Welcome to Art Studio 21 Photography!

What to do with those negatives? Yes, I mean negatives from film, not digital files.

First of all, I hope your negatives are somewhere safe– preferably in acid free sleeves, in a binder or folder somewhere dark and cool. I have all of my client’s negatives sorted by date, and titled with their name and I also attached the small index print to the front of the negative sleeve sheet for easy identification.

If you haven’t already had your negatives printed or think you may want to print images in the future, I would recommend doing it sooner than later. The emulsion on the film fades over time, and more and more printers are not familiar with how to optimize their machines for printing negatives.

Your ability to get quality prints from these negatives will diminish over time.

In Victoria I would recommend Prism Imaging (250.386.7787) to print and digitize your negatives. Digitizing negatives can cost $10 – $18/roll depending on the resolution. The digitized files can be printed and used on your computer as screen savers and for social media applications like Facebook.

If you have negatives (or if your photographer has your wedding photography negatives) I would strongly recommend you get them and have them digitized and printed.

Photographs are the most precious record we have of our past– our hard-copy history to share with our children, friends, and family.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

We just finished compiling a new video of some of our more recent wedding photography commissions.  Most of these weddings are in Victoria, but some are from Duncan, Parksville, and Qualicum Beach.  Please let me know if you have any questions!

Once in a while I hear someone is getting a family member or a friend, who is really into photography, to take their wedding pictures. Obviously, there are times when hiring a professional is not possible, but getting a family member or friend to photograph your wedding has some risks.  Can you imagine if they mess the pictures up?  I’ve heard lots of really troubling stories that ended in disappointment when friends or family members were not able to deliver adequate photographs.

Just because someone is into photography, taken a course, or takes really nice landscape pictures doesn’t mean they should be entrusted with photographing your wedding day. It’s kind of like asking your aunt who makes really nice cookies to cater a full dinner for 100 people at your wedding.

There are several reasons why you should consider a professional photographer; I am going to talk about Yasuko and myself here for a moment.

• We have experience – over 300 weddings worth – we will not mess up your once in a lifetime event.
• We have back up gear – we will come to your wedding with three camera’s and back up everything.
• We have a fully portable studio in the event of rain.
• We know many wonderful wedding photography locations and scout many locations with our clients so we know exactly where we are going on your wedding and exactly the kind of images you want.
• We are personable and friendly – we will be there to help you throughout the day and we can get along with any guest or family member.
• We will provide just enough direction so things run smoothly, done discretely so no one feels pushed or rushed.
• We have a backup archive system second to none.  Your images are secure.
• We are on great terms with other vendors and service providers in the city which helps facilitate many things on your wedding day.
• We constantly upgrade our photography skills and knowledge to provide you with the finest wedding images possible.
• Yasuko and I work as a team and have worked together for over 10 years.
• We have years and years of experience working with digital files to make the images look just right, and Yasuko is a very talented digital retouch artist if anything needs ‘photo-shopping’.
• We use the best professional labs in British Columbia to print your wedding images and only use high quality wedding albums and folios for your prints and DVD’s.

Professional photographers do not just take pictures.  We bring the appropriate equipment, and have the skills and experience that allow us to create beautiful images to record the special, priceless moments and happenings that will become the memories of your wedding day.  Memories that will delight your family and children for years and years.

So, when you are thinking about your wedding, hiring an experienced, qualified photographer should be one of your top priorities.  Please give me a call if you have any questions.

Location, location, location!!

Work with an expert to determine the location that best reflects you for your wedding photographs!

As an experienced wedding photographer, I think Victoria, BC is one of the world’s most beautiful cities for wedding photography.

· Victoria is on the ocean

· It is called the ‘City of Gardens’

· Victoria has unique architecture to serve as a wonderful backdrop for wedding photographs

I like to utilize these three elements in all of our wedding photography commissions, if possible, going to two or three locations on our client’s wedding day.

Ocean Locations

· Dallas Road, and areas around Gonzales Bay are some of our favourite places to take couples.  There are secluded bays with sandy beaches, and there are rock outcroppings for dramatic wedding images showing a huge expanse of blue sky and ocean.

· Ogden Point Breakwater which protects Victoria harbour, and is great location to incorporate ocean and architecture elements into wedding photographs.

· In the Western Communities, my favourite beach is Albert Head Lagoon.  The water and sky always seems to be a perfect blue, and we have created terrific wedding images here.

· Albert Head Lagoon is within easy driving distance of Olympic View Golf Course, Hatley Castle, and Bear Mountain.

Flowers and Gardens

· The Legislature Buildings (with the Premier’s Rose Garden), Beacon Hill Park, Saxe Point, The Lieutenant Governor’s House, and many local parks throughout Victoria.

· St. Ann’s is a premier indoor wedding ceremony and photography location.

· Hatley Castle is simply majestic.

· I personally like the Premier’s Rose Garden, The Lieutenant Governor’s House, and Hatley Castle, because I combine flowers and greenery with architectural elements into unforgettable wedding photographs.

Many of these places require permits or permission for wedding photography, so be sure to check with your photographer!  We can arrange these permits for our wedding clients and provide you with more information.

The Architectural Romance of Victoria

Although Victoria is a relatively young city, it has some unique, trendy, and powerful architecture that create a “Metro” or ‘Urban” feel to wedding photographs.

· One of our signature wedding images was taken at The Legislature Buildings, where there are many opportunities to create fantastic images.

· We also love to photograph our bridal clients in downtown Victoria around Chinatown, and the Pandora/Johnson street areas.

· There are many historic buildings, some ‘urban feel’ graffiti, and cool building facades in Victoria that give us an opportunity to create wonderful wedding images.

· Sometimes we like to take a few photographs in a trendy coffee shop and let our bride and groom rest their feet!