BLOG

Review of Curacao

I recently went on a trip to Curacao, a Dutch island country in the Eastern Caribbean. Hardly anyone has heard of this place! Read More

Pro Tips from a Photographer for Professional Looking Headshots

How to Prepare for your Photo Shoot

Your headshot is a powerful marketing tool that is often the first thing a client sees. Once you have decided on the look and feel of your headshot now it’s time to prep for the occasion. Every headshot client I get asks me how they should prepare for the shoot, so I thought I’d put forward my best tips on how to get photo-ready, for a shoot with me or anyone else.

CLOTHING

Dress as if you were going to a job interview or present yourself in the same professional manner as you would when seeing clients. If you’re the casual type, then go casual, but still wear flattering styles and fabrics.
Don’t wear any crazy patterns or designs, these will distract from the main attraction, your face.
Simple clothing tends to photograph better. Scoop-necks, v-necks and collared shirts shoot well. Anything that is too complex or finicky usually needs adjusting and can ruin a shot. If you fall into the corporate category, your marketing department can decide if they want ties and suits or not.

Wear colours that enhance your skin tone.
Choose something you feel comfortable in and love. If you feel awkward in your clothes, it will show in the photos. Better to choose clothing with a pattern that you love, than something plain that you don’t.

If you are more casual or have a non-corporate position, wear what is appropriate for your audience!

MAKEUP

As a general rule, more makeup than usual is better. However consider how much you would normally wear. If you don’t wear much makeup, you may want to apply a bit of light blush and mascara so your natural features show up better in the photos. If you usually wear makeup, you may want to wear a bit more pronounced eye makeup. Put on a bit more than you would in your daily life and your photos will end up looking like you do in-person.
It is recommended that you bring some lipstick or gloss to your photo shoot, even if it is just a tinted chapstick.
Men may want to consider a bit of foundation to smooth out skin tone.

JEWELRY

Please leave the distracting jewelry at home. Even if it is a beautiful necklace or earrings, you don’t want the first thing people notice about your image to be your accessories. Simple and subtle is more effective.
Make sure if wearing a pendant necklace you have it centered in the shot. Your photographer should also be watching for this (I call it “live photoshopping”).

HAIR

If you colour your hair, make sure to have your roots touched up before your picture is taken. There is only so much than can be fixed in post.
Make sure your hair is neatly styled whether it is up or down. Depending on how nimble you are with styling your own hair, you may want to get it professionally done for your photos.

For those of you wanting to DIY it, here are some things to consider

Soft diffused lighting works better than spotlights so you don’t have hard shadows on your face. Have your photographer stand at the window and face inwards to get natural window light. If shooting outside, overcast days produce better results than sunny days for the same reason.
Shoot your photos from slightly above to get the most flattering angle. Stand or sit at a slight angle but still look at the camera directly. That said, you don’t always have to look at the camera.
Make sure your picture is framed properly so you are the focal point.
Try not to have a busy background that can distract from your face.
Try laughing in the photo, and have the your friend shoot just after you laugh. I find people are the most relaxed after laughing and their natural warm expressions come out.

A landscape oriented headshot portait of a woman with black background.

Good luck and let me know how it goes! Let me know if you found any of these tips useful 🙂

How to Prepare for a Shoot

How to Prepare for your Real Estate Photo Shoot

Images are a very important aspect of marketing or selling any property. Photos and online presentations are typically the first impression that a client has. Make it count and take the time to prepare for the photography of your home or business.

Help me create images that wow, by following the tips below. Not all tips will apply or be possible, but do your best. Most of these tips are catered towards residential properties, but are useful and relevant to commercial properties as well. Please be ready by the time arrive. Thank you!

Don’t feel like reading all this? Download your own copy here.

EXTERIOR

You know when you look at a hotel website and the photos are all perfect? That’s what we’re going for, more or less.

Move vehicles from the driveway and park away from the front of home.
Place garbage bins and anything that is not attached to the property, in the garage or out of sight. □ Remove or coil garden hoses neatly.
Remove any toys or pet related items from the yard.
Remove seasonal decor.
Straighten deck furniture.
Cut grass and remove all weeds from cracks in concrete.

GENERAL

Turn ALL inside lights on, including lamps, under counter lights and stove lights.
Replace any burned out bulbs.
Open all drapes and blinds on windows with a good view. Exception would be bathrooms or bedrooms with a poor view.
If blinds are down, ensure they are all equally angled open.
Conceal cords. Unplug them from the wall if needed (except lights).
Turn all ceiling fans off. They will create a motion blur in your photo.
Turn all televisions off.
Remove small rugs from floors, especially from tile or wood floors.
Remove all personal photos.
Make beds and close closets. If you want to showcase a closet let me know.
Remove all evidence of pets; pet dishes, pet toys, pet cages, litter boxes.
Remove clutter from all rooms, ie, tissue boxes, remotes, cleaning robots, brooms, stacks of paper, boxes, bags etc.
No shoes by doors or anywhere.
Clean the property. Vacuum, wipe windows and walls, remove all dirt. It WILL show in the photos if you do not.

KITCHENS

Clear all counter tops. No dish rags or towels, soap, knives or cutting boards. It’s okay to leave one or two small appliances for size perception, but more than that can be distracting.
Remove dish drying racks and dishes from the sink.
Clear the refrigerator completely of any magnets, pictures, lists, etc (front, sides and top).
Remove any calendars. Calendars make a listing dated if it goes over 30 days.
Remove trash can.
Remove floor mats.

BATHROOMS

Clear the countertop from absolutely every item considered to be personal.
Remove toilet cleaning brushes, toilet plungers and trash cans.
Remove shampoo and conditioner bottles and personal items from shower and tub area.
Toilet lids must be down.
Remove all floor mats.
Ensure towels are neatly hung. Bonus: put out fresh towels, neatly hung.

TWILIGHT SHOOTS

In addition to the above, it is very important to ensure that all burned out light bulbs have been replaced (interior: all lamps, pot lights, stove lights, under counter, vanity etc – exterior, soffit, garden, garage, railing etc).

Good luck and let me know how it goes! I have prepared this same information available on a free download here, for your convenience and reference.

Kwa’lilas Hotel in Port Hardy

It has been my lifelong dream to be sent on destination shoots to gorgeous locations. Recently, I had the opportunity to be sent on a location shoot to Port Hardy to photograph the new five star Kwa’lilas Hotel, a fully owned and operated First Nations hotel. I flew in on Pacific Coastal Airlines and was treated to an epic flight over Vancouver Island to the northern tip.

Greeted by Hotel General Manager Scott Mercs, I started learning about his life and the evolution of the hotel project. I arrived in the evening and immediately went about shooting some twilight shots of the hotel.

The next day we were treated to a scenic wildlife boat tour with legendary Davis Henderson and K’awats’si Tours. Wow! We saw whales, sea lions and bald eagles in addition to seeing Blunden Harbour, where the First Nations Nakwaxda’xw community had a thriving village the elders call Ba’as that was destroyed decades ago. A very sad story :/ but gives great insight into how we can better handle relations with our neighbours and indiginous population. They have such a rich culture, I found it inspiring how they rehabilitate youth by teaching them skills of the old way rather than punishing them.

Davis Henderson leading our scenic wildlife tour!

Our trusty scenic tour vessel and amazing captain.

Tour Guests viewing the remains of the Blunden Harbour village site. Check the history here. Davis is a direct descendant of the residents of the village and has a personal connection to the site.

Happy visitors on the beach. You can find remains of the village everywhere along the shore, ceramic pieces from dishes, beads, metal items and much more.

Once we arrived back at the hotel, we were treated to a fine meal at the Ha’me Restaurant in the hotel. I also got to photograph both the restaurant, food and staff.

Behind the scenes: the creation of the Blunden Harbour roll.

Welcome to the Ha’me Restaurant!

Blue skies on the way to our scenic boat tour.

Save

Gorgeous Laneway Home

I had the pleasure of photographing a gorgeous laneway home in Vancouver recently. A converted garage, this couple transformed their extra space into a living loft and #cabinporn contender. When it’s not rented out, they use it as a music rehearsal and recording studio. Yes please!

Tarah Ferguson Tech Podcaster

Meet Tarah Ferguson, tech podcaster! She is the host of #BCTECH podcast #TechisEverywhere. She is fun and friendly, and a killer interviewer. She needed updated portraits for the cover of the podcast and for social media, that showed her personality, and I think we did a great job! Check out Tarah’s website www.shebuiltthat.com where she interviews successful women in tech, in BC and beyond. I added some outtakes to give you an idea of how fun photo shoots can be, and if you look closely, or not that closely, you’ll see me in some of the pics.

Here is some extra info about Tarah, and where you can see and hear her insights!

Tarah is the successful host of two branded podcasts: She Built That, a podcast that celebrates female entrepreneurs and Tech Is Everywhere, a podcast that highlights entrepreneurs in British Columbia leveraging technology to grow their business. She has conducted close to 100 interviews since January 2016, and has had the opportunity to sit down with phenomenal entrepreneurs and leaders such as Christy Clark, the Premier of British Columbia, Christine Day former President of Starbucks Asia Pacific and CEO of Lululemon and Karina Leblanc, 2 x Olympian and bronze medalist winner to name a few.

She Built That is a podcast and media company that celebrates women building businesses and initiatives all on their own terms. Each week, Tarah explores the entrepreneurial journeys of female entrepreneurs rewriting the rules of business. Tarah founded She Built That after years of working in the tech sector and meeting so many phenomenal female entrepreneurs. She wanted a platform to share these inspirational stories with women like herself.

As a result of her passion for storytelling, Tarah was nominated for a YWCA Woman of Distinction Award for Community Engagement in May 2015 and spent a year and half as the Global TV Weekend Morning News Tech Expert. Wow! As an expert in her industry, Tarah regularly hosts and moderate’s panels and events involving female entrepreneurs across Canada.

Her mission is to cultivate a generation of confident, capable, entrepreneurial women. Marian Wright Edelman said, “You can’t be what you can’t see.” She Built That uses the power of storytelling to inspire the next generation of female entrepreneurs to pursue careers in technology, finance and other industries and become future founders themselves.

Save

Tech Events in Vancouver

Lately I’ve been photographing a lot of tech events in Vancouver. I love hearing about the innovation and technology emerging in the start-up scene. I love being a fly on the wall during pitches and presentations, and hearing what the investors advise and discuss.

Of course, the reason I am at these events is to photograph them. In some cases the company needs print and website content, and in other cases they are using the images to promote their organization or business on social media. Regardless, I have been branding myself as Vancouver’s Tech Photographer, and connecting with more and more people responsible for planning these types of events.