Yesterday I had the opportunity to shoot my very first fashion/fine art photosession as the primary photographer. During the winter months I want to make an attempt and build a fashion / fine art portfolio. I have always wanted to try this but just the thought of trying something I knew NOTHING about made me want to tuck tail and run. I’ve had experience with studio lighting and have assisted on quite a few fashion-type shoots, but never once have I done anything similar where I was the head/only photographer. Over the last little while I’ve been going through an inner monologue with myself, and with the help of many great people around me inpiring me every day I have decided to leap.

A few weeks ago I met a makeup artist by the name of Hailey at a networking get together and we immediately starting organizing ideas for photoshoots in the near future. Once I mentioned my fiance Grit was a hairstylist, Hailey was STOKED! Hailey had this amazing idea for a ‘Virus-type makeup’ that she wanted images of and was very dark and organic but still gave room for the model to incorporate a feeling that was very sexy and fashion-like. Right off the bat I was envisioning what it would look like, but when Hailey and model Iulia came over Wednesday morning and the transformation began, my jaw dropped.

I am looking forward to making mistakes on this journey because I know how amazing it feels when things finally all click together!

Enter: My first solo Fashion / Fine Art Photoshoot

Hair: Grit Becker
Makeup: Hailey Howse
Model: Iulia
Photographer: Michael Wachniak

For Photographers: The entire session was a one light setup with an approx. 50″ softbox and 42″ silver reflector for fill. All images processed in Lightroom with my own custom presets. 1 image in this entry was taken into Photoshop for further dodging and burning.

Michelle + David were married last year under the nice warm sun in Mexico. They had a wonderful idea of having another shoot around their one year anniversary but this time to try something a little different…Michelle has done some figure skating and David has played hockey so they thought it would be a lot of fun to meet up and have a photo session at the new Robson Ice Rink! There was SO many people but it was so much fun! The second I left after the session I called my brother-in-law and told him we were coming back in the next few days (except he can skate…I will be the only adult with one of those blue plastic push-y chair-y thingies…). Michelle and David pulled out all the stops, I was SO impressed with how warm they looked in the freezing weather (-1C…Calgarians please don’t hurt me!), and matching fuzzy hats? Come on… it doesn’t get more awesome than that! We had quite the crowd watching us shoot and we couldn’t help but have an awesome time! On top of that, the rink was playing Bony M Christmas songs all night!

I had a blast with you guys! Happy Anniversary and I hope you like the images! :)

Update: Annnnd just for fun I’ve added a cute slideshow at the bottom :)

To continue with tradition, here are my favorite Engagement Session images from 2009! Enjoy.

CANS FOR COMMENTS EXTENDED UNTIL SUNDAY DEC 13th!!
Don’t forget to leave a comment! Every comment until Sunday = One can of food I will donate to the food bank!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Yesterday I posted a Part 1 of my favorite wedding images of 2009. Today, I give you Part 2! I can’t decide which one I like better!

P.S. Don’t forget to leave a comment! Every comment until this Friday = One can of food I will donate to the food bank!

Hey everyone! Last year I posted several “TOP 25″ lists of my favorite images I shot in 2008, which was an absolute riot, but this year there’s a bit of a problem… I have 260 favorites. :) To fix this I have put my personal favorite images  of 2009 into the form of a slideshow!

*ahem* ok, so because of the volume of images I kinda had to split it into 2 equally cool slideshows! I selected all of my favorite images and placed them in chronological order as if it were all one wedding day (getting ready images with getting ready images, ceremony images with ceremony images etc). I have personally watched this slideshow three times already, and I still can’t believe how lucky I am to have such amazing people in my life. Every image has a story that I hold near and dear to my heart, and will remain with me forever.

Tonight I am posting Slideshow 1 of 2. I will post the other tomorrow. I literally took every second image from my list of favorites and put it into another slideshow, so both slideshows will have a full “wedding day experience” from start to finish. You will see what I mean.

The song choice for this slideshow is my little homage to the late and very great Haydain Neale of Jacksoul.

P.S. Don’t forget to leave a comment! Every comment until this Friday  = One can of food I will donate to the food bank!

Hey Everyone! I am beyond excited to announce that today is the first day on my blog for year 2 of Cans for Comments! Created last year by the amazing Chris + Lynn Photographers, Cans for Comments started off as a blogging concept where for every comment left by readers, Chris + Lynn would donate either one can or one other non-perishable food item to their local food bank for Christmas. Within minutes of posting this ‘idea’ on the blog, this amazing event was already spreading to other local photographers…but it didn’t stop there… soon photographers in other cities were doing it, and then other provinces, and then other states…Cans for Comments was International!!! It even started spreading to blogs from other professions, like designers, and radio personalities, it was amazing!

This year, will be even better.

I started my participation last year on December 4th and so to carry tradition, from today (Friday December 4th 2009) until Saturday December 12th 2009, for every comment made on any of my blogposts, I will donate 1 can or other non-perishable food item to The White Rock / South Surrey Food Bank.

Honestly, it doesn’t get any easier than this folks. Give someone the best gift they can have. It doesn’t cost you anything but a second of your time and perhaps a comment or cheesy joke like ‘Q: What are a Wedding photographer’s favorite flowers? A: Posies.’ lol Do whatever! Just comment! Better yet, why not comment and then go drop off another can to your local food bank yourself? Seriously! I gotta tell you that leaving a comment feels pretty good knowing you’ve just fed someone, but dropping off that can yourself I GUARANTEE you that you will feel amazing! Last year’s total number of comments was 50! This year I hope to crack another one out of the park! 60? 70? 80? The sky is the limit, and you can bet your sweet gingerbread latte that I will be bloggin’ some things that will make you want to stay home from work and comment all day!! Well… maybe not THAT good, but seriously, you’ll like what I’ll be posting…I HOPE!

Click here to check last year’s entry on Cans For Comments, and also to see a cute photo of Adobe, the doberman. Why not comment on her Christmas scarf while you’re there?

Here is a list of fantastic people who are a part of Cans For Comments this year. I know there are more that I haven’t listed so please feel free to COMMENT …*wink wink* …if you are one of them, and I will be sure to update the list as soon as I can!

john heil photography
kristel wyman photography
the other angle photography
blue olive photography
tracey l heppner photography
kayci gough photography
white album weddings
sakura photography
david redding photo
pelaez photography
kp photography
erin wallis photography
studio jeanie
chris + lynn

I have been holding off on new business cards for quite a while now. I really wanted to find something that not only looked professional, but something that went above and beyond from the moment you held it in your hand. First impressions are SO important! (Letterpress pun intended. Impression? HA!)

I have to say that after searching and searching I found there are a lot of Letterpress Companies out there and most of them do an amazing job, but the folks at The Mandate Press are (in my opinion) the best of the best. From start to finish they exceeded my expectations (which trust me, were high to begin with!).

Quite Simply -
Quality of Card: 100%
Customer Service: Infinity %

If you are looking for a letterpress company I highly recommend The Mandate Press. Thank you guys so much! :)