

The shot was for an Ottawa Life feature on the Canada Council. We were a little nervous around

the Stradivarious and I thought the violinist was going to have a seizure when I asked her to balance it on her fingertips...whats a couple million I said, tongue in cheek.

Oh well, thank goodness for Photoshop.

Ottawa Executive Portrait of Paul Dewar

Ever wonder who shot that image of Paul Dewar that was splashed all over Ottawa recently....

It was great to shoot Paul and his Mom in what was to be Marion Dewar's last portrait
session. Shortly after, I worked with Paul on the campaign to keep the portrait gallery in Ottawa. When the election was called it followed that he chose me to shoot his PR shots.
We wanted a relaxed look with earth friendly colors to match his party's themes.
I was glad my work helped him become our current MP. Now that I think of it...every MP we
shot during the last two elections won...hmmmn think about that future politicos. Maybe I have
learned a trick or two having photographed official portraits of every Prime Minister since Trudeau....

Want to see more headshots and portraits...click away.

Preston Catalogue

This was shot as part of the current issue of Preston Catalogue. We had an interesting time shooting the artists and their art...the toughest part was the art, since photographing paintings and sculpture for a high end mag is no simple task...though I loved the challenges. Kudos to Preston for the great repro of my work.

This shot of Mark was one of my faves...it ran a bit small in the mag...so here it is in full.

To see more of our funkier portraits...go here.

Ottawa Life/Mayor Larry

My shoot with Larry O'Brien was fascinating. He was not at all what I expected and I
was impressed with his candor and resolve. Best of all, his wife walked up to me at a party
and told me she had a hundred emails saying it was the best portrait anyone had ever done
of Larry....wow.

This marks my 250th magazine cover....and probably my 50th for Ottawa Life.

Ottawa Photography Rental Studio

I thought I might show you my studio during an actual shoot. Somehow this makes the place look a lot smaller than it is....hmmn that cyc wall is roughly 35feet across. We are the only studio in the city with the capability to bring in large items like motorcycles.I am waiting for the first request to do a horse portrait....lol. We do btw, rent the studio out frequently for film and video and to save the many enquiries I get from folks wanting to rent it to snap their girlfriend..the price is $450day. For more details click here.

My fifteen seconds of fame...lol

An Ottawa U student, Hamed Tinafer decided to make ME his term project...and created a Wiki
page that tells the tale. Funny, he never mentioned my skills at poker and golf...oh well. But seriously, I was blown away by all the work he put into it...hope he got an A!

Welcome to Ottawa Commercial Photographer Paul Couvrette's Blog!

Welcome to my Commercial Photography Blog....

No, thats not me, its of course Rick Mercer in a shot I did for CBC this year at the Next Great
Canadian Prime Ministers shoot. It was great to see that the CBC began using it as one of its
key shots in promoting the show and Rick too.

For more of my Commercial Photography, take a look here.

To look at my entire Blog from the latest post on down...CLICK HERE.


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