Vanilla Gourmet Cupcakes

I had the pleasure of photographing business headshots for the ladies behind Vanilla Gourmet Cupcakes, a local bake to order bakery that specializes in cupcakes.  I was lucky enough to have a few as they brought extras to the photoshoot, and they were indeed very yummy! Kim's family was actually my very first photography clients back when I was still in photography school. If I remember correctly, I photographed an anniversary with a hasselblad and rolls of 120 film. Oh how I miss the film days, the uncertainty of what you just photographed is quite thrilling. The "oh shit I hoped that was the right exposure!" factor no longer exists anymore.  Nor do I hear myself saying "shit, did I just expose everything to the light?" Anyhow I digressed a bit there, here are some of their favourites from the shoot.  

Allison

I did some work for Allison to update her model portfolio. She came with her mother, who was really great in helping out as (make-up, hair stylist and art director). I have photographed Allison before for a shoot fashion shoot with Hanzel Fashion and it has been a lot of fun both times cause we were collaborating and sharing ideas and just trying to make great pictures together.  Here is one of her favourites and the last one is one of mine.

Eugene

Eugene is a minister counsellor at the Dominican Embassy in The Hague, Netherlands. He has been in Canada for less than a week, and somehow tracked me down to take his portrait for his professional profile and public relations. I wonder where I will see this head shot of Eugene?

Pat's Headshot

Here is a headshot of Pat taken at my home studio. I am really happy Pat wanted to get his headshot done because Pat has a great look. I think he could use this for a business profile or an actor headshot.

Ashley's headshot

This is a business head shot of Ashley. Thanks to the feedback I have been receiving from Ilona Smyth, I now know why this would be more a business headshot rather than an actor head shot. Ilona is the casting director at the premier casting company in the national capital, Smyth Casting.  I recently met with her to discuss what casting directors are looking for in a good headshot. This has been an eye opening experience to see what casting directors consider good head shots and the different looks Ottawa actors need to be successful at getting the roles available in Ottawa. I just have to say shooting head shots has been way harder then anything I have ever done photographically, even though previously I had thought it was the easiest. It is much easier to get good images when you can involve body parts to fill in negative space, but when you limit it to one's ability to just their lips, eyes and mouth, it becomes very difficult.  

Ryder

This is Ryder! A super cute baby and a godson to Heidi. I was looking through my library of photos and realized I had these photos. I had taken these almost a year ago. I am by no means a baby photographer, but I know at least a few people who will enjoy seeing these pictures.

What would life be like without Heidi

Today is Valentine’s Day.  The cats and I wanted to secretly do something special for Heidi, something romantic, yet in our own weird and messed up way.  So this is it, my biggest fear in life.  This is what life would be without my beautiful wife. My cats would be miserable, and I would lose my mind and live in a fictional reality as if she were still there. This is how much you mean to me Heidi, and in this morbid way, I want to tell you that I will always love you. I hope everyone takes a minute today to really appreciate their loved ones and all the little things they do for you. Forget the negatives and really embrace the positives, if not just for today.  Sadly, good times don’t last forever, so you have to really make every second count. Luckily, I still have Heidi and hopefully we will continue to grow old and healthy together with our cats (who will live to be 60).

Stacy and Terry Engagement

Today was a beautiful afternoon. It is a rare day like today, that temporarily tricks your mind into thinking that living in a city with this type of climate, is a good idea. Since we were blessed with such a beautiful day, it would have been a waste if we weren't outside enjoying it in some fashion. For me, today involved an engagement photo session with Stacy, Terry and Corona (Australian Shepard Mix...I think). I always get a bit tense meeting new people because of my awkward social skills, but luckily I married Heidi and she makes that whole process easy. It's not like I am not social, but I tend to build up all this anxiety for absolutely no reason. Regardless, even though Heidi is just carrying a bag, she in fact is doing a lot more. Originally we were going to head to Andrew Hayden Park, but today our adventure brought us to Hog's back falls. For some reason, I had never really been here to take photographs. I am glad we did because this place is beautiful; credit goes to Stacy and Terry for choosing this location. I had a really amazing time, and got some great photographs in the process. The key to great photographs are great subjects who are willing to have a little fun and get a little silly.  Thanks Stacy and Terry for accepting every idea I had and sorry you got wet and cold in the process. In the end I think it was worth it, here are some of my favourites...