We launched a new blog

We launched a new blog!

Best Wedding Photo of 2009 finalist

We are happy to announce that we were selected as finalists by bride.ca for their "Best
Wedding Photo of 2009" contest.

They selected the pic shown
from Susan and Jay's trash
the dress session. Here
are a couple of more blurbs
directly from the bride.ca
website:

These are the best of the best: selected among 500+ photos submitted by our wedding photographers, across Canada, these finalists best express "the spirit of wedding" - or, rather, the "spirit of the canadian bride" (and groom!) - in 2009.

Besides the obvious artistic and minimum technical requirements (tecnique, composition, colours, creativity etc) what we ultimately looked for was (a) the simple "wow factor" - would the bride/couple frame a large format version of this photo and display it in their living-room? would it dazzle their quests? (b) the "wedding factor" - is this a great photo or a great wedding photo? Unfortunately this meant that some incredible photographs did not "make the cut", because they "could have been anywhere", not necessarily at a wedding... In short, we looked for the type of image that would make you want to do it all over again, even if you were already married :-)

Natasha + Shaz Engagement, Toronto

Natasha and Shaz were looking to incorporate fall colours as well as the urban element into their engagement pictures and St. George campus seemed like the perfect choice. Add a couple of umbrellas to the mix and you've got yourself one perfect fall inspired engagement shoot :-) When we first met up with Shaz, he told us he was into photography himself, so we had a pretty good idea of what kind of imagery he appreciates. At the same time, we were certain that Natasha will ne looking for different things, so our goal was to strike a balance between the two points of view. Here is what Shaz had to say about it:

lol - good read!
Natasha doesn't necessarily agree with my favs. She's got her own ones. I go more for the overall feel & composure, and she goes more for the details and looks. I also noticed when you guys were taking the pics that you used Canon cameras which was cool too. I personally prefer the slightly softer and relatively more colour-contrasted exposures of Canon cameras, opposed to a Nikon. Again...great job!

Natasha and Shaz are getting married next year, and frankly we can't wait to photograph their wedding. Shaz will have some very interesting (and by the sounds of it, possibly painful, but definitely funny and embarassing :-)) pre-wedding traditions which will take place in his home. Stay tuned!

Congrats you guys!

Preshanthi + Gerald Wedding, Toronto

Three weeks ago we had the pleasure of photographing the wedding of Preshanthi and Gerald. The day started off in Scarborough and Markham where we photographed the bride and groom preparations and quickly moved on to the St. Lawrence Martyr Church in Scarborough for the ceremony. The couple had booked a photo location at the University of Toronto and we had just short of 30 min to make it there in time for the scheduled shoot. We chose to spend our allotted hour on bridal party group pictures mostly, and once our time was up, we proceeded to our favourite part of any wedding day itinerary - the bride and groom portraits :-) We deliberately chose to walk through secluded areas of UofT, where not too many people choose to venture, mainly because we like to give our couples individuality, but also because we knew what the area had to offer. On any given summer day, you will see countless bridal parties accompanied by their wedding photographers gathering around the King's circle, and this is precisely why we did not want to spend too much time there :-) So we spent another hour and a half taking "our kind" of pictures on more interesting UofT locations. We then took a 15 minute breather before proceeding to the reception venue which happened to be on the outskirts of Brampton. (Yes we drove around a lot that day as you can tell :-)) We quickly set up a little portrait studio in the lobby of the reception venue (Claireport Place banquet hall). The portrait studio on location is something we started doing recently and people had a very positive reaction to it. It is a convenient way to get all the group shots before the reception begins, so that afterwards, the guests don't have to worry about getting a picture with the bride and groom, and can focus on the most important thing - partying :-) So we setup our studio strobe, equipped with a giant softbox, and this allowed us to take some very gentle and flattering portraits in no time. The first dance, cake cutting and the rest of the events soon followed too. There were a few very interesting games in which the bride and groom had to participate (such as groom having to pick his bride out of the crowd blindfolded, and couples knowledge trivia :-)) and since these were some of our favourite pictures from the reception, we made sure we included them in this gallery. Once again, congrats to Preshanthi and Gerald, and to everyone else - we hope you enjoy the slideshow!

B&N photo book

We finally got a chance to snap a few pics of our photo book! This is our standard photo book which can be ordered as part of a wedding package, engagement or any other photo shoot. The book is a large 11x13 landscape format which allows us to use very large images, and really put those megapixels to good use :-). Spreads can look extremely cool for landscape oriented images, and you can essentially get one big 11x26 print going across the two sheets! The book has a printed hardcover (image wrap) and 40 pages of premium paper, which provide plenty of space to put together a good size wedding album. These particular samples that you're seeing here are from the album we did for Susan and Jay's trash the dress session which we shot a month ago in Toronto. How is that for a coffee table book? :-)

Susan + Jay Part 2

A week after their trash the dress session, we got together with Susan and Jay once again for a completely different shoot. This time around they wanted to do some cool studio shots. We had a "Calvin Klein jean ad look" in mind for them, and it worked out great! They booked the theatre room in their condo building for this shoot, and we were impressed by the amount of space we had available. We managed to squeeze in a 9 foot wide backdrop between the first row of seats and the projector screen! This was a relief as we would have had to use a small backdrop otherwise and hence limit our possibilities. As always, with any type of studio shoot, we shot tethered so we can accurately preview the images on the laptop and be able to tweak the lighting as we go. The lighting was edgy as always with multiple highlights (just the way we like it :-)). A straightforward 3-strobe cross lighting setup was used along with a big reflector for some additional fill. To complete the CK look, we did a black and white conversion and processed to our liking :-) Enjoy the gallery!

Florina + Shaul engagement photo shoot

We absolutely love when a couple is excited before the shoot because enthusiasm is something that you can't fake in photoshop :-). Florina and Shaul definitely brought it! Their energy never faded throughout the shoot, and it certainly shows in their gallery (just look at the pic of Shaul leaping through the air! :-)). The location was picked by the couple having seen one of our previous galleries shot in the exact same place - the Toronto's water treatment facility. It comes as no surprise as the place is truly one of Toronto's hidden gems that not too many people know about, and it's an absolute delight in terms of picture taking possibilities. On a sunny day, the place can be a little tricky since there is not too much shade around and flash fill is an absolute must, but on an overcast day it's photographer's paradise. We headed out despite the rain warnings and it turned out to be a great decision as we did not get a drop of rain throughout the session. Because we shot on that location before, this time around, we felt like getting different images and really exploring the location to its fullest. I can say that we absolutely succeeded in giving this shoot its own unique character and showed that same location does not have to mean same pictures. I always praise lenses with fixed focal length because it is due to their inflexibility that you are pushed to walk around more and discover new angles and frames. I think the same is true for old locations. This shoot was a ton of fun for us, and we can't wait for their wedding in 2010! See you next year guys!

Susan + Jay trash the dress

A couple of weeks ago, we did a trash the dress session with a couple who wanted to do this for the past 6 years!!! Needless to say, Susan and Jay were super excited about this and so were we! We figured that the perfect location for this would be Toronto brickworks as it offers a very versatile scenery (and plenty of places to trash the dress :-)) Also, given how Brickworks is being rebuilt, it is uncertain whether this picturesque place will retain any of its charm and photographic qualities once the re-construction is completed. Few buildings have already been closed, so we wanted to make sure we took advantage of this place while it's still available. Susan and Jay were absolutely a pleasure to shoot, as their stamina, patience and willingness to experiement knew no bounds. We spent hours there until the rain started coming down heavily, and we had to wrap it up. Not surprisingly, we ended up with scores of cool pictures, out of which it's really hard to pick the favorites. Therefore, we kept filtering to a minimum, so you'll have plenty of pictures to go through in this gallery. Enjoy!

B&N Photography video production!

A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to do something completely different - a wedding video! This wasn't exactly a traditional wedding video by any stretch of imagination. Instead, we created a "highlights" video for Irina and Darryl, which includes a little bit of everything, mixed in with an audio soundtrack. The motivation for this was to explore the option of offering something different to couples who are not interested in the traditional wedding video,but are looking to supplement their wedding pictures with something fresh and interesting. A typical video of this kind would be shot in High Definition (1080p), and it would be around 3 to 5 minutes in length, covering everything from preparations to reception. We are currently collecting feedback, and if there is enough demand for it, we will start offering it as an add-on to our wedding packages. Let us know what you think!

Irina + Darryl Engagement

Irina and Darryl decided to get their engagement pictures taken two weeks before their wedding! Since their wedding pics will be taken at University of Toronto, they wanted a change of scenery for this shoot, so we went to High Park in Etobicoke. This happens to be our favorite park in the GTA because it offers such a great variety of frames to choose from. The trick is to look at objects and sets which you normally never pay attention to. It is way too easy to get sucked into the designated "wedding flower garden" and get pictures which everyone else gets. However, we get a kick out of seeing the couples' faces when we tell them to "go squeeze in between those giant metal tubes", or "pick a stalk of grass and pretend they're chewing on it" But perhaps even more priceless is the couples' reaction once they see the pictures, and realize why we asked this in the first place :-) Congrats!

I+R Engagement, June 2009

There are very few things that we like doing more than engagements. And if the couple is not afraid to experiement - we're in heaven :-) Engagements are typically less formal, and really encourage trying new and different things. For Ivana and Radenko's engegement we went to Toronto's water treatment facility which gave us a variety of interesting backdrops to choose from. It was scortching hot, but it didn't matter - we were on a mission! The buildings' bright walls reflected so much sunlight that it was hard not to squint even when facing away from the harsh sun. It is for this reason that we decided it would be much more comfortable for everyone to avoid direct sunlight + flash fill approach and hunt for shade and an ocassional cloud. Even though flash fill can be a lot of fun in strong sun, ultimately, comfort is more important. I+R were extremely easy to work with, and before we knew it, we had scores of fantastic images. Can't wait for the wedding next year. Congratulations guys!

Thomas is one

Baby pictures is also something that we don't do very often, but it provides a whole new avenue for experimentation. Here we have baby Thomas, who just turned one, and his parents wanted to properly mark this important milestone by doing a (mostly)soccer inspired shoot :-) Even though Thomas is an incredibly calm and patient baby, trying to keep him positioned in front of the backdrop was a team effort :-) Parents were in charge of making funny sounds, waving his favorite toys in front of him and generally being entertaining enough to discourage Thomas from moving. It wasn't easy! After about 30 minutes, Thomas made it clear he wasn't interested in sitting on the backdrop any longer, so we instead snapped a few more pics in his room, while playing on the floor. We ended up with a ton of cool shots, out of which we picked our favorites for this gallery.

Executive Headshots, May 2009

In May we got a chance to do something completely different - corporate headshots! Formal portraiture is not something that we choose to do very often, but every once in a while we like to mix it up with something different. We were commisioned to take portraits of Kilmer Capital executives in a beautiful Scotia Plaza office in downtown Toronto. Corporate portraits can look very dull and uninteresting if you opt for a safe, typical lighting setup, but we wouldn't be B&N if we didnt take the path less traveled :-) So we decided to add a little more character by placing multiple highlights on the faces. Key light was 45 degrees to the left of the camera fitted with a softbox, and fill was placed to the side (and slightly of the behind) the subjects (on camera's right). Finally we had 1 strobe + snoot on the background coming from the left side. This gave a very "spotlight like" quality to the background, while providing plenty of highlight and shadow regions on sublects' faces, creating a very three dimensional look.

Stephanie Headshots

Stephanie is an aspiring actress and wanted to freshen up her acting portfolio by taking some new, exciting head shots. About an hour and a half long session produced scores of images out of which it was impossible to pick the favorites. We covered
a variety of looks and moods, from informal and friendly, to emotional and moody. And just for fun, we threw in a few goofy images, if for no other reason, than to remind us all how much fun we had creating the pics.

Good luck with the auditions Steph!

Poster ad for www.industrydynamics.ca, January 2009

We were commissioned to shoot a poster ad for Industry Dynamics, a Toronto based company which manufactures Skype gateways. This gallery contains a single photograph which was ultimately selected for the poster size ad (28" by 48") and used at the technology expo in Florida.

B&N Photography BLOG

Tuesday, January 12, 2010