Architectural & Interior Design Photography, Corporate Commercial Photography, Advertising & Portrait Photographer | Ottawa | 613-558-7585 | justin.vanleeuwen@gmail.com
I had the absolute fortune to work with the lovely Toosje Delaney on a fantastic evening on the Ottawa River. I was writing a review for the Canon 200-400 f/4 L IS 1.4 (in laymen terms: really big expensive lens), and wanted to take the unique opportunity to get outside and really work some portraits. […]
A long time ago I posted a review on all the small softoxes I used to help light my portraits. It’s still very accurate, I do have and use all these things, with a bit of a change. My highly used Lastolite 24″ Ezybox was replaced by the FJ Westcott 28″ Apollo softbox. At the […]
I have some editorial portrait photography stuff in the works, but while I wait on that to go to print I have another review out on Canonrumors.com. This one’s for the flashes, and if you know me, you know I *love* to flash people… ahem.
A product photo for my review of the Canon 40mm ƒ/2.8 “Pancake” lens for Canonrumors.com. It was a fun thing to do, honestly, 90% of my product photography is against a white backdrop. It makes sense, most websites have white backgrounds, white sits well as an image into them highlighting the product but it just […]
There’s a few things going on for me outside of regular work and this here blog, so I figured I’d give my readers a quick update as to what’s going on. First off, the above portrait is of Tom, the father of a groom at a reception I recently shot. I don’t often shoot weddings, […]
Part of the Mediastyle shoot was this small wall that, literally, popped out in areas, I couldn’t resist hitting it with some light and using it as a backdrop. I knew it needed to be simple, but effective, and I’d been itching to use the
You’d have to pay me to want to get into printing my own work. It’s the same ever-evolving tech as any computer, except now you’re dealing with finite & disposible goods; paper, ink, test paper, test ink, wasted ink, paper jams, paper in the wrong side, nozzle checks, colour calibration, more test prints, a bajillion […]
Despite photography being a visual medium, Craft & Vision creator and author David DuChemin insists on using his incredible grasp of language (rarely profane) and introspective thought to hammer into your head the best ways to achieve your intended vision. Vision is Better 2 is a best of Collection of David’s more memorable blog posts […]
This is my first review of a Craft & Vision ebook as an affiliate, though don’t let the potential reward all your purchases made sway you. I have been reading ebooks from this series from the very beginning, and will tell you honestly what I think of them. I think it appropriate that my first […]
In a world of potrable strobes, pocket wizards, and flash power units, the AA battery is, for me, the food that my gadgets feed on. 4 speedlights, 2 auxilary packs, & 4 PW’s means I bring at least 40 Double-A batteries with me for every shoot, and that’s just in the clip. Of course you […]
Strip lights are one of those light mods you don’t need at first. You get by with an umbrella or soft box because, really, you’re just lighting your subjects face or other important foreground details. Then you think “hey, their back is kind of dark” or “how do I light the entire length of their […]
There are few things you can purchase that will improve your photography. Indeed, the only way I’ve seen people get better is through practice (or riduculous intuition and artistic ability – but we don’t like those people). 10,000 photos, or 10,000 hours; either way, it’s gonna take you time, trial, and error. But if there’s […]
I’ve had a lot of people ask me “what softbox should I get?” It’s a loaded question, how should I know? And while the variety of softboxes out there will likely mirror the hundreds of potential uses for them, I do believe there is a solid group of entry-level softboxes available to anyone interested in […]
This photo is pretty heavily processed, so it won’t be for everyone, but I wanted to get a feel for this Photoshop plugin I had heard about a while ago called Topaz Ajust. It can give your images that boosted, ultra-saturated, look that’s all the rage with the kids these days (I also, often, find […]
This week I received the lovely Lensmate Adapter for the Canon G11. This is a must-have accessory for anyone with the G10,11, or Panasonic LX3 (I wish I had this back when I had one). The Lensmate is beautifully crafted with machined aluminum and black to match the exterior of the camera. It is primarily […]
