When my good friend Dave (of Dave & Charlotte Photographers – link) asked if I could help him out by shooting portraits and the wedding reception of a cool Indian couple at one of Toronto’s landmark wedding venues, I really couldn’t help but say “yes!”.  Aneesh & Dave were wonderful to work with – very laid back and easy to direct, which made capturing great photos that much easier. Just a wonderful day for all!

The photos below are just a sample of whats to come. Please check out Dave & Charlottes website for the full wedding, which will be posted in a  few weeks time.

Thank you so much for having me at your event!

Jenn & Todd – you guys are awesome and I can’t wait for the wedding day!

The first photo placed 2nd in the “Kids will be Kids” category and was taken at Trish & Paul’s beautiful winter wedding. The all-too-cute flower girl was shying away from all of the attention she was getting, which made for a perfect photo as she hid behind her crinoline filled dress!

The second photo placed a respectable 10th in the highly competitive “Bridal Portrait” category. You will likely recognize the shot from Sarah & Naomi’s wedding slide show which was just posted the other week. The black on black wedding dress and kilts, combined with edgy posing and a great location, made for a striking image. On a side note, a similar photo of the bridal party was just published in Vogue Patterns Magazine… cool! [:

A big thanks goes out to my couples for providing me with these amazing moments to capture!

A little (or a lot) of rain can be a great natural element to play with!

Looking through the galleries of all the winners, I can say that I am honored and quite humbled to have my imagery featured alongside that of some of the worlds most talented wedding photographers.

My images were awarded in the categories of Engagement Portrait, Bride Portrait & Emotional Impact.

Please take a look at the full winners gallery on the ISPWP website.

I can’t wait to post more from this session, plus some of the wedding images as well!

Team the photos up with one of my fantastic Little Books or a Gallery Canvas Wrap and you have a complete package that makes for a great gift of keepsake.

For this particular session, Tara had organized it as a bit of a surprise for her awesome boyfriend Matt, as they didn’t have many good photos of themselves and really wanted something that they could cherish.

We were able to wander around for a few hours, visiting a number of different sites so that we would have a decent variety of imagery by the end of the evening. One awesome find was this lovely (Well okay. It was rusting into oblivion!) classic Citron DS Wagon that was parked in a back alley. Now it may have looked really rough, but It was in running order, as it vanished by the morning… or maybe it was just towed.

I had a great time with you both and I really hope that you love these photos as much as I do! They are some of my favorite lifestyle images.

For anyone that is interested, Lifestyle Portraits Sessions (store link) are available for $350, which includes 2 hours of my time, and images posted to my secure proofing site! Deal!

We actually broke the shoot into two days due to inclement weather and a theater manager who was out of the loop on a booking request we had made (it happens!). On the first day we headed off to one of my favorite indoor spots in the city – a beautifully maintained set of greenhouses which provides a nice break from the cold, wet and generally unfavorable late winter weather.

On the second day we headed off to a local movie theater complex for a quick 5 min shoot (strobist style!). We had to be speedy with things, as it was a busy afternoon at the downtown location and we had to be in and out before the next movie started rolling! Once the film was in the can, so to speak, we headed back outside and were greeted with a blast of balmy (for spring!) air! It made for a great afternoon of shooting with a great couple. Thanks Jenn & Jeff!

It’s simply amazing what can be captured within an hour when you have a couple that is fun and ready for adventure! The tandem bicycle is actually my ‘gallery bike’ and made a great prop for the shoot. I have to thank Kate for putting it all on the line, as Taylor awkwardly pushed forward on his first attempt at maneuvering the purple beast!

It was great fun photographing the both of you!

- Jon