Tag: Toronto Wedding photographer

Ima-not-Jing | Toronto Wedding Photographer

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“Ima-not-Jing”, or how I let go and shot for someone else.

I had the pleasure of pinch-hitting for Dave Abreu Photography on the weekend and shooting the wedding of the lovely Helen and Daniel. For whatever reason the original photographer couldn’t shoot so I accepted the gig on the Wednesday leading up to the wedding.

And then I began to question my decision immediately. Of the many thoughts running through my head I was first and foremost not sure how I could spend all day not being “Imajing”, and just being “Jing shooting for Dave”. In fact I wasn’t even sure if I would want to blog about this. Was I taking on too much with an upcoming family roadtrip that I hadn’t packed for yet? Are Helen and Daniel nice? Cute? Personable? These are things I would normally know about the couple after meeting and shooting them months before the wedding — luckily Helen and Daniel were all of the above. All I had was a simple itinerary with addresses and phone numbers and the knowledge that the couple would be easy to work with. This must be how substitute teachers feel.

Well as it turns out, weddings are weddings, people are people and I am Jing so everything came out sunny-side up! I’m just sharing a few photos from the day. The rest will be posted on Dave’s website.

As a fun sidenote, I did see a familiar face at the reception venue. Fantasy Farm (50 Pottery Road) is now owned by Jimmy and Sakie, who back in my varsity rugby days ran O’Grady’s pub on College. Good to see you Sakie!

Now back to Imajing.

Congratulations Stephanie and Dean! | Imajing Photography | University of Toronto Photographer

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Click here for an iPhone/iPad friendly version of the video (Quicktime .mov file)

Congratulations Steph and Dean!

The ‘something blue’ for Stephanie and Dean’s wedding came in form of the home of the Varsity Blues, the University of Toronto.  I have a long history with U of T, starting there as a student, then employee and now as photographer for the Faculty of Phys Ed.  It is both refreshing and familiar to add wedding photographer to this list.  U of T is full of beautiful settings for weddings and I was pleased to learn early in our discussion process that even before confirming the venue, Steph had already booked the photo permit for the University College “south, 1A” spot through the Office of Space Management.*  For them, this particular spot holds special significance as it was where Dean proposed to Stephanie!

The ceremony was held on the second floor of the Faculty Club with a cocktail reception in the main lounge followed by dinner in the main dining room.  Stephanie wore a dress that was restructured from her mother’s wedding dress.  I’m not sure what the original dress looked like but the new version was modern, classic and practical!  I love seeing and smelling peonies in brides bouquets – so perfect for an early summer wedding.  The rain held off just enough for our outside photos.   As I typically do, I shot all the photo combinations involving parents and children first, next the wedding party and lastly I send everyone away and have the bride and groom all to myself.  This time we even sent the limo driver away and without the pressure of a driver worried about running late had a fun and relaxed walk back to the Faculty Club, which resulted in some of my favourite images of the day.

Please visit Steph and Dean’s page at www.imajing.com/stephanie-dean to see their full wedding gallery. The password for this page is Dean’s last name and it is case sensitive.

*This department name has always made me giggle.  Not to be confused with the Aerospace division.







Allison & Dan | Wedding Photography in the Kawarthas

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If you can’t view the slideshow above due to Flash issues, please ** click here **iPhone/iPad friendly version (Quicktime .mov file)

Congratulations Allison and Dan!

As if Allison and Dan weren’t nervous and anxious enough with the anticipation of getting married. Fingers and toes crossed as the sky darkened and wind picked up while they each got ready in their private log cabins. The venue was on the scenic Stoney Lake at the Viamede Resort in the Kawarthas and it promised to offer a beautiful backdrop… if the weather would hold up.

It couldn’t have been better scripted. The sun came out as Allison and her father started their procession towards the lake: she and Dan locked gazes and their nervous energy fell away just as a beam of sunshine bathed them in warmth.

I’m committing a blogging no-no of writing this quite some time after it all happened, but I have the advantage of hindsight and perhaps even a bit of nostalgia as I reflect on the day. I mentioned in a previous post about Allison and Dan that they have two boston terriers (or ‘terrors’ as coined by Allison’s dad). Kasha and Fenwick were decked out in a bow-tie and crinoline and could easily have stolen the show but all eyes turned to the human couple as they exchanged their vows. Allison looked beautiful in her strapless lace overlay gown in champagne and who could forget those Jimmy Choos stilettos! Dan was of course beaming at his bride and was always able to make her laugh.

As a photographer my favourite part of the day was walking with Allison and Dan to the dock and using the dramatic dark sky as a backdrop. Groomsman Dana was a big help, holding the off-camera flash for me and even helping with fine-tuning some poses for the bride and groom.

I hope you enjoy viewing the photos as much as I enjoyed creating them!

To view and order prints from the full wedding gallery, please go to Allison and Dan’s page on imajing.com The password is Dan’s last name and is case-sensitive, so mind your Ms and Cs.





Allison & Dan’s Engagement Session | Imajing Photography | GTA Wedding Photographer

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Just catching up on some blogging today and thinking about this weekend’s upcoming wedding at the Viamede Resort. I’m looking forward to Allison and Dan’s big day for a few reasons. First, it is scheduled to be an outdoor wedding in the afternoon (cross your fingers for us!) which is always great for photos. Second, this is a great couple. I got a really good vibe from them when I met them and I could see that Dan is totally besotted with his bride-to-be. As a bonus they are dog-people and have the patience and love to raise two Boston Terriers pups. Here are some photos from their engagement session taken last fall at the University of Toronto Scarborough campus with their two Bostons.

Allison and Dan engagement

Gail & Michael | Imajing Photography | Toronto Wedding Photography

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Congratulations to Gail and Michael!  This happy couple celebrated in style on April 25 with a beautiful and unique wedding filled with the music, colour and food of their shared Indian, Japanese and Canadian heritage.

Gail and Michael chose to have their photos done before the ceremony.   We made sure to set up a ‘reveal’ for Michael so that his first look at Gail was a special moment.  Of course the photographer, bridesmaids and parents all had front row seats for this moment.  For brides taking notes, this is a great idea – your makeup is fresh and you get some of the wedding day jitters out of the way.  The forecasted rain finally showed up just as we were scheduled for most of the group photos but we were ready with a light set up for indoor family shots and then motivated the bridal party and their golf umbrellas to brave the rain for this great group shot.

The ceremony at Rexdale Alliance Church was filled with beautiful music composed by one of the bridesmaids.  On a personal note, it was wonderful for me to have my husband Fred assisting me for the day.  Not only did we get to spend the whole day together, but we also listened to a great sermon on marriage by Pastor Sunder.

After the ceremony the ladies changed into the most gorgeous array of colourful saris with the help of the many aunties on standby.  We arrived at the Verdi Banquet Hall to the delicious aroma of the Indian buffet and were treated to a show by Japanese taiko drummers, and an Indian dance performance.

More photos will follow in the next few days and I will also be adding the link to the full gallery of images for the wedding guests to access here.  So please check back!

UPDATES
** Full wedding gallery click here to go to www.imajing.com/weddinggalleries2010/100425gailmichael/

** Wedding slideshow, click below.

Fresh eyes

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Remember that part in that Robin Williams movie set in a private school when he asks his students to jump up onto their desks to see the world from a new perspective?**   That just happened to me.  Maybe not in such a heavy-handed cliched way, but startling nonetheless.

As you know, I attended an all-weekend photography workshop this past weekend.  I could write so much about the speakers themselves (and I will soon) but what I wanted to put out there in this blog post is the idea of refreshing your point of view.  The week before the workshop I did a shoot and I was pumped/excited/inspired but upon review of my images felt deflated and discouraged: I saw the same old poses, same mundane ideas, etc, etc.

I revisited the images today and discovered that I was just looking at the wrong shots.  Yes there was some recycling happening, but right there, in front of me the whole time were images that are fresh, spontaneous, relaxed, classic.  All the adjectives I desire for my work.

When is the last time you looked at something again for the first time?

This photo features the lovely Adele and her groom Kevin at their stylish Simcoe Lake wedding, September 2009.

**The name of the movie escapes me, anyone?  Bueller?