I was feeling inadequately prepared for this shoot. We were on vacation to Toronto and I didn’t have nearly any lighting gear with me. I had my camera, some lenses, a couple of flashes, and one very small softbox. The rest was all problem-solving. And I think what we achieved together was pretty remarkable under the circumstances.

The band, named Three Fold Unity, had a location picked out, so we took the instruments, the cameras and the assistants to this island in the middle of the highway at approximately midnight. It took us three vehicles to get everyone and everything there!

A police officer stopped by just after we got started. When he saw that we were taking pictures, he was pretty chill about it. Evidently a concerned citizen had phoned in a report about a possible concert in progress. When we assured him that we weren’t actually making music (beyond random chords on an acoustic guitar, that is), he left us to it. Beyond that, we had the odd honk, and a few choice cusses levelled at us which we all handled pretty good-naturedly. I guess it’s unusual for there to be a photo session in the middle of a major thoroughfare. Yeah, well, only because it’s not my home town. I hope you agree: this is a pretty great location for band shots.

Well they like them, and after all, that’s what really matters most.

I like shooting with CM — she’s a lot of fun, is generous with her time and energy, and she’s really photogenic. She wanted to work on some pictures that she could give her significant other — I think his birthday is coming up. She wanted to do some shots at her house, and with her car. We ran out of time for her last idea. So at our next shoot we’re going to include her ATV! That’ll be pretty cool.

By the way, that first picture is taken through the back of one of her dining room chairs. It’s amazing what comes out in the moment. We played quite a bit with that chair, and achieved a whole bunch of different moods. I like this one because it’s a zany take, and yet the mood conveyed is sombre. I’m a sucker for that kind of juxtaposition.

When word got out that we were doing this personal project, our models got calls from all over the place. Not from people who wanted to be involved, but women who wanted to volunteer their dresses for the shoot. Apparently there are a bunch of dresses out there that their owners love, and want to see being used for beautiful purposes. It was our models’ idea to wear masks for this. They’re just the kind of thing that the most fashionable forest nymphs would wear as they frolic in the trees.

We asked this young couple if they’d help us with some grad samples, and we were honoured when they jumped at the chance. These were all taken during a couple of hours at a local recreation centre. We had them just adopt a sense of play, and for the most part try to ignore us — a challenge when we’re running around with tw0 large cameras and other paraphernalia! But this is very much how we like to work, and it was a great way to spend an afternoon!

When we’ve gone through the images a little more fully we’ll post something a little more complete. I hope you come back — there’s some really special stuff that we achieved together!

If you’d like to hire us to commemorate your graduation with some quality photography, please check out our rate page, and drop us a line in the comments below (a new Contact Us page will be going up soon). We’d love to hear from you!

These shots were taken with about 4 days to spare. (I have another set with no airbrushing nearly ready to post here that was even closer to the birthdate!) The Mom-to-be pictured here is a musician, and wanted to include her favourite hymn in this effort. The creative potential for airbrushing gives us that capacity.

I enjoyed being a part of this young family’s story, and now count them as friends. That’s the part that I love most about working with a camera: I meet new people, and experience things in brand new ways!

These were from a session that we did for LightCatchers a good while back. Our model has been affectionately dubbed Cola by my toddler — she’s sweet and bubbly, so it works. We’d planned this night well in advance, and she came through for us, even though she felt really ill. What a hero!

These are a setup on location with a softbox in front, camera right, and a bare flash behind lighting up the background (a handy wall painted a bold orange colour). Thanks, Cola!

Kiss of Light is all about portraiture, so perhaps you’re wondering what all these images of inanimate ‘stuff’ are doing here. Actually, I think these ‘portraits’ nearly equal those that include body language and vivid expressions. Taken from several different weddings, this selection reflects the unique personalities and priorities of their respective couples. Brides and grooms agonise over a myriad of details in the planning stages. Each little touch is carefully applied. When we do it right, our photos reflect their character, and that of their day.

Kiss of Light has begun a journey into the stock photography market. We were privileged to be shooting with someone who has been with us right from the beginning. She’s joined this experiment, and if we end up actually selling stock images online (fingers crossed!), then she’ll be given a healthy percentage of the proceeds. She deserves it!

She’s easy-going, and can take directions well. In fact, shooting with this young woman is nearly too much fun to be called work. However, hovering around the steam room and over the jacuzzi with expensive camera gear, I kinda wished I wasn’t in jeans and a rugby jersey. :-)

Here are some favourite shots from our first wedding of the year. Actually this was the first Kiss of Light wedding we’ve done. We’ve both shot weddings independently, but this was a first for us to shoot together. It went extremely well, especially when you factor in weather that could have been threatening but instead ended up co-operating 100%!