Architectural & Interior Design Photography, Corporate Commercial Photography, Advertising & Portrait Photographer | Ottawa | 613-558-7585 | justin.vanleeuwen@gmail.com
I’ve always been a photographer whose style reflects his client’s needs. While I certainly put my own creative and technical spin on everything I do, it’s rare that I take the time to create images that are reflective of what I’m purely interested in. So, despite the popularity and praise I receive for my interior […]
Portraits and Headshots have long been one of my favourite parts of photography. I enjoy the challenges of taking photos of people on-location and trying to work through someone’s own potential inhibitions in having their photo taken. I try create a portrait that represents them as a person, but also is useful to them in […]
After waking Fred up for sunrise at my Ottawa Magazine Hendrick Farm photoshoot, he must have thought “I want to do that again” as they brought me back in to work on their custom commercial portrait photography for the team. And, what started off as a dismally foggy day, with delayed portraits, ended as a […]
One of my favourite Editorial projects last year was a three-shoot series on “Rethinking the Art of Living Green” for Ottawa Magazine. It explored three different home-based (it was for the Interiors issues) lifestyles that are being explored in Ottawa. With a general theme on communal living, we visited an organic farm, a building in […]
For the second year in a row I visited the Parkdale Food Centre to make portraits for a new batch of thirteen youths. The “Thirteen” is a social enterprise for youth under the Parkdale Food Centre in Ottawa. The year-long project is an entrepreneurial training program for teens aged 14-18 with help and support by […]
It’s very rare that sitting at home, wishing you had more editorial photography assignments and portrait work, pays off. But that’s pretty much exactly what happened when the folks at Grocery Business Magazine contacted me to to photograph local entrepreneurs, co-owners of Kardish Health Food Centres, and brothers Carey and Robert Assaf. The creative agency, […]
What a summer! There wasn’t a day in July that I wasn’t out shooting. Corporate headshots, custom stock, editorial photography and events all kept this photographer as busy as he’s ever been. Bu,t in that time, I put aside a critical part of what I should be doing: I didn’t share my work! Now these […]
It was my great pleasure to be assigned environmental portraits for Ottawa Magazine’s 2015 Eating & Drinking guide. For starters, I love incorporating subjects into their places of work or leisure and I take pride in carefully staging and lighting a scene. Secondly, I’m a big fan of eating. I wouldn’t say I’m a “foodie” […]
It’s a great feeling when your editorial photography is strong enough for a university magazine to call you, without any prior relationship, to photograph their cover story. Gleefully accepting this important assignment to photograph Wilfred Laurier University Alumni Carolyn Wilkins, the first female Senior Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada, I wasted no time […]
This past July my trusty Alex and I took a road-trip past Toronto to Burlington, Hamilton, and Mississauga to photograph some amazing Extreme Families. This has become a sort of annual tradition for me, but I’ve certainly never photographed so many families in such a short amount of time. Usually, I’ve gone to photograph one […]
Money, kids, interiors; editorial photographer needed? I’m there. I had some great assignments from Ottawa Magazine these past few months. The above image was for the most recent issue featuring on money – the kids all had their own ways of earning it (or in some cases not earning it), and they all brought out […]
I was thrilled to work with my long-time clients the Canadian Internet Registration Authority on their Annual Report to Members. This is the quintessential type of work for a corporate photographer: more than just headshots and portraits, we need to convey the people that are behind the organization. We only had a morning to work, […]
It’s been a while since my last blog post, and while this may not be the most exciting of projects, it’s the type of corporate photography I do that helps pay the bills. It’s high-volume, multi use, kinda stuff and it’s important for a company, and their brand, to showcase their talent and not just […]
I received some exciting editorial photography assignments from Ottawa Magazine this past spring. First, I was privileged enough to work with the lovely and talented Sarah Mercer. Suffering from chronic health conditions, the feature story by Roger Collier covers Sarah’s transition from the “All-in-one” healthcare environment of the Children’s Hospital, to the fragmented and cold […]
I have this running joke with friends that Real Estate agents consistently have some of the cheesiest portraits. They’re almost always in their suits, in a very typical and traditional studio pose; maybe leaning forward, maybe seated with their hands in their lap, a male agent standing tall with a wide friendly grin. I get […]
Large venues really push my physical and creative abilities as an event photographer. Just covering the main stage at the National Arts Centre would be enough to keep one person busy, but I like to throw a little extra into my work. Which is why I decided to do back-stage portraits at this years’ Cracking […]
I absolutely love shooting comprehensive campaign work for my clients. As a commercial photographer, working on images from the very inception of the concept is where I like to be. I was thrilled to receive a call from Claire at Bikram Yoga Ottawa to revamp her images for their new website and other potential ad […]
It’s hard to escape the need for a good professional portrait or headshot these days. Between social media outlets like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or whatever else the kids are using these days an avatar that isn’t a heavily cropped cell-phone shot of your drunk with an ex boyfriend or girlfriend (you know the one I’m […]
A few weeks ago I got a call from my good friends at MediaStyle to come photograph in their newly opened “IdeaSpace”; a creative hub that is available for special events and as a location studio if necessary. Since I don’t have a studio of my own, the ability to have a big and beautiful […]
Q: How many lights did I use to take this portrait? A: Just two, and you can learn how to do this simply and effectively too – even if you’ve never use a light before. Get over your fear of speedlights and strobes: sign up for my workshop taking place Sunday October 26th. The Learn […]
Ghetto-Flo Intro I was introduced to the “Ghetto-Flo” lights after reading the excellent blog of New York-based photographer Brad Trent. He had mounted 4 standard workshop flourescent light fixtures into light-stand mountable strip lights. “Ghetto-Flo” because they’re similar in use to the much more expensive Kino-Flo lights, though there are advantages to the later (variable […]
Sometimes a shoot just works out perfectly. Erin’s a bit of an online friend, I had known *of* her for a number of years, following her exploits as she was married, had a lovely little daughter, and she’s helped come out and model for a few of my shoots with said adorable fam. When it […]
When the editor of Centre Ice Magazine proposing a two-page editorial spread I jumped at the chance. Every photographer wants their images printed big, and usually interior images are cropped down to make room for text and copy. In this case, the image was a function of the story, with text to be overlayed pointing […]
Working with Margot Johnston on an editorial photography shoot for Ottawa Magazine’s 2013 Interiors issue was a real treat. Mrs. Johnston’s father was the director of the National Gallery of Canada during a period that many consider an artistic Canadian renaissance. She had interactions with Prime Ministers, and many, now, famous artists. Apparently, having these […]
