I’d love to hear back from people who hire event photographers on how you handle the post-event photo delivery and what you expect to see. Please feel free to email me or respond in the comment form below.

Share and Enjoy

Share and Enjoy

Happy Holidays from Julian Haber Photography

Share and Enjoy

Share and Enjoy

Share and Enjoy

Share and Enjoy

Given that most people reading this blog have lived through the massive transition from film to digital cameras, I suspect that there are countless photo collections sitting unseen in boxes, unsorted in albums or, as is the case with most digital files, sitting on hard drives in computers, rarely, if ever being looked at, felt and appreciated. There is something incredibly sad in that thought. All those memories, all those moments that mattered so much you wanted to capture it in a photograph – buried in data folders, lost in piles, neglected, forgotten.

Well, I’d like to help you change that.

As of this week my partners and I are launching a brand new service for people interested in doing something fun and real with their personal and family photos, both digital and older printed photographs. Whether you’ve got a boxful of old Polaroids, a shelf of aging photo albums barely ever touched, or just a messy hard drive full of images, we can help you create a beautiful, photo legacy that tells the story of your life or the collective stories of your family and loved ones. And by help you, I mean, do it for you so you don’t have to spend the time.

Let’s be honest, we all have the best of intentions when it comes to one day sorting our photos and producing lovely photo books with them, but how many of us ever find the time to actually do it? It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Life is busy and if yours is so full that you’ve built up a collection of photographic memories, it is no surprise you don’t have time to organize it. You’re too busy living your life -  but wouldn’t it be great to have a complete, full, well-organized, beautiful collection of your photographic life to share with your friends, family and children?

If you’re interested and want to know more, please contact me today to learn more about how you can get your entire life collection of photographs organized into something you will enjoy, appreciate and cherish now and have something to leave behind for your children to enjoy and pass along as well.

Share and Enjoy

Share and Enjoy

You want me to sit still? Seriously?

Photographers will often be invited to take portraits of families with young children, as this tends to be the time when most people are interested in having a portrait done of their family.  Most of the time, I prefer to shoot family portraits in Montreal in the family’s home, backyard or a nearby park because the natural settings are both more interesting than studio backdrops and allow for more natural interaction with the subjects. However, from time to tome, I am asked to take studio portraits of families with young children and here’s a few shots and tips I can share on the experience.

1. Keep it quick: while the time you spend setting up your lighting and gear can be unhurried, when your subject(s) have arrived, as quickly as possible you want to start shooting. The younger the child, the shorter the attention span will be and the more difficult it will be to get good shots with the child looking into the camera’s lens.
   

   Ta da!

2. Keep parents on cue: that means, while the temptation is incredibly strong and very natural for one or both parents to be looking at the child (who will be invariably not looking where you want he or she to look) you need to be ready for that split second when the child’s flitting gaze crosses your lens so you can get the shot. If the parents are at that instant looking sternly at their misbehaving child, the opportunity is lost. Tell the parents to look at you and keep smiling, and let you worry about the child. Eventually no matter how hyperactive the child, curiosity will get the best of him or her and he or she will want to look at the camera. If the parents are ready, you’ll get the shot.
3. Take breaks: young children (1.5 yrs to 3 yrs old) will want to move around. A lot. It’s important to give them a little break between poses so they can burn off a little energy. Use a break to shoot just the parents, together (if you have someone else in studio to take care of the child) and then add the child back in. Sometimes seeing the parents get photographed will interest the child in doing the same and he or she will want to be back in the shot. You can also use a break to get some unposed impromptu shots of the child who just may cooperate by playing around right where you want them too (as happened this weekend for my recent photo shoot).
   

   Happy to be here!

Share and Enjoy

Share and Enjoy

• Several high-society events at some of Montreal’s finest venues all over downtown and Old Montreal for clients like HSBC, KPMG-MSLP, the Invest in Kids foundation (where I got to meet Dolly Parton – YAY!) and others.
• I covered five large weddings ranging in style from the truly luxurious in a gorgeous Mont Tremblant condo, to an elegant affair in Montreal restaurant Aix, at the Hotel Place d’Armes; I worked with a promising new photographer, Celia Lavinskas at a sunny outdoor wedding on St. Helen’s Island, as well as travelled to Ontario to cover weddings in both Guelph and Ottawa, at the National Arts Center.
• I carried on my commitment putting my photography skills to good use with as much pro-bono work I could fit in, providing photography services to Exceptional Family, maintaining an annual tradition covering the Cancer Institute of Montreal‘s annual Concert contre le cancer (I’ll be there again this coming February 4, 2011), and donating family portrait sessions as a prize in the Haiti Tweet up fundraiser organized by Flow Ventures (we raised over $10K); and a major fundraiser portrait session at my child’s daycare (25 young family portraits in a single day!)
• My portrait practice grew this year as well as I zipped across town to provide onsite, in-office portraits for executives at Rio Tinto Alcan, Purves Redmond, Global Prime Office Network, Financial Research Solutions, professional artists, and real clowns(!) with my brother and fellow photographer, Daniel Francis Haber, from the upcoming production of MöcSplot put on by Geordie Productions in Montreal (show runs from February 4 – 13th)
• Industrial photography and portraits for one of my favourite Montreal companies, Enerkem (a company that turns garbage into fuel)
• Several beautiful properties for real estate agents including many for Stacy Bouchard-Burns, whose wide-ranging business had me shooting condos, duplexes, and single-family homes throughout Old Montreal, downtown, Point St Charles, Westmount and NDG.
• (I even had the good fortune of selling two of my fine art pieces to the CSA Group headquarters in Toronto where my work is now part of their permanent art collection.)

I’m grateful to all my clients and want to thank you for trusting me with your photo work in 2010. I look forward to working with you again this coming year (note to my wedding clients: I love doing baby portraits!). Thank you and I wish you all success in 2011

Share and Enjoy

Share and Enjoy

Jonathan Crow, a world renowned violinist, is currently Assistant Professor of Violin at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University where he has been teaching since 2005 and past Concertmaster of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (MSO) (the youngest Concertmaster to lead a major North American orchestra) a position he held from 2002 until 2006.

It was a rare pleasure to do what I love (photographing people in action) while my subjects were doing what they love (making gorgeous music) in an historic and beautiful theatre with great acoustics. This shoot, however, was not without its challenges as the goal was to produce photos that looked spontaneous but were also usable, promotional images. Trying for spontaneity, I took a ream of shots of the musicians playing.  I captured great action and their passion as players, but there was often one of the four players who moved out of focus as the shutter snapped shot, or whose facial expression morphed into something unpredictable in response to the emotions triggered by the music they were creating.  I had to ask them to take up different positions and I fiddled (no pun intended) with my lighting, camera settings and my own position (on a chair, off the chair, on one side of the room, then the other – even lying flat on the ground at one point) until finally I had everyone set up in front of the velvet black curtain at the back of the stage for some unplanned posed photos. While this was something none of them really wanted to do, ultimately, the single shot everyone agreed on came from the posed series.

The lesson for me on this shoot was that even if your subjects think they know what they want, it is up to you as the professional photographer, to provide guidance on posing and positioning, and if one type of shot isn’t working, keep trying until you find one that is.

Share and Enjoy

Share and Enjoy

Have a look at these selections showcasing how I work as an event photographer in Montreal. As a service provider, my role is to listen to what the client wants and is expecting and pay attention to the end use of the images I will be producing. This usually entails photographing guests and important people at the event, but also images of the room and its setup before guests arrive, as well as key branding materials my clients can use to show the effectiveness of their own work for their clients.  Great looking people in great looking venues provide excellent value for clients looking to give their brands positive associations. As an event photographer, I recognize my role as part of the team focused on delivering that result and I aim to please (pun intended). If my clients look good, I look good which is why I take every event photography contract in Montreal seriously and give it my full attention. I don’t just want a happy client – I want a delighted client who thinks of me first when they are hosting an event in Montreal and need an event photographer.

[Show as slideshow]

Share and Enjoy

Share and Enjoy

High definition isn't just for tv

When real estate photography is done right your property looks better than it does in real life. The whole purpose of having a suite of 2o photos illustrating the interior of a home, condo, loft space or commercial space is to sell the space, not just for what it is, but for what it can be to its next owner.

In every good real estate photo there is – or there should be – a feeling that this place literally shines with potential. Nobody wants to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a dimly lit, poorly decorated upper duplex with crooked floors and windows that need changing. But shoot the same space using HDR techniques and that scary dark corner is now a charming little nook, and those beat up old floorboards are now warm, well loved surfaces full of character.

Let there be light!

Photographing real estate in HDR will improve the look of your listings photos. HDR is often associated with luxury real estate where its full dynamic range shows properties at their best, but the same techniques can be used for more affordable properties to give them a higher-end look. While HDR is not always necessary, consider asking your real estate photographer to do your real estate listings photos in HDR as a trial and see for yourself what a difference it can make.

A room of one's own

Share and Enjoy

Share and Enjoy

Photographing a group of mad clowns for an upcoming theatrical presentation was truly one of the more inspiring studio portrait sessions I’ve worked on. With a little make-up , a simple lighting set up, and a whole lot of talent, we created some beautiful images that will be used for marketing and promoting the show through both print and online campaigns.

My brother, Daniel Francis Haber, and I recently shot the seven-hour portrait photo session for the upcoming Clowns Gone Bad production MöcShplat, directed by local Montreal actor/director (and current star of 18 to Life), Alain Goulem and to be presented by Geordie Productions in February 2011. (MöcShplat is a version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth unlike any you’ve ever seen before: all the actors are clowns and the language they speak is gibberish. I’ll add the link to their blog soon once it is complete).

We used a great new rental studio in town and loved it. We took group shots, headshots, posed and candid portraits and special poses for a top-secret marketing piece involving a really cool band from the eighties with big hair and lots of makeup. We had so much fun and are so proud of the photos, we want to share a few of them here and are calling out to all local actors, musicians, artists, real estate agents or anyone else wanting to book a studio session for headshots. Now booking for September offering great fall rates. Contact me by phone (514.757.7657) or email: julian@julianhaber.com

*Please note: all images shown in this post are copyright protected and cannot be copied or used for any purpose without explicit permission from www.julianhaber.com and the actors featured in the images.

Share and Enjoy

Share and Enjoy