Architectural & Interior Design Photography, Corporate Commercial Photography, Advertising & Portrait Photographer | Ottawa | 613-558-7585 | justin.vanleeuwen@gmail.com
Claudia Petrelli is a Colombian ex-pat who runs a swing-dance studio with her daughter, “Swing Dynamite“. We had known each other via twitter for some time, but never really got together until one of the more social drinking nights in my neighborhood. She had mentioned how much she liked the photos I had done with […]
As you saw earlier this week, I spent some time goofing around on a shoot with a few other local photographers. I may have released that image prematurely, though, since going through the rest of the images I relized they worked better as a group: no single image really reflecting the dynamic of the evening. […]
Do you know how HARD it is to do a shallow dof self-family-portrait with three kids by the river? You can see some details over on Flickr. As a PC user (by habit only, I assure you) you might find it as odd as I do that you can find me, not once, but TWICE […]
Hello Eagen family, this has been a long time coming. I originally met with the lovely young daughters of the Eagens sometime last year, December maybe? (time flies) We had planned something in the new addition to the house, in front of the new fireplace that mom had been BEGGING for for years – in […]
A few weeks ago I was called, last minute, to do a shoot for a new Ottawa-based media firm Mediastyle. Headed by the much lauded Ian Capstick, I jumped at the opportunity. Ian’s an Ottawa main-stay, and while I certainly cruised the same twitter circles as he, we had never met in person (IRL). While […]
Home remedies for kids with colds – Quinn’s sick – though once I put him in front of the camera he sprung to life. Go figure. Setup was pretty straighforward, I mention my setup info on my flickr page. A friend of mine once asked “What are all these .XMP files, and why do I […]
I like the adventure, the thrill, the danger that it brings. I leave myself exposed and open – that’s right – I don’t use a UV filter to protect my lens glass. This is a controversial subject among “#phodo gear-heads, and I’ve read as many good reasons as bad as to the use of a […]
Other way guys… see? I told you I was taking photos of other families. Maybe a bit less “extreme” than maybe some of my previous posts, this was a concept Nadine and I met and discussed. She was pretty clear about what she wanted – which makes it that much easier for me – it […]
My inspiration of this series is Jason Lee, or “jwlphotography” on Flickr. I first heard of him when the Strobist blog featured his work – doing amazing setups with his two little girls – I’ve been hooked ever since. His own work has taken a bit of a departure from the surreal and comical – […]
A challenge with these composite images is that it’s hard enough to just keep your kids still, and if they start moving things around they can really mess up your shot. The more elements you incorporate into the frame, the more chances you have of something screwing up. Also, if they decide to move your […]
Before the new year, I wrote about my favourite portable softboxes to use with speedlights, and promised a follow-up post on my favourite flash-triggers. This is not that post. What I will talk about is ONE trigger that I’ve been using with increased frequency: FlashZebra’s 16 foot TTL cord. This thing gives me a 8x […]
Many of you know me as an International superstar photographer, though those of you who have known me the longest are privy to the gentler, less glamourous role that I play. Tuesday marked a new start for me and Mel, of sorts. She’s gone back to work after 3 years off raising our kids (and, […]
Just because getting cold means you have to bundle up, it doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun photo’s taken of you. Caroline & Al contacted me to do some rush portraits for them as gifts to their parents for the holidays (of course your family wants awesome photos taken of you!). Now I had […]
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 […]
It’s a rare treat that Mel actually lets me take her photo. I’ve broken the rules of privacy and sharing far too much in my household to brave “sneaking” one in again. Thankfully I told her my idea beforehand, and her overwhelming love of Christmas, and the Christmas lights that I bought her obviously took […]
Maybe it’s not technical properties what make a compelling image.I love this shot, it’s grainy, blown out in both directions. But that leap Erin is taking into Will’s arms – it sums up their whole experience for me – joyous and trusting, it’s what a marriage should be.
Here’s my photo of the head table – look at it, I know some things stand out to you, then think about them – I want to hear your thoughts. See, I spent quite some time editing this image, or four images actually. It’s a composite of 3 groups, plus 1 for the background. The […]
Erin & Will – congratulations on gettin’ murried. I had the absolute pleasure of photographing Erin & Will’s wedding this weekend. Despite all location scouting going to shit (it rained… then snowed!) I had planned some indoor contingencies and packed some big lights to take good portraits. This one, though, was a bit simpler. I […]
Long delay from my last post, appologies, I wanted y’all to soak that one in. Prices on the canvases will go up on the 25th, they’ll have to, the event is gonna cost me some $$… so if you’re in town you might as well show up to it too. Despite jonesing to take some […]
Family portrait taken in Ottawa. I hadn’t used much rim/separation lighting in the past (the light behind them), and as such I’m laying it on a bit thick on my shots right now. Like most things, it’ll take some practice to finesse it into something a bit more natural and subtle. I have a different […]
This portrait session came up fast. Got a DM the night before via Twitter with Don at the Cube asking me “HOW” to take a good photo of John Koensgen, who is working on a play due out in October. I asked him what he was shooting with, told me an old Olympus point & […]
These are the best two portraits I could get out of my kids after a solid day of trying. I wanted to try a few different lighting setups and, for lack of subjects, I try to stick my kids in front of the lens. Problem there is that the eldest is more interested in the […]
We had ourselves another Photojam this past weekend. More folks showed up and lots of more fun was had [read: more booze consumed]. Same location, alley beside my house, it’s easier to keep an eye on the kids when they’re running around you. It’s a great way to shoot, experiment, drink, hang out with friends […]
When Mel and I first moved into the Hintonburg area in Ottawa, we only had a few restaurants that we knew about beforehand. With a preemie in the hospital, we were really always looking for comfort food – the familiar. That said, there wasn’t much variance in what we ate, and one of the places […]
