Stephanie Lauren – Page 5 – Stephanie Lauren Photography

June 3, 2014

Jon & Chelsea | Abbotsford Wedding Photography

She was the joyful doe eyed cousin I grew up with on the farm at Nana’s, I was her older cousin but we played together just the same. Her family eventually moved away to Grand Prairie but we always stayed in touch when family came to visit.

Jon and Chelsea first met when she was just 16, as the years flew by she fell madly in love with him. True Alberta blood runs through both their veins and their destination wedding in BC was full of sentimental moments, including her Nana’s home where she got ready for the day.

I am so blessed to have been asked to photograph her wedding and I wish them a lifetime full of love and laughter together. Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Millwater.

Jon and Chelsea Millwater, Abbotsford Wedding Photography, British Columbia, 2014.

I’m pretty sure my cousin Luke looks just like TinTin. ↓

June 2, 2014

Laura | Chilliwack Portrait Photography

Laura Muir is a close family friend who I have shared many laughs with throughout the years. After photographing her sons graduation 2 years ago; she had talked to me about the possibility of a private portrait session. As life often does; we both got busy and I eventually moved away. With the trip down this week she was adamant that we meet up and finally do the photo-session.

Laura is a constant joy to those who meet her, her humor livens any conversation, and her compassion is true to a fault. I was honoured to spend the afternoon with her, and overjoyed with the summer sun that glowed on her beautiful face!

Laura Muir, Prospera Centre, Chilliwack Portrait Photography, British Columbia, 2014.

June 2, 2014

Rayanna | Chilliwack Infant Photography

I adore little ones, and the best part of Infant and Children photography is when they are related to you!

Ian’s cousin Morgan is the proud mommy of two of the happiest children I know. When Ian and I were married we had Dylan as our ring bearer, but Rayanna was still safely tucked away in mommy’s tummy; that didn’t stop Morgan from performing the most impressive 7 month pregnant Russian dance I have ever seen.

When I told family I was coming down to visit and photograph a wedding Morgan was the first to schedule a visit. I couldn’t wait to hold my newest “niece”. When I turned the camera on her she instantly lit up. In all my years I have never had a baby so joyful for an entire photo session. Dylan her older brother was having none of it, and it took a trip out to the back yard in the warm sun to liven his moods. I love these kids so much and I’m blessed to have had a long visit with them on this trip down to BC.

Ok, seriously, first picture taken and she was already all smiles! ↓

Dylan may have not agreed to a formal photo session, but I did take a candid while he played alongside his sister with his dinosaur ↓

Rayanna and Dylan, Chilliwack Infant Photography, British Columbia, Stephanie Lauren Photography, 2014.

Morgan may have brought enough outfit changes to put a catwalk to shame, but her favourite dress was “The little black dress”, and I couldn’t agree more ↓

When the formal pictures were over we ventured to the backyard for Dylan to stretch his legs and find adventure; and that he did ↓

Dylan, Chilliwack Children's Photography, British Columbia, Stephanie Lauren Photography, 2014. — Dylan, Chilliwack Children’s Photography, British Columbia, Stephanie Lauren Photography, 2014.

Rayanna and Dylan, Chilliwack Family Photography, British Columbia, Stephanie Lauren Photography, 2014.

Rayanna & Dylan, Chilliwack Family Photography, British Columbia, Stephanie Lauren Photography, 2014.

May 18, 2014

Spring Awakened | Yellowknife Fine Art Photography

The beauty of Yellowknife is found in its rolling hills; painted with a warm cinnamon hued brush and evergreen trees perched atop monolithic rock formations. Upon moving to Yellowknife I joked about the constant state of white, how I had become color-blind in the constant winter slumber. As the sun melted away the blankets of snow I saw the true character of the landscape and I was instantly inspired.

Sadetlo is a beautiful Yellowknife model; and when I asked her to join me on an impromptu photo shoot capitalizing on the beauty of nature she was excited to play with the vision I had. Nature and the human form combine in this series of images, influenced by the setting sun and moody clouds, this session centered on the Awakening of Spring shows the initial thaw of a cold world coming back to life.

May 5, 2014

Inspired by Art | Yellowknife Fine Art Photography

I remember the room perfectly, the smell of fresh textbooks and the professor’s eclectic sense of style. Art History 101. The lights dimmed and the projector hummed to life. It was only the intro to our curriculum for the semester, but the body of work our professor had chosen romanced the artist in me.

As a photographer, my goal has always been to honour the technical craft, but as an artist I first and foremost want to create something outside of myself; something that will stand the test of time and be a part of my legacy.

I have wanted to incorporate my knowledge of the history of art into a series of portraits. I truly hope that this next season in my photographic journey within fine art will begin to define my artistic style.

Jacob Van Ruisdael was a prolific Dutch Golden Age Landscape Painter. A product of an established family of artists, Jacob studied alongside his father and uncle, and was the grandson of a frame dealer. For Jacob, art was a generational talent passed down; fostered by the education he had been exposed to as well as through his family’s legacy and talents.

Unlike other artists of his time, Van Ruisdael did not approach his paintings as an exact record of the scene before him. Like a photographer he carefully thought out the composition and played with the infinite possibility’s of how the subject would react to its environment, this included the subtleties of the movement of fluttering leaves on a tree to the formations of clouds dancing overhead.

When I chose a backdrop for the first piece of my “HER” series, I remembered Van Ruisdael’s work. I felt an impression of a dream-like quality to his landscapes. I witnessed a play of light within the sweeping branches and the golden clouds that hovered over the intricate details of the landscape below. Incorporating my model’s portrait into this scene was ideal for the story I wanted to display, the serenity and innocence of a woman in her sculpted pose. The Model’s juxtaposition with the deep shadows and highlights of the seaside influenced me to edit with the quality of light that fell on her porcelain skin.

Through the use of time-lapse video I wanted to give a greater understanding to the art of post production with photography. To give her skin the same depth and warmth mirrored in the painting, I applied tone curves that increased the glow and colour of light that would naturally fall on someones face. The same process goes into the natural shadows of a portrait, adding depth to the natural curve of a woman. Using the lasso tool to choose a specific location in the portrait gave me control of the chosen pixel area, this concept can be shown in the video where I changed the colour and hue of her hair, as well as the rays of light I painted to the right of the image that fell on her face and hands. When all was almost done I wanted her perfect soft skin to have texture to match the oil painting behind, this was done by layering a stock image of concrete over the entire image and then turning the layer into a “Soft Light” overlay, essentially making the concrete transparent but still leaving the texture painted across her skin.

“Her Depth and Breadth” “Her Honest Disposition”

Joseph Evstafievich Krachkovskii is an artist who was never truly recognized for reaching the pinnacle of fine art. Joseph studied at the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, immediately following graduation he traveled many European cities which would become an inspiration to his body of work.

When I chose his painting titled “landscape” as my background for the model I knew that I was going to make it a bit darker and ominous in character and played with the hue and exposure.

In regards to the model I had wanted to apply a artistic technique that I truly fell in love with while studying art history. The term was Chiaroscuro.

Chiarscuro in art is the strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting the whole composition. It is also the use of contrasts of light to achieve a sense of volume in modelling three-dimensional objects and figures.

This artistic style was applied by bringing a depth to her within the image. I wanted to achieve the affect that she could leap out of the painting and interact with the viewer.

Leonardo Da ‘Vinci.

The father of invention. But in my opinion I would like to think as the most honest of artists. In his sketches of the human form I have always appreciated his realistic and unaltered depiction of mankind.

As an artist I have felt the responsibility of portraying my subjects as honestly as I can in post production.

I chose more than one sketch by Da ‘Vinci and layered them on a textured background that was originally a blank white wall. I wanted to envelop the model in the images of anatomy and keep her as soft and untouched, keeping true to the honest beauty that she is. Letting her simplicity speak stronger than smoke screens and mirrors.

Below is a time-lapse of the processing and editing that went into the production of “Her Quiet Strength”.

Her Quiet Strength – Behind the Scenes Time-Lapse from stephanie lauren on Vimeo.

April 19, 2014

Shawn & Denika | Yellowknife Engagement Photography

Yellowknife is a curious place, especially for a BC grown girl like myself. I’ve heard at least 80% of the year is winter, which isn’t the worst thing in the world when you love the clean crisp shade of white lying like a blanket over everything (that is until your fingers freeze even with gloves). There are roads made of Ice, Skies full of Aurora, and a community that is much more like a family then anything I have yet to experience. In fact I had made some amazing friendships through a photography page for the NWT long before I moved here. One of those photographers was a man named Lee Sacrey.

Lee’s niece was in preparation of her wedding when she went to her uncle for council for her wedding photographer. After multiple people sent their portfolio’s in I was blessed to be contacted by Denika, the excitement in her voice was akin to my own as the wedding was just around the corner for Ian and myself.

When Denika and Shawn asked me to be their wedding photographer I counted it as an honor, they are my first Bride and Groom North of 60 and I cant wait to tell their story.

Here are just some of my favorite pictures from their Engagement Session yesterday. We had to fight strong winds and harsh light, but I couldn’t be more in love with the result.

The “soon to be” Mr. and Mrs. Brennan!

April 17, 2014

Braden & Carolynn Adams | Chilliwack Wedding Photography

The morning began with laughter… Carolynn and her bridesmaids took their time to enjoy the morning and the pampering that only comes with hair and make-up. Today was the day she had been waiting for since the moment she fell in love with Braden, today she would become Mrs. Adams. I was completely honoured being apart of her day and telling her wedding story through photographs, it meant the world to me.

Carolynn is a talented artist and she hand painted each bridesmaid a lovely word art piece.

Carolynn’s father is a jeweller and hand-crafts unique pieces, it only seemed right to showcase her wedding jewellery on the tools that make such beautiful thins.

Braden grew up with a strong love for baseball so we incorporated it into the big day.

The orchard has got to be the most romantic idea to me…. leading lines and deep earth tones.

April 16, 2014

Long John Jamboree | Yellowknife Event Photography

The Long John Jamboree. From intricate ice sculptures to the Snow Kings Ice Castle you cant walk a foot without experiencing the culture and personality of Yellowknife and its residents!

For those with a sweet tooth there is the “sugar shack” where you can experience the tradition of maple sugar melted down and laid upon a bed of snow. Simply roll your popsicle stick while it is still soft and it gradually hardens into a hard candy to enjoy for hours. I may or may not have chipped my tooth on this sugar goodness.

The weekend consisted of me volunteering for Great Slave Helicopters rides. There was a flurry of families, friends, and students signing their forms and going through safety briefings and patiently waiting in warmed tents for their ride in a helicopter.

And then I went up!

Photographed below was a birds eye view of the Jamboree

The famous mine that has since been closed down looked amazing from up in the sky.

After my helicopter ride I wandered around the newly finished sculptures. Varying from a merman, a sci-fi cowboy (at least that’s what I thought it was) and a stunning winter stag, I was in awe of the sheer detail.

I knew I had to venture over to the ice castle, as it is destroyed after the festival. It was an awesome display of architecture using snow and ice.

The Snow King himself took the stage to recite a poem he had wrote, about underwear, Long John underwear to be exact.

The Ice castle is complete with its own closed in court yard, with a Snow King statue and a ice slide for both young and old.

I knew I was surrounded by Canadian nostalgia when I was walking back to the Jamboree tents, I heard children’s laughter erupt from an outdoor ice rink.

March 15, 2014

Mexican Getaway | Personal Photography

Ian and I both love photography, so when we went on our honeymoon we knew we would both be competing for our camera… we both shot these pictures, most of the landscape and sunsets were Ian’s handiwork, and on our excursions I tried to shoot Mexican lifestyle shots. So enjoy!

February 23, 2014

Forever After | Personal Photography

January the 4th was just like any other day, the sun was shining and the air was crisp and cold. I had 4 of my best friends stay at the hotel with me the night before, so we would all be in one place for hair and make-up. Needless to say I was an early riser at the hour of 5:30 am so that I could let the hairstylist/make-up artist into our room.

As I awoke everyone else slowly but surely followed, not to say they were as chipper about such an early rise time. We ordered breakfast, laughed about the day, and began preparation.

After we got ready a Starbucks run was in order. I was super excited about the ‘Beatles’ inspired picture that Sheila captured.

If you haven’t met them already… These are my girls, from left to right [Kristi, Melissa, Tiffany, and Carolynn] It killed me that I could only have 3 of them as bridesmaids but having Tiffany there for our sleepover and with us all day meant the world to me… she referred to herself as the ninja bridesmaid, and it always made me smile, because even though she was behind the scenes she was so much help and support to us! Tiffany this special shout out goes to you darling!

and so began the finishing touches. Flowers, dresses, and jewellery!

I received two amazing gifts on our wedding day. The first was a stunning Citizen diamond watch from Ian with a heartfelt note that touched my heart. The second gift was from my mom, a beautiful strand of heirloom pearls, with drop pearl earrings.

My father is my first best friend. We are both insanely silly, geeky, and soft hearted. So when I thought of my wedding day, I knew I wanted my dad to have the VERY first look. January 4th is his birthday and I HAD to honour it, no matter what. A couple months prior to the wedding I had gone on Ebay, Amazon, and Etsy to find the best gift I could think of.

Here is some context to the small cuff-links if you are not a BBC aficionado like my father and myself. The cuff-links are fashioned after the TARDIS, a blue Police Box, which is from the long time running TV show, Doctor Who. I knew he would love them, and I was right!

Meanwhile on the other side of town Ian had started his day as well. His best friends and brother were in the midst of preparation. Mike, as I had instructed him to do had Ian’s gifts ready for him.

When I bought Ian’s gift it was almost impossible for myself to keep the secret. I purchased cuff-links for him as well, his were Canon Camera Mode Dials, what you would normally see on the top of your camera. Perfect really just for the fact we are both avid photographers. I also got him a Citizen Nighthawk Watch that he had asked for.

They soon left Mike’s home and came to the hotel, it was time for Ian and I’s first look.

Our formal photos were before the ceremony at the newly built Chilliwack Senior Secondary Campus. I loved the architecture, and the multiple locations to shoot in one spot.

This is my wonderful Maid of Honor Kristi Loewen, I have known her since I was born and lived with her for half a year.

This is my second bridesmaid Mellissa Tanner, fun fact I was a bridesmaid in her wedding.

This is my third bridesmaid, Carolynn Porter (soon to be Mrs. Adams), we knew eachother since we were toddlers, and I am beyond excited to shoot her wedding in April.

and last but certainly not least, my ninja bridesmaid Tiffany Gillette, my long time best friend. We’ve shared so many experiences in life, including Ireland. I couldn’t have asked for a better friend, she makes me laugh, and knows just what to say.

and then my dad stole the show with the ladies…

This is Ian’s Best Man, Mike Taekema. Long time friend, and Ian was actually his best man as well.

This is Ian’s groomsman and brother, Gord Wills.

This is Ian’s 3rd groomsman and friend, Adam Dunn. Friends since childhood, and particular fondness of everything I.T.

This is Ian’s father David, and his mother Marilyn.

Ian and I are avid readers, granted we have very different taste, but we had to have a Library incorporated somewhere into our wedding photos.

And then the biggest moment arrived… the moment I would marry my best friend and soul mate.

I put three lockets on my bouquet. For three men who were fathers in my life. Ken Johnson, my Grandpa Lambert, and Scott Turnbull; all taken far too soon from this world.

and then he saw me…

And so, now married and ready to celebrate with family, we headed back to the Coast Hotel.

Not to sure what Ian had said to make us all erupt in laughter, but we did. And below is Ian’s cousin Aaron, she was our emcee for the reception and she did an amazing job!

My grandpa Nelson prayed for dinner as well.

If anyone doesnt know what our first dance song was… it was “married life” the instrumental from the Disney movie “UP”. If you’d like a reminder, play this audio clip below while looking at our first dance photo.

When I was trying to plan the Father Daughter Dance, I quickly decided that it wasn’t really my job to pick our song. So I asked my dad, please pick our song and keep it a secret till the wedding day. I had listened to this exact song on repeat in my car leading up to the weddings so when It started to play it really touched my heart. Thank you for dancing with me daddy.

We had a bouquet/garter toss and all the singles came up. My favourite part was when Ian strutted around me and threw off his vest. He made the whole room laugh.