February 2012
1 post
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...
January 2012
2 posts
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...
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!
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November 2011
1 post
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...
September 2011
2 posts
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)...
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...
August 2011
1 post
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...
June 2011
6 posts
The Bird Attack! Update!!
Saturday, June 25th, a day that will live in infamy. Ok, I’m exaggerating but I will always remember this wedding. We shot at one of my favourite spots, the Museum of Civilization. The weather threatened the whole time so we tried to go as quickly as possible and it held off just long enough to get the job done. The cloudy weather was wonderful for pictures. However, down by the Ottawa River...
The Bird Attack!
Saturday, June 25th, a day that will live in infamy. Ok, I’m exaggerating but I will always remember this wedding. We shot at one of my favourite spots, the Museum of Civilization. The weather threatened the whole time so we tried to go as quickly as possible and it held off just long enough to get the job done. The cloudy weather was wonderful for pictures. However, down by the Ottawa River...
Future Prime Minister?
I have never really photographed anyone famous but I can’t help but think that this past week, I photographed Canada’s future Prime Minister.
1000 ISO, F2.8, 1/80 and 1/60 sec. No Flash.
Soul in Stone
Awesome photo shoot at Mackenzie King Estates of a local Ottawa Rock Band.
Wakefield
Highlights of our recent getaway to Wakefield.
The OCC
Some highlights from a recent shoot at the Ottawa Convention Centre - quite a remarkable building. The ceilings in most rooms are too high to bounce light off, but I got the job done.
March 2011
1 post
Babies
Family portraits is one part of our business that can be very difficult. Children can be unpredictable at best but the innocence of a newborn is very often extremely difficult to capture well. At Scott Photography, we are trying to grow this end of business of our business and the photos here are prime examples of what we can do for families in the future. This style has been around for a...
August 2010
3 posts
Boudoir Photography
A recent Boudoir Photography customer suggested they wanted a 1920ish pin-up style. With plenty of help from the client, we were able to create the look she wanted and I think we will be offering this to many more customers. Thank you C!
Upper Canada Village - Crop or not to crop?
I have visited Upper Canada Village so many times and taken so many photos, I was tempted to leave my camera at home. I’m glad I didn’t. Seeing an opportunity for a nice shot, I took it out. I only took 12 photos the entire day but this one is worth the trouble of carrying a heavy camera bag all day. The only question remains , leave the window on the left in or crop it out? I...
Upper Canada Village
I have visited Upper Canada Village so many times and taken so many photos, I was tempted to leave my camera at home. I’m glad I didn’t. Seeing an opportunity for a nice shot, I took it out. I only took 12 photos the entire day but this one is worth the trouble of carrying a heavy camera bag all day. The only question remains , leave the window on the left in or crop it out. I find it...
July 2010
2 posts
Customer Satisfaction
As a businessman, it is very important for me to earn an income doing what I love. However, it is equally important that my customers be happy with the work I’ve done. This brings me other customers through word of mouth but even more important it makes me happy that I have I have made my clients happy. However, not all customers take the time to express their satisfaction in verbal or...
Shadows
On a recent commercial photo shoot my client was very concerned about the high contrast cause by the sunlight on a large overhang in front of their entrance. Photos taken in the past were unsuccessful in highlighting the entrance way to the point where you could not even see the door. So, I assured the client that a professional photographer could correct this fairly easily. The attached results...
June 2010
1 post
New Software and Low Res Capability
My customers like the fact that they get a high resolution DVD or CD of their photos. That way, copyright transfers to them and they can get their photos printed anywhere they like without having to pay the high cost that some photographers charge. However, nowadays, most people are on Facebook and FB doesn’t accept large files. Therefore, files had to be cropped at a lower resolution to be...
May 2010
6 posts
1 Wedding, 2 engagement shoots, and 1 commercial...
Our first wedding of the year was Saturday the 22nd. It went very well, despite the fact that there was not enough shade around. I tried several new pose styles which should be on my site very soon. I also had a commercial shoot at another location prior to the wedding Saturday (see previous blog for information on that one). After a day off on Sunday, we had 2 engagement shoots on Monday and...
2 photo shoots on Saturday....There are customers...
I enjoy my job, otherwise, I wouldn’t take pictures for a living. Yesterday was the first wedding of the year and as usual we had fun, both Karen and I, and the couple was great to work with, allowing to do our thing and trusting us to do it properly. I am confident they will love our work, and more importantly, tell their friends about us. I was also asked to do do a photo shoot in the...
New Special Event Section - Linked to Commercial...
I was finally able to upload images from a recent event I photographed to a new section entitled “Special Events” linked to my Commercial page. These 4 photos show how capturing pictures using available light can be much better than attempting to with flash.
Ottawa Tulip Festival
Wednesday morning, a beautiful morning for photography!!
Personal Photography
On my way home today from a commercial photo shoot (more on that in a future post) I couldn’t help but notice the Crab Apple Trees in full bloom. They don’t bloom for long and they looked beautiful all in a row at the Experimental Farm. I don’t get much chance to take photographs just for me but I seized the opportunity and took a few close-up shots. Here they are.
Melina and Family
Melina wanted to bring her Mommy and Daddy to Scott Photography to have some photos taken. After all, she had been in pictures before but that was when she was in Mommy’s belly waiting to be born. Now that she was out in the world on her own, she wanted to show off in front of the camera. We tried a brand new background and Brian’s wonderful assistant, Karen helped in getting her to...
April 2010
5 posts
Referrals!!
Most of our business is through referrals. So, in 2010, since weddings are down, it is up to Scott Photography to not dwell on this but to do our absolute best at doing the best damn job for not only our wedding customers, but for all our clients. Yesterday, I received a call from Emily who wants some boudoir photography done for her anniversary. She was referred to us by Sarah, who had the same...
Real Estate - A New Beginning!!
Yes, I’m giving it another go!! With some selected agents I have recently found some success shooting interiors of homes. Using primarily existing lighting, working with the agents on site, I’m starting to have some success with agents who need quality photos of their listings by someone who takes an hour to do a shoot properly, not 15 minutes like some companies. To view some of...
Another successful boudoir session
Sarah came in for a boudoir session on the weekend. She’d like to keep her photos private but I can tell you that she, like most of the ladies that share the same experience had a lot of fun, received a DVD of over 140 photos taken in various outfits and poses. For all the ladies who may be a bit shy and nervous about a male photographer, please keep in mind the following - 1. A female...
Hannah and Family
Hannah, one of the sweetest 3 year old’s I have ever met brought her Mommy and Daddy to have some photos taken on Sunday. I tried a couple of new ideas and I, along with Mom and Dad were very happy with the results.
Welcome to the Scott Photography blog!!
Hello Everyone!!
Since most businesses now have blogs to go along with their web-sites, it has been suggested that I also have one. So, here we are!! I will be updating this blog with photos and interesting stories about Scott Photography, our experiences, interesting moments, fun times, and of course, client stories. So, watch for more to come!!