Talia Russo Portraits

Not to long ago I had the pleasure of working with local TV personality and actress Talia Russo. She's such an awesome personality to work with. She called me looking to book a portrait session. The plan was to shoot some glam portraits but still keep them very classy with the intention of submitting the images to various magazines for promotion. In her industry that kind of publicity goes a long way. I started the shoot playing it safe, using studio strobes, than switched things up to natural light to get these shots. I've been really into using natural light lately. Needless to say we were both super happy with the results form the shoot. Than when UMM Magazine picked up the images for a spotlight feature it was just bonus icing on the cake.  

Vasko Photography feature in UMM Magazine

Product Shots

I found myself sitting around the other day itching to get behind the camera. There's only so much editing you can do before you HAVE to get up from the desk and take things in a different direction. So I was walking around the studio when the though of taking some product shots of my old cameras came to mind. So I figured why no,t let's setup the lights and have a little fun. These are a few shots from that camera product shoot. 

Foggy Day in Toronto

A few nights ago we had a massive storm pass over the city and in the morning I woke up to this. Fog everywhere! So I took some time away from the the computer to take a walk by the lake. Nobody was around. Nothing but rain, fog and the sound of the waves on the beach. It was so relaxing. Shot this pic on my phone. A part of my wishedI had brought my real camera with me but at the same time it's nice to step away from work for a little bit be able to enjoy the moment. 

In the distance under the Humber Bay Bridge you can see a man on a little row boat. I watched as he paddled across the lake in the waves and thought to myself, yes that's something I want to do. Must be an exciting experience. I'll have to look into that and make it happen. 

New Business Cards & Postcards

It's an amazing day at the studio today because my new business cards and postcards arrived. Yaaaaa!!!! And they sure do look good. Used my favourite image from last summer's wedding season for the postcard. Totally loving that image and I'm hoping that people who see the postcard feel the same way. I'm going to give all of them away!!!!!! 

If you know anybody who is getting married and in need of a wedding photographer save this picture and send it to them. Or if you're looking for an awesome wedding photographer you've come to the right place. I love shooting weddings and I'm constantly learning and improving my skills. I'm looking to take on 15 bookings for 2016!  

Vasko Photography Toronto Wedding Photographer

Platinum Cars

Recently I had the pleasure of working with Sean the owner of Platinum Cars. I was hired to shoot content for magazine submissions. Stock photos they could give to car magazines for publication. This shoot was a challenge but ultimately a lot of fun. Being around all those shiny cars was pretty cool too. 

This was a very challenging and enjoyable experience. Shooting the front lobby was a long process. With glass walls everywhere it took some time to setup the lights so that I would not see a million reflections everywhere. One light of the four was visible in the final shot and that took some time to setup. 

I don't think I've ever been so conscious of my gear before. With all those cars being packed in so close together I had to carefully navigate my way around with tripods and stands. The last thing I wanted to do was knick one of the cars. In order to shoot the high angle shot of the show room I had to engineer a makeshift tripod extension by taping my heavy metal tripod to the side of a 13 foot aluminum ladder. My ideas always work but just to be safe I had my assistant vigilantly standing at the bottom of the ladder just in case something happened. The whole setup was top heavy and the exposure was long. So I had to wait for the ladder to steady before I shot than stay perfectly still while the exposure was in action. Thirty minutes to setup and 30seconds to take the shot. Welcome to the wonderful world of photography.

The one shot of the day I was really looking forward to was a portrait of Sean standing in front of his flagship. This was a 24 shot composite. One shot to light Sean, one shot to light each rim, one shot to light underneath of the car, one shot for the interior and so on and so forth. It was the first time I had ever done such a complicated composite and to do it for a client with no room for error, it was a rush. I really enjoy those pressure situation where failure is not an option. I really had no idea how it would work out in the end but I was confident that I could get it done. 

Jonathan & Kayla

Here are two portraits of Jonathan and Kayla shot in a beautiful little park in Woodstock Ontario. It was a bit of a drive to get all the way out there but well worth it to score these beautiful photos. The top photo was edited with a retro tone which is all the rage right now in wedding photography. The bottom photo is a classic edit and all the colours are bright and true. I'm just posting this as an example to show clients the difference between a retro effect and a classic look.   

The Team Effort

This is one of my favourite portraits from the 2014 wedding season. Special thanks to Tessa Rola for assisting and conceptualizing this pose. A good assistant is a photographer's best tool. 

I find it so helpful to have another set of eyes when shooting weddings. I'm primarily focused on lighting, exposure and composition and in most cases also pre-planning how i'm going to photoshop the image as i'm shooing. In the world of wedding photography everything is on a time crunch and without the proper exposure even a good pose is worthless. So while my mental efforts are geared towards those aspects It's super helpful to have someone else there suggesting poses and paying attention to hair and wardrobe. I'm a big advocate of the team effort approach. That's why I always bring an assistant with me to weddings. It ensures that the client gets the best possible product. And in the end that's what it's all about. Making sure the client is happy is the most important part of this business.       

Vasko Photography Toronto Wedding Photography Bride Dress

Fairytale Land Interior Shots

I recently got hired by a kids party store franchise called Fairytale Land to shoot some Interior images of their new store location. It's a pretty cool business concept, they host birthday parties for kids. Parents don't have to deal with the mess or the stress of 20 kids running around a house. Fairytale Land provides the location, the cake and the really cool thing is that they provide the entertainment too. They hire actors to act out scenes from popular kids movies than give the kids costumes so they can get involved in the fun. Pretty cool idea.  

New England Baptist Hospital

This is pretty cool. New England Baptist Hospital has licensed one of my fitness images for a YouTube video campaign for fitness awareness. Kinda neat. I'm used to my images being licensed for print so this is a bit of a new experience. I had an image used in a TV commercial a few years ago and that was cool too. It never gets old seeing my work in use. As a photographer you're always happy to see your work making money.  

Interior Photography

I recently did an interior shoot of a beautiful house designed by my brother. Yes my brother is an awesome architect. I've dabbled in interior and architectural photography in the past but now I want to take a more serious approach to it. After all wedding season only lasts 6 months in this country so I need to find other work during the down time. This is something a grew up around and enjoy doing so it's a great direction to explore. 

The Photographic & Digital Imaging Show 2006

Taking it all the way back to May 2006 for this one. Temperature by Sean Paul was the number one hit on the radio and I got my first billboard ad. This was pretty cool. When I first launched my photography business I needed models and so I shot my friends whenever I got the chance. I submitted some shots here and there and a year later one of my images was selected to be used on this ad for the digital imaging show. 

Wow look at me back in 2006 with my shiny new 70-200mm f2.8 L IS. I had to save up forever to buy that lens and now as i'm writing this it's 2015 and that same lens is still a workhorse in my camera bag. Nine years of regular use and it still works like new. A testament to investing in quality glass. 

Hair Force

A little while ago one of my friends and former wedding assistant and current copywriter for an ad agency Natalie Galas contacted me about a fun little ad campaign she wanted to put together for her portfolio. The mock ad was for Rogaine and the concept was The Hair Force, reagin your territory.

We went to costume shops to rent the military regalia and found some dudes with awesome hair for the shoot. It was a fun little project. Hopefully there are more ad focused projects like this down the line. I really enjoyed the process of connecting a product to an ad concept and then putting it together in a shoot. 

Shoeless Joe's

I was hired by Shoeless Joe's to shoot some promotional content for their print and web in store event marking. When they asked me if I knew any beautiful women that would model for the project I said not a problem. I hired Canadian Playboy cover model Rachelle Wilde for the shoot. She was absolutely amazing to work with such a fun personality. Shoeless Joe's loved the photos and if the client is happy I'm happy. 

The Friendship Club

Advertisement for a special needs organization that matches up teens with special needs kids for home visits to develop friendships. It’s a popular program for teens who love the events and get recognition for their devoted work. This was the kick off party event featuring live pizza making with Stefano’s pizza baker. I shot the pizza for the advertisement and also got to eat it after. mmmmm food photography.