17 years & 500+ weddings
I am both your servant and guide, working for you to give you a keepsake that increases in value over time.
Hey, I’m Bryan
I've been a professional photographer here in Niagara for 17 years. My moments-based approach to documentary photography means I get to show up to every wedding with a fresh perspective - even after over 500 weddings!
My super-power
I can see a scene, look at a room, walk through a timeline, and zoom out 5,000 feet to see all the pieces and how they fit together. This allows me to be quick, decisive and constantly creative. It means I can help you see the invisible and re-experience those fleeting moments that will otherwise flicker away, almost unknowingly.
But your wedding photography is not about me. Not at all. It's not about being featured in a magazine or looking like a fashion model. Your wedding photography is about you and your fiancé. It's about those who get to live life with you. It's about everyone coming together to celebrate this season. I am there in service of you. To document your moments and give you a keepsake that grows in value - exponentially - over time.
After 17 years, I've honed my instincts and have learned to trust my gut when seeking the decisive moment. I believe in the craftsmanship of photography, being a great photographer and not needing to be a good photoshopper. I’ve even been teaching photographers worldwide how to do this thing that we love to do - for over a decade!
I focus on getting it “right” in the moment, in the camera, which means you get the most timeless, trend-free and true-to-life representation of a moment. Everything you see here on my site is exactly what you can expect for every one of your images - clean, timeless, bright, vibrant and real.
As a Husband (married in 2010) and Dad of 3, I have learned that life moves fast. Who you are as a couple today and those around you will change. If you don't slow down, pause, celebrate and acknowledge, then you'll wake up and realize it's all in the rearview mirror before you know it. I hope to give you the means to you slow down. Because one day, all we'll have are pictures.
Monochrome Moments
Have you ever seen a traditional black-and-white image from 20, 30 or even 50 years ago and thought about how timeless and classic it looks? Those images stand the test of time, don't they?
With deep yet soft black tones, sharp contrast and butter-like highlights, these black-and-white film (analog) aesthetics are the gold standard for the work I aspire to create. There's a sense of life and nostalgia to them that is unmatched.
I photograph a lot of my personal work on black-and-white film, and I’ve begun incorporating it into my client and paid work as well. I even create my own darkroom prints. You know - the room with the red light?
I photograph on cameras dating back to the 1950s (including a large format camera where I have to hide under the big cape) and bring the film images to life using traditional developing techniques.
Analog has a place in today's digital world; it's something we are craving - vinyl albums, pen-and-paper, physical books, traditional instruments, and - film photography.
When you press the shutter on a film camera, the light present in that moment is - literally - captured on film. Unlike digital, which is a bunch of 1's and 0's, there is a piece of the moment that forever makes an impression on the film that can never be undone. It's like how my wife and I have always collected bottles of sand from every beach we've visited as a keepsake; a film image is a collection of the light from that shared moment, physically arranged to depict an image.
If you'd like some of the light captured from your wedding, forever imprinted on a piece of film, and then transformed into a finished image through physical chemistry, I'd love to talk about incorporating a few rolls of film into your wedding day. Not only will it give you something unique and different, but it's a great story to tell. Plus - it means that a piece of your day lives on, physically, forever.
At the very least - know that this is where my inspiration comes from. I photograph a lot in black-and-white because it strips away the distraction of colour and forces you to see emotion from a different perspective. With a black-and-white image, you focus on shapes, light, shadow, and composition, which all help me be a better photographer.
Those deep yet soft black tones, sharp contrast and butter-like highlights are an aesthetic I strive for in my digital black-and-white work, which is something you'll undoubtedly see in your finished images, whether they're digital or analog.
Next: Your legacy
“HE BLENDED IN LIKE ONE OF THE GUESTS, WE DIDN’T EVEN NOTICE HIM TAKING MOST OF THE SHOTS!”
Amanda and Peter