I met Nikki and Matt through a mutual friend in Guelph last spring. The first impression I got from these two was that they were playful, young at heart, and easy-going. They say that first impressions are usually a lasting one, and I can confidently say that they brought this saying to life during their engagement shoot. The amount of silly faces these two made throughout the afternoon was priceless! I’m still laughing at the “You look cross-eyed, seriously.” comment Nikki made to Matt when I asked them to look into each other’s eyes. Haha! Oh, Nikki.

The second time I met these two lovebirds happened to be during another evening out in Guelph. We bumped into each other with poutines-to-go in our hands. Not only are these two down-to-earth, they have great taste in food, I thought. After chatting with them some more that evening, I learned that Pierre’s Poutine, an awesome poutine place downtown Guelph, was their hot-spot – a place they frequent often and a place they have enjoyed for years.

With that in mind, we decided downtown Guelph would be the perfect spot to capture these two. These guys have a whole lotta love for one another, which is why I aptly named this post Poutine & Kisses. They almost go better together than Peanut Butter & Jam, if not more!

I’m looking forward to capturing your special day, Nikki and Matt. Hope the awkward smiles, laughs, and people staring at you while I took photos of you two was worth it!

xo!
Ruby

Last week, I had the pleasure of working with Cucci Cabello again. This shoot was a lot of fun as the aim was to showcase the creativity and work that the salon has to offer. Needless to say, there’s a lot of creativity to be found here.

When I first got to the salon, the music was bumping, the energy was flowing, and there were plenty of yummy treats to munch on. The vibe was infectious and got me into the ‘zone’ instantly. Plus, you can never go wrong with cupcakes!

Casey, the lovely make-up artist, made our beautiful model Erika come to life for the shoot. And, Tony, once again, did his magic in the hair department.

Alright, so I’m about a week behind on posting this…but I’ve been pretty motivated and inspired after our recent workshop! I became so wrapped up in taking photos and editing previous photos I had on hand, versus actually blogging about the event right away. Oops.

Editing photos can be a time-warp, I swear!

Our recent workshop was a blast! It was so refreshing and exciting to connect with people who LOVE photography. Here’s what one of our workshop attendees named Wendy (a wedding photographer herself) had to say about her experience:

A group of likeminded women met at the beautiful ING Cafe downtown. Slava is an international photographer, web designer and travels the world with her husband. Ruby specializes in Public Relations but also has a thriving photography business. Kat is a knowledgeable and passionate photographer who also coordinates amazing art programs to inner city kids who could never otherwise afford such equipment.
We spent the morning in small groups discussing lighting, weddings, life, aperture and anything else that came to mind, over ING’s steeped coffee, liquid sugar and whatever else we fancied.  Five directionally challenged women hopped into a compact car and tried to navigate South versus North. Hilarious. (I only lived in Toronto for 10 years!) Armed with our cameras and appetite, we headed to the stylish and beautiful Holt Renfrew Cafe on Bloor St. We traded photographer’s war stories and laughed like old friends.

As someone who inherently takes responsibility for planning and ensuring people’s comfort level, it was much appreciated to have an entirely planned day that lasted until almost dinner time, breakfast and lunch and snacks, paid parking, photo adventures, knowledge sharing, and a virtual gift basket of downloads to help us with our editing, blogging and photography careers. It even had a music track list customized especially for our workshop. So wonderfully thoughtful and personable. We walked away with full bellies and even happier hearts. What an amazing day…

Such sweet words.

Thank you to Slava and Kat for ensuring that the workshop was as wonderful as it was. It was a pleasure to work with you ladies!

A big thank you to Suzy, one of our other participants, for the tulips she so generously handed out at the end of the workshop. You are so thoughtful!

I am very excited to share some wonderful news! The planning of this event has been in the works for some time, but it’s finally here and ready to get underway!

I’m teaming up with the one and only Slava Micic to host a full day Photoshop Workshop in London, Ontario. I met Slava back in 2003 at University (please do not do the math! Haha!), and over the years, our mutual appreciation for photography, the arts, and creativity has kept our friendship blossoming. I cannot wait to help her host this Workshop as she is truly inspirational at what she does.

Here are the details!

Need those details simplified?

When? Saturday, March 3, 2012 – 9am-5pm
Where? London’s stylish boutique HOTEL METRO (32 Covent Market Place, London, ON) 

If you ever wanted to take your photos to that next level, this Workshop will take care of that for you. If you are developing an interest in photography, photo manipulation and retouching, look no further. If you want to take your hobby and turn it into a business, sign up already!

This workshop is basically for everyone who wants to take better photos, create better images, and learn the tips and tricks on how to make your photos burst with magic.

You should also check out this Workshop if:

• You got a new DSLR for Christmas and the pictures aren’t looking as good as you had hoped
• You or someone in your family recently had children – and you are the designated photographer
• You own & market your own business online
• You recently went travelling and your photos are not as good as you thought they would be
• You have a hobby that will, with a little skill, turn into a business
• You have a fashion/photo/whatever blog and you want to give it a face lift and that ‘va-va-voom’ factor
• You work in marketing/communications, and want to become a pro blogger
• You want to Photoshop yourself into Elle McPherson (we can’t 100% guarantee this, but we will certainly teach you how!!)

 What you need to bring: 

• A Camera (preferably a DSLR, but a Point & Shoot is fine too)
• Laptop with an installed, running version of Photoshop (if you don’t have it, you can download a trial version here)
• Your creative juices and adventurous personality

Here is an outline of what the day will look like!

We’re keeping this Workshop small in size so that we can cover more ground, so make sure to get your tickets ASAP (you wouldn’t want to miss out, right?). And, when you’re done the Workshop, we’ll award you with gift bags and this unique diploma.

 Pretty nifty, huh? See you there, London, ON!

Heaven or Hell Clothing has been really busy with marketing events and promos this year in Canada, and I was excited to be their photographer for two exciting gigs!

The first one was for a Bollywood movie premiere in Toronto, featuring the very well-known Indian actor, Shah Rukh Khan. HOH (Heaven or Hell) was the official clothing sponsor for the event and things kicked off with a welcome event at Toronto’s Pearson airport. At first, everything was calm…but it was the calm before the storm. As soon as Shah Rukh Khan entered the room, a frenzy took place, and the chaos and energy was awesome!

HOH provided the welcoming commitee with promotional shirts and provided fans a chance to purchase the limited edition clothing. All in all, a great day full of LOTS of excitement!

The second promotional shoot I did for HOH was in London, Ontario with the one and only DJ Everfresh. Everfresh was a natural in front of the camera – as much as he is a natural in front of the turntables. A big thanks to this phenomenal DJ for taking time out of his busy night to pose for my lens.

For info on how you can get a hold of your own HOH gear, please check out their website: http://www.heavenorhellclothing.com/

They say good things come to those that wait. And, I must say – I agree with that statement!

I waited, and waited, and waited some more when it came to redeeming my continuous accumulation of Air Miles.

I figured I’d save them up for a trip at some point, or a crazy kitchen appliance that I would never end up using – or maybe redeem them for an endless amount of movie tickets. Instead, I just kept holding on to them, month after month, year after year.

As my business has grown this past year, I realized that I needed something to bridge the technology between the portfolio of photos I have on my Mac at home to potential clients when I’m on the go. Showing people some of my work via my iPhone just doesn’t do the trick!

So, I decided to do some research regarding my Air Miles and realized that I had quite a lot saved up. So much so, that I could redeem it for an iPad with the most storage….! Yeah, it was a no brainer. I redeemed those miles faster than the speed of light.

Two days later, the shiny and lovely iPad was at my doorstep and I have pretty much stopped talking to those near and dear to me – friends and family, give me a few days to get acquainted with this amazing technology and I’ll be back to normal!

I first met Tony, owner of Cucci Cabello, at the @MarketPlace Conference back in September. His high-energy and fun personality really had me looking forward to working with him and his team on a new branding shoot for his business. Cucci Cabello is an extremely talented hair salon based in Kitchener, ON, all thanks to the wonderful gentlemen that work there.

Here are some silly outtakes and sneak peeks of our shoot!

I had way too much fun that morning. Thanks guys – for a great photo session, and for teaching me that it is indeed hard to shoot while laughing!

The day may have been a bit gloomy (and extremely windy!) for the most part, but Jen and Andrei’s love for one another truly warmed up the cold engagement session.

I appreciated their easiness in front of my camera – the emotions were completely natural and real in the photos that I captured of them. And, a big kudos to Jen for braving the rain regarding her hair – she’s a trooper, and remained a vision of beauty that afternoon. Ladies, you know how we feel about rain and our hair!

Best wishes to you both!

Art of Fashion is the only organization in Canada to offer emerging Canadian apparel and accessory designers a platform to showcase their talent. This amazing organization gives these designers the opportunities they need to foster their careers and dreams. The support available in cities such as New York, Paris and Milan initiated Michelle Planche, President of Paradigm Events, to create Art of Fashion to help offer that support in Toronto.

This year’s event named Choreology showcased 10 incredibly talented Canadians. I was the event photographer for AOF (Art of Fashion), and it was such a delight to capture the colours, the energy, and the pizazz that the event encompassed.

Cheers to fashion, fun, and more fashion!

From the portfolio and photos of my travels to Punjab, India, comes a photo-book highlighting the vastness this part of the country has.

It’s been a fun and exhilarating process to publish my first book of my work.

Although this book wasn’t necessarily created for retail purposes, you can grab a copy of it here if you’re in need of a new coffee table book.