Julianna and Kris

Last weekend’s wedding came on the coattails of a trip to Edmonton to shoot a music video, so beleive me when I tell you that I was a bit tired.  Thankfully I was car pooling with my partner-in-crime from Frame of Mind Photography, Anthony.  Sean was also with us shooting candids as usual.  So we met at the studio bright and early and headed off to Kris’s house.

The guys were in great spirits and so easy to shoot.  Lots of family showed up which made for some great candid video along with some of the cool stuff that we set up.  Kris’s mom and Dad were right into it as well; Kris’s Dad having a pocket full of pictures from Kris’s youth, narrating a pseudo-slideshow to the camera as he flipped through some pics of his boy turned man, and Kris’s mom setting up the ribbon to be cut by her son as he walked through the doorway for the final time as a single man.  The bride’s house was a familiar sight to me as I shot Julianna’s sister Michelle’s wedding not even a year ago.  I was welcomed back by Julianna, her parents, siblings and some bridal party members.  As per form and fashion, Julianna looked amazing as did the front lawn that was absolutely covered with a whole spectrum’s worth of coloured rose pedals.

We moved through the church portion of the day relatively quickly and then we headed to the Don Valley Brick Works for pictures.  We’ve been known to pull of some really cool photo and video in the most unexpected venues.  This place was pretty industrial and had some really cool buildings.  After about an hour and a half we decided that we had all the footage that we needed and left for the reception hall.

I was pleased to see that we’d be working with Anthony from DJ Emporium again (amazing DJ and great guy).  Right away I knew that we were in for a smooth sailing night.  Julianna and Kris had a martini bar set up in the middle of the dance floor with an ice fountain in the center.  On the two ends of the dance floor were the Antipasto tables…good stuff.  As the night rolled smoothly along we saw the bride and groom dance with their parents and each other, we ran our Same Day Slide show, ate 5 courses of great food and wound it all up with a packed dance floor, great music and a midnight seafood table that tasted just as good as it looked.

Julianna and Kris, thanks for sharing this day with all of us!  Hope to see you guys again for your next family wedding!  Cheers.

Lisa & Jason – Oct. 25, 2008

Man! What an awesome day.  I should start by telling you all that Lisa is my cousin. We grew up like sister and brother, which meant two things; I had to really go over and above, and it also meant that all of my family (they that always hear about and have seen my finished work) would be there to see me in action.  No problem, I had a plan for Lisa and Jason.

I had Prashana (video) shoot with Lan (photo) while I worked the detail shots.  I was using the Glide Cam 4000 quite a bit at both Lisa and Jason’s and was able to pull off some really nice shots.  I was using the Sony EX1 and a really nice 0.8 wide lens so no space was too small for me to get in and get some really good group shots, interacting shots etc.  Lan (being the funny guy that he is), got everyone in great spirits which also made for some really nice candid shots.  The rain started at Jason’s house, but we didn’t let that stop us, we just added umbrella’s into the video/ photo session and headed outdoors.  I felt so at home with the bridal party (maybe because my sister, daughter and cousins comprised it), that I had to jump back into work mode shortly after the “family humor” started.  It wasn’t had for me though because I was so excited about the SDE (same day edit) to come later on, that all I wanted to do was capture the ambiance on video.

At the church we set up a 3 camera shoot and as usual, we mic’d the groom so that we could pick up the best possible audio.  Our camera placement strategy allowed us to get opposing shots of the bride and groom during the vows, rings etc. and gave the freedom to get some other really great footage with the the Glide Cam as well.

We were kind of undecided about where we were going to go for the park photos because the rain in the morning left the ground wet and it looked like it was going to come down again.  Regardless or the weather, Lisa and Jay decided on the Guildwood Inn.  Great decision guys!  The rain held off until the very of the shoot and we saved ourselves from having to drive 30 minutes to Newmarket to go to the Tannery Mall.  We were also quite a bit closer to the Blue Danube, our reception hall.

This is where the excitement really started for me.  Prashana got to the lighting and audio preparations right away as I took out my trusty Macbook Pro and started the SDE.  For those who don’t know, a SDE is when some footage from earlier in the day is edited and displayed at the reception for the audience.  SDE – Same Day Edit.  Anyways, this was tough because as I was editing, more and more of my family members started arriving.  I mean everybody, like I said…she’s my 1st cousin.

Prashana had finally moved onto the detail shots and receiving line coverage, and I was still editing.  I told myself that I was going to be in character until the SDE was finished being played and then I’d become a guest, so I put my head down and kept at it. When the edit was done, the reception was just about to start, so I popped on the light with the lighting remote and began the night.  Lisa and Jason, you guys are amazing and your day couldn’t have been better.  Thanks for letting us share it with you.

This is the footage of the photo/ video session at the park.  I’ll post the SDE in a couple of days.

more about “Lisa And Jason – Park on Vimeo“, posted with vodpod

This is the SDE from Lisa and Jay’s wedding. the fo…

This is the SDE from Lisa and Jay’s wedding. the footage was shot with the Sony EX-1 and edited before the reception where it was played on a projector the same night.

more about “Lisa & Jay – SDE on Vimeo“, posted with vodpod

Annie and Oneil •August 16, 2008

So this is the Sunday of the weekend and the second wedding of the weekend for me.  What a great day for Annie and O’Neil to tie the knot!  It was really a pleasure to work with both of them as well as the bridal party.

We started the morning at Oneil’s place in Thornhill.  I was shooting with my trusty Sony FX-1 (as usual) and as per form, all of my standard gear.  I also brought along the Fig Rig to really get some interesting shots while at both pre-ceremony locations.  O’Neil and the guys were as cool as ice at the house and we shot some really nice footage of everyone getting ready, getting nervous and eventually getting into the limo.

Everything was just as smooth at Annie’s house.  Her dress was very elegant with a full lace up back (which took 3 girls to tie up).  We set up the jewelery that Annie was to wear, and Roger (the photographer) and I took pictures and video of it as well as the beautifully decorated house, the girls getting their hair done, family and guests arriving, Annie’s decent down the stairs and of course…the look in her parents eyes as their daughter got ready to get in her limo and go to the church.

Speaking of the church…WOW!  This church was huge!  The architecture, stone work, stained glass, and paintings were amazing.  The lighting from the skylights cast almost an angelic spotlight down on the couple which looked really nice for the video.  I was able to have a conversation with the minister that was officiating the ceremony as I usually do, and he told me where he didn’t want me to walk of shoot from.  I was pretty shocked when he told me that I could basically do what I want as far as shooting locations.  This meant that I could get whatever shots I wanted…and I did.  I don’t know if it was because it was warm in the church or out of sheer nerves, but thanks to my trusty wireless microphone attached to the grooms lapel, I could hear him whispering to his best man to daub the sweat from his forehead just before the vows and rings.  Don’t worry O’Neil, I’ll edit that part out.  Man! Do those mics pick up audio.

After the ceremony, we hit Edwards Gardens for some park photos and video.  Edwards Gardens (for those who have never been), is a really nice park with lots of different areas to shoot.  My favorite places there are the Well, the bridge and the staircase…and yes, I used them all.  The bridge shot was especially cool just because of the sheer size of the bridal party (15 in all).  For this shot I like to go quite a distance back and shoot some really wide shots, as well as some closer shots with some nice camera movements.  I also do this shot where the bride and groom kiss (they are in the center of the group), and the whole bridal party is looking at them, cheering.  By this time, all of the spectators are ohhing and ahhhing, so I tell them to join in with the cheering.  By the time the shot is done I’ve involved the whole bridal party and whomever else is standing around and wants to “give it up” for the couple.  We finished off with some very slow, picture-esq walking along a path that’s lined with flowers, trees and other really nice foliage.

My favorite part of the day…the reception.  We celebrated the last part of the day at the Venetian.  I really like this place.  John at the Venetian is amazing!  If ever there were a bride who needed someone to make sure that everyone sticks to the plan, then John is your guy.  We ran a Live-Eye system so that everyone could view the grand entrance of the couple, the dances, speeches, cake cutting and the engagement video on 4 large screen in the hall.

The decor was done very well, with center pieces containing water that was tinted to match the bridal party’s dresses.  The head table was spectacular and (as usual), I was equipped and ready to shoot all of the fine details right up to the grand shots of the hall.  After setting up my lights and audio we were ready for a great night.  Everything went very smoothly…the speeches were recorded with the cooperation of the DJ (he let me plug my wireless gear into his mixer), the dances were shot with the soft light from my soft boxes and not a moment of importance was missed.

Annie and Oneil, thanks so much for choosing us to do your wedding, thanks for letting us share this amazing day with you both.

Claudia and Victor – July 26, 2008

This Saturday I had the privilege of shooting the reception for Claudia and Victor at Le Jardin.  I actually met Claudia almost a year earlier at Anthony and Stella’s wedding (Anthony is my photography counterpart).  Anthony arranged to shoot some very candid footage of the ceremony and park and then I’d take over for the reception so that he could be a guest and enjoy the reception with his wife and friends.

The night was great!  The food was excellent, the decor was perfect and it was a nice change to start shooting in the evening as opposed to earlier in the day.

I was shooting with the Sony FX-1 (as I usually do), and had all of the regular toys with me.  I used some soft lighting to light up the reception hall for the speeches and some of the dance floor activity and I picked up all of the audio beautifully with my wireless recording gear hooked up right into the DJ’s sound system.  I love hooking up the audio this way because it eliminates the echo that you usually get in a hall, and it ensures that my camera hears even the quietest toasts and the youngest flower girl doing Grace before meals.

My favorite part of the evening was the seafood buffet.  I know what you’re thinking…and yes, I’ll admit it…it’s tasted as good as it looked! But seriously, the colours for the buffet and sweet table were amazing, the presentation was picture-esq and shooting it was a pleasure because it was so perfectly done.

Well, the night moved along until my time came to get out of there.  And now I’m left with the memories of Claudia and Victor dancing away with parents, family and friends to the synchronized coloured lights at Le Jardin.  Thanks guys, for letting me work with you on your wedding day.