Ralph Nigro for Ontario Principals Council

One of our favourite shoots of the year is always with the Ontario Principals Council. It is always a joy working with the same team over the years, and in this case we always have a new face to photograph. The acting President of this year is Ralph Nigro, who we photographed at OPC housing HQ in downtown Toronto. Principals come from all around the province and with OPC’s office based right beside the Eaton Centre they have a condo unit for those who spend their term working in the city.

It can be a bit difficult working in the same space year after year and finding something new to do. Our last few sessions have been on the same rooftop but I think we have lucked out with having such an amazing view of the city from that high up that using the same backdrop over and over still looks as beautiful as the first time. Ralph was warm and welcoming, and very generous with his time. It’s no secret that photographers will often say “ok just 1 more thing” and then think of one more thing to do, and one more thing, and one more thing, and Ralph was incredibly patient with this. We had a beautiful and bright morning on our shoot day which ordinarily would be great but in this case was just a biiiit too bright for anyone to open their eyes all the way so we used a scrim to diffuse as necessary.

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Portrait Session at Pitt Meadows

While our trip out to BC this past summer was more to see friends and family, and to admire the mountains, we thought if we could set up a shoot, if the timing worked out, if all of the stars aligned for this then we’d love to do it... and it did, and we did! I can’t tell you the last time that we actually had a personal shoot to ourselves, to just collaborate, hang out in a beautiful location, and have absolutely no pressure or expectations out of it. So even though this wasn’t top priority for our vacation, we were really excited to make the time for this shoot. We connected with our wonderful stylist, Jasmine Kamboj over Instagram (where else do ppl meet these days lol) and she was such an invaluable, boots on the ground, resource for this. In addition to her great styling, she also connected us with Callum’s modelling agency, Richards Models, and badda bing badda boom it all came together.

I (Stef) was eager to shoot somewhere unlike Toronto and the first thing that came to mind was the mountains. Not being from the area I wasn’t sure what the logistics of shooting in the city is (permits, special requests, what times to avoid peak crowds?) so after some quick research we opted for a public area of Pitt Meadows, starting just before the crack of dawn. I was hoping for a clear morning so we could get an epic sunrise over the mountains but 1. it was an overcast morning so there was so no sun, and 2. we were not east facing (which I didn’t realize until leaving lol). The ambience of the clouds added to the session and prompted us to use some fun flash moments I don’t think we would have otherwise done.

It was a fun morning with a fun crew, we’re so thankful for people who go along with our ‘hey call time is 5am is that ok?’ schemes, and we can’t wait to do it again next time we’re in the area! Maybe not at sunrise though haha.

We’re also really excited to have a photo from this session featured on Photo Vogue!

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Model: Callum at Richards Models / Stylist: Jasmine Kamboj

Junior Cadougan for Marquette University

This was, hands down, one of our favourite shoots of 2023! Junior Cadougan, is a former professional basketball player, and currently runs Cadougan Elite. This past summerJunior drove his team down to his alma mater, Marquette University in Milwaukee— “If you are looking for someone to believe in, believe in Junior Cadougan, who drove all night to show a group of ninth graders what is possible beyond what they can imagine.”

While there the team got a few phone snaps but didn’t have a chance to take better photos, which is where we came in. Julie, from 508 Creative, reached out to connect us with Junior and assigned us the task of photographing the team back in Toronto. They were looking for photos of the team, of Junior, and of the kids playing and goofing around, ‘kids being kids’. We met up with them at a practice one night at a gym for rent where music was blasting, everyone was sweaty, and in the neighbouring court a volleyball game was happening. The energy was immediately palpable. Kids are always fun to shoot and often letting them do their own thing is where the magic really happens, like during their formal group photo when we prompted ‘ok now stay in the same position, but interact with each other’ and they immediately turned things up 110%.

The action shots of everyone playing was where we felt most apprehensive of this shoot; we’re not sports photographers by any means and this felt very out of our wheelhouse, but turned out to be our absolute favourite part of the night! We set up a big light for the group shot but knew it wouldn’t be realistic to use (or to even plant in 1 optimal location) while everyone was moving around, so we opted for on camera flash. Direct flash isn’t something we always use, but something about the high energy, grit, and passion oozing out of everyone made it feel appropriate. Knowing that we weren’t going to get the kinds of photos that would best encapsulate the team from the sidelines something in my mind said, get in the way, so that’s exactly what we did. Right in the middle of the action, constantly getting someone falling on us, and occasionally a basketball right to the lens (that’s what insurance is for right lol?), but it was so worth it!

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Arctic/Amazon Mural at TMU

We’re so honoured to have photographed the making of a public large scale art installation by Indigenous artists Niap (Nancy Saunders) from Kuujjuaq, Nunavik, Quebec, and Olinda Reshijabe Silvano from Lima, Peru. This installation is a part of a larger project, from the press announcement: “Arctic/Amazon: Networks of Global Indigeneity, an expansive curatorial program originated by the Wapatah Centre for Indigenous Visual Knowledge. Curated by Gerald McMaster, the mural is a collaboration between Indigenous artists Niap (Nancy Saunders), and Olinda Reshinjabe Silvano who respectively hail from these two regions.”

We spent a few days with the artists as they worked from their base at OCAD creating the mural from beginning to end. It’s always interesting and fun to see other artists as they work, and even more so in this capacity; two very different artists, with some of a language barrier, collaborating. As much as our assignment is to photograph the process of this mural being created it was important to us to not be too intrusive and disrupt their workflow so we took turns shooting from afar, only seldomly using flash, and every so often choosing the right moment to get in close for more detail focused shots.

Upon completion the mural was photographed, printed in a more weather-proof paper, and enlarged to 12 x 8 metres. The installation is located on the west facing wall of Kerr Hall at Gould Street and Nelson Mandela Walk. Read more about the project on TMU’s site here and about the Arctic/Amazon on the Wapatah site here.

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