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

Jaylene is such a natural in front of the camera. I think I even asked her if she had done any modeling, which is hard to ask and not sound like a creepy old guy. Lol! But, seriously, we work with all kinds of different people, from models to people who’ve practically never had their photo taken, and I have to say that I’ve never had such a natural to work with as Jaylene. We’d be setting up and I’d be ready to tell her how to pose and I’d say, “Just turn a little . . . oh! You’ve already done it!” I love it when people make my job easy. 

We did some studio-style work first, though I’ve pretty much entirely phased that out in favour of on-location photography, and then we hit up the Henotic and a few other local locations here in Lethbridge. I’ve been going through a bit of a Henotic phase!     It’s quite nice in there, but I’m giving it a bit of a break for now so I can keep diversifying. Lethbridge doesn’t have a wealth of different locations to choose from, but I do try to do something different every session. I can’t stand to repeat myself! 

Jaylene was such an natural to work with and also a really easy-going person. Here are some of her photos.

Recently I had the pleasure of working with up-and-coming model Chantal and her boyfriend Andy on a shoot that was recorded for Global TV. I think this is my fourth time on TV and I’m actually getting used to it now! Man, the first time was freaky, even for someone who used to perform in live bands and act in amateur theatre! But this time it was a breeze and Chantal and Andy were very easy to work with as well. Of course, it certainly helped that our cameraman, Chris from COGO Productions, was super calm and professional, too.

The idea was to do a regular engagement-style session and record it for a TV commercial for Global. So I went through the sort of things that I would do for an engagement shoot and directed Chantal and Andy, telling them to interact and pose in ways that suited their personalities. We had a lot of fun. Chantal, especially, was really into the whole image-making process and both of them were up for anything, so we ended up shooting for quite a while, continuing long after Chris had packed up his video gear and gone home for dinner.

We started out in the Henotic restaurant and then spent a bit of time in an alleyway, before heading out to a nice big field just outside of town.

You can see the commercial on Global’s network, mostly around the 6pm to 7pm timeslot during the next couple of weeks or so. And here is a selection of images we got from the shoot.

Allan and Wendi, the Global TV Wedding Wish winning couple, were a very cool couple to work with.  Of course, I would expect nothing less from them after knowing their antics in trying to win the Wedding Wish contest. You can read more about them and their masked adventures on their Facebook page.

Allan and Wendi saw one another before their ceremony and I set up a romantic meeting for them.  Then we did most of the rest of their portrait images before the ceremony around town, including inside Henotic restaurant, which has become my favourite place for indoor photography in Lethbridge. The decor and ambiance is probably the best in Lethbridge. The owners are friendly and accommodating, too.  I was first there for photos during Heidi and Clark’s wedding last January and I’ve been back a few times since then.

Allan and Wendi’s wedding was on the grass at the top of the coulees just behind the Galt Museum here in Lethbridge on a nice sunny day without too much wind—for Lethbridge, anyway.  Allan and Wendi both wrote their own vows and you could tell immediately how much love they had for one another. Their words were so touching and meaningful. I have a photo of Wendi wiping away tears during Allan’s vows. This was the most well-videoed wedding we’ve been to, with a big news camera from Global TV as well as two, only slightly smaller, cameras wielded by George Gallant, a instructor who teaches video production at Lethbridge College, and his son. These guys all knew what they were doing and we had no problem with them getting in our way or anything like that. I’m hoping to get some footage from George to put up later as well to show you how I shoot at weddings. Stay tuned for that, too.

The reception entertainment for the evening was provided by J.R. Matthew, Entertainer Extraordinaire. His show was fantastic! If you’re ever looking for someone who can keep things alive at your reception, he would be on the top of my list. With his wife Lyn working the sound for the evening they did a very fun game show that had everyone madly competing in crazy events to win points. I will be posting some of those images in the slide show, so make sure you check back at the end of the week to see some hilarious photos of the wedding party guys in drag, and more.

The first dance started out normally and then there was a brief moment where it looked as though Lyn and JR had messed up the music, but it was all a prearranged stunt and Allan, Wendi, and Allan’s brother and his wife all launched into the Evolution of Dance routine. This was something that was going around YouTube a little while back, but it’s the first wedding we’ve been to where anyone has done it. They did it really well!

Here is a slideshow of some of their images. 

Congrats to Heidi and Clark, a great fun couple who were married at St. Patrick’s church Lethbridge on a not-too-cold January day.  Well, not cold for us, compared to how it could have been.    The temperature for their winter wedding was a relatively-balmy minus five degrees, with the wind chill.  The week before it had been down in the minus thirties!  It’s days like this I’m glad I’m a photographer and not a bridesmaid, because those dresses can’t be very warm.  Plus, I would look scary.

Anyways, after the service we did some quick family photos and then headed off for some more fun ones with the bridal party.  Heidi really wanted some outdoor photos at the top of the coulees, but it was so windy!  One of the guys kindly volunteered to model while I set up and then when I was ready everyone rushed outside and we took a few quick photos.  After they had braved the wind we moved on to less windy locations around town, like the old firehall, the Lethbridge Lodge, and the new Henotic restaurant and bar.  We had quite a bit of time with Clark and Heidi and so were able to get a nice variety of photos of the two of them.

Their reception was at the Galt museum, which is one of my favourite reception places in Lethbridge, and they had it decorated with their winter wedding theme.  Everything was blue and white, with silver snowflakes.  Sherri and I stayed for the speeches and cake cutting but left before the dancing—which Clark assures me was a good thing. 

The slideshow, featuring a few of their wedding images is below.  Give it a little time to load; it’s a quick-but-large slideshow.  Oh, and check out the cool images we got in an old jail!