South Shore Wedding in Hotel Rive Gauche | Sandra & Jimmy

Over the weekend, I photographed Sandra & Jimmy’s wedding in the South Shore. You might recognize them! I photographed their engagement session in the Montreal Old Port not too long ago. If you haven’t seen that post, check it out and read their cute story. The morning preparations for both Sandra and Jimmy started in their home in Brossard - we’d make sure one was either upstairs (or downstairs) while the other was downstairs (or upstairs).

How awesome is this hanger?

We then had the ceremony in the beautiful Ste-Anne de Varennes Basilica located right by the Saint Lawrence River.

I love churches with steps in front! Makes it so much easier for full-group shots!

And finally, we ended the night in Beloeil with the reception at the Hotel Rive Gauche.

A week before the wedding, Sandra and Jimmy are over at my place. Sandra pulls out her phone and says: “Alex. You’ve gotta do something about this.” She turns her phone around and shows me the weather app. September 19th: Rainy. Chances of thunderstorms. I promised her I’d do my best anti-rain dance. And so I did, and a few days later, the app showed a sun and a few clouds. “OMG seriously Alex I don't know how you did it but you and your mad science skills did something to mother nature!!!”.

Oh classic me and my mad science skills.

In the end it just rained a tiny bit during the night. During the day? A few clouds here and there, but nothing to worry about - clouds are amazing softboxes in the sky that tame the mid-day sun. (But hey if someone has their wedding in a torrential thunderstorm don’t worry about it! It think it would look amazing!)

I got some cool behind the scenes shots from my second photographer Fabio! And you can see my DIY dual-camera harness that I mentioned here!

Here I am inspecting the light in the church and preparing before the big entrance.

And here I am doing my best at being a bride. Sandra was much better. Thanks for reading! And congrats again to the newlyweds Sandra & Jimmy! Enjoy your honeymooon in Italy!

My Wedding Photography Statistics & Infographics

I was editing the pictures from Anne-Claire and Farbod's wedding and I started playing around with Lightroom library filters when it hit me. I can do stats again! And pretty infographics! Pre-emptive FAQ: Why did you do this? Before wedding photography I was in grad school in biology. I loved fieldwork, numbers and pretty graphs. Wedding photography statistics combines Alex's ghost of science past and Alex now.

How did you get this data? I got these data from my most recent wedding, from both me and my second photographer. The number of images represent the number of shots that made it into the final selection of images, not the original number of shots. I used the Lightroom library filters to get the numbers and then to make the graphs I just used Excel (sorry R) and a tiny bit of Photoshop to make it prettier. Now I just want to add a disclaimer. Weddings are not all the same, and I'm sure if I did this for every wedding I shot the stats would be widely different.

Let's start by seeing which focal lengths were the most used by our zoom lenses.

Interesting that both our peaks are at the limits of our lenses. And the only focal length where we overlap, 70mm, is heavily used. Now let's see the number of pictures vs. time of day. Keep in mind again that these are the shots that made it into the final selection, not the number of shots taken during that time:

It starts off slow with the morning preparations and peaks around ceremony time. The first dip at 15:00 was when we were in the car, the second one at 19:00 was when we were setting up before the reception. We weren't slacking off! Now hover over it with your mouse to see how often flash was used vs. natural light. Again, every wedding is different, and I don't think there's usually this clear of a cut between flash and no flash. We just had amazing light during the morning, we don't want to use flash in churches, and then the reception hall was generally dark so we had to light all shots. You can refer back to my blog post about the wedding to look at the shots!

This is also pretty interesting. The % of shots by me and my second photographer. This, by the way, is right where I'd want the % to be. There are moments where the percentage is closer to 50-50, when we split up for example. At times the ratio is more skewed because I ask my second photographers to let me take the lead, to not overcrowd our bride & groom with cameras. And then during the reception dancing shots, the second photographer helps me with my off-camera flashes, which are set up only for my camera. So it's normal that there's the big dip there.

Finally let's look at the lens use distribution. This is a doughnut chart, slightly less tasty than a pie chart. This is the graph that surprised me the most. I usually shoot way more with the 50mm 1.4, and not as much with the 28mm 1.8. Pretty interesting. Also note the little 105mm 2.8. That's my macro lens, which I bring just for one shot: wedding rings!

Is this information useful in any way? Not really. This is just my idea of fun. But it could be useful actually. Let's see:

Visualizing the ratio of shots from the first vs. second photographer according to the different parts of the wedding day can reveal our strengths. I could also measure the % of shots that made it into the final selection vs. number of original shots taken. As a photographer you want to be deliberate and intentional in the shots you take, and many, when starting out, use the "spray and pray" method, which results in a very low percentage of usable shots. Now if you measure this %, you have a baseline number from which you can compare future performances. Other things include looking at your most common focal lengths, which could inform a purchase decision, or seeing when during the wedding day we're most likely going to need to change memory cards.

Bro you call these stats? Hey this is my blog no one’s looking at p-values here.

Thanks for reading! And hey if you want to read more tips, sign up to my newsletter Postcards from Alex!

Persian Wedding Ceremony at the Montreal Omni Hotel | AC & Farbod

You might recognize this lovely couple from our engagement session in the Old Port a few weeks ago. Anne-Claire and Farbod brought the same energy and charm for their big day. They were so in love they got married twice: a Persian wedding ceremony at the downtown Montreal Omni Hotel as well as a catholic ceremony at the St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish. Most of the big day took place at the Omni Hotel - such a great venue to work in! Both bride and groom prepared there, which makes it so much easier for wedding photographers. I love seeing the contrast between the prep rooms of the bridesmaids vs. groomsmen. The guys were blasting music and ordering room service scotch whereas the girls’ room was more quiet, although you could feel the excitement and nerves of the wedding day in the air.

Then, cute moments started happening everywhere. Each bridesmaid received letters from Anne-Claire and a really amazing gift: earrings she had custom-made from the diamonds that were previously on her engagement ring.

The groomsmen also received a cool gift: a massive hug from Farbod.

Before seeing each other the bride and groom opened letters they had written to each other. Farbod’s reaction as he was nervously holding the closed envelope in his hands: Damn it. I’m going to cry aren’t I? Shit. Fuck. I’m going to cry. Damn it. She’s going to make me cry. Shit. Hilarious and adorable.

There were so many great moments from this wedding.

Bad-ass groomsmen:

Even more bad-ass bridesmaids:

Overzealous confetti throwers:

A rap-speech: 

A Persian ceremony for the cutting of the cake that involved dancing and bribing:

And much more! The Persian ceremony had a big spread of sweets, spices, fruits and honey. Everything was explained by the wedding officiant Lily Samimi who specializes in Persian ceremonies. We not only got great insight behind the customs and traditions of the ceremonies, but also behind how Anne-Claire and Farbod met.

You know what's weird? The florists, hair stylists, venue managers, DJs, they all see glimpses of the day. But wedding photographers, we get to see everything from start to finish. We're thrown into someone else's life for a full day and as the day goes along, we meet their closest friends and family, we learn their inside jokes, we hear about how they met and their fondest memories together. By the end of the day I can't help but feel like I've known them for years. Every time I leave the reception I'm like aww I'm going to miss them. You'd think that I'd become desensitized to this by now after seeing lots of brides and grooms, but apparently not, I'm still so emotionally invested in all of my couples. Thank you again for the wonderful day, I’m so happy for you guys!

If you haven't seen it already, check out my wedding portfolio!

Montreal Engagement Shoot in Old Port | Vespa and Balloons

I recently shot a Montreal engagement shoot in the Old Port with the dashing couple Farbod & Anne-Claire. Along with them, their Vespa and balloons!  Can we do the shoot early? Like at 5 in the morning? they had asked me.

When someone asks you if you want to start work at 5 in the morning, you usually turn around and start running away. But for photoshoots? That's the kind of thing you want. So when your clients propose it themselves, it’s music to my ears. As long as the photographer and subjects manage to wake up, it’s wonderful for a shoot. We get empty streets free of distractions, on-lookers, and cars (this was especially important for the Vespa shots). And most importantly, we have great light. It went really well, we had a great time, and I think I’ll start proposing 5AM shoots more often to clients. And if they look at me wide-eyed and ask me if I’m crazy, I’ll just laugh and say Just kidding, just kidding.

So here’s a funny thing about the balloons. You know the movie Up? I believe in it now. Two of the balloons were massive. Heavy enough to make your arms sore. (Reverse-heavy?) So we were doing the shoot, walking around in the Old Port. Eventually a lady comes up to us and tells Farbod & Anne-Claire that the number of balloons is the number of kids they’re going to have. We laugh and Farbod says That’s right! One, two, three, four, five, SIX kids! We continue on and a moment later Anne-Claire realizes. Wait. 6? We bought 7 balloons!

We couldn’t find the missing one. We look up in the sky and way in the distance, there's an orange dot. Going back in the pictures, I could tell the exact moment when it slipped away from our grasp. One frame it was there, the next, in the air. Rest in peace, massive orange balloon. Hope you landed in balloon heaven. Thanks guys for the awesome shoot. Looking forward to your wedding in a few weeks!

Engagement Session in Montreal's Old Port and in the studio

I recently had a fun engagement session in Montreal’s Old Port and in my studio with Sandra & Jimmy. They’re an adorable couple. Let me tell you a bit more about Sandra - she was essentially the catalyst behind the resurgence of my wedding photography.    I had taken a break from weddings during my Master’s to focus on science and electric fish (if you just thought wait what?, you can read more about my past research and life here). So I had removed my wedding portfolio and was declining all wedding photography requests. The reason behind this was logistics - I never knew whether I’d be in Panama for research or in Montreal, and I couldn’t secure any dates with certainty. Part of it was also time. With the multiple deadlines for my thesis submission and graduation process, I had little time to focus on photography or meeting clients. When I finally submitted my thesis, before I even had time to put any wedding portfolio on my website, Sandra contacted me. Her emails were always full of enthusiasm and they got me really excited to start shooting weddings again.

One funny moment during our email exchange: when I bring up to clients the fact that I have a contract with me for the wedding booking process, I try not to scare them. I usually assure them that it’s not a 30-page verbose law jargon document in 8pt, so I delicately include some (perhaps slightly patronizing) comments like “Don’t worry! It’s short and readable :)”. To which Sandra replied “We are both lawyers”. Whoops hahaha. So Jimmy & Sandra are both lawyers indeed, and that fact is very important about them. It’s a crucial part of their origin story. They met each other in the court room on opposing sides and fell in love. Is someone in Hollywood reading this? This is movie-material!

The engagement session in Montreal's Old Port was great. It was one of the real summer days we've had this year. So that ice cream cone was well-deserved. I’m extremely excited for their wedding this fall. Somehow I’ve found myself speaking French with Jimmy and English with Sandra, which makes giving direction quite interesting. Come back in late September to see the results! :)

In the meantime, if you want more stories, photos, and photography tips, join the fun at Postcards from Alex!

Graduation Pictures for Bryn on McGill campus in downtown Montreal

Cue the bagpipes and picture this. Alex walks towards the tent on McGill University campus where the convocations are set up. He’s wearing a slightly fancier gown than last time since today he’s graduating with a M.Sc. The tassel on his cap is swinging and hitting him in the eye. It’s raining and every single step he takes in these shoes require full concentration otherwise he’s going to slip and fall in front of everyone. I made it folks! Without even slipping/tripping/embarrassing myself! But this post isn't about me - Bryn also graduated - her convocation was just a few hours after mine. She contacted me a few weeks ago to have portraits taken after seeing an old post where I took pictures of Amélie’s graduation (on McGill University campus as well).

Bryn wanted some pictures with her family and boyfriend to immortalize this important day. As the students poured out from the tents, Bryn and her entourage snuck away from the big crowds to meet me in a private extremely top secret spot on campus (just kidding - it’s on the side of Otto Mass).

The photo session was pretty quick. Taking pictures for graduations is relatively easy - everyone’s happy, supportive, proud, and it’s all smiles. And having someone like the high-energy Bryn as the main focus doesn’t hurt either.

It might seem a bit weird to suddenly be thrown in someone else’s big day as a photographer. But whether I’m taking wedding or graduation photos, people are always extremely thankful and nice. I get glimpses of very personal and important moments and I’m very grateful for it. I make it my obligation to capture these memories the best I can.

While this is only the second time someone hires me for graduation pictures, for the past years, I’ve been present for many of my friends’ convocations at McGill. Here are a few of my favourite graduation pictures taken all over the campus.

I had a really great time and would love to do this more often in the future. If you or anyone else is graduating and would like my photography services, let me know!

Wedding in Fort Chambly

I wake up at 6:30AM, get dressed in 15 minutes. Random thought about how wedding photographers are the first ones dressed up for the day. Coffee. Final weather check. No rain. NO RAIN! A few days before they were announcing 100% chance rain. I guess my lucky streak still continues. If you're a future bride-to-be reading this, keep in mind that it does not rain on my weddings :D I arrive at Chantal’s place, she’s getting her make-up done (by my cousin Han!). The flower girl is sitting quietly beside her, mesmerized by the make-up process. Big windows, tons of soft natural light in the room, everything is calm. Fast forward a few minutes, the chaotic nature of weddings starts kicking in gradually. Chantal is late for her appointment at the hair salon and rushes out of the house, flower girl grabs an eye liner and draws all over her face, and suddenly I’m in this room holding a dress in each hand with Britney Spears’ Baby One More Time blasting from the radio.

About 2 hours later, we’re back at the house, ready for the Vietnamese ceremony. The groom arrives at the house with gifts and is welcomed by the bride’s family. And by family I mean Vietnamese family, so that’s 5000 people waiting at the door for him.

The ceremony starts with the father of the bride lighting up incense sticks and mistakenly starting the ceremony with: “Today is the wedding day of Benoit and Tina.” (That’s his other daughter’s name.) I love the shot of his reaction after he realized his mistake.

 

Wardrobe change!

We went to Fort Chambly, a beautiful national historic site. The sun was out blazing with no clouds to diffuse the harsh light, so I had to find pockets of shade like these pictures. Or angle my subjects to be side lit, between myself and the sun.

Fast forward a few hours, I’m setting up my lights in the reception room in Hotel Mortagne not too far from Montreal. It was a fun wedding reception, they had everyone on the dance floor at all times, the first dance was really cool, and it’s the first time I see a piñata at a wedding so some points there.

Congrats again to Chantal and Benoit!

Wedding in Montreal's Centre des Sciences

Finally done with finals! :D And close-ish to being done with Christmas shopping too. So here's a wedding I shot with Vadim several months ago. I was really excited since this was the first Hindu wedding I got to photograph. We actually received a PDF file with all the detailed steps of the ceremony (I had to google half of the terms on it). Unlike churches with a priest, the bride, and the groom, there was sometimes up to 8 people surrounding Kamalina and Steve, making it challenging to photograph them through the chaos. You basically pre-focus, wait for an opening and shoot as soon as you get an opportunity. It makes you feel like a sniper. It was a big, fun, colourful wedding at the Centre des Sciences in Montreal's Old Port. You can't really go wrong with the Old Port can you?

The highlight for me was working with Ioan Films, the best videographers I've worked alongside with. Robert, Cristina, Mihai and Tudor were friendly, professional and I could tell even before seeing the final result that they were producing high-quality work. Although I may be biased because they're Romanian. Cristina also taught me a few Romanian things to say to my Romanian girlfriend's mom to get some brownie points.

As a kid with a Vietnamese heritage born in the francophone province of an English-speaking country, I've always been drawn to other cultural mixes. It was great to see people from both the bride and the groom side sharing the dance floor unlike some other times I've seen. And these folks stayed on the floor all night! It was the longest working day I've had, but one of the most rewarding and memorable.

I'll end this post by wishing everyone happy holidays. Take lots of pictures and take time to relax!

My First Wedding in a Montreal Mosque

Meet Sue & Arif, my sister’s high school friends, and recent newlyweds. For the first time, I had a second shooter at a wedding with me, my sister Tina Tran. Since she already knew the bride and groom, and this wedding required both a male and female photographer (you’ll see why), she was the perfect choice for a second shooter in at the wedding. 2-days before the wedding, I photographed Arif’s Pithi ceremony, which is an Indian tradition. It starts innocently enough until eggs are cracked on his head. Then Arif gets bombarded with ketchup, flour, maple syrup, etc. I wish seeing this was a more common occurrence in my daily life. Everyone had a great time and hopefully he wasn’t too traumatized.

Arif probably spent the next two straight days showering until the big day. I started off at his house and I got to eat samosas. That made my day right there - perfect way to start a 13-hour shift. For those who don't know, I've developed an addiction to samosas during my time at McGill University, where samosas were often sold in enormous quantities. For others that share the same addiction, there's even a Twitter account to track those elusive samosas down on campus.

OK let's move on before I start craving some again. We moved to the mosque where the ceremony took place. Shoes off! This was my first muslim wedding, so all the traditions and ceremonies were new experiences to me. With men and women in separate rooms, I had absolutely no idea what went on in the other room until I uploaded my sister’s pics.

By Tina Tran!

Then, off to the Montreal Old Port! They must’ve felt like celebrities because EVERYONE was staring. Even the horses.

Best wishes to Sue & Arif, and thank you for the great day!

Mariage au Lac Delage

I met Mélanie and Nic through my friend Vanessa when they were looking for a wedding photographer. A few months and a three-hour drive later, there I was at the amazing Manoir du Lac Delage near downtown Quebec City. Nice chalet-style hotel. Huge lake. Basketball and beach volleyball courts. Terasses, big fields, several reception rooms, etc. No wonder it's a popular destination for weddings. There was a total of 5 weddings the same day!

As the other weddings were going on, Mélanie and Nic were preparing for their big day. As usual, the bride's preparation room was blasting music and hair dryers, whereas the groom's room was much more relaxed and mellow. Everything was going smoothly until about an hour before walking down the aisle, we get the message that the wedding ceremony set up has changed because of the announced thunderstorms. Uh oh. Big dark menacing clouds were lurking over the manoir.

Thoughts started running through my head. I hope Mélanie isn't freaking out. Wouldn't the pictures kinda look cool? What if there's lightning during the first kiss. That's kinda cool. Why aren't you on my side today Mother Nature?  Maybe this last thought helped, because everything cleared out by the time we went out, and we didn't get a single raindrop *cue applause*. Yay.

P.S. Food was great. I ate stuff I couldn't even name.