Dan Fontaine Photography Blog - RSS http://danfontaine.com/blog/ Vancouver Wedding Photography Blog en-us We're back in business. http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-258/Were-back-in-business http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-258/Were-back-in-business Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:32:33 -0800 To all our valued clients and friends.

As many of you may have noticed our blog has been left to spin neglected on the old intraweb for the last few months. We had a busy year as always and were stuck by a major family loss last fall. Steph's dad passed away in November after battling his illness in the hospital for a few months. We continued to shoot weddings during this time and these happy celebrations were a welcome relief from the everyday struggles. Our amazing clients who were waiting for their wedding photos were understanding beyond belief. Unfortunately the blog wasn't top priority. But now we will be belatedly posting all our weddings from the middle of last summer on.

Here is a quick slideshow in memory of Steph's Dad. We miss you Herbie.

]]> Daisy and Ed - Mayfair Lakes Wedding - Richmond Wedding Photographer http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-253/Daisy-and-Ed-Mayfair-Lakes-Wedding-Richmond-Wedding-Photographer http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-253/Daisy-and-Ed-Mayfair-Lakes-Wedding-Richmond-Wedding-Photographer Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:51:09 -0700

This is a massive post so be warned that if you have a slow connection it may take a sec. Daisy and Ed were so much fun to take pictures of. They are super romantic, fun and goofy and a blast to be around. Their wedding and reception were held at Mayfair Lakes Golf and Country Club. Enjoy checking out the amazing details, photos of the wedding party as well as great images of the lovely couple.

Great light streaming in the room as the girls got ready.

The final rose, I think that's from the bachelor?

Daisy looked stunning.


The wedding day was perfect.
A few shots in the limo.
Some romantic images of the bride and groom.





Some classic portraits.

Love this next set of images, definitely my favs of the day.



Like I said fun and a little goofy.

The wedding party.



A quick change for the tea ceremony.
Great speeches, little bro hit it out of the park.
Fun games and a crazy cake.

Shots baby.
We stole the bride and groom from the reception for 5 minutes and got some sunset pictures.


Check out the shadow.

Love this first dance shot, great lighting, great emotion and a great shot to end on.

]]> Grouse Mountain Wedding - Crystal and Richard http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-239/Grouse-Mountain-Wedding-Crystal-and-Richard http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-239/Grouse-Mountain-Wedding-Crystal-and-Richard Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:16:36 -0700

Crystal and Richard's Grouse Mountain Wedding was fun and fashionable yet a casual Vancouver wedding. Here are some of my fav shots from the day.

Last touches on the dress.

Riding the gondola up to the peak of Grouse mountain with the bridal party.
Hello, my kind of wedding party.


Love the high contrast fashion look of this set of black and white images.




Some more images of the beautiful bride.


The girls chilling out before the ceremony.

Grandma walked Crystal down the aisle.

The wedding ceremony had lots of emotion.
First kisses don't get much better than this.
The guys enjoying a cold one after the ceremony.

Some goofy wedding party pictures.

A few more casual shots of the bride and groom.


First dance, last picture, true love.
]]> Photoshop - Before and After - Crystal http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-233/Photoshop-Before-and-After-Crystal http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-233/Photoshop-Before-and-After-Crystal Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:28:03 -0700 One of the hardest things for me to do as a photographer is decide what version of a photo I want to show the world on my blog. Photoshop is a tool that most photographers use daily and love but it has become such a well used verb in our culture that I constantly hear "Oh lets just photoshop that out/in". While sometimes possible I always like to get the best image in the camera and then use photoshop to subtly tweak an image or add an effect that highlights an emotion or feeling. I don't aim to change the way someone or something looks, that is the realm of a commercial advertising photographer. My goal is to make the people in front of my lens look their absolute best while still having fun and being themselves. Below is an example of what I might do to "photoshop" an image.

The image as it was shot straight out of the camera. Overall I love the image, nice composition, amazing directional natural light pouring in through the window. Crystal looks beautiful and to be perfectly honest I would be happy with this image with little or no post processing.

A little dodging and burning to put more of an emphasis on the bride and less on the wall. A slight colour and contrast boost to make the image pop.

A simple black and white conversion gives a timeless classic look to the image. These BandW shots will never look dated and look great in albums.

Something totally different and a lot more dramatic. The toning and colours give the image more of a painterly feel but the skin tones are still pleasing to the eye. The purple and blue toning are by no means meant to be natural but give the image a fashionable edge.

]]> Mayfair Lakes Wedding - Sarah and Craig http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-228/Mayfair-Lakes-Wedding-Sarah-and-Craig http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-228/Mayfair-Lakes-Wedding-Sarah-and-Craig Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:07:14 -0700

We had the pleasure of capturing Sarah and Craigs 's wedding at the always beautiful Mayfair Lakes Golf and Country Club in Richmond. Here are some of our favourite images of the day.

The Guys

The Girls
We have seen a lot wedding cars decorated with these neon markers this year. Pretty cool.

Some great portraits of the beautiful bride.


Sarah and Craig seem so in love.


Some more of the wedding party.



We snuck outside for a few minutes to capture the sunset.
Love this one.
]]> Vasudha and Vikram - The Wedding http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-220/Vasudha-and-Vikram-The-Wedding http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-220/Vasudha-and-Vikram-The-Wedding Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:21:18 -0700

Here are some images from the last day of Vik and Vasudha's wedding. There were so many great shots of family and friends. Again the colour and culture was amazing. The wedding took place in Vasudha's parents back yard and the reception was held at The Four Seasons Vancouver.

The girls getting ready.
Vasudha putting on the final touches.

HELLO, STUNNING.

A grand family entrance.



Some serious dancing.

The groom arrives at the brides house and needs to sing and play games to win the brides family over. All I know is Vik lost his shoes and didn't get them back until LATE in the day.
Some happy wedding guests.
A proud Dad and a beautiful bride.


My favourite image of the day, a candid shot during the ceremony. Lots of love and emotion during this moment.
Some images we shot at Cresent Beach.




Some shots from the reception.


We had a great time shooting Vik and Vasudha's many different parties and ceremonies during their wedding festivities.
]]> Vasudha and Vikram - Henna Ceremony http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-216/Vasudha-and-Vikram-Henna-Ceremony http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-216/Vasudha-and-Vikram-Henna-Ceremony Tue, 15 Sep 2009 22:22:40 -0700

Some more colorful fun and amazing pictures from the third day of Vik and Vasudha's wedding. These include some images from the henna ceremony as well as rituals at the grooms house.



Gifts of gold jewelry.


The bride had the grooms initials hidden in the henna. Can you spot the VA.
Vikram in his traditional clothes.

So many smiling faces.

]]> Granville Island Photoshoot - Lena and John http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-213/Granville-Island-Photoshoot-Lena-and-John http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-213/Granville-Island-Photoshoot-Lena-and-John Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:28:47 -0700

We had so much fun shooting John and Lena's engagement session at Granville Island. This couple was so comfortable together and a real blast to work with. As a Vancouver wedding photographer we have lots of great place to shoot in the city but I really love shooting at Granville Island because it gives you so many different looks, the colors, the grungy textures of the old buildings, the green space as well as the shots of the Vancouver's waterfront. We are looking forward to photographing their wedding this weekend at Hart House in Burnaby.
Here are some of our fav shots of the day.












My fav of the day.













Love the drama in this shot.

Same shot cropped tighter.



]]> Vasudha and Vikram - Grooms Sangeet http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-210/Vasudha-and-Vikram-Grooms-Sangeet http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-210/Vasudha-and-Vikram-Grooms-Sangeet Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:26:58 -0700 The second day of shooting Vik and Vas's wedding was the Grooms Sangeet. Vikram is from England so the festivities were a little more intimate but there was lots of dancing and everyone seemed to have a great time. Some of My favourite photos from the day.
The grooms family waits for the bride to arrive.
Dancing begins.
The brides family arrives at the grooms house with gifts.
Welcoming the new family.
Lots of hugging and dancing as the families meet as well as some prayer.
Traditional singing and music.
More dancing.
Love this image. Vik really knew how to shake it.
Everyone having a blast.
Some singers performed traditional music.
Up next the henna ceremony.
]]> Vasudha and Vikram - Sangeet at The Bombay Palace - Colour http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-207/Vasudha-and-Vikram-Sangeet-at-The-Bombay-Palace-Colour http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-207/Vasudha-and-Vikram-Sangeet-at-The-Bombay-Palace-Colour Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:48:42 -0700

Here is the second post of the Sangeet. The details were beautiful with rich golden hues as well as orange, brown and red accent colours. People were having a lot of fun and I think the love really comes through in the images. I was really glad for the 16-35mm wide angle as I was literally standing on top of people as I was shooting.



















Vik in good spirits.







So many smiling faces and happy people.



I love this shot of Vasudha's bro, he looks really stylish and a little sneaky in this shot.


Stay tuned for a lot more pictures of Vik and Vas as we have three more days of images to show you.

]]> Vasudha and Vikram - Sangeet at The Bombay Palace - Black and White http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-204/Vasudha-and-Vikram-Sangeet-at-The-Bombay-Palace-Black-and-White http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-204/Vasudha-and-Vikram-Sangeet-at-The-Bombay-Palace-Black-and-White Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:10:39 -0700

We had the pleasure of experiencing an amazing week capturing the wedding festivities of Vasudha and Vikram. The first day of shooting was the Sangeet. I am going to do two posts on this happy family event to show the different emotional impact that displaying images in black and white as opposed to color. The black and white images in this post have a timeless classic feel and strip the image down to its emotional core. All these images had only a simple black and white conversion, no fancy photoshop as I wanted them to look very traditional. We also took a much more photojournalistic approach to the first day as we were there to record the event as it unfolded. Just wait to check out the color shots, they'll blow you away with their vibrance.
Vasudha arriving and greeting her family.
She looked amazing.

Vik starting the ceremony.



I love these next two images. Simple powerful pictures.


]]> Vancouver Engagement Session - Jess and Joe - The Night Shoot http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-200/Vancouver-Engagement-Session-Jess-and-Joe-The-Night-Shoot http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-200/Vancouver-Engagement-Session-Jess-and-Joe-The-Night-Shoot Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:52:36 -0700

My cousin Jess and her boyfriend of like 12 years finally got married this summer. Because they are family they got bumped way down the list on the blog posts. Heck they are already back from their honeymoon and i haven't even posted their e-session yet. Bad couz i am. We shot these images in and around the alleys of downtown Vancouver. Jess wanted an urban look and I think we nailed it. Shooting after dark with off camera lighting also gave these a real different feel as well. I also experimented with some new post processing techniques to get high contrast black and white images with very little grey tones.
These two were kids when they met but they have grown into really amazing and pretty darn good looking adults before my eyes. If you are not tired of looking at this cute couple by the end of this massive post check out the slideshow for even more images in full screen mode.






















































The Slideshow

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]]> Cecil Green Wedding - Westwood Plateau Reception - Chris and Rav http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-193/Cecil-Green-Wedding-Westwood-Plateau-Reception-Chris-and-Rav http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-193/Cecil-Green-Wedding-Westwood-Plateau-Reception-Chris-and-Rav Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:55:18 -0700

So many great images it is hard to choose what to show on the blog. Here are some more images from Chris and Rav's fabulous Cecil Green Wedding. We shot the wedding party photos around UBC and Spanish Banks. Their reception was held at the equally beautiful Westwood Plateau Golf and Country Club. I would also like to thank one of my favourite second shooters Carol Ann for helping capture the details.
Rav walking down the aisle.

The ceremony.

True Love.

The first kiss.
Totally unprompted by me. They had just finished the family portraits and needed a refreshing beverage.
A great casual portrait. They both look so happy.
The girls glowed
The guys looked pretty good too.
We also shot a the UBC Museum of Anthropology.
Rav carried a small photo of Chris's grandmother in her bouquet.
Some wedding party shots with people we pulled off the beach. I bet they didn't think they would end up in wedding photos when they headed out for the day.

Love these shots of Chris and Rav on the beach. The veil against the dark blue sky just looks stunning.


Some detail shots from the reception. The wedding cake looked delicious.
The first dance was super romantic.

Thanks for letting us be a part of your special day, we had a blast.
]]> Cecil Green Wedding UBC Part 1 - Rav http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-190/Cecil-Green-Wedding-UBC-Part-1-Rav http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-190/Cecil-Green-Wedding-UBC-Part-1-Rav Sat, 15 Aug 2009 01:01:34 -0700

Rav looked amazing on her wedding day, plain and simple. She absolutely glowed and I couldn't decide on just one or two to images so I am doing a mini post just dedicated to her. And no Part 2 won't just be sexy pictures of Chris they'll be shots of the wedding party, the couple and some details. Try and pick a favorite, I can't.

The images were taken in the suite at the Sutton Place Hotel. I love it when brides get ready at a hotel as there is always somewhere fabulous to take pictures. In this case the drapes gave me exactly the kind of lines I was looking for. This first image is obviously the same picture processed 3 different ways. I think I like the black and white image best.


The same image as above with a tighter crop.



Stunning.

These were taken just after the family formal pictures at Cecil Green. The light was perfect for portraits. The overhang on the large porch turned the sky into a big softbox.

Wow. Maybe my fav.

Timeless.

Details

Love the colours in this last shot.

Stay tuned for Part 2 early next week, were off two shoot two more amazing weddings this weekend.

]]> Tea Ceremony - Henna Party - Feast and General Good Time - Rav and Chris http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-185/Tea-Ceremony-Henna-Party-Feast-and-General-Good-Time-Rav-and-Chris http://danfontaine.com/blog/post-185/Tea-Ceremony-Henna-Party-Feast-and-General-Good-Time-Rav-and-Chris Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:12:44 -0700

Chris and Ravs wedding was a beautiful mix of friends, family, culture and tradition. We had the pleasure of capturing their rehearsal dinner which also included a tea ceremony and henna party. The food was delish and the booze flowed freely. Chris and Rav seem like the ultimate hosts with great friends who are a special part of their lives.
Some detail shots of their backyard, seems like even the flowers matched their
purple and green colour scheme of the wedding.



A few romantic shots we quickly snuck around the yard.



Lets not assume these two are all romance.

The hanna artist was so fast, amazing to watch work.





I love these images of Rav and her mom. Great colour and emotion.

Photos from their beautiful wedding will be up tomorrow.

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