Stacey and Trevor welcome Jackson - Ottawa Couple Portrait Session

Stacey and Trevor just welcomed a new member to their little family, a teeny little Yorkie called Jackson. Of course they wanted to get an updated family portrait and that's where I came in :) This was easily one of the most entertaining photoshoots I have ever done as these two NEVER stop laughing and kidding and teasing each other. Their sense of humour is right out there (like RIGHT out there) and I got to saw that first hand when I directed Trevor to whisper something in Stacey's ear "posing for a romantic tete a tete" - it made her laugh so hard, for so long, that I had to ask what he said .... let me just say he shared something about his intestinal tract that made us BOTH burst out laughing!

Amanda and Dave - Ottawa Couple Portrait Session

I thoroughly enjoyed doing a couple portrait session with Amanda and Dave. These 2 sweethearts are so fun to be around, he is a joke-ster and she loves every minute of it. They tell me they met when Dave and his buddies crashed a party that Amanda was attending. She smiles and admits to falling for his bad-boy charm! Wesley is the newest addition to this little family, he wagged his way into their hearts and plants a big wet kiss on them to show his love!

Competition isn't a bad word!

Competition time for aCUBED ! YAY, I was invited to be a professional member with the Equine Photographers Network , and that means I have the option of entering my photographs into the professional division of the Equine Ideal Photo Competition.

YIKES!!!

Ok, so competition isn't a bad word right? I am SO guilty of avoiding competition, professionally and personally. It goes as far as not wanting to try anything new, like snowboarding or roller-blading, for fear of SUCKING at it! lol. Ok but really, why would I want to put myself out there and potentially be rejected and ridiculed. I am inherently really shy, no one has ever described me as an A-Type, that's for sure. But at the same time I crave publicity and exposure. Haha a megalomaniac with low self-esteem, what a quandary.

It's incredibly comforting to know that as long as you don't create anything in your life, then nobody can attack the thing you created. It's so much easier to just sit back and criticize other people's creations. This movie is stupid. This restaurant sucks. This Internet writer is an jerk. That photographer is a fauxtographer! I'm going to leave a mean comment on his blog :P

I fear that submitting an image [which I love, which I think represents some of the best of my work] which doesn't 'place' in the competition somehow renders the image worthless [and therefore my work]. But of course this isn't true, and realistically I have to be prepared for that possibility, there is some really stiff competition in the contest and it'll be the very first time I enter anything. But non-participation to avoid disappointment really just creates a different kind of disappointment, that is disappointment in myself for not facing my fear.

Actually the thought of having my photographs professionally reviewed by a panel of judges makes me strive to do better, be better at my art. And the judges WILL of course critique, that's the point... otherwise I mean, hey what's the point. And someone has to win right? Hey it might be me. And if I don't enter than my odds of winning are zero. I try not to be too pessimistic or doubt my own artistic abilities. So I just have to can the self-defeatist mindset that tries to tell me my work isn't significant enough. And being slightly under-confident is probably an advantage because planning for each shoot becomes strategic ... ie. I'll have a more critical eye for details. And it's the good stress of being forced to find my edge that is giving me the zeal to organize creative shoots again... Not a bad thing especially in the cold dreary winter when I could easily find myself hibernating at home while my camera is gathering dust.

So now onto the daunting task of choosing my submissions... a challenge in and of itself! Here are the front runners:

Wedding Same-Day Slideshows

I get asked by many brides about having a slideshow display at their wedding reception. What is it? Well it's a peek at some of the images that I have taken from the beginning of the day, usually starting with the bride's preparation through to the ceremony and portrait session with her groom and wedding party. The slideshow is displayed at the wedding reception and gives the guests a way to share and enjoy the earlier part of the day that they weren't privvy to. How do I do it?

While the cocktail hour is on I have my assistant choose 20-30 images that she loves and then when the dinner is being served I prepare them with my laptop. Once the slide show is ready I display it in a loop and while the guests are mingling through the evening they get a chance to enjoy the photos. Without fail the Bride and Groom enjoy seeing the gorgeous captures and the loveliness of the day that has already gone by too fast.

Something else I like to do is post a gorgeous image to Facebook and tag the bride the day after her wedding or maybe even the same night. Let's face is, she is going to be tagged by countless of her besties from her getting her groove on, on the dance floor, and maybe she'd like to see something when she was at her BEST! :)
Here is a slideshow I put together for this beautiful bridal session I did at Rideau Hall in Ottawa Canada (which is the Governor General's Residence). This was a gorgeous winter day and the willing Felicia braved the cold temperatures. See after the video for photos from the session. Her makeup was by MakeupByCaroline. The music is I used in the slideshow is Wind Blown Glass Eye by Seahorse