I am very excited to announce my new series of workshops on the Fundamentals of People Photography starting this summer at John Abbott College, on the West Island of Montreal.  If you’d like to master the techniques involved in photographing people for fun or for profit, then I’d love to help you enhance your skills! 

This comprehensive series will include a dynamic mix of in-class instruction as well as the opportunity to take your cameras – and your newfound knowledge – out for a spin, as we explore the beautiful John Abbott campus photographing our models.  Classes will be limited to no more than 12 participants so that everyone will have the occasion to ask questions and really get involved in a truly interactive learning experience. 

Full-day Workshops are $200, half-day Mini-Workshops are $100 or sign up for the entire series of five workshops for only $500 – a $300 savings!  LCC Members and any clients of Creative Perspectives Photography are eligible for a 10% discount.

Keep reading for the list of workshops, dates, times and topics that will be covered.  I look forward to seeing you this summer!

• Metering for Portraits – Spot, Center-Weighted and Matrix/Evaluative
• White Balance & Understanding Middle Grey
• Exposure Compensation
• Focus Choices
• Aperture & Depth of Field
• The relationship between ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed
• Shoot with a Model to Master Exposure

• Working with available light
• Extreme lighting conditions
• Working with On-camera Flash
• Working with Off-camera Flash
• Working with Studio Lights
• Shoot with a Model in 3 Different Lighting Set-Ups 

• Establishing rapport
• Communication:  Direction & Feedback
• Pre-visualization, Anticipation & Timing
• Working with Children
• Posing for Men vs. Women
• Posing for Couples & Groups
• Shoot with a Model to Practice your Posing Prowess
  

• Using Keyword Tags, Folders, Flags, Ratings and Color Labels in Lightroom
• Importing, Evaluating & Culling your Images with the Library Module in Lightroom
• Using the Spot Removal & Brush Tools in Lightroom
• Using Presets in Lightroom’s Develop Module
• Exporting to Photoshop
• Softening Skin, Whitening Teeth  & Brightening Eyes in Photoshop
• Photoshop Actions
• Sharpening
• Image Formats for Internet, Printing & Archiving

• Understanding Canadian Copyright & Intellectual Property Laws
• Protecting your Images
• Model & Property Releases
• Creating a Basic Contract
• Legally Use Music in Slideshows & on the Internet
• Breaking into the Business

If you would like more information, or to register for one or more Workshops, please e-mail Victoria@creativeperspectives.ca.

On January 3rd, just as I was preparing for my planned maternity session with Felicity, she called me unexpectedly.  “I’m really sorry,” she began, “but I won’t be able to do the maternity session with you because I don’t have a belly anymore… I have a baby boy now!”  Alaric was born almost a month prematurely on December 31st.  Clearly he was anxious to get here in time for the New Year!

As a Montreal portrait photographer who does a fair share of maternity sessions, I was not surprised that Felicity’s firstborn came a little early.  You’d be surprised at how often this happens.  While I was disappointed that I was not able to photograph Felicity’s belly, I was thrilled when she asked me to come over and do a newborn session instead.  A few days later, when little Alaric was just 10 days old, I headed to his home and spent the day with this sweet little angel… and his favorite cat, Boris Bobo.  Boris made several cameo appearances and almost stole the show!  In fact, I think I may ask Felicity if I can borrow him for other newborn portrait sessions – he is a GREAT model!!

This evening I had the pleasure of sharing all the images from our session with Felicity, Alex and baby Alaric (who really seemed to enjoy the show!), so now I can share some of my favorite images from Alaric’s newborn session here on the blog. 

Enjoy!!

As the first day of 2012 draws to a close, I find myself looking back at 2011 and thinking about all the wonderful people who invited me into their lives to share their special moments with me.   I have photographed boudoir and engagement sessions, weddings, newborns and families, a fundraiser for the Dawson Peace Garden and patients at the Lakeshore General Hospital for the annual campaign.  I participated in photography workshops and taught my very first one over the summer.  I was published in Photo District News for the first time and won awards for some of my images.  I even collaborated on a book project with fellow photographer Stephane Brazeau.  All in all, 2011 was a busy year and I’m proud and pleased with all that I accomplished. 

I know that 2012 will bring many new opportunities and I’m looking forward to all the challenges that lie ahead.  In the meantime, here are some of my favorite moments from 2011:

I don’t know what it is about shoes, but there is just something about a strappy sandal or a sexy stilletto that sets my heart all aflutter, makes my pulse race and gives me an uncontrollable urge to put a little more mileage on my credit card.  If I happen to see a shoe sale, I can absolutely justify why I “need” a new pair (or five) and have often bought shoes that were so unique or outrageous that I then had to go buy an outfit to wear with them.  While my collection does not even come close to Imelda Marcos‘ let’s just say that if one of the commandments was, “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s shoes” I would be in big trouble!  

Anyway, my point is that I love shoes.  All girls love shoes.  BRIDES love shoes.  Next to the wedding dress, the shoes are one of the most important things a bride will wear on her wedding day.  There are no rules or traditions to uphold when it comes to the shoes and I’ve found that the footwear a bride selects always gives me a little insight into her personality.  The shoes can be any color, any style, any height…  A bride can splurge on brand name designer shoes with four inch heels or she can opt for no-nonsense flip-flops from Payless – and in my years photographing weddings I’ve seen both ends of the spectrum, and everything in between! 

Wedding shoes are one of my favorite things to photograph because each pair is as bold, bright and beautiful as the bride who wears them… Here are some of my favorites.  What style would you choose for your wedding day? 

On Saturday I had the pleasure of photographing Stephanie & Serge’s wedding at the enchanting Cabane à Sucre Lalande.  The couple lives in Victoria, but decided to have their wedding in Montreal because most of their family is from here.  Living on opposite ends of the country means that Stephanie & Serge don’t see their family often, so having photos of their wedding guests was something really important to them. 

Rather than opting for the more traditional table shots, they chose to have me set up a mini-studio with lots of fun props available for their guests to get creative… and did they ever!!  My assistant Elisa and I had a blast with this crazy group of people.  Here are a few of my favorite shots from the evening. ]]> http://www.victoriasperspective.com/stephanie-serges-mini-studio-slideshow/feed/ 3 http://www.victoriasperspective.com/stephanie-serges-mini-studio-slideshow/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/VictoriasPerspective/~3/KUK2oP6uVfU/ http://www.victoriasperspective.com/welcome-to-the-neighborhood/#comments Fri, 01 Jul 2011 22:18:11 +0000 Victoria http://www.victoriasperspective.com/?p=762 NOTE: the images in this feed have been downsized or removed for copyright reasons. To see them in their unmodified state, please view the original post by clicking here.

As most people know, July 1st is the official unofficial moving day here in Montreal.  This means that we often get new neighbors every year around this time… and I am always curious to see who’s moved into the neighborhood.  Imagine my surprise when I walked out the front door today, glimpsed into the yard next door and saw a CHICKEN! 

Apparently the girl next door found this friendly, ultra cuddly hen just wandering the streets and decided to adopt her!  Several of our cats skulked over to investigate and when the chicken chased them off, the novelty soon wore off… for all of them except Mamasita, who was absolutely fascinated by this strange beast and followed her everywhere.

I just love it when my cats make new friends ]]> http://www.victoriasperspective.com/welcome-to-the-neighborhood/feed/ 3 http://www.victoriasperspective.com/welcome-to-the-neighborhood/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/VictoriasPerspective/~3/0eMBplPWTfI/ http://www.victoriasperspective.com/baking-sweet-grand-opening/#comments Tue, 28 Jun 2011 00:53:57 +0000 Victoria http://www.victoriasperspective.com/?p=727 NOTE: the images in this feed have been downsized or removed for copyright reasons. To see them in their unmodified state, please view the original post by clicking here.

I’m not sure what I was doing at the age of 25, but it certainly did not involve writing a business plan, getting a bank loan and expanding my already successful business, which is what baker extraordinaire Randi Deskin has been up to.  Saturday June 25th marked the grand opening of the new storefront for Baking Sweet, Randi’s West Island Cupcake Emporium (located at 4806 St. John’s Blvd. in Pierrefonds).

This beautiful bakery is home to an exquisite selection of homemade baked goods, with recipes passed down from Randi’s grandmother. Every mouthwatering morsel is made with only the finest ingredients that are sure to satisfy any sweet tooth!  Choose from an amazing assortment of cupcakes in flavours like chocolate, vanilla, chocolate mint, lemon, carrot and my favorite:  red velvet.  But wait; there’s more!  Randi also makes birthday cakes, wedding cakes and cookies  

I stopped by to wish Randi well… and in between mouthfulls of cupcake, snapped off a few shots.  Congrats Randi on a wonderful Grand Opening and what is just another step in what I am sure will be a long and successful career!!

Some people don’t like to have their picture taken.  I’ve been living with Gaby for 10 years (or is it 11??) and when I point my camera in his direction, I have about a 50% chance of getting The Hand.  So I get it.  I really do.  In fact, one of the reasons that I love being BEHIND the camera is that I happen to hate being in front of it!   So when I met Lauren and Al to discuss photography for their wedding next summer and Lauren told me that Al didn’t like to have his picture taken, I could totally relate.  Fortunately for me, Lauren is pretty persuasive and was able to convince Al to do an engagement shoot with me to “practice” for their wedding.  She even managed to talk him into cutting his hair.  OK, well, if we’re being totally honest, she bribed him with a new guitar   Gotta give the girl props for her ingenuity!!

Since both Lauren and Al like to explore the outdoors, we decided to do our session at Cooper’s Marsh Conservation Area on Lake St. Francis, which is a beautiful natural marsh with long winding boardwalks and paths through the woods.  Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate and we had to reschedule due to rain at least twice.  I’m sure Al was devastated each time!!  Finally, last Saturday, Mother Nature gave us a break and we had a warm, sunny day for our shoot. 

We met up in the parking lot at 11 and I promised to keep the session to under two hours.  As we walked towards the boardwalk for the first set of shots, Lauren and I chatted about the wedding plans while Al trailed along behind us strumming his new guitar.  Every now and then, I would sureptitiously glance back, nervous that he would disappear into the wilderness, but I have to say that once he had committed to the shoot, he was really a GREAT sport about everything. 

Here are a few of my favorite shots from our session:

After seeing these shots, I’m sure you’ll agree:  Al has no reason to be camera shy, especially not when he’s got a beauty like Lauren in his arms!  As for me, I’m looking forward to hearing  what Lauren has up her sleeve to convince Al to wear a suit for the wedding next summer ]]> http://www.victoriasperspective.com/lauren-al-coopers-marsh/feed/ 49 http://www.victoriasperspective.com/lauren-al-coopers-marsh/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/VictoriasPerspective/~3/gJQGmUjeSUo/ http://www.victoriasperspective.com/melissa-tim-get-hitched/#comments Sun, 29 May 2011 03:41:13 +0000 Victoria http://www.victoriasperspective.com/?p=546 NOTE: the images in this feed have been downsized or removed for copyright reasons. To see them in their unmodified state, please view the original post by clicking here.

From the very first time I spoke with Melissa, we hit it off.  It was as though we were old friends.  Maybe that’s because Melissa is a close friend of MY friend Elisa, so I had heard so many stories about their adventures that I DID feel like I already knew Melissa… and Bonnie (the Maid of Honor)… and Yovan (the very eligible brother of the Bride).  Since I had dealt only with Melissa to finalize our contract, it was only after she mentioned that Tim knew me that I also realized that I went to high school with him!  I remember thinking, “Oh… THAT Tim!!”.   As a result of all these close connections, photographing Melissa & Tim’s wedding was almost surreal… like when you read about a celebrity couple in People Magazine for years and then suddenly meet them in person  

One of the things that really impressed me about Melissa from our first meeting was that she planned and organized her entire wedding in just a couple of months.  Since she and Tim had recently undertaken a major home renovation (worthy of ANY decorating show, I might add) this couple had a lot on their plate… but with the help of family and friends who pitched in with everything from designing and making the hand-made invitations to decorating the ceiling of the outdoor tent with dozens of fluffy white pom-poms, their wedding day at the beautiful Tadja Hall in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue was cozy, classy, intimate and FUN.   

Just a few of the details that made Melissa look and feel beautiful on her wedding day.

Makeup artist Julia Liscio did a fabulous job on ALL the ladies... even the littlest ones

Lots of love and laughter as everyone gets ready to head out to the ceremony.

A few of the lovely ladies who were a part of the celebration.

Tim and I reminisce about high school as he pulls out his old "Beacon" yearbook... and points out a picture of himself from more than 25 years ago!

Tim's mother helps him don dad's cufflinks, which he also wore on his wedding day...

Tim and Melissa would be walking down the aisle together, so they opted to have a "1st Look" before the ceremony.

We rushed off to Baie D'Urfe City Hall where we had about 12 minutes to take photos before dinner was served.

After the photos, dinner was served and the party began!  Melissa and Tim were surprised by some very touching speeches, an impromptu game requiring them to remove their shoes and a rousing song written by the French side of the family.  The DJ had everyone dancing up a storm and when “Satisfaction” came on, Tim wowed the crowd with his infamous Mick Jagger impression.  What an amazing day and night!!

Click HERE to see a slideshow of the mini-studio photos that were taken during cocktail hour.

Melissa and Tim, thank you SO much for letting me be a part of your day!  When I left at the end of the evening, I was filled with happiness for you both… seeing the outpouring of love from your family and friends and watching the two of you together left me feeling so content, because I know that your story is only just beginning and I look forward to being there to document the next chapters.  Best of luck to you both and congratulations!!

xox

Victoria

Melissa and Tim wanted their guests to have something fun to do during cocktail hour (besides drinking!), so my ever-trusty second shooter Stephane Brazeau set up a mini-studio with lots of props for people to fish through… here are the results!