Alicia + Ghislain Engagement - Waverly Park
Most of my photo sessions the last few months has either been weddings or family portraits, so when Alicia and Ghislain contacted me to take some engagement photos for them, I was super excited. Not that there is anything wrong with weddings and family portraits, but it's always nice to do some engagement sessions to mix it up a bit.
Since Alicia is going to law school, she figured what better location, then Waverly Park, which is where the law school is located. It also happens to be my old high school which used to be called P.A.C.I. Back then it was a beautiful building and it still is to this day.
Most of my photo sessions the last few months has either been weddings or family portraits, so when Alicia and Ghislain contacted me to take some engagement photos for them, I was super excited. Not that there is anything wrong with weddings and family portraits, but it's always nice to do some engagement sessions to mix it up a bit.
Since Alicia is going to law school, she figured what better location, then Waverly Park, which is where the law school is located. It also happens to be my old high school which used to be called P.A.C.I. Back then it was a beautiful building and it still is to this day.
After a quick hello in the parking lot, I immediately took Alicia and Ghislain to the back of the school. There is very nice brick wall there so we spent a bit of time using that as a backdrop. We then headed back to the front of the school to get some more photos. It's hard not to come away with great looking shots with such a beautiful and historical building the background.
They both brought some props to the shoot as well which I was more then happy to incorporate into the session. Because they hadn't decided on the exact date, we made sure to do two different dates. So if you are wondering why the date is different in some of the photos, that is why. It's actually very smart if you ask me, and something I will recommend to future couples who are still unsure about their date.
Once we were done in front of the school, we headed on down to Waverly Park. I have done many wedding portraits here so I already had some ideas of where to go. With that being said, I always look for different angles and perspectives. As a photographer, it's important to always challenge yourself to do something different, which I think I was able to this time around. Sometimes it's getting down lower, or perhaps using a different lens. One of my favourite photos is the last one, where I got a while expansive shot of both of them kissing with the law school in the background.
Another spot we took advantage of was the Magnus Theatre back wall. Admittedly, I have used this was a couple times before but I just couldn't resist. Even though I had used it before, I still made sure to try something a bit different. With the sun low in the sky, it created some great soft shadows, on the wall, so I played with that a little.
One that can be overlooked sometimes during an engagement sessions just focusing on the couple and not getting any ring shots. So we took a few minutes to get some interesting photos of Alicia's ring. Then after a few more photos of the happy couple, we were done. I say this every single blog post, but it always holds true ... Alicia and Ghislain where the perfect couple to photograph. They were very easy going, and the fact that they brought some of their own props helped us get some truly unique photos. I'm glad I was able to be a part of the engagement!
Alicia + Tim Wedding
As the wedding season winds down I am really cherishing the last few that I have. Luckily, my latest wedding was at yet another location which I have never photographed before. And, the weather was great, as usual. Stepstone Centre, which is located just north of Thunder Bay on Onion Lake Road, was where Tim and Alicia chose to have their wedding. As soon as you arrive, you notice the long driveway leading to the main house accompanied by a smaller guest house. Everything is surrounded by a huge forest.
As the wedding season winds down I am really cherishing the last few that I have. Luckily, my latest wedding was at yet another location which I have never photographed before. And, the weather was great, as usual. Stepstone Centre, which is located just north of Thunder Bay on Onion Lake Road, was where Tim and Alicia chose to have their wedding. As soon as you arrive, you notice the long driveway leading to the main house accompanied by a smaller guest house. Everything is surrounded by a huge forest.
Alicia spent the first couple hours getting reading at the guest house. Her and her bridesmaids got their makeup done and generally tried to calm the nerves. I spent most of my time with them up until the ceremony. I did get a chance to photograph some of the decor in the main tent where the reception would be held later that evening. Each table was named after a band which was a nice touch. There was a main cake which looked wonderful. It was also accompanied by a huge array of cupcakes.
It was then time to make my way to the main ceremony area. To get there, you have to walk down this long path through the tall trees. There were photos of Alicia and Tim hanging from the trees all along the way. Kind of like a trip down memory lane. The seating was set up right by the river. That combined with a local guitarist playing music in the background made for a perfect setting.
Once the ceremony was done, everyone mingled for a while and congratulated the bride and groom. Then it was time for some group portraits. I thought the main trail between the trees would be the perfect spot so that is where we went. We then walked back to the main house and captured some photos by the water and with the sun shining down in the background. It made for some magical backlit photos.
We then walked back to the ceremony area and took advantage of the tall trees along the path. There were multiple pathways within the forest so I got Alicia and Tim to walk slowly along them. This created some natural candid moments. We then finished off by the river, capturing a few more photos there. As we were walking back, we did do one more sequence which was with the empty picture frame Alicia had brought. We stopped along the path, where some of the photos were hanging from the trees, and quickly took some fun spontaneous photos where they were both looking through the frame and making faces at each other.
My day was done after that so I congratulated Alicia and Tim and hurried home so I could look at the resulting photos, which turned out great. Thanks again to Alicia and Tim for letting me be a part of their wedding day!
