vancouver wedding photographer – hyperfocus photography » vancouver wedding photographer, wedding photography as unique as you are

At an outdoor wedding reception last summer, I met Vista and Brenden under rather usual circumstances. During the speeches the rain came pouring down and we still had to keep photographing, so I casually popped under their umbrella with them in an attempt to help keep my camera and flash somewhat dry from the colossal raindrops. I continued to bounce from umbrella to umbrella as I photographed in the rain, always coming back to their umbrella.  Later last year, when Vista and Brenden were engaged, she said she just had to have Justin and I as her photographers. She had enjoyed meeting us and had seen firsthand how dedicated we were at her friends wedding, plus she loved the photographs we had created and hoped we could do the same for her.

Luckily we had their date available and the rest is history. We are so pleased to have the opportunity to be able to photograph her and Brenden for their engagement and their wedding later this Autumn. For now, here is a selection of photographs from their engagement session, along with photographs of their engagement party. We had such a nice afternoon with both Vista and Brenden, and really enjoyed meeting their immediate family at their Persian engagement party.

west_vancouver_engagement_photographyVista and Brenden both went to West Vancouver Secondary School, so what a perfect location to have their engagement session.

west_vancouver_engagement_photographyWe just love this moment – you can just feel the comfort, joy and love they share together.

west_vancouver_engagement_photographyOf course we had to go and hang out on the school steps! Didn’t we all do that at some point in high school?

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west_vancouver_secondary_school_engagement_photographyI just love the way she looks at him.

persian engagment partyAfter their engagement session, we headed back to Vista’s parents home to capture their Persian engagement party.  One of the wonderful and truly enjoyable parts of our work is being so welcomed into our clients homes, their lives, their culture and at such beautiful and exciting points in their lives. It makes us feel so lucky to do what we do. In Iranian culture, it is customary to set up a spread of meaningful items to represent life, love, religious significances and marriage advice. The sweet treats signify the happiness and joy which will be brought into the couple’s life. The glass ‘Golab posh’ pitcher is used to serve rose water which is offered to guests to celebrate a new beginning. The Shahnameh is the ancient Persian storybook by the poet Ferdowsi. And the sewing scissors are representative to cut away the negative moments that the couple may encounter, while the needle and thread are to sew a patch for a new and stronger beginning.

iranian persian engagement partyVista’s sister is presenting her with a mirror so she can see herself, because she is the greatest gift to herself and to the world. Isn’t that lovely!? Brenden was also presented to view himself in the mirror and the same words were spoken. It was a thoughtful and moving moment for us to be a part of.

iranian persian engagement party jewleryWedding rings and Zoroastrian gold pendants.

  • Awesome! I loooooove the couple shots, and the symbolic items and rites are wonderful.ReplyCancel

  • Vista

    Thank you Steff and Justin for taking such beautiful shots of our engagement ceremony. It is priceless to have our families together celebrating this moment with us and it is wonderful to have such beautiful photos from the day.

    It was also such a treat to get that time with the two of you at WVSS right before the engagement ceremony because it gave us an opportunity to have a few peaceful private loving moments before the party began!

    Thank you for making us laugh, keeping us calm and for capturing such precious moments.ReplyCancel

  • Allison

    *sniff sniff* The school setting gave me a glimpse of what you were like as kids. How charming! Best to you both and to your families as well, Vista and Brenden.ReplyCancel

  • Brenden

    The last picture is my favourite. Great job Justin and Steff. You guys made the experience very comfortable.ReplyCancel

  • Brenden

    The track field picture is my favourite. Great job Justin and Steff. You guys made the experience very comfortable.ReplyCancel

  • Densie

    Steff and Justin were great at getting the “best” of our photos (think Dora the Explorer, Steff)
    I love the photos at WVSS.
    I work there and can imagine the lunches and recess breaks with the bunch of you and friends hanging out (10 years ago)?ReplyCancel

  • Kathy

    The pictures are so beautiful…… the pictures taken at WVSS really do bring back memories of when we were all there!! I love all the pictures!
    You guys are such a good looking couple….ReplyCancel

  • Dan

    Awesome pics. Congrats Vista+Brenden.ReplyCancel

  • Mehrnaz

    The pictures are GORGEOUS!!! I love the 2nd one. Congratulations!ReplyCancel

  • Sean

    Wow!! Stunning pictures!!ReplyCancel

  • Brent

    Congrats you two, they are Beautiful picturesReplyCancel

  • Fenella Jacquet

    Great pics you guys! You’re so photogenic (as usual)! And I guess it helped having great  photographers – can I take credit for that?  ;-)”ReplyCancel

  • Fenella Jacquet

    Great pics you guys! You’re so photogenic (as usual)! And I guess it helped having great  photographers – can I take credit for that?  ;-)”ReplyCancel

  • Erin

    Such pretty photos… I think the second one is my favorite (with the pink flower background)ReplyCancel

  • Mahvash

    You did a great job by capturing the especial moments of the ceremony .
    Vista & Brenden’s ceremony was a double joy,because it was the same time as the Persian New year ( Nowruz ) .
    The set up table with the different things was a especial Nowruz table .
    Thank you very much .ReplyCancel

  • Karin

    I love how much you adore each other – its really caputured in these photos!ReplyCancel

  • Elizabeth

    Congrats again! You look lovely and I know exactly how it feels to meet the love of your life at school! Ours was at Cap College. Very cute photos!ReplyCancel

  • Densie

    These photos are fabulous….what a great job the
    photographers did! I especially love the ones of
    them giving each other the engagement rings!

    Pictures to treasure…Best of Luck to All

    BonnaReplyCancel

  • nice detail photos – makes me want to travel to the far east again soon.ReplyCancel

  • […] Vista and Brenden’s Zarathustrian engagement party back in March? Well, they were married this September on Bowen Island at Brenden’s family […]ReplyCancel

We had such a fun, urban engagement session in downtown Vancouver with Joanne and Tony last weekend. Despite the cold, brisk day, we had a lot of fun and shared many giggles (I think the giggles helped us keep warmer!)

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These two are so sweet, we really enjoyed spending time with them.

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Joanne is a bit of a fan of Burberry! (champagne and mocha are her wedding colours! perfect!)

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I just love these moments, in between moments, gives me goosebumps.

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Thanks for allowing us to photograph you two and for being real troopers in the cold and looming rain (which did start at the very end of our shoot- we had good timing!) Joanne and Tony, we think you two are great, we had such a great time with you and we can’t wait to be there and capture your wedding day this August!

  • janice

    These pictures look great and the people in it are even better 🙂

    my favorite ones are the ones in the abandoned building 🙂ReplyCancel

  • Shirley

    Wow, I’m speechless! I can really see the connection between you two. Congratulations!ReplyCancel

  • liza kim

    Great photos!! Joanne’s got a great smile 🙂ReplyCancel

  • Selena Wong

    These pictures look so pretty! I’m so excited for when we go to take the wedding photos!ReplyCancel

  • Doug

    Kudos to the photographers and couple! Great compositions and juxtaposition of the modern couple in the urban backdrop. And excellent job in capturing the genuine emotion of this beautiful couple. oh, and love those hawt jeans!ReplyCancel

  • Holly

    I love these photos. I laughed out loud when i saw the Burberry one!ReplyCancel

  • Peggy

    Congrats Jo and Tony! You look beautiful!!!! xoxo, PeggyReplyCancel

  • Crystal Sharein

    Congrats on your engagment!!! These photos are awsome I only wished there were more….ReplyCancel

  • andrea

    ur pictures r gorgeous. they r too cute b/c u both look so unbelievably happy together. love love love the one in the parking lot with ur heads together. =)
    can’t wait to see more.ReplyCancel

  • Nhi

    Lovely photos captured the happy couple’s natural and relaxed relationship between Jo and Tony. Congratulations on your engagement!ReplyCancel

  • Tony

    Joanne and I are very excited to see the pics. It was so much fun with the two of you!ReplyCancel

  • Joanne

    Thank you to both you and Justin again for the lovely shoot. The pictures look great! I guess I have a bigger smile than I thought!ReplyCancel

  • Leah

    Very beautiful pictures, you two! Absolutely stunning. 🙂ReplyCancel

  • Melody

    Awesome pictures! Can’t wait to see your wedding photos!ReplyCancel

  • Denise

    Love the pictures, I’m so happy for you two!. Congrats again!ReplyCancel

  • Kathy

    It looks soo good! Like out of a magazine 🙂 congrats!ReplyCancel

  • Beautiful work, I like the moments together.ReplyCancel

  • Julie Nguyen

    Beautiful pictures….cannot wait to see the photos from the “big day” =)ReplyCancel

  • Boh

    These photos so capture who you both are: love you bothxxReplyCancel

  • emily

    love it!!! so awesome and perfect!ReplyCancel

  • Lisa Yeung

    Love love LOVE the photos!! Cant wait til 8.21.2010ReplyCancel

  • Ruth

    this makes me look forward to your wedding photos 🙂 love your pics!!! both of you look perfectReplyCancel

Josh and Claire were married at the beautiful riverside location of the UBC Boathouse. Their ceremony showed so much emotion from tears of joy and thoughtful vows, to massive laugh out loud moments, which made it a wonderful ceremony for us to be a part of and of course photograph. Josh and Claire had a Jewish and Christian wedding ceremony and they worked very closely with their commissioner, Chad Chomlack, to create just the right vows that would include aspects of both traditions and their wedding theme.

The main theme Josh and Claire had created for the day was to celebrate and honour their family and friends, which we really connected with, as that was the ambiance Justin and I had created at our wedding. One of the lovely ways they showed this was in the family style seating arrangements they made at the reception. Their guests sat at square tables and the food was served in large dishes for everyone to share at each table, which really brought people together in such a nice way and created a real togetherness (which lead to a fantastic party that night!).

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Getting ready at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver Airport.

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Gorgeous bouquet! Such a beautiful selection of flowers- elegant, yet playful.

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I just love that Claire wore purple shoes which matched her to her bridesmaids. Cute clutch!

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All eyes on Claire while she’s getting into her dress.

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Josh waiting for guests to arrive.

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Josh and his dapper groomsmen.

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It’s so lovely to watch a proud father walks his daughter down the aisle.

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Josh and Claire giggling during their Christian and Jewish wedding ceremony.

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Breaking the glass under the chupah. Claire totally missed the glass, hence her big laugh!

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Married!

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As a gift to his groomsmen, Josh gave them all different, classically styled sports runners.

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UBC Boathouse with a rainbow over their reception.

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Massive flower centerpieces and their ‘Middle East Meets West’ menu, including a traditional matzah ball soup and the best sticking toffee pudding outside of England by Savory City catering. Yummm!

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Instead of wedding favours, Josh and Claire donated to a case that is near and dear to their hearts- the BC SPCA Biscuit Fund in honour of all their guests.

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Heartfelt speeches were enjoyed by all.

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Claire and her bridemaids listening to every word of Josh’s thoughtful speech about Claire and the importance of family.

sing at weddingInstead of clicking glasses to get Josh + Claire to kiss, guests had to sing a song, say a poem or something related to family. Also to get guests attention if the MC was trying to make an announcement, the DJ would play “We are Family” song.

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Last dance!

  • Gorgeous photos!!ReplyCancel

  • hey Steff… beautiful images! Don’t you love the Oval for a location? Nice to see you today!ReplyCancel

  • Natalie Dalton

    Wow! What a gorgeous wedding. It looks like they picked the perfect venue and found the perfect Vancouver catering company for their wedding. Thank you for sharing these beautiful photos.ReplyCancel

haiti_rebuilding

I was  just listening to  The Q on CBC with Jian Ghomeshi and he had a guest on his show who speaking about a town in Haiti that won’t be getting any aid since their area was not as badly hit as others. Still, everyone is living out on the streets because many of the buildings were so poorly built, that they are on the verge of collapse and completely unsafe. This prompted me to want to tell you about a charity that we donated to yesterday called Architecture for Humanity. Their focus is to go into communities in need and rebuild buildings using quality materials so the construction will last and be safe in the future. They are truly an upstanding charity worth giving to and they are involved in so many projects that are soooo worth while, even in our local Vancouver.   Thanks, steff

Check out their website to learn more: www.architectureforhumanity.org

To donate go to: Help Haiti: Long-Term Reconstruction

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Building a more sustainable future using the power of design.
Through a global network of building professionals, Architecture for Humanity brings design, construction and development services to communities in need.

  • Jenny Ma

    Thanks for letting us know about this group. It’s so hard to know which charities are reputable.ReplyCancel

It’s a familiar question for photographers to hear, what’s your style?  One of the hot catchwords right now is photojournalism or reportage.  Whilst Photojournalism is the predominant style of coverage that Steff and I do for our clients at hyperfocus photography, we do use other styles of photography as well.  We really like to use a variety of techniques and shooting styles to create the story, mood and atmosphere of the day that will show the viewer what the day was truly like.  But for now, lets take a look at wedding photojournalism.

The photo-journalistic style of wedding photography involves photographing a wedding day as its actually happening, capturing real moments and true emotion; the end result are images that are real and can be related to on a much deeper level versus something that is staged or set up.

Any photography that is staged, or set up by the photographer is not photojournalism (this includes staged photojournalism, which are images that are staged or set up to look photo-journalistic).  Real photojournalism is often a much more difficult style to do well than other popular styles of wedding photography; the result however is that you get a much deeper emotional connection to the images.  Nice, well composed photo-journalistic photography has been our preferred style of shooting for the last 9 years now and our clients really love it.  And we love it too! But don’t worry about missing out on anything, we still love to shoot contemporary fashion-inspired portraits, great details and family portraits.  We feel the best wedding coverage is an expertly blended mix of techniques and styles.

If you have any other questions about photographic styles or would like to book a meeting with us to see our work first hand just drop us a line or give us a call.

Thanks,

Justin

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I just love this moment!

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A truly spontaneous piece of wedding day artwork.

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Holly and Jeremy cutting their cake at the UBC Boathouse (with her nephew eagerly waiting for his slice–priceless) And yes, it was a REALLY good cake!