Did you stumble upon the big yellow wall?

In this case I knew about the wall beforehand, but for many shoots we will just drive for five minutes and stop at whatever place catches my eye. I am not usually hunting for grand architectural features, as something as simple as a colourful garbage bin can provide a visually stimulating backdrop. I usually look for colour, texture, reflection, tone (light) and message.

Did the couple do a lot of the directing? Did they provide the location ideas?

They chose the wardrobe after I made the suggestion to pick out a few versatile outfits (I love the cute Dan & Jill shirts they made up), but everything else was on me. I typically choose locations based on my clients’ interests and personality. I also provide what I call ‘organic direction,’ as I want them to look as natural as possible while still having a stylish lifestyle flair. I don’t believe that photojournalism works so well for engagement and lifestyle sessions, as couples quite often require a degree of direction to look and feel comfortable in front of the camera. A lot times, I will lightly pose the couples for the first portion of the shoot and then let them take over and/or collaborate once they learn a few simple posing tricks.

How long did this particular shoot take?

Lifestyle engagement shoots are casual and last 1.5-2.5 hours depending on the time of day and logistics. I take my time, as my shoots are as much about getting to know the couple as they are about photographing them. It’s very important that I get a vibe from them. This shoot was done in the evening hours (7:30-9:30).

Where were all of the other locations? Where was the grass field, for instance?

We went from the Brickworks (which now has a $200 permit in place, FYI) to Harbourfront and did a few wardrobe changes along the way. I like to mix things up as much as possible as it gives my couples a more useful range of imagery.

All photographs by: Jon Thorpe of Union Photography.

This is the very first Wedding Co. film! We’re so thrilled to have been able to put this together and hope to be bringing you more little flicks of studio tours, artist visits and product demonstrations. A huge thank you to Images Weddings (an Images Film+Video company) who co-produced the film with us.

Later today, we’ll post our first Wedding Co.-produced video for another member of our talented community but without further ado, this is Images Weddings’ video:

Kim & Leigh from IFV on Vimeo.

Many other photographers have followed suit over the years and the silly antics guests get up to in these types of pictures at weddings and parties has only added fuel to the fire. Even though instant film is virtually unavailable today, photographers like Karen are still setting up their photo booth spot (think hanging backdrops, love seats pulled into an out of the way corner and outdoor locations) to establish a set spot for both formal and fun shots. The latest trend in weddings, to design an atmosphere through dress codes, decor and the use of props to set an event apart from the norm, has made any photo booth more appealing and we love that grown-up tickle trunks are popping up at weddings {Booth will even supply one if you ask!}… it just goes to show, everyone loves to wear a mask!

Karen now provides the ‘booth’ images as black and white pictures with a white border the way the Polaroids look when they are pulled from the negative.  “The funky border only comes from printing the resulting neg.  Sometimes we put a Polaroid edge on a final print, but generally we are printing straight B&W” she wrote in an email. “We post all the images taken that night to my passworded website within a couple of days.  The guests love checking them out after the party.”

All photographs courtesy of Coyote Photos

Last year at The Wedding Show, we partnered with Snapz, and we’re doing it again for 2010, to give away a photo booth to one lucky couple… here are the images from Helena and Colin’s October 30th wedding.

Photo: Little Blue Lemon Photography

]]> http://www.theweddingco.com/thedailynews/2009/12/the-new-photo-booth/feed/ 0 http://www.theweddingco.com/thedailynews/2009/12/what-about-a-photo-booth/ http://www.theweddingco.com/thedailynews/2009/12/what-about-a-photo-booth/#comments Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:08:55 +0000 Stephanie Wright http://www.theweddingco.com/thedailynews/?p=5897 Photo booths are quickly becoming de rigueur in certain wedding circles, the cool thing is, a photo booth isn’t just a photo booth, but a great element that can add tons of fun, create the perfect favour for your guests and leave you with a guest book that’s full of entirely original, super creative and totally personal images and words. The other great thing is that now, especially in Toronto, there are a multitude of styles of ‘photo booth’ to choose from — let the design and feel of the booth you choose reflect that of your wedding day design.

The booth in the lobby of The Drake

Today, we’re bringing you a bunch of different styles of photo booth. The first, and probably closest to the original, are the few around the city that hail from the mid-century. They’re often unpredictable and hilariously require a Looney or Toonie to work, but putting a basket of coins next to the booth just adds to the fun. You’ll find them at both The Drake Hotel and The Steamwhistle Brewery, and we know there are a few you can rent, too.

Photo: Dan Chan, courtesy of The Drake

Having made it to the ripe old age of 40 never having said “I do” I thought I could stay happily un-married-ever-after with someone I loved for the rest of my life. Yes, it’s hypocritical, but maybe I am a traditional non-conformist. Luckily, I met a woman who felt the same way. And the two of us were perfectly happy remaining a commitment-phobic committed couple – completely in denial, but completely in love. {blogged by Lorien Gabel}

When Lorien, who is a Toronto native and the CEO of Pingg, an online invitation site, discussed a wedding with his girlfriend Jessica, her response was: “The only way you could get me to show up at my own wedding is if I didn’t know it was a wedding.” “Sheer utter genius!” he wrote in his blog, and while their plan started with an elopement and an after-party, it developed into something a little more unique. “We knew we wanted people to see a part of our ceremony, but not necessarily sit through it in real time. We knew we wanted to celebrate with people, but we didn’t want the first dances, the toasts, the cutting and smearing of cakes,” Lorien’s blog post continued…

The final idea- we got married in Vegas in the middle of a desert, surrounded by sand, wind, rusted cans and a 3-person camera crew. We invited everyone to our combined 30th/40th bday parties (which was true), and using pingg, created what we thought was a unique invitation that symbolized us and our relationship. And we kept that momentum throughout. The day of the party, we showed our closest 170 friends a David Lynch meets Oliver Stone scripted movie with the surprise ending—footage of our actual ceremony. The place erupted. And my wife (whew, deep breath) and I, who didn’t even cry at our own ceremony, were brought to tears by ours and our friends’ reactions. The video looped in the background as 200 more people came to the party. And our night and marriage was complete. “We did.”

“It was [the] idea of taking something so firmly entrenched in tradition—a wedding invitation—and twisting it a bit, adding a bit of [our] own flavor and style, that allowed us to have the wedding invitation, wedding video, and ultimately, the wedding party we had always, yet never wanted to, imagine.” Lorien wrote.

Film crew: The Sibs

Party planners and caterers: Silk Stone

Here are 5 questions with Patrick:

The Wedding Co.: In general, what do you look for when you are shooting?

Patrick Moreau: When we are creating our imagery, whether it be photography or cinematography, we are looking for moments that speak to the originality of the couple and their true spirits. For example, you might see a bride in one of our films enjoying a big mac before she puts on her dress. A wedding day, to us, is much more about those little moments that often go unnoticed.

TWC: How do you edit all the footage to come up with your final piece?

PM: Our editing process is very much from a storytelling perspective and we assume the viewer doesn’t know the couple — we try to make a compelling story that anyone could interact with. Our methods are often unconventional (you will see very little black and white or slow motion in our films) as each is an original piece with a fresh look and feel.

TWC: The audio is always something we notice in your films, whether it’s a speech or the couple’s vows or a song … can you tell us about the audio component of a wedding film?

PM: The audio portion is just as important as the visuals. It is not just about having quality audio, but also really poignant sounds that propel the story forward. A sound bite can often communicate more in a few seconds than any visual can.

The soundtrack is often a struggle within the industry. Some studios choose the music, others like to reserve that creative decision {for the couple}. We do the research and make the final selects with the couple’s personalities as the motivating factor in our choices.

We can often go through hundreds of options before finding the perfect fit. It can certainly be a detriment to the overall connection you feel to a piece if the music selection is not perfect. In Hollywood, the soundtrack is often composed for the visuals, after the film is complete. If we are to learn anything from that, it would be just how crucial it is to get the right sound at the right time.

TWC: What do you give couples as the final product?

PM: Our final films come in different sizes. At one end of the scale, we offer a same day edit where we shoot, edit, and show a finished 4 min film at the reception whereas at the other end, we can produce a feature film, which is generally 15-30 minutes in length and in the same style as a same day edit, we can also put together highlights of the visuals and pacing of the day.

TWC: What is the best part of your job?

PM: The best part of our job, if you can call it that, would be two big things. One is the education we provide around the world, exchanging ideas and inspiring others to connect more with their films and their couples is very valuable and fulfilling. The second would be when our couples really let us in, really share with us who they truly are, and then allow us to translate that into an honest and emotive film.

TWC: Thanks Patrick! Now, if you will, introduce us to the sample of your work above:

PM: This video is of Ildiko and Aiden who were married at Graydon Hall. Aiden is a doctor who mixes on the side and Ildiko used to be a model, and now practices law. We really wanted this film to capture their unique personalities by being fresh and fun while also have a sophistication to the piece.

Patrick’s answers came via email and have been edited for brevity.

Footage courtesy of Stillmotion.

By Catherine Lash

While many guests have long brought their own cameras, ten years ago it was popular to leave disposable cameras on dinner tables for guests to use and leave behind for the couple to have processed. Unfortunately, those usually ended up being predominantly of friends eating, and it was quite expensive. The one thing it guaranteed though {provided the cameras were left behind}, was that the couple always saw the photos.

Now that we’re living in a digital world, and almost every mobile phone includes a digital camera that does both stills and video, it’s no longer necessary to leave cameras out. Almost everyone has some means of taking a snapshot whether they have a camera or not. In turn, guests’ photographs are also easily uploaded to any photo-sharing software from Flickr to Facebook to share the great moments of the day. One fairly new program is called  Olapic, which was designed specifically for weddings and other shared events.

Now, rather than dealing with processing film, couples need only register at Olapic and upload their guest list. Olapic will then remind guests to bring their cameras to the wedding and then walk them through downloading high resolution images to the couple’s private account. The pictures remain private with the option of sharing via the major photo-sharing programs. This is yet another fabulous technological development that saves time, money AND the environment. Olapic can even print an album for you for that complementary ’second perspective’ to your photographer’s.

An account at Olapic is $99USD.

Olapic discovered via Springwise.

As fashion and design trends evolve so do weddings and so does wedding photography. Five years ago, many wedding photographers were taking a photojournalistic approach to their work, having left the overly formal and and highly static traditional photography behind. Since then, the field of wedding photography has diversified to include an approach more akin to fine art photography, after couples began to request a return to something a little more formalized alongside the abundance of candid photographs they’d seen from previous weddings. Once again, this time in reaction to highly stylized and thematically designed weddings, photographers have begun to work with props {often provided by the bride and groom: from oversized balloons to mustaches on sticks!} and to create more dramatic and stylized photographs.

More recently, wedding videography began it’s own evolution which has meant a diversification of that field also: We’ve begun to see more creative license with it and tomorrow we’ll be bringing you an interview with one of Toronto’s top wedding videographers to get more of an idea of what goes into making a wedding reel.

In the meantime, you can look forward to the evolution of the guest’s great shot, and Wednesday we’ll bring you a completely unique, and creative wedding captured in an especially unique way via video. Thursday, we’ll look at the photo booth trend and tell you all about getting one to your wedding.

Keep your fingers crossed for Friday – we’re hoping to bring you the very first Wedding Co. video — something we’re hoping will become a large part of what we offer on the blog and in The List! Stay tuned for more on that later in the week — and if its not quite ready yet, we’ll think of something else equally super!

Photo: Catherine Lash