With the warm weather hitting over 25 degrees, Sam and I were out shooting a recent engagement over the past weekend.  Ashima and Dravya are two of the nicest people you'll meet - yes, they belong in that camp!  Not only that, they are sincere, loving and you can't help but be drawn by their warm personalities.  We had such a great time getting to know them and to share in this part of their journey together.

We started out at the car wash and ironically ended up with a second wash (after being caught in the thunderstorm!).  It could not have been more perfect for this adventurous couple (I think they secretly wanted it to rain! :)

We'll be posting more pics, but here is a sneak preview to their super fun and fabulous engagement session:

Happy Monday!

Much love,
Mary ( & Sam)

It's finally here!  Yes, we've been anticipating updating our Lifestyle website for some time now and after many (bazillion!) tweaks and working on our new site for the past few months, we are so excited and proud to announce the birth of Sam and Mary Photography | Lifestyle. 

It's everything we've envisioned, with updated new galleries being the most important, larger photos (go big or go home, right? :), and clean, modern and classy - all of which we love!  Sam and Mary Photography | Lifestyle features our work with families, baby, kids, college, models, couples, and bands.  We look forward to capturing fun and stylish Lifestyle sessions with you, whether it be for a pregnancy, pets, portraits, special occasion, birthdays or other events, we'd love to be there this year, so contact us - the skies the limit!

We are the ones blessed by the friendships, lives and laughs shared, and we wanted a site that gives tribute to the super awesome clients that have given us that ultimate trust that we don't take for granted.  We take our work with conscientiousness and passion - nothing less.

We sincerely want to thank all our wonderful clients for sharing your life and love with us. It is truly our gift to offer the very best that is possible in a photography experience.  We approach our photography in a way that is fun and natural, yet fresh and honest -- all the while not sacrificing capturing the essence of who you are, whom and how you love. 

Feel free to check out our portfolio and galleries at our new Sam and Mary Photography | Lifestyle website. We will be adding and updating this site as we go, but please feel free to drop us a line or add a comment to let us know what you think! 

If you are looking to book a session with us, please email us and share your ideas!  We'd love to hear from you and can't wait to share the experience.

Much love,
Mary ( & Sam)

We get asked all the time what lenses we use to create our images.  Well, this week we're letting the cat out of the bag... so to speak.  We've gone through a whole lot of lenses in the past and are constantly upgrading our gear, but these ones have stuck with us so far.  They were carefully selected to fit our style and the type of photography we do. 

Here's the run-down:
Canon 16-35mm F2.8 L II
Canon 85mm F1.8
Canon 10-22mm F2.5-4.5
Canon 24-70mm F2.8 L
Canon 70-200mm F2.8 L IS
Sigma 18-50mm F2.8

We also have a 50mm F1.8 (not pictured above) which is a super fun, super light lens - probably one of Mary's faves!  As for our actual lens bags, I use the awesome Boda Bag created by Jim Garner and Mary LOVES her Jessica Claire Shoot Sac.  Both bags allow us to travel light and comfortably.  They carry and protect our gear without getting in the way, allowing us to do what we do with our cameras!

So there you have it - our well-loved collection of glass.  If you have a fave lens, let us know in the comments below!

This past weekend, we had the awesome opportunity to be a part of the 29th Genie Awards held in Ottawa, April 4th.  The event celebrating the best in Canadian film was held none other than at the Nation's Capital Canada Aviation Museum, which was transformed beautifully to host the main event.  Definitely huge props (pun intended!) to the people that put the event together as it was a huge success!  The feel you get when you enter the building is that this was larger-than-life.  It was amazing to be surrounded by massive aircrafts and to experience the excitement and anticipation as the night went on!

Tulips and Maple was the esteemed caterer for the cocktail event and we were honoured to be chosen to work with them in capturing the evening.  Mark, owner and visioneer, along with his staff did an incredible job in staging the food and presentation!  Here, the chef and his staff are working hard behind the scene meticulously...
 

And the food was exquisite!
  

It was great to be amongst Canadians and to celebrate excellence and achievement in Canadian film.  There is a sense of national pride and awareness that we could see as we participated in the event.  They were definitely a fun crowd with a great sense of humour and unique style.  We've captured some of the gorgeous people that we've had the pleasure of meeting and talking with.  Thanks to everyone who worked it out in front of our cameras, you guys are beautiful and we love you! 

The awards ceremony was hosted by the hilarious, Dave Foley.
 

Also presenting the awards was Kristin Booth, who also won Best Supporting Actress (for her film, Young People F***ing).  Her coveted dress was custom designed by Rosemarie Umetsu, so that is who I'll be checking out ladies! :)

Our last shot of the night... (another self portrait as we tried to not drop the camera, as shown by the concern on my face!)

Congratulations to all the winners and nominees!  Thank you for sharing your work with us.  Special thanks to Mark and his team at Tulips and Maple for being super fabulous! We wish you all the success and look forward to working with you at the next event.

Much love,
Sam and Mary

Spring is definitely in the air and I couldn't get enough of flowers and all things green, so here is post to feature Flowers Talk, a florist shop in the heart of Ottawa on Wellington St. 

If you are a bride with wedding plans in full swing, here is a vendor we love to recommend.  Elizabeth is florist/owner of Flowers Talk who has an amazing eye and style.  We have shot quite a few weddings with her flowers and she does great work. We love the feel of her shop which just makes you want to stay!  Flowers add so much to the mood of a wedding and we can't say enough how much a good florist can help in pulling together the theme and colours for your wedding through bouquets, boutonnieres, centrepieces, and other visuals. 

Here are some snaps we took as Elizabeth showed us around her shop:
 

Hmmm,...  does one need a reason to buy flowers?

Happy flower shopping!
Mary