PEOPLE

International Women's Day Portraits for Audi Canada

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I recently had the pleasure to take part in a national project for Audi Canada highlighting International Women’s Day. Here are my 2 favourites.

Solo Traveler Portrait Session - Mont-Tremblant

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Solo travel can be a wonderful way to explore the world without anyone interrupting your plans. However, there are only so many selfies one can take. Why not consider hiring a local photographer to help in capturing your memories?

Shambhala Music Festival 2019 - 100 Photos

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Shambhala Music Festival is an annual multi-day non-stop electronic music party held on the 500 acre Salmo River Ranch in Southern British Columbia. My role for the last four years has been to document the work of the 180 person volunteer medical team. The following gallery is my 100 favourite images from Shambhala 2019.

C2 Montreal 2019

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By Allen McEachern

C2 Montreal wrapped last Friday night. This year marked my 7th edition as one of the official photographers of C2. My role in this edition was to cover the speakers and events of the Cabaret venue. Great master classes and tons of insight into the trends of today and tomorrow. Here are a few of my favourite images from #C2M19.

SHAMBHALA MUSIC FESTIVAL 2018

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By Allen McEachern

Since August 2016, I have had the privilege of being the Shambhala Music Festival Medical photographer. My role is to document the work of the 150 person volunteer medical team as they work to keep festival goers health, happy, and sometime, alive. Here is a collection of my favourite images from Shambhala 2018. Please feel free to leave your comments. (Handheld / Ambient Light / Canon 1D X / 85mm f1.2 / 50mm f1.2 / 24-70mm f2.8 / 16-35mm f2.8 / 70-200mm f2.8)

Movin'On 2018 by Michelin - My Top Five Images

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Last week Montreal hosted the 21st edition of Michelin's conference on global mobility - Movin'On. This three day event is produced by C2 Montreal. Movin'on brings global leaders in the transportation industry together for dynamic talks and networking activities. My role is to capture images of all the main speakers. My images are used for media hand outs, social media, and of course, by Michelin in their marketing and promotion efforts. Here are my top 5 images selected from over 15000 captures. (Click on the images for a larger view and captions)

A Week Long Shoot in Panama for Traffic Coffee

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By Allen McEachern.

Some of my favourites from my recent trip to Bouquete, Panama + Playa Venao, Panama.

SHAMBHALA 2017

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By Allen McEachern

I have just returned from Salmo, BC and the 20th edition of the Shambhala Music Festival. My contract is to document the work of the 130 person volunteer medical team. A team made up of paramedics, doctors, nurses, psychiatrists, and advanced first responders. Aside from offering basic first aid, the medical team operates a full capacity emergency room complete with an ICU. The worse cases attended by the medical staff are often from mixing heavy drug use, or overdosing. I think to understand the work of the medical team, you need to understand the environment that is Shambhala. Hopefully these select images help.

C2 Montreal 2017 Photo Highlights

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By Allen McEachern

Over the past five years, I have had the tremendous pleasure to be one of the official photographers of C2 Montreal. Every spring I look forward to the week of C2. The content, space, participation, and logistics of this project are impressive. As one of 5 photographers my take is limited to the main conferences and general movement from place to place. Here are some of my favourite images from C2 Montreal 2017. 

Photographing Non-Professional Models

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By Allen McEachern.

I recently had the experience of working with non-professional models to create advertising for a national brand. The reason was that the client wanted to use their real employees to show the face of their company. This is an increasing trend in advertising photography. I believe that in this case it was a great approach to being transparent with the bigger message. The campaign has the goal of recruiting new employees. The message is that it is not just a job, but a career - highlighting the possibility for advancement with in the company. 

The challenge for photographers, in this case me, is to be selective and honest with the candidates to be photographed. Without the intent of hurting feelings…not all people photograph well. The client is expecting a specific result and it starts by choosing the “right” people available at the time. When I am involved in the selection process I try to get the most visual information from the subject as quickly as I can. I try to see a range of expressions, looking at them from different perspectives. I start by getting them comfortable with me, making them laugh, or asking about them. I also want to start and build a raport with them as quickly as possible, make them feel at ease, relaxed.

Once we have a selection of staff to be photographed, I like to put them in context of their work. Place them or leave them in a place that is familiar to them. I ask the subject to show me something specific to their work, or tell me something about what they do. I ask questions and get engaged. Reading this back to myself I know this sounds obvious, but it really is a skill that has to be developed over time and delivered with ease, naturally.

I explain what I will be doing. How many shots will I be looking to make. What my goal is. “I am looking to make three strong portraits of you in three different poses. These images will be used for…….It should take us about so much time.” You get the picture. I explain briefly the settings of the camera and how they impact what I am creating - depth of field, lighting, sometimes describing a mood that I want to create. Most people are curious about photography and explaining what I am doing helps them focus on something else. I will even show them an image or two (beauty of digital). This can really help put people at ease once they see how they look. (* Use caution here - I won’t show images to someone that I sense as being self conscious or over nervous, or controlling - it could turn negative fast.)

Once the raport is established and the shooting starts, I am reading the subject’s body language. Are they engaging? How do they look? Am I getting both sides, different positions, changing the positions of the hands, the head, looking for details, making sure they look their best. I try to create as many options as I can. Horizontal, vertical, close up, medium, full length. Different placement in the frame, different lenses (two cameras) different d.o.f. settings, slight lighting adjustments. I am also very attentive to how the subject is feeling. Are they really nervous? Are they bored or distracted? Are they laughing for no reason? 

My goal is to create the most value for the client. I also want to make the person being photographed feel proud about the images we create. If I can do these two as a base then I know it will work out for all of us. 

How do you handle photographing everyday people for advertising? I think this is something that we will see more of. What are your thoughts. 

3 Reasons Why You Need A Good Portrait

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By Allen McEachern.

Who doesn't have a social media account today? Are you representing a business? Are you a professional? An entrepreneur? When was the last time that you made an objective review of the images you present of yourself on-line? It might be time to enlist the services of a professional photographer to help streamline your image. Here are three ways that a good portrait works to your benefit.

1. A strong confident portrait is often the first impression others get of us. How many times have you been contacted by someone you don't know? How many of us go and search the person on the internet? We look for a picture, make our impressions. People in business need to be in control of their image. A current, professional portrait is a good way to stay ahead.

2. A professional portrait does not have to be a boring headshot. This is a great opportunity for you to take charge and control the message, to sculpt the opinion that other people form about you. Get creative, let your personality shine. Be yourself. It will work in your favour.

3. Portraits add a human element to the buying process. Like true horror, what we do not see is often more scary than what we do see. Show people your confidence. Make you and your staff available to be seen. Make a human link by showing yourself. Remember, a website is always open for business. Putting a good portrait on your about page can make sure there is someone in the store at all hours.

New Portraits

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By Allen McEachern.

A few new additions to my People Portfolio. 

Normand Laprise of Toqué & Patrice Demers of Patrice Patissier

Canada's 100 Best Restaurants - Photos By Allen McEachern

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By Allen McEachern.

During the dark winter days of January I was engaged by Canada's 100 Best Restaurants Magazine to complete an assignment to cover restaurants in Montreal and area for inclusion in this year's publication. My mandate was to create a mix of editorial style images of food, dinning room interiors, and portraits. I had the great pleasure of meeting and working with some of the most front facing culinary professionals in Montreal. The final ranking results are in, the winners announced, and my photos are live and published. Here are a few of my favourite shots and links to their position on Canada's 100 Best Restaurants.

#2 Toqué! - http://canadas100best.com/no-2-toque-2017/

#3 Joe Beef - http://canadas100best.com/no-3-joe-beef-2017/

#22 Cabane à Sucre au Pied de Cochon - http://canadas100best.com/no-22-cabane-a-sucre-2017/

#38 Maison Boulud - http://canadas100best.com/no-38-maison-boulud-2017/

#56 - Le Club Chasse et Pêche - http://www.leclubchasseetpeche.com

A CEO, The Best Chocolate, & Viral Fitness

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Three new additions to my portrait portfolio. Mark Weinberger - CEO of Ernst & Young, Christine Blais - World Champion of Chocolate, and Marc Fitt - International fitness model and viral personal brand.

SHAMBHALA - A 5 DAY PARTY

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By Allen McEachern

I recently returned from a week in Salmo, British Columbia where I was documenting the work of the 130+ person volunteer Medical team at Shambhala. Shambhala is a 5 day (and night) outdoor electronic music festival that attracts an international crowd. Over 15 000 people attend, and a small city takes shape. Drugs are prevalent, no alcohol is allowed. Harm reduction, and drug education associate freely in a way that rarely is seen, perhaps unique to Canada. Six different stages keep non-stop musical line-ups rolling from 1PM- 6AM daily. There really is nothing like Shambhala. I can't wait to go back. Here are my Shambhala photos. Click on an image to open a lightbox of the gallery.  (Handheld / Available Light / 85mm f1.2 / 50mm f1.2 / 24-70mm f2.8 / 70-200 f2.8 )

 

 

Joseph C. Papa - Chairman & CEO, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International

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By Allen McEachern.

Montreal Corporate Portrait Photographer

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By Allen McEachern.

Photographing people is something that took me a while to get comfortable doing. Walking into a room, putting up a set, lights, camera, etc., is the easy part, the technical part. You either know how or you don't. Anyone can learn this. The real trick is interacting with the people that I will photograph. As a photographer I need to be able to make my subjects feel relaxed, make them feel comfortable, to be themselves. I need to recognize their physical features, positioning them to maximize the good, and to minimize the bad. Everyone is different. Everyone is someone. My reward is when they look at their photo and say, "yes, that's me".  Below are a few portraits I recently created for a land surveying firm. The images will be used on their company website, and for individual social media profile pictures.