Livingface Blog » Event Photography Toronto

Sunshine Foundation Event – On-site printing with Green Screen

admin — Sat, 28 May 2011 00:16:55 +0000

The Sunshine Foundation is a wonderful organization that makes dreams happen for kids with disabilities. I was very happy to be chosen as the photographer for their recent event. A great idea for any event, whether it’s corporate or a wedding, is to have a studio set up at the location and provide on-site printing. Guests, who are usually dressed to the nines, love having a professional picture taken of themselves that is printed out within 15 minutes and presented to them in either a frame or a folder. When a green screen is incorporated then the fun factor is ramped up, as you can tell from the pictures below.

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Digital vs. Film Photography

admin — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 13:20:30 +0000

Until the recent digital photography revolution, which has really taken hold in the last 5 years, film was king. And while film photography still has its adherents it’s only really fine art photographers who are still holding on. It’s fair to say that digital photography has officially usurped the throne.

That is not to say that there are no drawbacks with digital photography. While, arguably, the losses associated with moving from vinyl and CDs are more obvious (the dynamic range of vinyl is far superior to that of CDs), there is also a qualitative loss going from film to digital. However, software has become so sophisticated that the shortcomings can be mitigated, and some might say, eliminated. And even CDs, while they don’t have the depth of sound of vinyl, at least they don’t have scratching and static noises.

Many photographers held fast to film for a long time, waiting for digital to match the quality of film. Well, all but the fiercest diehards will concede that for most kinds of photography, including wedding photography and commercial photography, digital has not only arrived, but it has surpassed film.

For years now digital has had it over film when it comes to convenience. With film, you had to process the film and then if you wanted to adjust the images in Photoshop you had to scan the negatives. With digital you take the pictures, upload them immediately to your computer and start working on them. For many, that alone is the price of admission. Some digital wedding photographers, for example, upload the ceremony and park pix onto their laptop for guests to view during the reception.

Another not insignificant drawback to digital concerns the ability to shoot almost unlimited images. On the surface, this seems like a good thing, and it is. However, it also means that many new digital photographers shoot their images indiscriminately, as if they think if they keep shooting they’ll get “all the shots” – which not only makes them more obtrusive, but often results in capturing a boatload of images, while somehow managing to miss the magic moments. Alas, as is often the case, more is not always better.

Those photographers who came from film learned to look for the ‘moments’ and not shoot willy-nilly like there was a gun to their heads. Of course, they also had to keep in mind that the more they shot, the more rolls of film they used, and the more they had to process. So, there was a self-limiting mechanism in place, which arguably created a more {focused~attentive} photographer. So, while digital offers the opportunity to make sure you get the shots, the good photographers still picks their spots.

Regardless, the last couple of years have seen further advances in digital camera technology that are rendering film photography purely niche. Firstly, the image quality is now on par with film. Secondly, the low-light abilities of the new higher-end cameras is staggering. The fastest film is 3200 ISO and it is extremely grainy. Only photographers specifically wanting this ‘noisy’ look would use this film, though sometimes they had no choice because they were going to be shooting in a low-light situation without flash. It’s almost unfathomable how good the new digital cameras are in this regard. Top Nikon and Canon cameras can shoot up to 102,000 ISO. Ridiculous.

Now, it’s insanely grainy at that setting, but what it means is that you can have highly serviceable images at up to about 12,000 ISO – and that is amazing, especially for photographers who shoot with natural light and often find themselves in low-light situations. The days of having to sacrifice depth of field or sharpness to get a shot – or just not be able to get the shot at all – are over.

When used properly and to its full potential, digital photography rules. All hail the new king.

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Beware The Wedding Photographer Who Abuses Photoshop

admin — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 12:47:42 +0000

In the digital age of photography, post-production is arguably as valuable as taking the picture. And with amazing advances in post-processing software, like Photoshop, an image can be altered to astonishing levels – including making it unrecognizable from the starting point.

Limitless options is why some wedding photographers, mostly part-timers but also some seasoned photographers, go horribly wrong. Of course, it’s great to use some obviously funky effects to a few shots. But, good wedding photography features post-production like a good wedding make-up practice their craft (ie) even if there is a lot of make-up, it’s subtle and in good taste.

Without question, subtlety and taste are usually debateable. So, when it comes to choosing the best wedding photography one should look closely at the photographer’s handiwork to assess their use of effects after the fact.

For example, most wedding photographers will use some skin smoothening, especially for the pictures of the happy couple. This is one of those tools that if carried too far looks awful – like the covers of magazines that have been over-airbrushed so that the subject looks plasticky. Conversely, just the right amounts of this tool will nicely enhance the image. Because, the objective is for the subject to look their best, not like a mannequin.

Naturally, many other tools that are employed may seem like a good idea at the time but they end up being passing fads that do not stand the test of time like bad fashion from decades past. The difference is that bad fashion sometimes makes a reappearance, which is rarely the situation with tasteless post-production.

Save yourself the squirming as you look at your photos thirty years on. The most creative wedding photographers use post-production software to deliver shots that stand out in all the right ways. In short, see to it that the post-production on your wedding photographs is on the right track. You’ll thank yourself later

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Jory’s Bar Mitzvah

admin — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 04:00:04 +0000

I had the pleasure of photographing Jory’s Bar Mitzvah over a two day period. The ceremony at the Synagogue was a lovely affair, and the Party last night was a blast. Here are some teaser pix from the event.

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Event Photography for Certiport

admin — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 10:25:27 +0000

Last week I was hired by an American Company, Certiport, to photograph their annual Gala Event in Toronto (thank you to the organic side of Google). I didn’t know what it was all about but at the very least it was a chance to try out my glorious new camera, the Nikon D700, (un)arguably the best digital SLR ever made (more on that in another post – suffice to say, it’s incredible).

It turned out to be a pretty cool event. Certiport, in association with Microsoft and Adobe, creates software designed to bring standardized Digital Literacy to the world. They have a global competition every year (80,000 young people participated this year) to encourage kids all over, including in many less developed nations, to become profficient at Microsoft Word and Excel. The best of the best are flown every year to the Gala Event weekend (next year to be held in a swanky resort in Puerto Rico) where a final competition is held to find the fastest and most accurate kids. Every kid received a medal but special attention was given to four winners from Hong Kong and Thailand. So, that was pretty cool.

The next part of the evening was dedicated to honouring individuals from around the world who use Centiport’s software to introduce and spread Digital Literacy as far and wide as possible, especially with respect to lower income people who would normally not have access to computers. The winner of the ‘Inspiration Award’ was a Libyan business man, Khaled El Hamedi, who, to date, has helped train and certify more than 30,000 public and private workers in his country.

Now corporate events can be somewhat bland but the highlight of the night was keynote speaker, John Herrington, former NASA Astronaut. Using his own fascinating life as an example, he spoke about the importance of challenge and inspiration in finding our calling. He spoke eloquently and from the heart about his trials and tribulations and he showed a video of his experience on the Space Shuttle and his walk outside the Space Station. Incidentally, Herrington is also of Chickasaw Indian descent, which he was very proud of. Being the adventurer he is, when a medical condition prevented him from ever flying into space again, he embarked on a 4,000-mile bicycle ride from Cape Flattery, WA to Cape Canaveral, FL, beginning in mid-August 2008 designed to encourage student participation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). I was very happy to have heard him speak.

Here are some pix from the event:

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Ontario Arts Council Event

admin — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 21:54:53 +0000

Recently, I did Event Photography for the Ontario Arts Council at Queen’s Park. The Event was a meet and greet between Artists and Provincial Members of Parliament, in an effort to boost funding for the Arts. It was the second time I have worked with the good folks at the OAC, and as with the first time around, it was a great success. As a Photographer and Writer, I appreciate the importance of having the advocacy of the OAC, especially with the Federal Conservatives having so little regard for the Arts. I enjoy being an Event Photographer because, while I am navigating the room and taking pictures, I also have the opportunity to meet interesting people – which makes the job fun.

Here are some images from the Event:

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