Category Archives: Blog

White Balancing

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erudite_ottawa_photography_blog_photos (1 of 1)White Balancing

Have you ever been frustrated because you take a photos and the colours don’t seem to be even close to what you see when you take a picture?

White balancing allows you to get the colours you see to be translated in your photos.

There are many ways to white balance, many different product on the market, but for myself I only use one product.

I use the Expodisc 77mm neutral filter.

They are very simple to use and will work for any camera with a custom white balance setting.

I recommend to buy the 77mm filter no matter the filter size of the lens(es) you have because you can use the same filter to white balance all of your lenses. There are very few people who own lenses that have a bigger filter size then 77mm. So if you own an 77mm Expodisc you can use it on any lens with a 77mm filter size or less.

Expodisc’s are not the only good quality white balance system on the market, but I find they do the best job and keep things as simple as possible to white balance. They are definitely worth the price and will save you a lot of frustration in Photoshop trying to fix your white balance in post editing.

Painting Fruit

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As a professional photographer you can forget to experiment and try something different from a wedding or portrait shoot. After a friend said they haven’t taken any photos lately because they haven’t got a chance to get out I decided to see what I could do with common items that I found in my house. Taking fishing line, a hook, fruit and water based acrylic paint I was able to create these images.

 If you want to try making your own pictures like these it is very simple. This is going be the first of many mini side projects. Stay tuned for more simple set up photo shoots. If there is a type of photo you always wanted to try to do but just couldn’t figure out how to do it feel free to suggest a topic through our contact page.

In Case of Rain at Your Wedding

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As a wedding photographer I constantly am worrying about the weather. I am still amazed that I still have not had a single wedding formal shoot where it rained out the for

mal pictures. I have been very close many times, but thankfully everything has always worked out. I am never asked at the time of booking a wedding where is a good place to take pictures incase it rains. It makes sense when you think about it. When you day dream about your wedding day it isn’t the first thing you think about.

The reality is there is some nice indoor locations that are open to the public, but in many cases a couple’s venue is nowhere close to them. Most of the nicer indoor locations tend to be museums. Over this past year it has become apparent to me the 3 best ways to deal with pictures if it rains on your wedding day.

The first one is the most obvious. Going to a public place indoors like the Nature Museum or National Art Gallery in Ottawa. They are 2 of the nicer indoor locations.

The second option which is nontraditional, but gives you great results is to do your formal pictures before or after your wedding day. This idea made a lot of sense to me after a couple requested to book myself again because they always wanted pictures at a location that was over an hour away from their venue. It didn’t rain at all on their wedding day, but there was a place that meant a lot to the both of them where they wanted pictures together at. The huge benefit too is if I wasn’t the photographer at their wedding it would have been next to impossible for me to tell that their wedding photos were taking on 2 separate days. In other words all your friends looking at your photos won’t even know it was a different day unless you tell them.

The third option is book a venue that has nice places to take pictures indoors as well as outdoors. That way you insure no matter what you do you will at least get some nice pictures at your wedding. Cost of course is always a factor while planning a wedding, but if photos are important to you it is also important to book a venue that is capable of taking creative indoor pictures as well as outdoors. If you book a great venue you can relax knowing your photographer has a great backdrop to take pictures with. Who ever you decide to book as your photographer they are there to help guide you to alternative locations if requested. It is your job as the couple to check the spots out to make sure you like them and make proper arrangements to insure you are able to take photos inside a backup location. Save yourself some stress on your wedding day and think about a backup plan incase of bad weather well before your wedding day and in many cases before you even book your venue.

Some of the indoor locations in Ottawa to take wedding pictures I have used in the past are:

National Art Gallery (call in advance normally a fee)

Museum Of Nature (call in advance typically no fee)

Chateau Laurier (must have your wedding booked there to take photos inside)

Civilization Museum (call in advance sometimes a fee)

Bank of Canada (call in advance normally no fee)

Ottawa Convention Center (call in advance sometimes a fee)

Notre Dame Basilica

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The Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal is breath taking. Visiting this church has been on my places to see for a while. About 3 years ago i saw a picture from this church, but never found out where the photo was taken. While attending Expoplast in Montreal I came across a picture while walking to the trade show that look a lot like the one I saw three years ago. This is exactly why it is always a good idea to bring your camera with you. I unfortunately didn’t bring a tripod, but I was still able to get great pictures without it. Though I don’t agree with having to pay to get inside a church the Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal was definitely worth the 5 dollars to go inside. It is a must see if you are ever in Montreal.

I can only image how beautiful a wedding would be in the Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal. It is hard to get parking in Montreal so prepare to have to walk a little bit to get to the church.