Ottawa, Toronto Wedding Photographers

The Blog has Moved

2009-10-16T06:26:00.000-07:00

We have moved our blog to the following address. All our new posts will be made their from now on.

http://www.aliphaurmeem.com/blog/

Abi Aur Sheetal - Engagement Shoot

2009-10-05T11:35:00.000-07:00

Like everyone, we associate sights, and smells, and music with the roadmap of our lives. And like everyone, every now and then we come in contact with a sight or smell or a piece of music after a long time. And in that moment we realize that we've grown, changed, and moved on to a different life. Nostalgia holds us back for the next little while, while we ache to relive those days. However, only if we recognize that present too will soon become part of the past we sometimes so intensely crave, it all may just turn out for the best.

We did Abi and Sheetal's engagement shoot at the St. George campus of University of Toronto earlier this summer. Here are some of our favourites from the shoot.

(And in case you are wondering what our monologue has to do with this entry; we both went to University of Toronto, and know this campus intimately).

More information available at our Ottawa Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com

Joyce Aur Roger - Wedding

2009-09-15T20:18:00.000-07:00

More information available at our Ottawa Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com

Shawn Aur Melissa - Wedding - Part II

2009-09-12T08:22:00.001-07:00

After the reception we headed for some pictures with the family, the bridal party, and of course the bride and groom. We got to the location before Shawn and Melissa, who ended up getting stuck in traffic, but they still gave us about an hour and a half to get all the pictures done. They totally knew the value of giving us the time to get these pictures done and we're glad we were all on the same page. In the first half an hour we got all the family pictures out of the way so they could leave. We then spent the next hour shooting just the bridal party, and the bride and groom.

For the must-have posed, traditional pictures, we found this perfect set of stairs with some greenery around it. This is where we took all the family shots.

A candid of the ring bearer, a little confused about his surroundings after waking up.

We asked Shawn and Melissa to hold hands for a picture, and out of nowhere this moth came and started circling around their hands. It also sat patiently enough right on top of their hands just long enough for us to take a couple of pictures. How serendipitously cool!

One of the groomsmen had to leave because of his newborn, so one of the other two got lucky with two bridesmaids. You can see them cracking up in this one about it!

Our absolute favourites from the day! Mehreen captured these pictures of the bridal party next to a barn.

With some time to relax, the girls got talking ...

Mehreen's exact words to the bride after this following picture: "You have lovely collar bones!"

For this set of pictures below we tried a different technique in post that gives it a very old school, hint of sepia, faded film look. See if you like it ...

We then headed back to the reception hall and ended the night with cake cutting and first dance.

More information available at our Ottawa Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com

Shawn Aur Melissa - Wedding - Part I

2009-09-12T08:05:00.000-07:00

With all the weddings, editing, printing going on, we barely find time to blog, but blog we must! Today we are sharing pictures from Shawn and Melissa's wedding in Ottawa earlier this summer.

We started the day off at Melissa's place.

We then headed to the ceremony.

Melissa just before stepping into the church waving off some last minute emotions.

The cutest ring bearers ever, all set to go in their ride!

We love this picture of the bride and her father's entrance, with everyone standing to receive the bride, clicking away. Can you count the cameras?

Mehreen caught this picture of Shawn and Melissa sharing a moment during the ceremony, exchanging smiles of excitement and disbelief.

And the happy couple has left the building! Part II coming right up ...

More information available at our Ottawa Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com

Ambereen Aur Intiaz - Preview

2009-08-18T07:49:00.000-07:00

We are in the thick of weddings, editing, and will be posting a couple of complete weddings in the near future. Meanwhile, we wanted to share a few snaps from Ambereen and Intiaz' wedding shoot. The first one is our favourite!

More information available at our Ottawa Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com

W Montreal

2009-08-06T20:43:00.000-07:00

For our second anniversary, we pulled up outside W Montreal. I parked nervously between a Lamborghini and a Jaguar coupe right outside the hotel in the 15 minute parking zone and walked into the reception. I gave the receptionist my name and then asked which way to the parking entrance. I was told that the hotel has a valet service and if I'd give him the keys, he will gladly have it taken care for me.

"But I'd really prefer to park the car myself. Is that possible?"

"Most certainly sir! May I know which car you are driving?".

An awkwardly long pause followed. Then I said it.

"Ummm Ford. Focus."

The receptionist gave me a polite smile and I handed him the keys without any further hesitation or cause for embarassment.

You see, in my defense, I'd just had an accident, this was a rental car, and I was trying to protect it from wind itself if I could.

Aaaaanyways. We spent the rest of the weekend at, what we now call, the best hotel we've ever stayed at (including Hilton Cancun). The W Montreal. Everything from the service to the decor to the hospitality to the atmosphere of this hotel is worth every penny. Here are some of the pictures from our trip.

The Lobby

Our floor

The Room

About the dark pictures, the whole hotel has a really club like feel to it, and this is how dark the actual room is.

The most relaxing rain shower ever!

City shots

Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal

Les Glaceurs - Cupcake & Ice Cream Parlour

The amazing view I had later one night at Starbucks. This guy was standing about two feet from my face, scratching non-stop for a good half an hour. They were all looking at a laptop their friend had.

Before leaving, we slow danced to this song in our room playing on Mehreen's aged iPod. Oh and the room also had an iPod player/alarm clock.

More information available at our Montreal Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com

Jeet Aur Nidhi - The Next Morning

2009-08-02T20:38:00.000-07:00

We just came back from Jeet and Nidhi's weekend long wedding. We covered their Mayan, Shaadi and Reception. The second day was the longest lasting a little over 14 hours filled with religious ceremonies, cultural traditions and the bridal shoot of course. Comparitively, the reception was much more relaxed and shorter. We knew we'd be uploading the following picture from their first dance as soon as we got home. It was totally in the moment, absolutely un-posed and candid, and we love everything from their expressions, to how much of their faces can be seen, to the bokeh of the chandelier in the back. We're proud!

And the colour of the day for us was yellow!

More information available at our Ottawa Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com

Accident

2009-07-28T22:26:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night, Thursday morning:

With only an hour to go before reaching home, I had pulled up at a service station and given Meem the car like I had done so many times before on our biweekly drives to and from Toronto. I didn't think much of it, went to sleep in the passenger seat and expected to be woken up by her voice when she'd be pulling up my parent's garage. I had it partially right.

Somewhere around midnight, half an hour away from home, I heard Meem scream out my name prolonging the second vowel. I woke up before she had finished saying my name and I knew immediately why she was screaming. I intuitively turned towards her, my seat still reclining, seat belt still on, half trying to control the steering wheel, half trying to shield her from the impact, failing to figure out which way I should help her turn. I saw the car spin a full 360. I saw a truck drive right by. We then headed for the side curb and hit on Meem's side. We heard metal rub with concrete. The car finally came to a stop. The whole thing lasted no more than two seconds.

After the impact, we sat their paused for a second, while I turned my head around frantically trying to figure out if there was going to be a second impact from another vehicle. I saw a few cars but we were far off the express lane. I then turned to Meem and asked her, "Are you ok?". Her reply was, "I didn't do it on purpose! I swear Asad!". Then we saw smoke coming out of the dashboard from underneath the now deployed and deflated airbags. Meem couldn't get out from her side. I turned around once more to watch out for any oncoming traffic, pushed open my door, and grabbed and pulled Meem out from my side. We walked back behind our car and held on to each other tight in the pouring rain. Meem seemed to be screaming each time she exhaled. I called 911 and then my brother.

An hour later we were standing at the collision centre with my brother.

A few hours later we were trying to sleep on a mattress in my brother's old room in my parent's house. My parents are moving. They have sold most of the furniture. Events from earlier that night played in my head. I could still hear Meem scream my name. I wondered what was playing in Meem's head. She was driving and she saw at least twice as much as I did. Whatever it was, I wanted her to forget it.

Friday:

We were eating Gol Gappas at Masala Mehndi Masti with our family. We did not take for granted the fact that the accident could have ended a dozen other ways, each no better than the way it did. We cannot possibly thank The One, The Only enough.

Saturday:

We got up at six, took showers, and boldly got on the highway again for Ottawa. We had a wedding to shoot in the afternoon. We made it on time and the wedding went exceptionally well. Some prospective clients have asked us in the past, what would happen if we were to end up in an accident or getting killed before their wedding. (We are not making this up; we have been asked this exact question more times than you would think). We didn't know how to answer it before. We do now. The answer is: if we get in an accident, we will make it to your wedding. If we die, we will not make it to your wedding. That's that.

Later on Saturday we drove, again, this time to Montreal on a pre-planned wedding anniversary trip.

Sunday:

I got these pictures of Meem outside a bakery and ice cream shop pointing at a cookie monster muffin in Montreal.

How happy and relieved I am to see you well my love! In His words, "If I bring you to it, I will bring you through it!". Peace, love and strength!

Saif Aur Nida - Mehndi - Part II

2009-07-21T07:29:00.000-07:00

We posted part one of Nida and Saif's Mehndi on our blog last month. July has been a really busy month for us so we haven't had time. But here now is the sequel to their amazing Mehndi. Enjoy!

Following the Dholki all the girls gathered around the groom and held on to his finger tight! This is a rasm we are seeing more and more in addition to the traditional Joota Chupaai. The point is for the girl's side to make the groom pay up. Heavy negotiations follow amidst joking and teasing.

Once money had exchanged hands, both sides had prepared a number of dances and the competition was stellar. Following each dance there was cheers from both sides followed by boo'ing and hiss'ing and chants of "we are the champions" claiming to be winning side. Obviously, Nida and Saif got front row seats during the show.

Once in a while the they'd pull Saif on the dance floor to join them.

And then there was some more dancing. We love this one capture of Nida where her expression is a mix of excitement and pride at the dancers.

Disclaimer: Nobody got hurt during the photography of this event. This was all part of a song where the guy had a thing going on with two girls. Needless to say it didn't end exceptionally well for him.

The best part of all the dances was when Nida's mom came running to the dance floor shouting "Nahiiiii" and then everybody broke out to "Munda Saada Doli Charh Gayaa". Priceless!

Finally they opened the dance floor to everyone and we got these amazing shots of Saif and Nida making it happen!

More information available at our Toronto Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com

Jason Paul Johnston's "Willows Motel"

2009-07-16T07:36:00.000-07:00

I first met Jason while looking for a Mackie channel mixer for doing some recordings. Google returned me a search result for this place called Revolution Audio in Mississauga. It was weird, because at that time, I knew every single music shop in town, and I could draw up directions to each one of them in my sleep, not to mention their inside layout. I knew which store had what kind of guitars, which store had what deals at what time of year, and which store carried my favourite brand of guitar strings. To realize that there is a new music store in town that I don't know of was, to say the least, unsettling. I immediately google mapped the address and hopped in my car and drove towards lakeshore.

I was pleasantly surprised upon reaching at the doorsteps of Revolution Audio. It was this little store sandwiched between a bakery and a laundry with cool red walls, multitude of recording equipment and all kinds of gadgets and software. They also had a small studio setup at the back of the store. I was greeted by Jason with a smile, who showed me my mackie mixer and we got talking. Jason told me that he had just opened the store, and also about bunch of recording lessons that he was planning on offering for free at the time. I promised to attend a few and left the store.

Over the next few months I'd see Jason at his store several times and attend a few of his classes (which btw were great; and I believe they still offer them). I'd take my own recordings to Jason and ask for his feedback and what he thought I could do to improve. At some point I got too busy with my own stuff and never got a chance to go to the store or meet Jason for a long time.

A couple of years back Jason contacted me asking if we'd be interested in doing a photoshoot for his upcoming album. I was obviously thrilled and had lots of ideas. He specifically wanted to use this motel up from his place on lakeshore for the location as it was the title song of his upcoming album. He rented a room (which you can actually get by the hour; yeah!) and we took some pictures.

Couple of years passed. We moved to Ottawa. Recently, we got an email from Jason mentioning that he is finally releasing the album with our artwork. We are obviously super stoked for him.

Jason has a CD release party happening this coming Saturday so if you're in the area be sure to check it out. Here are the details:

Sat, July 18, 2009 7:30 pm CD Release show at the Cadillac Lounge(1296 Queen Street West Toronto, ON)

You can see the dates with details to maps / addresses and so on here:
http://jasonpauljohnston.com/showstour.cfm

Finally, here is his album artwork along with some pictures we took.

(Click the image above to see full size)

(Click the image above to see full size)

Sonia & Imran - The Next Morning

2009-07-13T13:47:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we covered Sonia and Imran's Mehndi and Wedding. And it was fun! While copying over the images this morning, we couldn't resist editing this one of Sonia from their bridal shoot yesterday.

Yesterday's wedding was tiring but fun. Part of what made it fun was our friend Fro and future bride Afroz! (For the record, she became our client first, and quickly became our friend soon after; for the umpteenth time, for this reason, we heart wedding photography!). She hung out with us when the picture taking activity was at a low, cracked jokes, made fun of Asad's dancing skills (or lack thereof), and posed for the following picture with us.

We will be doing Fro's wedding in October and her engagement shoot in a couple of weeks. Stay tuned!

AliphAurMeem Self Portrait

2009-07-11T14:46:00.001-07:00

July is an exceptionally busy month for us full of weddings and engagement shoots. If we're not out shooting, we're at home editing. We're really excited about the weddings we've been covering and the images we've been getting. We can't wait to blog about all of them. We are also looking forward to a major overhaul to our portfolio by the end of this season.

For now here is a recent self portrait from Imran and Sonia's Mehndi last night.

p.s. Yes I do wish the ratio of my face to mehreen's wasn't 20:1.

David Aur Sybile - Part II

2009-07-06T20:12:00.000-07:00

Flower girls preceding the bride.

Anticipation followed by first look. Does David look happy or what!?

Faith was a big part of this wedding. Sybile and David have been part of this church for a long time and the priest has seen the two of them grow up right in front of his eyes. Obviously this wedding was an emotional time for him as well.

And it was a full house.

Mehreen sitting, hidden from the crowd, laughing at some marriage joke the priest cracked.

First Kiss and they are out.

In the end we will leave you guys with these pictures of the DJ at the reception, who also happened to be one kick ass drummer. First check out the heels she was wearing.

And man could she play those drums wearing these. You can't hear the drums, but we hope the following snaps do some justice.

More information available at our Ottawa Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com

David Aur Sybile - Part I

2009-07-06T19:59:00.000-07:00

Here is part one of some of our favourite shots from David and Sybile's wedding in Ottawa.

Getting ready shots of the bride.

Getting ready shots of the groom.

Bride arriving at the church.

Groomsmen receiving some last minute pep talk before making their hiptastic entrance.

The Gents.

The ladies.

More information available at our Ottawa Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com

Canada Day

2009-07-03T16:15:00.000-07:00

I Heart Faces

2009-06-29T08:14:00.000-07:00

This is our entry for I Heart Faces (www.iheartfaces.com). We love this picture of Nida and Saif from their recent wedding. Towards the end of the evening, with just family and close friends left, the two decided to open up and rip the dance floor. Their poses and face expressions are priceless in this picture.

(Hello J*!)

Saif Aur Nida - Mehndi - Part I

2009-06-22T07:30:00.001-07:00

A couple of entries back we posted a couple of pictures from Nida and Saif's Mehndi and Wedding that we covered in Mississauga. We also said that it was the most fun and authentic wedding we had seen in a long time. Today we give you a little taste of what in our opinion all Mehndi events are supposed to be like.

We started off the evening by taking some shots of Nida as she arrived at the venue.

There was this classic poster of Madhubala in the dressing room, and Mehreen asked Nida if she could replicate the pose. She could barely keep her laughter, but she pulled it off pretty neatly.

There was something about her dress that was very authentic and reminded us of village life. So we decided to go for a snobby Chaudri style pose. We asked her put her one leg up, rest her arm on the leg, and look sideways. Mehreen specified, "Snobs don't smile!" lol! Nida didn't need much more in way of direction. Does this girl know how to carry herself or what!

This is pretty much where the posed shots ended, and we got down to business capturing the essence of the rest of the evening with whole bunch of candids.

Saif arrived with his side of the guests and brought a wicked Dhol wala.

As Saif's friends broke out into Bhangra, Saif unwilling to control himself, jumped down from the stage and started makin' it happen with his buddies.

Nida was then walked in by her brother.

As Nida's brother took her up the stage and handed her off to Saif, there was this quick all-in-fun exchange of "Keep your hands off my sister" moments that Mehreen captured perfectly.

First look shared.

As the bride and groom were just settling down on the stage, the crowd once again started to dance in front of the stage, including the bride's father, the groom's friends, and pretty much everyone else. Who could have then stopped Saif and Nida.

The traditional offering of sweets, in this case Gulab Jaman, to bride and groom then started.

A friend of groom's dedicated an excellent rendition of "Hai tujhe bhi ijaazat, Karle tu bhi mohabbat".

And of course the girls sang all the Mehndi songs on the traditional Dholki. For those not accustomed to the desi culture, yes that is a spoon, and it serves as an added rhythm keeper to the dholki. Who needs hi-hats or cymbals!

And this is only half of the Mehndi so far. We will add the rest of the pictures later in the week.
More information available at our Toronto Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com

Andrew Aur Marianna - Engagement Shoot - Part I

2009-06-15T20:31:00.000-07:00

You may remember Andrew and Marianna from their portrait session last month. Following their portrait session, they ended up hiring us for their wedding as well. This last weekend we covered their engagement shoot and here are a few images from it. More still to come ...

More information available at our Ottawa Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com

Imran Aur Sonia - Engagement Shoot

2009-06-14T22:37:00.000-07:00

After an extremely busy weekend, our bodies aching, and eyes burning, we wanted to just turn in and go to sleep. But we knew it wasn't that easy. For you see we were itching to get to our cameras and look at the pictures from Imran and Sonia's engagement shoot.

You know when you're in university, and you have friends over, and you haven't slept in two days because of an assignment, and you know you won't be getting much sleep the next few nights because of that essay due on Monday, but you still push the limits of your body because you're just having way too much fun. Yeah ... it was kind of like that. Except we're not as young as we once were. But we're not that old either; so on we went ooo'ing and aah'ing at the pictures. Then we decided we were going to edit some of them. Just a few. So we selected a few pictures. Then a few more. Then just a few more. You get the picture (corny pun intended)!

But see here's the thing. Everything went just right at this shoot. According to the weather people it was supposed to rain on Saturday. It didn't. We were supposed to do the shoot in the afternoon when the light is harsh. It wasn't. The couple was ~~good looking~~ damn good looking! They knew what to do in front of the camera. Usually we give instructions, but with Imran and Sonia, we would only say, "Could you ..." and they would do something better than what we were going to suggest, and we would shut up, pretend that's what we meant, and take silent credit for it. And above all, the colors. The colors were working for us. Color for us is like that 30 second guitar solo that you keep rewinding and listening to over and over again. That makes you wanna close your eyes and imagine yourself playing guitar in a football stadium, except you're doing it in front of your photocopy machine while the HR lady is looking. Ok ... we're rambling.

So we'll shut up. And ladies and gentleman, we give you, Imran Aur Sonia.

More information available at our Toronto Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com

Umair Aur Sarah - Wedding

2009-06-12T20:35:00.001-07:00

Couple of posts back we put up some pictures from Umair and Sarah's bridal shoot on their wedding day. Here are some more from their wedding during the rest of the day.

More information available at our Ottawa Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com

AliphAurMeem Karsh'ed

2009-06-11T17:49:00.000-07:00

Today we were honoured to be invited to the opening of the "Karsh: Image Maker" exhibit running as part of the Karsh Festival at the Canada Museum of Science & Technology in collaboration with the Portrait Gallery of Canada. The exhibit showcases the works of the internationally renowned Canadian portrait photographer of Turkish and Armenian background, Yousuf Karsh.

It was extremely interesting to hear the keynote speakers, which included Mrs. Estrellita Karsh, but as photographers it was even more enjoyable to study the work of Mr. Karsh. The exhibit is very well organized and each piece of work is accompanied by a little anecdote about the circumstances, sometimes technical, under which the picture was taken.

One of the things Karsh was well known for was his use of light. In one of the videos that were playing at the exhibit we heard Karsh saying something to the effect of, "as a photographer it is your job to have an image in your head before you go about pressing any buttons to take it, and then to go after exactly and precisely that image". Prepare and plan your shots. We have often found that it is equally important to study the light as it is to study the lack thereof (shadows) when taking a picture. Not all light is good, just as not all shadows are favourable.

With the advent of digital equipment these days, it is truly remarkable to perceive and analyze the work of the likes of Mr. Karsh as it is a great insight into the artistry of photography. It is also a stark reminder that even though equipment has become more readily available, and the ease of technology has the tendency to turn us all into trigger happy photographers, photography still remains, by and large, an art form. From a 100 men orchestra, to the 4 men band, to a person sitting in front of a laptop, instruments may have changed as may have the styles of music; but any instrument alone has never and will never approximate the creativity and genius of a human mind.

Towards the end of the exhibit there was this "camera room" with five lights (far left, front left, back, front right and far right) and five knobs that could control the amount of light coming from each source. There was a queue of people waiting to get their Karsh like image and a couple of exhibit volunteers working the knobs. The pictures taken were then sent to this computer where people could type in their email address and get the picture emailed to them directly. There was also a monitor where everybody could see the picture as the action was unravelling.

While everyone was getting their sit-on-a-bench-and-look-portrait-like pictures, we had a fun idea. We got Mehreen to sit down on the stool, while Asad (who totally undermined the aristocraticness of the opening night and showed up dressed in jeans and a hoodie, unshaven for 3 days and looking like he was there to mug someone) stood in the way of the far left light. We asked the volunteer to turn up the far left light all the way. We're proud to say we got a little applaud from the crowd after our picture!

Sorry about the picture being quite low res; that's just how we got it in the mail!

p.s. BTW, Mehreen was supposed to look scared. That's why we stay behind the lens!

Umair Aur Sarah - Wedding

2009-06-03T11:01:00.001-07:00

As anyone who lives in Ottawa and is reading this blog knows, summer has decided to skip Ottawa this year. It's friggin June for God's sake and it was 5 degrees couple of nights ago. 5 degrees! I guess we can rejoice in the fact that it's at least started to look a bit greener around the city. One of our favourite streets on the way to Mehreen's work in the morning is Powell & Bronson. It's got these huge, aged, full of character trees that cover the whole street. Beautiful! Gotta check it out peeps!

Speaking of beautiful things, we covered Umair and Sarah's wedding couple of weeks back in Ottawa. It decided to be a rainy day and we ended up taking some indoor shots. Here are a few teasers.

Ambereen Aur Intiaz - Engagement Shoot Part II

2009-06-01T16:39:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more pictures from Ambereen and Intiaz' engagement shoot.

Here is another post of the last picture. We couldn't decide which version is better, so here are both.

More information available at our Toronto Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com

Ambereen Aur Intiaz - Engagement Shoot

2009-05-31T20:24:00.000-07:00

Our first wedding in Ottawa last year was a total coincidence. We had no idea back then that by next year this time, we actually would have uprooted ourselves and moved to Ottawa. This girl named Bushra emailed us about covering her wedding last summer, and to be honest, we hadn't even considered doing any weddings outside of Toronto until then. When the opportunity presented itself, we though why not, and we ended up covering our first wedding in Ottawa, Bushra and Jawad's. As the winter rolled in, we found ourselves in a then unfamiliar city with practically no friends. Incidentally, Mehreen ended up getting a job in the same company as Jawad, and we all hang out quite frequently. (In case you're wondering, things have picked up since, we met some awesome people and are looking forward to doing their weddings this summer. Did we mention, we love doing photography for this very reason. Oh, and as a total aside, we also covered our first black wedding this last weekend, and oh boy was it cool! Pics to follow).

What has all of this got to do with Ambereen and Intiaz. Well, they were the first clients we signed after moving to Ottawa, Ambereen is Jawad's cousin, we are covering their wedding this summer, and really excited about it! Here are some pictures from their engagement shoot.

More information available at our Toronto Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com

Nida Aur Sayf - Mehndi & Wedding

2009-05-27T20:46:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures from our recent wedding this last weekend in Toronto. It was an all out Pakistani wedding with most definitely the best Mehndi we've been to in a long time! We'll write a detailed entry with more pictures from this wedding soon, but for a now just a few snaps from the Mehndi and Shaadi of the gorgeous couple.

More information available at our Toronto Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com

Victoria Day, Dow's Lake, Carnival and Sulé & the Modern Day Kings

2009-05-18T16:58:00.000-07:00

The pictures below were taken at Dow's Lake Ottawa on Victoria Day. Performance pictures are of a great local band that I had the pleasure of listening to for the first time called Sulé & the Modern Day Kings.

The following picture is a crop of the one above and nothing spectacular, except when you realize that the bird was in flight, fairly high, and this was shot through a lens with a maximum focal length of 50mm.

And now the band:

More information available at our Toronto Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com

Rick & Maui Wedding Shots

2009-05-15T21:21:00.000-07:00

More information available at our Toronto Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com

Ottawa Tulip Festival

2009-05-10T18:50:00.001-07:00

More information available at our Ottawa Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com

Self Portraits ... Errr Right!

2009-05-09T19:22:00.000-07:00

Today we covered Umair and Sarah's wedding in Ottawa. Though it was raining cats and dogs, we got some pretty decent pictures of the couple indoors near downtown Ottawa. We started at 11 in the morning, and got done just now around 9pm.

We will put up the pictures from the wedding once we have done our post work on them, but we wanted to put these two up right away. As photographers, we are mostly behind the lens, and hardly ever take (or like to take) our own pictures. Today, however, Mehreen happened to take this really cool shot of herself trying out her new Canon 16-35 2.8 L. It's her reflection in the glass roof of the bride's limo.

While, I was disappointed at not having an equally cool picture of myself, Mehreen did make me feel better by taking this fabulous picture of the good looking me.

More information available at our Toronto Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com

Engagement Shoot Tips - For Couples & Photojournalistic Photographers

2009-05-07T10:32:00.001-07:00

We usually have this email we send to our clients before their engagement shoots laying out some basic information including what to wear, what to expect, location, etc. Each engagement shoot, like each wedding, is different for the same reason: every couple is unique. However, here are some of the basic things to keep in mind for an engagement shoot.

1. It is not your wedding day. Even though you could dress up to the tee in all formal attire, leave that to your wedding day. An engagement shoot is supposed to be casual, so get your jeans, skirts and sneakers out. Casual sexy is where it's at people!

2. Having made point 1, you should still look like you belong together. This means keeping in mind your color choices. We are strong proponents of colour (as you can probably tell by the pictures on our site and blog). Furthermore, you should colour co-ordinate and try and wear clothes in the same colour family. No, we're not saying you should look like twins out of a bad summer movie, but if one is wearing bright colors, the other shouldn't wear dull earth tones. If one is wearing shoes, the other shouldn't show up in flip flops (though both wearing flip flops could work very well for a nice, casual, summery, walk-in-the-park, going-out-to-do-grocery type shoot). Co-ordinate and sync up. If not sure about something, email and ask. We don't mind! At all!

3. The last point we will make about clothing choices is that you should wear something you feel comfortable roughing out a little bit. Quite often we ask the couple to sit down on the ground, lean against a wall, lay on the grass, etc. This is the stuff we can't make you do on your wedding day, but at the engagement shoot, you betcha!

4. This one is for both of you, but applies especially to girls: plan it (or rather bluntly, put in an effort)! Get your hair done and makeup done (or do it yourself), select dresses and shoes that you look good in. Wanna change dresses between locations, go for it! While guys can mostly carry off an unshaven grunge look, girls obviously need a little more attention. But then that's why your pictures turn out ten times better than his! It all evens out ladies, it all evens out!

5. Let's face it, some people are a natural in front of the lens, some are not! We know that. And we also know how to bring the best out of people. This is something we ask and assess way ahead of the engagement shoot to make sure the location we choose reflects the couple's personality. If a couple is shy, we are not going to take them middle of downtown and ask them to make out on the hood of a cab (btw, we generally don't make any such requests of any clients; though if they are the type, we click away like our fingers are on Red Bull!). A big part of any successful engagement shoot is pairing up the couple with the right environment, and that's our job. The couple has to be comfortable in the environment, or else they will be stiff, unnatural, and that's bad news for us.

6. Come to the engagement shoot relaxed. Don't plan any other involved activities right before or right after the engagement shoot. We don't want you to be rushing through the engagement shoot because you have to get to some place else. Believe it when we say this, your restlessness will show in the pictures, more than you think. Even though the engagement shoot lasts only an hour or so, try to keep it as a day for the two of you to relax together. For this reason, we also suggest having your engagement shoot at least a month before your wedding day (earlier the better), so you are not stressing about the last minute wedding details.

7. Come to the engagement shoot alone! Friends and Families, not allowed; Dogs and other pets of non-human kind, allowed. Nuff said!

8. Another great way to make your engagement shoot turn out really personal and memorable, with lots of great pictures, is to do your engagement shoot around a particular activity. You'd be surprised how many couples do not opt for this, and yet this, in our opinion, is a great way to go. Possible activities could include rock climbing, doing your laundry, cooking together, bowling, grabbing a coffee, fishing, biking, etc. Anything and everything that defines you. If you have an idea for your engagement shoot, but aren't sure whether it will work or not, just email us and ask!

If there is anything else you would like to ask, feel free to email us at AliphAurMeem Photography, and we'll chat!
More information available at our Toronto Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com

Andrew & Mariana Engagement Shoot

2009-05-06T19:39:00.000-07:00

We had been eyeing this graffiti space for a while now, and after a few couples turned it down in favour of more traditional locations, we were finally able to pull of a shoot at the site with Andrew and Mariana.

We were at the mercy of rain all evening, and the shoot lasted about an hour and a half. Though it never rained until we safely made it back to our car with all the equipment. Andrew suggested we head off to a sushi restaurant to finish off the evening, and off we went, on the way checking out their wedding hall, only to realize that the sushi place was closing in ten minutes to nine. In Ottawa we dwell, indeed!

More information available at our Ottawa Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com

Spring = Engagement Shoots, Weddings, New Gadgets & Frappucinos

2009-05-06T07:15:00.000-07:00

May was expectedly going to be the busiest month of this wedding season for us, and with Spring finally here, God bless, visions of blooming tulips, bicycles and mopeds, shorts and skirts, frappucinos and ice cream, strawberries and lemonade, laughter is finally here. Ottawa has dropped it's winter coat and is ready to sunbathe in all things good.

Last week we did two engagement shoots, one portrait session and our first wedding of the season. The pictures look amazing! We can't wait to post some previews here soon. We also ordered a bunch of new gadgets and toys and are busy up'ing the ante on our photography skills and techniques.

We are looking forward to a lot more smiles and some very happy clients this season!
More information available at our Toronto Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com

Rick & Maui Engagement Shoot

2009-04-26T19:23:00.001-07:00

Here are a few snaps from our latest engagement shoot. Rick and Maui admitted to us earlier in the process that they are a bit camera shy and would prefer their engagement shoot to be in a not so crowded place. We found the perfect place for them, and in time, we managed to get them to open up to us and the camera.

We haven't done post on all the pictures yet, but here are a few shots we have so far.

We are covering their wedding next week, our first of this season, and looking forward to it! More to follow ...

More information available at our Toronto Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com

Amanjeet & Nidhi Engagement Shoot

2009-03-21T10:42:00.001-07:00

Our first engagement shoot of the season was with Amanjeet and Nidhi this past week. The weather all week had been pretty nice and we could be found wandering about town without jackets. However, the day of the shoot, it got pretty darn cold. Amanjeet and Nidhi had wanted their shoot at the Museum of Civilization. As always, we went and checked out the museum a few days before to scout a few locations and make sure there were no surprises. We found there were still piles of snow and dirt lying all over the museum grounds, and most of the areas were completely blocked off. So we roamed about the area and found some other really nice locations to shoot at in addition to the museum.

Amanjeet & Nidhi were both extremely friendly and we all bonded instantly. Towards the end of the shoot, all four of us were shivering. We figured the best way to warm them up and get their mind off the cold was to get them to do some exercise. That's when we asked them how they felt about Amanjeet jumping over Nidhi. See their response below.

So here then, folks, is our first engagement shoot of the season. Enjoy!

More information available at our Toronto Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com

New Year, New Blog

2009-03-21T10:03:00.001-07:00

As we get into the wedding season this year, we thought it's about time we add a little spunk to our website by adding a blog. Throughout the course of the rest of this wedding season, we will be sharing information about the weddings we cover, the people we meet, the photos we take and everything else Aliph and Meem have been upto. So strap on your safety belts, because here we go!
More information available at our Toronto Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com