New Blog Address - Change your bookmarks!

Hello faithful readers.... I have big news: (But you probably have heard already...)

I have a brand new design for my website and blog! Everything has been moved over to wordpress and onto www.egabrielle.com.


So you will have to remove this blogger address from your bookmarks and change it to my website address now.

Thanks again, and stay tuned for more blogging, more pictures, and a contest!! (with awesome prizes, I must say)

just around the corner....

I'm very very excited to say that I will be very very shortly launching my brand new website. Yay! I've been working on it all week (for hours and hours and hours) and after many cups of tea, I can now say that it will be ready tomorrow. So keep your eyes bright and wide, you will see some new developments on my website and on my blog! Get ready to change your bookmarks too!

One Word Wednesdays: what's your word?

What's the first word that comes to your mind?

Finding a Wedding Photographer in Winnipeg: Part 2

Part 2 on how to find a good wedding photographer in Winnipeg:

I won't get into the doom and gloom of wedding photography horror stories, but I will talk a bit about red flags and how to avoid bad situations before it's too late.

First of all, I've seen situations where couples have booked a photographer that doesn't have an online portfolio, hardly has any references and who offers cheap wedding packages. Results? More often than not, the couple is thoroughly disappointed with the pictures.

Keep in mind that a good photographer will be popular. Happy couples spread the news about good photographers, and word of mouth referrals are gold. Don't let someone's self-promotion convince you of their worth. Wait until you hear it from unbiased sources.

Some photographers hardly have any online exposure. I know that for some, the internet is not their favourite place to hang out at, which is fine in some cases. But find out why they're not online. You want photographers who are enthusiastic about their work and who have a wide variety of images and examples to show.

We all know that good wedding photographers don't come cheap. That being said, there is quite the range in prices. I know people have paid anywhere between $250 and $5000+ for a wedding photographer in Winnipeg. People often say that you get what you pay for. But it's not always the case. Though the price is a good indicator of the results you'll get, it's not always true. I think the strength of a portfolio speaks more about the photographer than their price list.

Ultimately you want to have a good feeling from the photographer's portfolio and you want to be excited about the kinds of pictures you'll be getting. Your wedding day is probably the biggest party you'll ever throw for yourself (if you're not P. Diddy), and you'll be so caught up in the moment that you won't have much time to take it all in. Your photographer is there to capture everything during the one day that will fly by faster than you expected.

Enjoy the planning, and most of all, enjoy your big day!

Chocolate ganache is a circle of confusion, according to me.

I have many lenses that I love, but the one that I constantly fall back on is my 50mm f/1.8 lens. The itty bitty lens that doesn't look like much, but is the one that often makes my job that much more rewarding.

A 50mm lens is basic, really. I never even thought I needed one until I overheard someone talk about its greatness. Shooting hand held in a low-lit situation? Not needing a tripod? Capturing incredible depth and style with its shallow depth of field? Small, compact and light? Cheap?? What is this miracle lens?? (I asked myself).

A 50mm! Who knew. I was a poor student at the time, but it certainly did not deter me. I went and bought one about 5 hours after I overhead that conversation.

It's my cheapest lens in my stash but out of the 6 lenses that I have, it's the one I use about half the time. And it's the one I most encourage my students and friends to buy when they start off with photography.

Another thing I love is a cool-naming photography term called circles of confusion. Mmm-mmm good - circles of confusion to a photographer is like chocolate ganache to a dessert maker. Circles of confusion are those fuzzy round circles you get in a photo when small dots of lights in the background get out of focus due to a very shallow depth of field. Also, the farther the distance they are from your focus point, the bigger and juicier they get. They are absolutely delightful! And there's no better way to capture them than by using an f/1.8 lens.

So to celebrate this much-loved lens and its effects that it creates, I've assembled a handful of images that highlight exactly that: its deliciousness!

But now that I'm an aged and weathered photographer (ha!) my 50mm f/1.8 might soon make way for my newest infatuation: the scrumptious 24mm f/1.4. Can you imagine??? .4 more of an aperture opening?? I know I might sound geeky to some, but I know my fellow photog friends will agree, we all go crazy over big apertures on pro lenses!

Here are a few more delights taken by my 50mm lens:

Wheeler Family Portraits

There's nothing like a cozy Saturday morning in a warm house with an adorable family. The Wheelers let me come bright and early to catch Hannah and Evan at their best. It was an absolute delight to take their pictures and I can't get over how cute little baby Evan is! I dropped off the CD of pictures for them yesterday and got to hold Evan again. More baby time for me! I hope you enjoy. :)

Finding a Wedding Photographer in Winnipeg: Part 1

As we know well, wedding season is just around the corner. Yes, it's the dead of winter now (actually, it's still autumn - yikes!), but if you're a bride (or a groom) or if you know one, they are quite busy right now, even though for most engaged couples, the actual day isn't for another 6 or more months.

Being a bride myself just recently, I know the stress that it can cause. But I also know that wedding planning can be a lot of fun, especially when it comes to finding a good photographer.

There are lots of factors that come into play, but being both a bride and a wedding photographer, I've compiled a few tips and tricks for all of you who are neck-deep in a hunt for an excellent photographer.

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4 things to consider when researching photographers:

1. Look at the photographer's portfolio. Are the pictures unique? Are they awe-inspiring? Do they speak of the emotion and love that is apparent between a couple on their wedding day? Compare their work to other well-known, talented photographers in Winnipeg. Sometimes a mediocre portfolio isn't apparent until you see it next to a good one.

2. Ask for references. Talk to people that have had this photographer on their day. Get feedback!

3. A good photographer is not just someone who knows the technicalities of taking pictures. It's an artist who knows how to take ordinary situations and turn them into photographic masterpieces. It's someone who knows how to read your personalities and translate that into pictures that express it well.

4. That being said, a good photographer is not just someone who has good instinctive vision and creative ideas - they must be able to translate their ideas into well-constructed, technically-sound photos.
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Stay tuned for part 2. I'll be talking about red flags and how to avoid bad situations.

One Word Wednesdays: what's your word?

What's the first word that comes to your mind?:

Merry Christmas!

Taken at the Assiniboine Park Conservatory.

squished dinner

What do you get when your family of 8 is coming over for dinner and you only have 6 chairs and a tiny kitchen table? ..... You pull out the blue lawn chairs, you cozy up to your neighbour, you do NOT put your elbows on the table, and.... you pull out your wide angle lens for a snapshot.

Only at 11mm was I able to document this family dinner. Nothing stops us from improvising and making things work. Who knew I could fit that many people at my table. (and ladies, if you're wondering, the guy with the mouth full of food is still single).

This is what being a close-knit family looks like.

Where the green plants hide in the winter

I haven't gone shooting (just for myself) in a loooong time, at least, not a planned photo shoot. But I finally did go this week and took a bunch of shots with my macro lens, as well as my trusty little 50mm 1.8 lens. I was putting together some examples of triptychs for my friend Melanie (hi Melanie!) and threw a few pictures together. They were sitting on my desktop, and now they're sitting on my blog....

Yes, you can still find real green vegetation in the dead of winter here in Winnipeg. (the indoor kind only!)

One Word Wednesdays: what's your word?

What's the first word that comes to your mind?: