Best of 2017

It's that time of year again when I reflect on the previous year! 2017 was personally good to me. I finally found a little work life balance and was able to enjoy my summer in Vancouver without feeling overwhelmed by work. I visited New York & watched my brother get engaged to his love, attended my first mystic seminar in Portland, visited New Orleans with some girlfriends and I got ENGAGED myself!!! 

Big shoutout to my clients who trusted me to capture significant moments in their lives! 

Here's a few highlights from last year..

Thanks to Jana from http://winkphotography.ca/ and Michele Mateus of  http://michelemateusphotography.com/ for allowing me to second shoot with them. 

Megan & Bill SFU Diamond Alumni Wedding

I have another delightful wedding to share today!

Megan & Bill were married at the Diamond Alumni Centre on Burnaby mountain this past July. Megan is a PhD student and Bill is a teacher so this was the perfect setting for this academic duo. They had personalized vows and a good friend to officiate the wedding which ensured laughs all round. In fact, being around these two makes it impossible not to smile! Megan's smile is definitely contagious! 

How amazing is her dress from https://www.sposawedding.ca/!?! It was made for twirling as you can see!! 

Vendors: 

Dress - Sposa Wedding World 

Makeup - Kimberly Jacinto

Hair - Harpreet Sondh

Venue - Diamond Alumni Centre

Bus - Lynch Bus Lines 

Flowers - Whole Foods 

Thanks to Vanessa from http://www.fortunehillphotography.ca/ for second shooting! 

Elaine & Diego Nita Lake Lodge Wedding

After shooting Elaine & Diego's wedding, my heart was filled with joy. Working with them was such a pleasure. I enjoy working with different couple for different reasons. These two? Because they're so SWEET..possibly the nicest couple in the world? They're very easy going and opted for a smaller wedding of 30 guests that was held at the Nita Lake Lodge in Whistler. This venue was gorgeous..even with all the smoke haze that rolled in from forest fires in BC. They were such great sports and went in a rowing boat with their finest attire on so I could take some photos. It paid off though..because they looked pretty magical! 

When I woke up the next day, Diego had emailed me this very lovely review: 

"Elaine and I had a blast with her. Everything felt so natural and she connected with all the guests. You can tell she loves her job and I believe she had fun teasing guests like Eric. It was great having you Kat".

"On a professional side, she get things done (e.g. getting us a boat, chasing people away, etc) but she is also accommodating and adapts to external circumstances (non cooperating swimmer tsk tsk). Her photos look natural and I believe she captured really candid moments".

"We wouldn't hesitate to recommend her to friends!"

Also..just a little shout out to my guy, Ryan, not only was he my personal chauffeur for the day, but he took some of the venue/detail shots!  

Vendors:

Venue- Nita Lake lodge Whister

Officiant- Sandy Pyatt (BC Marriage Commissioner)

Wedding planner- Sea to Sky Celebrations (http://seatoskycelebrations.com/

Hair & makeup- Natacha Trottier (http://www.natachatrottier.com/)

Floral Design- Billies (http://www.billiesflowerhouse.com/)

Ceremony Music- (www.violinandguitar.ca)

Evening Music- Rachel Thom (www.blametheweekend.com)

Jaclyn & Cortlan's Pitt Meadows Wedding

Jaclyn and Cortlan got hitched on April 15 this year at the Pitt Meadows Golf Club. It was a beautiful sunny day in Spring with lots of gorgeous cherry blossoms. This was a very classic wedding with a black tie groom and a very elegant bride. Check out their beautiful day...

John & Serena's Vancouver condo wedding

When I first spoke with Serena on the phone, I became immediately excited as I realized she was a fellow Brit! Then when I met with John and Serena, I knew I had to shoot their wedding!! We shared the same love for Vancouver and dogs, so I knew it was a match made in photography heaven. They're easy going and nothing could bring them down on their wedding day- Serena had the biggest smile on her face the entire day. It was great! 

John and Serna decided to get married in the garden of their condo building. Now this sounds kind of unusual for a wedding venue (a first for me) but when you see how gorgeous the garden is, I'm sure you'll understand their decision. Luckily, some of the blossom trees were in full bloom and the weather was amazing! 

John got ready in their apartment, whilst Serena stayed with their best man, Lisa and then she put her dress on in the building managers office. Which was another first for me, a bride getting ready in one end of the room whilst Sharon was working at her desk on the other. After the wedding ceremony, we took some shots in the garden and on their neighbours balcony then they headed to Tapshack (their local pub) for some drinks and grub. This was such a fun wedding, my face hurt from laughing and smiling. I've put together a few highlights of their wedding story..

Celebrant: Lisa Hartley from Simply Ceremony (http://www.lisahartley.com/)

Pub: Tapshack (http://tapshack.ca/)

Kyle & Patti's intimate Seasons in the Park Wedding

On March 18th, it stopped raining, the clouds parted and a little sunshine blessed Vancouver with it's rays. Just in time for Patti and Kyle to get married!

It was a fairly intimate wedding with a total of 30 guests and took place at Seasons in the Park. Patti looked gorgeous in her 50s inspired bridal outfit- as she got ready we both gushed about the tv show MAD MEN. So I can see where she got her inspiration. For the cakes/table decor and flowers, Patti and her friends/family had all pitched in and made themselves. I sampled those cupcakes and they were sooo yummy! 

Makeup and Hair by Caroline Sawamoto. 

Olympic Village Family Session

Last Saturday I headed to Olympic Village to shoot this family session- It's hard to believe that we truly lucked out and got weather like this because if you live in Vancouver then you know leading up to Saturday and since then, it's been quite wet and soggy. My friend from work, Carley, came to me and asked if I would be available to do a family session that included "babies, dogs and adults" and me being a big believer in embracing your families chaos and documenting it- I of course obliged. The obvious star of this photo shoot is George (the British Bulldog) and I'm sure you'll agree! He's clearly smiling in some shots and then outright refuses to be any part of the last photos. Cheeky!! 

Spring Campaign for Bootlegger

In December 2016 myself and Melissa Skoda shot the spring campaign for Bootlegger. There are many challenges to shooting Spring in Winter, the biggest one being the weather of course. And this winter was particularly cold for Vancouver. There was snowfall the week leading up to our shoot, so we had planned an indoor shoot with the option of going outside if the weather permitted.

Hurrah, the day came and the snow had melted downtown (phew) and the actually sun came out!  It was still extremely chilly outside and I apologize again to our models for making them go outside in shorts..yikes!! 

I've selected a few of my favourite shots to showcase in a blog post and at the end of the post I've included screen shots to show how the images were used on Bootlegger's website. You can now shop the Spring Collection @ http://www.bootlegger.com/

Team includes:

Makeup: Atefeh Shojaie

Hair: Chris Funk

Stylist: Kim Cathers

Photography: Kat Timmins and Melissa Skoda

Assitant: John Alviz 

Models: Katie O'Neil and Adryan Hanson

Clothes: http://www.bootlegger.com/

Location: Gastown/Treasures and Travels studio

Jacquelyn & Brian's Gastown wedding

So I kicked off 2017 weddings with this little gem of a wedding. Jacquelyn and Brian got married on the 15th of January at The Diamond in Gastown. It's my first time shooting at this venue, and I was kinda in love with it, it's an intimate space with beautiful brick walls and window light. 

J&B had their first look at The Landing, which is an office building, but its where they first met so it was very fitting. Fortunately, The Landing has this awesome big arch window which served as a really beautiful backdrop for this occasion. 

I had so much fun hanging out with these two and their family for the day, lots of laughter and tears and some serious kick ass moves on the dance floor..from the dads of course!! 

Vendors:

Flowers: A Flower's Touch http://aflowerstouch.ca

Dress: David's Bridal (one of their own designs)

Hair: Monique DesLauriers (Stone Fox Hair)

Venue: The Diamond 

Women's March-January 21st 2017

Thousands of people came together yesterday, in downtown Vancouver to march in solidarity of women's rights, which are HUMAN RIGHTS the day after the inauguration of President Donald Trump aka DRUMPF. It really warmed my heart to see all these people come together, of all different ages and backgrounds and stand up for what's right. Across the world there was 673 marches which is so epic, my heart is bursting. 

The first image is a quote I saw whilst in Powell's book store (Portland) this week by Gordon Parks. I love this quote, it resonates with me so much, I have a camera and my beliefs so why not document the heck out of the things I believe in? It's my weapon after all! 

If you see yourself or anyone you know in my images, please reach out to me and let me know, I would love to add your name to the blog and send you the image of yourself, because I think it's cool AF to have a photo of yourself standing up for what you believe in. 

Best of 2016

Wow! Putting this blog post together was no easy feat, but here I present to you, some of my favourite images from last year. A lot of these images are personal shots from my trips to Vancouver Island/America/England/Iceland/Scotland. 

For me personally, last year was amazing, from starting a new job, going part time so I can focus more on my own business, travelling home to celebrate a friends wedding, and taking Ryan so he could meet my family and friends. Spending lots of time with friends on Vancouver Island, making some unforgettable memories. Having visitors from home, some of whom I hadn't seen for years and of course making new life long friends! Oh and how could I forget? Last January, I got my permanent residency for Canada!!

Thanks to all clients, old and new for choosing me to document your memories, it's such a privilege to be part of your milestones. I'm so excited to see what 2017 brings! 

Edison Mae

Since moving to Vancouver, I haven't photographed as many babies and families as I did when working in the UK, so it was a surprise and a delight when Natalie asked me to photograph her precious new arrival, little Edison Mae. Surprise because I actually worked with Natalie before her maternity leave, and I know she has worked with many other very talented photographers in Vancouver. So it's flattering to be asked to photograph such an important time in Natalie and David's life, it's exiting, exhausting, new and I'm sure all kinds of wonderful with a bunch of other emotions squeezed in there that I haven't yet experienced!! 

The thing I loved most about this shoot was observing how in love Natalie and David are with Edison, it truly warms my heart and I hope I captured it. I tried to keep the shoot as organic and natural as possible by capturing little in between moments that they were unaware of. In this case, it helped immensely that we were shooting in their own home, where they're most comfortable. So if you're thinking of having some family photographs taken then I'd hugely recommend this type of lifestyle session, especially if kids are involved as new environments can often be very distracting for them. Also, natural light is always welcome, so OPEN up your blinds and let the light in. 

Matthew & Olivia

If you know me, then you know I went back home to the UK in August for a friends wedding. I didn't shoot my friends wedding, although I may have captured some slightly intoxicated shots which I will post next!! The first day I was there we had gorgeous weather, which for the North of England is a blessing and must be taken advantage of. Armed with my camera and golden hour fast approaching, I headed to the nearest beach (Alnmouth, Northumberland) with my brother, Matthew and his girlfriend, Olivia as my subjects. 

Photographing your family can definitely have its challenges, it can sometimes feel awkward and they don't necessarily want to get romantic in front of you. Luckily for me, these two are naturals in front of the camera and don't take themselves too seriously. 

But when I look at these images..I just can't help but think..WHERE ARE THE MOUNTAINS? I'm spoilt for mountainous backdrops now that I live in BC. 

Megan & Bill engagement shoot

Megan and Bill engagement session

I loved spending time with this sweet couple, Megan and Bill. We shot their engagement session at the Museum of Anthropology at UBC. Megan used to work there so we had access to the balcony upstairs where there is a gorgeous view of mountains and the ocean. They'll be getting married next July at the Diamond Alumni Centre at SFU, Burnaby. I can't wait to see them again and document their special day. 

Behind the camera to in front of the camera and back again..

Behind the camera to in front of the camera and back again..

Last week, my friend and I decided to take some photos of each other for our websites and social media. Michele of Michele Mateus photography (http://michelemateusphotography.com/) and I first met earlier this year whilst working together on an engagement shoot. We clicked right away, laughing, joking and bouncing ideas off each other.  She's a great support to have and does nothing but encourage the people around her, i'm so lucky to now call her my friend! 

So last Monday, the day after my thanksgiving dinner, feeling a little bloated after lots of over indulging I spent the first half hour in front of the camera. This is really hard for me because I hate being photographed but Michele eased me into it and I just didn't take myself too seriously. The result..I LOVE THESE PICTURES. Michele did an amazing job, definitely check out her work. 

Then I photographed Michele, she was a little more prepared than me and had a few outfit changes and accessories!! I just live in hats so I just wore mine the entire shoot. Michele never takes herself too seriously and has a great sense of humour and I hope that shows in my pictures of her..

Korbin & Amber Lost Lake Wedding

Korbin and Amber Lost Lake Wedding

Last Saturday (September 24th) I started my day in a fairly leisurely way, I didn't have work booked in for that day so I was going to have a chill day working from home. I got up with Ryan before he left for work, as he makes the good coffee in the morning. As he left for work, I got a call around 9am asking if I could shoot a wedding in Whistler that afternoon. I said yuhh huhhh!! Fast forward past some car rental stress and Ryan coming to my rescue once again. I arrived at the Fairmont Chateau in Whistler and met with the lovely bride to be, Amber. I didn't get all the details but her and Korbin, her fiancé had decided to get married just two days before. Well..they pulled it off and it was a truly magical day. 

After everyone met at the Fairmont, we headed to Lost Lake, which is less than a five minute drive away from the hotel. There we met with Tracy Kerr, the marriage commissioner and together everyone walked to the dock and it was on that dock that Korbin and Amber tied the knot. It was a sweet and simple yet very beautiful ceremony and i'm so glad I was the one who got to document it!! Check out their highlights..