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If you are not a wedding or portrait photographer you are probably wondering what the WPPI 16×20 Print Contest is all about. Well, as far as wedding and portrait photography contests go, this is the biggy. It is an international contest and thousands of photographers from all over the world send in thousands of images for live judging by a panel of very highly-regarded photographers over the course of a week. Something to note is that this is not just an image contest, because this involves getting the best prints possible. Getting great prints that show the images well under the harsh competition lights is really a whole separate skill set and most photographers rely on pro labs to do this for them. In my case I printed all of my images myself, so I was in control from the very beginning of the image creation to the final product. Wait, let me just pat myself on the back. There. I feel good now.

Anyways, I’m happy to say that I received eight Accolades of Excellence awards for the images I submitted. Yay! Here are the images below, roughly in chronological order, with the most recent ones at the bottom.

Here are some rambling thoughts from me on creativity. It is a very important priority of mine to do something in every shoot a bit differently to the one before and then never repeat those ideas again. I want my clients to have images that are unique to them. This is something I strive for constantly and it is probably the most difficult goal I face. Anyone can learn cool lighting techniques or occasionally catch some great PJ moments, but to be able to create images that have something obviously new about them is really tough.

Creativity is like sleep: you can’t force yourself to sleep, but you can create an environment where sleep is easy and natural. Here are some tips and tricks I’ve discovered over the years on how to tap into your natural creativity.

Newness is the essence of creativity, because something that is original is, by definition, new. A new environment, or new gear, or another photographer to work with all are great ways to stimulate your creative juices, because they introduce something new into your standard way of working. Change is good! Embrace it and see where it takes you.

The next creativity booster is what I call forced boredom. This works completely the opposite way to the previous point—but it does work! Some photographers complain that they have the same venues to work in every week. That’s not a drawback! There are an infinite number of ways you can see the same scene and photograph it. If you think about music, there are a lot of songs that use the same chord sequences, but they can all have their own sound. And, after all, there are only eight notes in the musical scale, but that hasn’t stopped people from creating their own unique compositions for ages.

The way this works is to spend way longer than your comfort zone in one area. First of all, you will see it as a challenge and you’ll come up with some halfway decent images. Next, your optimism will start to fade and you will push yourself, but nothing will turn out quite right. Then you’ll feel like there is nothing more to gain from this. After that you’ll be bored and annoyed. Push through this, because the next section is where the rewards are. Once you let go of all of your previous ideas you will start to see. You will respond reactively and instinctively to your environment. The scientific term for this, believe it or not, is called ‘being in the flow’. It is the state that people find themselves in where they can act quickly and at the height of their skill without thinking about it.

Another way to get yourself in a creative frame of mind is to check out the scene and think, “What can’t I do here”? Consider the impossible. Then think of how you can make it a reality. For example, say you are on a high bridge. You might think of someone leaping off it. Obviously, that’s not a good idea, but it might lead you to think about how you could make it work by using tricky camera angles or Photoshop skills. Or perhaps you could take that scene in your mind and think of how you could make something like it work in a different place. Or maybe it will lead you to a completely new idea that you can use right then.

My last tip for this post is to be inspired. Sounds basic, right? But we need to find the line between inspiration and emulation. I recommend that you don’t look for inspiration in other wedding and portrait photography. Search for it in other places, even abstract ones. Be inspired by colours, by sounds, by the wind, by a person’s laugh, through prayer, by whatever touches you.

So there you go. Be inspired.

This year we were fortunate enough to be able to have some of my family from Australia come to visit us here in Lethbridge. Actually, they came right before Christmas, but close enough that we celebrated together while they were here. Last year my mum and dad came over at the end of autumn. This year my mum, sister, and my sister’s kids visited us. Lucky them, they came right at the beginning of the cold snap we had where the temperatures plunged to down to -50℃, with the wind chill. Considering that when they flew out from Australia the temperature there was around 28℃ that’s a bit of a difference! So we stayed inside a lot. It was simply too cold to spend more than a couple of minutes outside at a time, so most of the photos I took were fairly candid ones inside with natural light, though I won’t post those, because mostly they’re just people eating and playing games and stuff. And they’re fun images, but they’re more personal-type stuff for our own memories. I did get a few quick posed images inside though, just to have them. On the warmest day, when it got up to around -24℃ we took the kids tobogganing for a couple of hours at the Sugar Bowl. I’ll put a few of those images up.

So, happy Christmas to everyone! And, starting with just one image from when my parents came last year, here are a handful of personal snapshots from this year.

A big thanks to Ashton and Breanne for braving the cold in Calgary for their engagement session. And an extra big thanks for lending me a jacket when I forgot to bring mine!

We met up at Calgary’s Confederation Park and, unusually for me, stayed at that one location. But it’s such a nice area, with quite a few different cool little spots in it, that we didn’t need to go anywhere else. We started out in an underground walkway and I got grungy-style images in the tunnel there, while we dodged joggers and people walking their dogs, including one guy who was wearing two totally different shoes. That was pretty funny, though I won’t laugh too hard, because at least he had a jacket.

The leaves were just turning to their fall colours in the park, though it wasn’t until the end that I really worked them into the photographs. It’s funny how sometimes what’s right in front of me won’t inspire me, but something out of the way in a corner will really appeal to me. (There are a bunch more images with the fall colours in their private gallery, but I like the ones below best). Confederation Park has really tame ducks! We were able to get so close to them and we didn’t even have food. Ashton and Breanne tempted them over with leaves.

Anyways, it was great to meet you both and I look forward to seeing you again at your wedding next year!

I recently wrote some tips for beginning wedding photographers on the Digital Wedding Forum—which is a handy resource for anyone wanting to learn more about wedding photography—and I thought I’d share them here as well, for the starting photographers who browse my blog. There are a lot of people getting into wedding photography these days and most of them find out the hard way that it can be very difficult and a lot of work. Many of the problems that beginning photographers—and even quite a few pros—face seem to pop up regularly. So here are my tips on how to avoid some of the more common pitfalls before they occur.

How To Not Suck: Avoiding Common Problems

1. Say ‘no’. People will approach you for all kinds of photography. If you really don’t want to do something let them go to another photographer who will happily do this work for them. The clients are happy, the other photographer is happy, and you don’t get the stress of accepting work you don’t like.

2. Do your research before accepting a job. When someone asks you to do something that you think might be outside of your experience, look into it and get back to them later. If you think you won’t enjoy it or might stuff it up, either turn it down or set aside enough time to learn how to do it well before you take it on. Scout locations to see what you’ll need to have or to know.

3. Learn to do things that you might need someday. For instance, even if you love to shoot in natural light, it still won’t hurt to learn how to use flash well. You are not obliged to use it just because you know how, but one day it might mean the difference between sucking and succeeding.

4. Know your gear. Learn to shoot with everything in manual mode. Although there plenty of photographers who get wonderful images shooting in a semi-auto modes, the more you are aware of how the settings effect the results, the better you’ll be at quickly adapting to challenging environments or gear malfunctions.

5. Get paid as a professional. We all have to start somewhere, but not charging professional rates hurts everyone. Very cheap sessions might seem like a good way to get work now, but it will bite you in the future.

6. There is no such thing as a casual agreement. Get everything in writing and cover as many points as you can as clearly as possible. Even if you are the best of friends with your client, get them to sign a contract. No one remembers every last detail you thought you explained to them.

7. Have back-up gear. Have back-up locations. Have a back-up plan. Have an emergency number in case you get stuck.

8. Buy a GPS. Buy a UPS. Buy a screen calibrator. Buy a backup solution for your computer.

9. Half of the websites out there have a bio that starts something like this: “I’ve always had a passion for photography and I love that I can do my passion as a career”. You need to really ask yourself why you like photography. Be specific. This will it make you a better photographer, because you will identify areas that you want to work towards or stay away from. For instance, you might realise that you really like photographing kids, but not adults. That helps you to direct your career and make it more rewarding.

10. Finally, some compositional tips: get close, find the action, find the light, explore the space, and plain backgrounds are everywhere.

Congrats to Rick and Keely! They were married at The Norland Bed and Breakfast, which is a beautiful place for weddings in Lethbridge. It’s so green there in the summer! Their ceremony was outdoors with chairs set up on the lawn and a little pagoda for the wedding party to stand around. Rick and Keely had their dog there as part of the wedding party and I later asked a really stupid question when Rick requested some photos with the dog. I said, “Oh, that’s your dog, eh?” Uh, no, Mark, one of the groomsmen just felt like bringing his dog to the wedding. At the end of the wedding ceremony Keely’s dad played them a song on the guitar. I love her expression as she watches him play.

We stayed at the Norland for the photos, since it’s such an attractive and diverse location. Keely specifically asked for a huge group shot of everyone, so we did that first, with the help of her dad getting everyone organised. The whole wedding party was so easy to get photos of! And Keely was such a stunning bride I couldn’t go wrong. For one of the images below—the one of Keely and Rick with the reflection—there was a brief moment of confusion where I was saying to Rick, “Ok, serious shot now; no smiles” and he kept smiling bigger and bigger. He just heard the word ‘smile’ and thought I had been telling him to smile more! I ended up getting some serious shots, but I actually prefer the photo of him smiling.

Their reception was held at the Lethbridge Sandman Inn. The speeches for the evening turned out to be a bit of a roast Rick night, but he was laughing along. These are the best weddings, the ones with lots of fun, tears and laughing. I would be happy to shoot weddings like this every week.

This wedding was photographed on my behalf by my friend from Australia and wonderful photographer, James Day, while I was shooting another wedding. Check out his fantastic work at his website here. I edited the images, but since I didn’t photograph them you will notice a different style of photography this blog post.

Although I have met Amanda and Jeff I was not at their wedding, so I gave James a call and chatted to him about the wedding day. Here is Jeff and Amanda’s story, as told to me by James and then paraphrased by me for the blog:

“Amanda and Jeff were all about having fun and they were laughing and having a blast all day. I started the day with Jeff and the guys as they got ready at a friend’s place in Calgary. Jeff has actually been to NHL training and his groomsmen were all hockey buddies. (Amanda is also a pro beach volleyball player and recently she and her team won a big tournament in Vancouver). After watching the guys joke around and throw up (well, one of them, but we’ll keep those photos private for now ) I was off to join Amanda and the girls as they got ready at Amanda and Jeff’s place. Amanda was excited and dancing around to her R ‘n’ B music all morning. She’s also a fan of the America’s Next Top Model and every so often would strike a pose for the camera and really ham it up.

Their reception was wild! Once the dancing started up people were all over the dance floor and really getting into it. Jeff and Amanda had brought their dog to the reception and put him in another room, but from time to time he’d escape and run onto the dance floor. Throughout the night, Jeff was also defending his title as reigning beer-pong champ and I’m sure he kept his title. Thanks for having me at your wedding, guys. It was heaps of fun. ”

If anyone who was there has something to add, please put it in the comments area below! We can do the first ever community blog post.

I arrived at Mary’s grandparents’ farm for her grad photo session and her grandfather showed me around. He pointed out a bunch of trees out the back and said, “This is where photographers usually like to take our photos”. Then he took me inside to where there were some photos hanging on their wall. “Here are the photos we’ve had in the past”. I replied, “Yeah, today’s photos won’t look anything like that”. We started out with some photos of Marys’ date’s family and then, when Mary was ready, we did a few of the two of them as well as Mary on her own.

It’s funny how it worked out with the hay bale. When I was driving in I saw a few and thought, “Hmm. I wonder if we could use any of those?” Then I saw that they’d put one aside specially for the shoot. The car is the same car that Mary’s grandfather and mother had both used to attend their grads. Mary rode to her graduation in a limousine with her friends, but we had to include the car in the photos!

Mary was really fun to shoot with and here are some of her images.

Actually, we just shot their wedding, so I’m only going to post my four favourite photos from the engagement session.  And their wedding will be next! 

Pam was hoping to get some photos in the river bottom, but it was really blowing a gale that day.  We did get a few romantic images, sheltered behind the concrete pylons under the west side bridge, but then we headed into town for more sheltered areas.  I tested out a new location and some new lighting techniques and equipment.  Gotta keep everything fresh!    I love to experiment.  New locations, new people, new gear—it all gets my mind whirling with creative opportunities.

Shaun and Pam are a relaxed couple who were easy to photograph and here are some of my favourite images from their session. 

A big congrats to Mark and Tanya who had their wedding here in Lethbridge recently. No, I’m not saying when, because then everyone will know how behind I am on updating the blog! Anyhow, they were a really easy-going couple who were very flexible and happy all day. Normally people get a bit frazzled by the end of a wedding—weddings are long days, after all, and pretty intense—but Mark and Tanya were both all smiles the whole time we were there.

They were married at the Lethbridge University ballrooms and the reception was also there later that evening. We started out doing their portraits before the ceremony down around Fort Whoop-Up at Indian Battle Park near the river bottom and then we borrowed them again for a few more quick portraits during the reception as well. It was a beautiful day, with lots of sun—and none of these weird tropical storms we’ve been having lately!

The ballrooms were a fun place for the ceremony and reception, though with black upper walls and ceilings it’s tricky for lighting. Just as well I like challenges. I’d hate to see photos by an amateur in that location!  An uncle of the bride did the ceremony and it was a humourous and personal service with a lot of funny anecdotes from the childhoods of both the bride and groom.

I’m only posting a few photos this week, because I thought it would be cool to just give a taste and create a bit of anticipation.