Unique Images Photography | Weddings | Portraits | Fashion » Wedding, Portrait, and Fashion Photography Blog

That’s all.

I am really happy to announce that Unique Images Photography has been accepted into the International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers. I have been accepted into various professional photography organisations over the years, but this one really makes me happy. Among their members are Pulitzer Prize winners and finalists, as well as other acclaimed professional wedding photographers from around the world.

Here is a quote from their website:

“The International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers is an organization of the best wedding photographers in the world. It was created by professional photographers to raise the standards of the wedding photography profession.

When you hire an ISPWP member, you can be sure they have passed a rigorous application process and are recognized by their peers to be at the top of their field.”

Frankly, I think the ISPWP board were just swayed by my rugged good looks, but either way, yay for us! We are currently the only photography studio in Lethbridge to be accepted into the ISPWP and one of only three in Alberta.

Chantal and I have worked together once before, on a Global TV commercial, and although it’s been a long time coming, we finally got back together for this speedy Calgary photo session. We chose a location on the south side of Calgary and when we arrived I saw they were doing some construction work. As soon as I saw the trucks there I thought, “Photo props!” The workers were knocking off for the day and they let Chantal clamber over the equipment in the name of photography, which was pretty cool of them. I suppose she’d have to try really, really hard to break one. I like the juxtaposition between the trucks, which are all dirty, imposing, and grungy-looking and Chantal, who . . . isn’t.

After doing some photos around the machinery for about forty minutes, I had one specific photo in mind that I really wanted to try out. It involved quite a bit of prep work, since we’d never actually done this before, so Chantal and I got to sit in the car with the heat pumping out while my assistant put it all together for us—thanks, Doug! I wanted to create a wall of fire effect behind Chantal and so I’d brought a pre-assembled wooden wall that Doug rebuilt and fixed in place. Then I set up my lights, called Chantal over from the warm car, and had two minutes to get the shot. And, yay, we got the shot!

I look forward to our next shoot, whenever that may be.

Congrats to Clint and Jill, who were married in Lethbridge on a cold winter’s day. After dropping my assistant photographer Jessica off to stay with Jill and taking a few images of her having her hair done, I took off to cover the guys getting ready, arriving just as Clint got out of the shower. That’s always the time you want your wedding photographer to show up, right? (Jill, we’ll talk about those photos later). After this I drove back to where the girls were getting the final touches done to their hair and makeup. The girls were—how shall I put it?—so wonderfully self-entertaining. They laughed and joked around constantly and were definitely a blast to photograph.

Their ceremony was held at the Southminster United Church and after the ceremony and some quick family portraits we headed to a new location just outside of Lethbridge itself for the rest of the photography. We stayed here for all of the portraits and I cycled through different people and arrangements so that everyone could take turns warming up in the limo between photos. It was cold! I can’t believe how well Jill did, seeing as she was so lightly dressed—wedding dresses aren’t really made for Canadian winters—and how long we were outside for. Apart from myself, she was outside the longest. And I was wearing a winter jacket and two pairs of socks! Well, and other stuff, too, but I don’t really want to list absolutely everything. Anyway, we had a lot of fun with the portraits, getting some cool fashion-style images as well as fun ones of people messing around and the wedding party roasting marshmallows.

The wedding reception was held at the Grandstand and it was decorated in a tasteful winter theme. We stayed until just after the first dance, also covering the speeches and cake cutting before we had to leave. By the way, Clint, I have heard that the last person the bride cuts the cake with is destined to be their soulmate forever.

I had a hard time narrowing down all our images to a few faves for the blog, but here are the ones I chose.

As most wedding photographers already know, Neil van Niekerk is one of the foremost lighting experts in the field of wedding photography. As well as being a working photographer he also travels the world doing lighting workshops and teaching flash techniques. He is also a published author with a book detailing all this stuff, too. But the main thing Neil is known for is his blog. Among wedding photographers it is one of the best learning resources out there, and has been for quite some time.

Last November—has it been that long already?—Neil contacted me and asked if I’d do a guest spot on his blog. I asked what I should talk about and Neil said, “Something lighting-related”. So, of course, I ignored him and did my own thing. Actually, I just got thinking about stuff I do and somehow got onto a tangent of my own. In any case, if you want to learn all my secrets and inner-most thoughts, click on over to Neil Van Niekerk’s ‘Tangents’ blog to see my little article. Ok, so you won’t learn all my secrets, but maybe there will be one or two things that interest you.

Oh, I also thought I’d explain a couple of things here, quickly, because my Tangents post is very much slanted towards complicated portrait setups for weddings. So I want to kinda state the obvious and say that during the ceremony and reception times I am as unobtrusive as possible. However, when it comes to the portrait time, I like to put all my energy into getting something that is unique for my couples. If you read through the Tangents article you’ll see that my main idea was based on something the bride had requested, because I always base my ideas on what each couple will like. Essentially, I tailor my coverage to suit each client’s personality. I’m saying this in case anyone is horrified at the thought of their portrait time being a circus. That won’t happen. (However, if you are planning on a circus, let me know; I can juggle).

Also, if you are a former bride, please don’t feel left out if I didn’t send you a sketch. Although I frequently jot down ideas this was the only time I ever revealed one. When you see the sketch you’ll understand. Anyways, enough preamble, click, man, click!

What can you do with a model in half an hour inside a small concrete room with a dirt floor?

Lisa had emailed me a while back to see if we could set up a shoot for when she was going to be in Calgary next time (she’s from Ontario) and after checking out the awesome work in her portfolio I was happy to make the time. Lisa was excellent to work with! Very professional and easy to get along with. We worked so fast in this little area and Lisa went through such a cool variety of poses. The grungy concrete box as the sun went down really lent itself to a dark kinda vibe in the photography and, even though that is a bit of a departure for me, I went along with the feel of the place and got the photos below. The last image is creepy, eh? It’s the shadow of one of my assistants holding a bit of wood we found on the ground, shaped like a knife. It’s a bit of a nod to a Joe McNally shot I liked. I’m only posting my seven favourites, but I actually got 29 photos in 32 minutes, with various lighting setups.

Recently I had the pleasure of doing some band photography for local Alberta band Eyes Of Isis. I love working with other creative people! Even if we aren’t in exactly the same field there is often a kind of understanding between us. Plus, creative people are always willing to go the extra mile to get the best results. These guys were certainly up for anything I threw at them and they endured the cold so that I could get my ideas. You’ll see what I mean when you scroll down. That beach scene? Yeah, they’re lying on snow in sub-zero temperatures with their shirts open. And, yes, we did that particular image fast.

Actually, while we were out there getting that shot another local photographer, Ian from the Lethbridge Herald, happened to pass by and wondered what the heck we were doing. I’ve met him before and he came up to say hello and then tagged along for a bit, getting some photos of the session. If only I’d had one of my assistants with me, then I could have got photos of Ian taking photos of me taking photos of the band!

Speaking of the band, let me introduce them:

Jordan – Lead vocals and guitar
Chase – Lead guitar
Aaron – Drums
Joey – Bass

They were a really fun bunch to get photos of and I think they’ll go far. You can tell that they’re committed to their music and, listening to their songs, they’re very mature for a debut album from such a young band. There are a range of influences you can hear, with nods to the 70s as well as more modern bands, such as Nickleback, but they definitely have their own sound and vision. You can check out their music and see when they are performing by going to their MySpace page. They have CDs for sale there, too, and I recommend them to anyone who is looking for some new rock.