Chan-Ra Photography

Annie at the Beach...

looking back at these photos makes me miss the summer so much. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to enjoy the sun this year as much as I did. little portrait sessions like this just combines sun, beach & photography.

little annie is growing up so fast. everytime i shoot with her she shows me something new. this time, it was her many faces. she is such a cute little girl. every mom thinks their little girl should be a star - but I definitely believe Annie has the talent. she gave me sad, happy, 'not impressed', 'I see you but I'm not looking at the camera' look. kids are still very challenging to photograph but Annie made it worth the effort. i just tried to capture the family enjoying a day at the beach. there weren't too many posed ones.

i've known amber & mason & annie for a long time now and i'm so happy they called me up and wanted to do this. it's nice to catch up and take some amazing photos. thanks guys!

marc & amber wedding

i remember meeting them for the first time last year and we had such a blast just getting to know each other. i don't think we talked that much about the wedding but i remember getting excited because they were fun and the venue was amazing. they got married at the Royal Conservatory of Music which is basically concert hall and school of music. but the layout is just phenomenal. it combines the old historic buildings with the sharp new architechural steel. this was one wedding where we tried to use as much of the location as possible. i say this alot but i really wish we had more time.

i'm really happy for amber and marc. it was a very emotional wedding. the common message i got from everyone is that they were just happy to be one big family. i didn't think it was possibly to be so close with your partner's siblings & parents. but with their family it was so seamless. i guess that's what makes them so special.

we met up for brunch about a month or so after the wedding just to catch up. in the meantime i sent over a preview gallery to them and they really enjoyed it. amber told me she looked at it everyday which kinda made my day. i work really hard to make other people happy so when they appreciate your work, it's an amazing feeling. it's what keeps me going.

 

liza & kevin & noah

i've known this family for a while now, i'm like their official photographer. i've seen noah grow from a baby bump to now 2.5 yrs old. it's always a pleasure to see them. noah is such a bright kid, he's actually too smart now. i think he figured out that he runs the show. he likes to make me work really hard. 

this was a beautiful day for family portraits. we went to chinguacousy park and even needed some assistance from noah's grandma and aunt. they were great babysitters as i took photos of liza & kevin. but the funny thing was that noah would always try to get into the shot. he was just teasing us though because when we did want a whole family portrait, he would run away. 

UPDATE: these photos were taken about a month ago and on Friday July 29th, liza & kevin welcomed their second baby, Ava, into the family. i'm super excited for them, they are great parents. and i'll be seeing them again shortly for more photos.

patrick & nicole wedding

patrick was one of the easiest guys to work with. we go way back and used to work together at one time. he puts his best effort into anything that involves his family and this wedding was no exception. he was totally enthusiastic about every photo we took and it shows (look at that smile). the only person i know who has a bigger heart is... nicole. she was also a pleasure to work with and the morning with her mother getting ready was really special. there were a few tears and you can just see how proud her mother is. as she should be... nicole is a beautiful woman. it was a very emotional day overall. after the ceremony she went to visit her grandmother in the nursing home. it was very important to share this day with her grandmother who couldn't attend the actual ceremonies.

nicole is a librarian and so it was fitting that we did some indoor portraits in one of the libraries where she used to work. it's not everyday that a co-workers come into work in a wedding dress. we took some great shots and had a blast.

so overall it was a special day. very emotional. great people. great memories. don't think you can ask for more on your wedding day.

 

alexia all grown up

recently i did some family portraits for alexia as part of her first communion. i've never been a part of one before but i knew it was a very special event. what i didn't realize was how eerie similar it was to a wedding day.

i always wondered why little girls pretend to get married or how women pick out wedding dresses well in advance. but after this day i wondered no more. it's because our culture starts them off really young. alexia is only 7 yrs old here but looks all grown up. she had her hair done and got all dressed up. i could tell she was excited. she wasn't shy about showing off her dress and loved just being surrounding by her family. in my mind i was thinking, 'how do i shoot these portraits?'. so i decided to shot them like any other time i see a beautiful girl in a white dress. i borrowed a lot of poses from my wedding portfolio. but alexia did such a great job. she's not shy and loves the camera. she's gonna be more than ready the next time she has to wear a white dress.

marc & amber engagement...

 this was the engagement session that almost never happened. we had scheduling conflicts, rain delays & a freak accident by marc... but i'm so glad we were finally able to do this.

the weather has been terrible lately so i've been itching to shoot. so we took advantage of this beautiful day. we went to the beaches area in toronto. we walked along the streets on queen st & then the boardwalk along the water. i had a great time shooting, but it also felt like we were just hanging out. i don't know if i gravitate towards easy going people or if it's its the other way around, but we chatted about everything. marc & amber know all the hot spots in toronto so i now know where to look when i need a recommendation for a place.

we kept the kept the shoot casual where we would just walk and if there was a photo op, then we would stop and take a few photos. it's a great way to let the couple be themselves and i'm there to just try and capture their relationship. i can't teach affection or create a connection that isn't there. so i do need help from people to be themselves and do what they do. some people do need more direction but marc & amber were really good. in the last photo below, they look so comfortable. this isn't posing, this is just how they naturally hold each other. i think my direction for them was 'ok guys cuddle, like you're watching tv'. i like this. if a future couple has trouble with PDA or just getting comfortable then i'm gonna bring out this - 'the tv' pose.

album... yay!

it's almost been a year in the making, but i think the journey has come to an end. sean & erin got married last june and in that time since i've created an online gallery for them, a DVD with photos, 2 albums for the parents and now finally this album for just them. 

how many hours did i put into this whole wedding? let's see, 12, 25, 4 + 20, maybe something like over 60 hrs of work. when you put so much time into something, it becomes an intimate experience. i've gone through the photos so many times that it feels just like yesterday. but this album i'm especially proud of. i tried a new supplier based on recommendations from my pro photographer buddies and it did not disappoint. i love it so much. it's classy, pretty on the inside and i was able to tell sean & erin's story the way i wanted to. 

i always encourage clients to buy an album. and not just say they will, but actively pick out their favourites so that i can start working on it. i have some friends who are still sitting without an album after like almost 2 years which shocks me. i was able to get everything wrapped up for sean & erin in less than 10 months. which was actually really difficult, mainly because they did just a good job a bugging me :). the last thing i want is for a couple to look back at their wedding 10 years from now and not have anything other photos on a computer. a book is so much better than just viewing them on your computer. or printing little 4"x6" which can sometimes be too small to appreciate everything. this album i made for them is 11"x11" and has a linen cover with embossed name on it. there's nothing like flipping through pages in an album.  i know they're gonna love it, too bad i gotta give it up. but now i guess i have to start working on a studio sample for myself.

spring... where art thou?

so me and a friend of mine had this great idea to go out shooting yesterday. i always say i don't shoot enough for fun so i was really looking forward to this. my specialty is people & events, photography of places & things is something that i want to work on. in my everyday life i walk around, take the streetcar... and i'm always looking at things. i'm always looking for lines, textures or something that can tell a story. sometimes i'm just curious but sometimes i do have a purpose like when i'm scouting for a location to take a potential client. it's funny though sometimes i might crouch down to see if a certain angle might work... but doing this without a camera in your hand makes you look crazy. 

yesterday we wanted to check out kensington market... which i've never taken photos there before but i've heard so many great things. the only problem was that spring was no where to be found. it was actually pretty cold, or maybe i was deceived by the sunshine and wasn't dressed warmly enough. i wore gloves (which makes it hard to press buttons on your camera) but still cold. i think we lasted maybe 25 mins before we found the nearest coffee shop.

we found wanda's pie in the sky... i don't enough know how to describe since i don't usually go to such fancy coffee shops, but they sell desserts & coffee & such. i had some hot chocoloate and some sort of tart with peppers inside. pretty good. although we didn't accomplish what we wanted to, it was still fun. we're gonna try it again in the next few weeks when the weather gets warmer.

patrick & nicole engagement...

i've known patrick for a while, so i was honoured that he & nicole asked me to be a part of their wedding. patrick can be an intimidating person because pretends like he doesn't like people and doesn't smile. but deep down i know he is a softy. i can just tell by the way he treats nicole. i know he cares because he doesn't half-ass anything that involves nicole. like this engagement session, i was so impressed by his comfort level in front of the camera and his enthusiasm.

we did this last december so it was a little cold. i didn't have any gloves so hands were swelling up. i'm pretty sure patrick & nicole would have outlasted me. but we kept it simple, we really just took a walk along a trail that they often go to. and i was there to capture them. i like how they are comfortable with each other and they enjoy being together. you'll be surprised how two people can really bring out each other's personality. they really liked the photos. they used them to make a bookmark for the guests. nicole is a librarian so it all makes sense, we're also doing portraits in a library where she used to work. i've never done anything like that before so i'm hoping for some good backdrops and texture. 

winston & chan wedding...

i just finished these last night and i sent them right over to this wonderful couple. what more can you ask for on valentine's day?

this was one of my favourite weddings from last year. and it had my most favourite moment so far in my wedding experience. sometimes it's hard for me to be surprised after being a part of so many weddings. but this moment totally caught me off guard.

before the ceremony i noticed winston pacing back and forth while the bride was about to make an entrance. he had this very nervous, anxious look on his face. i thought it was just some butterflies before the big moment. but he was actually rehearsing in his head a song he was gonna sing. chan totally didn't expect it at all. chan read her vows first, then it was winston's turn... and then he starts singing 'i wanna grow old with you' from the wedding singer movie (with adam sandler). one of the lines is, "need you, feed you, even let you hold the remote control.' and as winston is singing this, one of his groomsmen hands him a TV remote which he then hands to chan. at this point she's balling, and he's balling. then i had a single tear roll down my cheek. ok maybe not. i know couples have done surprise songs before but this was just so well done... and super cute. maybe because i really like the wedding singer movie. but ya... my favourite moment. 

i was talking to chan today. she told me when they were going through the photos and got to the vows, winston looked at her. his eyes were starting to get red. then she said, 'ok stop, if you start then i'm gonna start.' so i think they called it a night. but these guys are great. chan has super exciting news but i don't know if i should be sharing it with the whole world (or the 7 people who read my blog)... but i'm sure you can guess what.