Welcome to the Scott Photography Blog

Not my best work but……

We headed off to Commicon this past weekend along with 25,000 others and had a blast. I met Marina Sirtis and Brent Spiner who were amazingly wonderful people and got both of their autographs. I wasn’t going to bring my camera but at the last minute decided to take my spare with me just in case, with nothing but the pop-up on camera flash. My decision paid off. I got some decent shots and was glad I did not bring an external flash along with a lot of expensive equipment. The crowds were so huge I was constantly protecting my camera from someone knocking it around. So, like I said, certainly not my best shots but under the circumstances, I’m really happy I took them. Next year, V.I.P. Passes, and definitely in costume!!

Butterflies and Casa Loma

A few shots from our recent trip to the big city and the Butterfly Conservatory.

Rainy Weddings

Over the past 23 years, I have shot about 500 weddings, with very few rain-outs. I have been very lucky. Quite often, on Saturdays that I am not booked, it will rain and I will remark how fortunate I am to not have to shoot a wedding that day. However, it is our job as a photographer to “make the best of it”. Saturday, April 21st was, as you all know, a rainy and cold day. Fortunately, the Ramada Inn provided a nice fireplace to shoot indoor pictures against including a nice low ceiling to bounce light off of. It also has a canopy outside the main entrance and although darker than the light the sky provided, it was all we had to work with it. Here are some of the results.

Lighting Improvements

Scott Photography prides itself on using up-to-date equipment and is always searching for new lighting equipment to produce the softest, most pleasing lighting possible. Light produced by the sun, from existing light fixtures, bounced off ceilings, and especially artificial light produced by flash units can be a challenge for professional photographers. We wanted to produce studio-like photos on location so we have invested in new equipment again, purchasing a portable retractable soft-box and a stand with legs that open and close as you set it down or lift it up. This equipment, compared to its bulky preprocessors, can easily be set up in a few minutes and used indoors or outdoors. We are looking forward to using it at photos shoots in the near future and continuing to improve the final product that we give to our customers. 

All-Star Fest - Ottawa Convention Centre

I was hired this week to shoot some photos at a display at The NHL All-Star Fest at Ottawa’s new Convention Centre. I was to be at the OCE by 8-8:30 to shoot and that I would have about 1/2 hour to complete the job. Off I went Thursday morning, leaving the house at 7:30. I soon discovered that there was a major traffic snarl on Hwy 50 that morning (I saw a tow truck and police car go by). I called the client informing them I would be late and they assured me that I would still have time to do the shoot anyway. Arriving on site at 9:20, I set up my tripod and shot the photos. After the shoot, I decided to walk around the OCE taking in the sites. I got a photo taken at the TSN booth. I had a personalized card made at the Upper Deck Booth and got some great photos of Hockey’s Holy Grail, The Stanley Cup. However, even though all that was awesome, the highlight for me was the e-mail I got from the customer this morning - Hello Brian, These look great! Glad I hired you. Comments like that make my day and the word-of-mouth advertising they give me allows me to do more shoots just like it. 

Highlights of 2011 and Moving on to 2012

Happy New year to all!! It’s 2012 and we are preparing ourselves for a successful, exciting, fun year at Scott Photography. In the meantime, I thought I’d share some highlights of 2011 - commercial projects, memorable photos, funny moments, new ideas (some suggested to me, thank you!!), and things that happened because someone wanted to try something crazy or different. Enjoy!

Our New Web-site

Scottphotography.ca has been up for about 10 years, give or take and up until just recently, was working just fine. However, the site was developed using old technology and over the summer it was down on occasion.  Any business owner will tell you that is definitely very bad for business. So, my web developer, Scott Jahn who is also my son-in-law and father to my grandchildren helped me to not only re-launch it better than ever but we have also helped secure it as a site that will always be available to existing and potential customers. So, I ask you to please visit and let us know what you think of our new web-site.

Business headshots - Start to finish

We don’t just take photos at Scott Photography. After a Real Estate agent comes to have their photo taken, we photoshop it for any imperfections (1st photo), remove the green background, and place it on a background of their choice (2nd photo), and we have 1000’s available. Then, we enhance it even more as in this case by softening the skin and remove hair shadows (3rd and final photo) to make it a portrait the client is very proud of displaying.

Her reaction - Hi Brian - Thank you thank you thank you! They all look fabulous. I hugely appreciate you getting them done so quickly, and for doing the 6 (photo choices) instead of 2. I’ll be sure to send you as many referrals as I possibly can!!

Testimonials

Always nice to hear a new testimonial from a client - Just added this one to the web-site.

“Brian takes awesome photos, We couldn’t wait to see the results and we were not disappointed. During the event, he made the bride the priority. He was creative, patient, adaptive, and organized.  Through his lens, we relived the events of our special day. We would recommend Brian to anyone planning a special event. Thanks Brian!!’ - Manon and Jim

Changing offices.

One of my best commercial clients called me recently to do a photo shoot for them. They called on August 6th, the day I was doing my 4th wedding in 8 days and the shoot needed to be done the following morning, Sunday August 7th at 9 AM. Needless to say, 4 weddings in 8 days can be exhausting but it’s important for photographers, especially with the competition we face today to take the work when we get it. Too many companies take the jobs we get for granted and this is an important client who has used our services in the past several times. So, off I went. The customer was moving from 1 office to next door and needed a simple shot showing that they were now re-located. However, the sign had already been placed on the new door, and removed from the old. Therefore, I needed to “place” the sign on the old door exactly where it used to be, remove it from the other door, and make it look like it was never there. Attached are the results.