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Editorial shoot of an Ottawa entertainer.

This is the current cover of Ottawa Life we shot of local songstress Sarah Hallman. For some reason we are swamped with outdoor shoots this winter. Art direction, clothing consultation, site scouting....all done by lil ole me. In photography, things rarely just come together.

Thanks for being a good sport Sarah...

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Olympic Torch Run in Iqaluit

With the Olympics coming up this week I though it might be time to post some images from my recent shoot in Iqaluit covering the Olympic Torch run. Little can prepare you for shooting in minus 55, while running alongside the torch in total darkness.

I even found time to get out in the Arctic wilds and shoot some landscapes...great assignment.

Haiti Benefit NAC

We contribute to many local charities and have done so for over 30 years.
The plight of Haiti touched us especially strongly and we made a point of offering
our services to the CARE dinner at the NAC which raised, with matching funds over
$135,000.

Its the least I could do and I tip my hat to all those photojournalists on the scene.


http://www.couvrette-photography.on.ca/Haiti_Benefit_NAC_gallery/index.html

Ottawa Executive Portrait

.......................................Couvrette Studio November 2009 Melanie Aitken........................................

Comparing photographers is a daunting task. Unfortunately you can`t compare what one photographer will do given identical conditions and the same subject....unless....a person is photographed a few days apart in the same room by three different photographers.
Melanie Aitken is a prominent local executive who is smart, pretty and has a great boardroom. Here`s my version and two local photographers shots.

http://blairgable.wordpress.com/
http://www.nationalpost.com/related/topics/story.html?id=1406550

I will let the photographs speak for themselves...

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National Dog Magazine Cover of an Ottawa Pomeranian

Photographing animals requires some special skills. I`m a cat person and I can tell you that
cats are the toughest. Next comes small dogs. Here is one amazing little Pom we shot for an
Ottawa breeder who was featured on the cover of this months Dog Digest. Shooting for magazine covers is tough since their technical standards are quite high. We love the challenge!

Merry Christmas to All

Thanks to all our Commercial Clients and fans for making this
a great year at the studio....More to come in 2010!

BEST OF THE SEASON TO ALL OF YOU!

Paul Couvrette and the staff of Couvrette Studio.

Oh and thanks to my "model" family, Suzanne, Alana and Lauren.

Fashion Cover for Ottawa Life.

We have really been tooooo busy. I was off shooting the Olympic marathon in the Canadian Artic and meanwhile, our main photog Rachelle was back in Ottawa putting her talents to good use shooting this fashion cover for OL. We just loaded a couple of her shots into our main wedding site slide show at http://www.couvrette-photography.on.ca/flash/

Dropping names....

The coolest thing about my career is the people I get to meet. I have photographed the weddings of Chief Justice Barbara McLachlin, designer Justina McCaffrey and socialites like Mike and Marlen Cowpland and the Potters. My commercial site shows portraits of every Prime Minister from Trudeau to Harper . I believe I am the only photographer who has been given this honor.

Ok...that was a long preamble...but what I really wanted to show you was a new site featuring some of my work with my friend Kim Campbell. Enjoy.

Thanks for the link Kim....hey I guess that must be what they call a testimonial...lol

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13 Strings, Ottawa Classical Music

Here is my poster and web shot for Ottawa's own 13 Strings. They said they wanted fun....so we gave it to them.
Check out their website and by all means go see a concert...they are some of the best in town.




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Better Business Bureau of Ottawa Photographer Recommendations

Seems to be my lucky week...lol.

I had no idea people actually still looked at the BBB for referrals, but a new client
actually told me that they found me there....so I looked up local photographers...and
was surprised at what I found...or perhaps I should say what I didn't find.

Here`s our listing...go ahead...compare.

http://www.bbb.org/ottawa/business-reviews/photographers-commercial/paul-couvrette-photography-in-ottawa-on-10588


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My fifteen minutes..extended.

The current issue of Ottawa Life features Ottawa's Top 50 Citizens and guess who made the it on the cover. Nice to be in the company of Larry O'Brien and Michael Ignatieff. Read all about it here.

Paul and Friends

Some days I remember why I chose this profession. Its rare to get me in front of the camera
and rarer for me to post it...but this one I could not resist. Here I am backstage with my friends Kiss and Shannon Tweed, Playboy model and former Ottawan. We met many moons ago when I shot her modelling portfolio and one of the images was chosen as the "before" shot in Playboy.
No, I`m not that short...everyone else was wearing high heels...

Here is a link to the backstage shoot and a few concert snaps for diehard fans.

http://www.couvrette-photography.on.ca/KISS_Blues_Festival_2009_gallery/index.htm

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Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed party in Ottawa.

As promised...your invite to a private party, that was wild. Click on.....

Have Fun!




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Shannon Tweed and Gene Simmons KISS Ottawa.

Shannon Tweed and Gene Simmons are set to arrive in Ottawa and from the Tuesday evening party to the Bluesfest concert it should be lots of fun.

We will be covering most of the events so stay tuned to the blog and you will see a post on Wednesday showing how much fun you can have in the town that fun forgot...Its your backstage pass to the party of the year in Ottawa.

I want to thank all the residents of Ottawa who called and wrote in offering their support for
Shannon Tweed Day and their kind offers of goods and services to show Shannon and Gene that we really do know how to party. The response from the real people of Ottawa has been outstanding.

One bit of media I did want to clear up is the report that I shot Shannon for Playboy. While I do shoot for such publications for Time, Newsweek,Macleans and Businessweek...the feature in Playboy was shot by their staff photographer. The image I sold Playboy...my first big magazine sale about a quarter century ago..was a model test shot done for Lorraine Hammond modelling agency.

To those in Ottawa who tongues are still wagging over the Tweed Day debacle, I should note that Marilyn Monroe and Gina Lollobrigida appeared topless in film and print over 50 years ago.

Someone once wrote that living well is the best revenge...I think laughing well ain`t bad either.

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Ottawa bodybuilder's portfolio

No, this is not me with my shirt off...lol.

Editorial Assignment with Sonja Smits

In early June we were off shooting Ottawa-born actress Sonja Smits at her winery, Clossen Chase near Picton in Prince Edward County . It was a nice mix of tourism, architectural and portrait photography. Sonja was great...and even gave us a bottle of her celebrity wine to keep on our shelf...
I`m beginning to think this type of photography is some of my favorite work. Since I shoot editorial, architecture, groups, aerial, product, conventions, portraits, construction, headshots, corporate, advertising, lifestyle, stock, tourism, executives, photojournalism, portfolio, legal, medical and catalogue photographs...whew...it's tough to decide.

Guess I'll wait til I grow up.....


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Ottawa Gothic

Here is the current cover of Ottawa Life with a slightly different image than our norm thanks to a classic American painting, a magazine owner with an open mind and some nice photoshop interpretation by our own Rachelle Latremouille. Its nice to stretch the creative wings once in a while...

Stock from our Ottawa Archive.

We sell a fair bit of stock...whether its from personal work or from images we retained the rights to from assignments. Its great to get paid again for a shot you did 20 years ago... I`ll never figure
out why most photogs don`t keep an organized stock library...but then again, I`ll never figure out most photogs..lol.

Btw...here is a link to the site...a worthy cause indeed.
http://www.answertocancerottawa.ca/en/index.php

To top it off...I even got this thank you today. 4/6/09

I just wanted to say thanks for the photos on the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation's Lottery brochure. We'd received some great feedback, and appreciate your help. Our client is so impressed that we were able to acquire such great shots of Ottawa.

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Ottawa Photojournalist

I wear a lot of hats...

My first assignment in photography was tagging along with noted photojournalist Peter Bregg, formerly of Macleans and now Hello Magazine. To date I have worked for roughly 40 major mags including Time, Newsweek, Forbes and Playboy. I have produced over 250 magazine cover shots from Time Canada and Macleans to our own Ottawa Life and Homes and Land.

Recently I was honored to be asked to join Canadian Press, Canada`s premier agency that supplies the creme de la creme of photojournalists across Canada.

Time to buy another hat....

OH...btw...we also shoot weddings in a photojournalistic style. Check it out.
Seems it's trendy these days to say you`re a "wedding photojournalist".

Wonder who the other guys shoot for.....you might want to ask. Frankly, the
only photojournalist I know who shoots weddings is Bill Grimshaw, whose
edgy stuff if kinda cool. Just because you got the best man to put on sunglasses
for his portrait doesn`t make you a photojournalist.


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Executive Portrait of a BC Lawyer.

We photograph a lot of Judges and Lawyers.
I have done official portraits, event coverage and architectural
work for the Supreme Court, the Federal Court and the Tax Court
of Canada for over 30 years...



The way I see it..if a lawyer writes you a testimonial it should give you double bonus points...lol

Check it out...

Commercial Photographers...Who Ya Gonna Trust.

The web is a great place to compare services, but it has its limitations. It doesn`t take much to set up a website with a few shots that looks really cool.
The real test is Googling the actual names of a couple of photographers you like. Don`t bother with their own sites (of course we all make ourselves look pretty) Read what others say about them and where their work is published. You`ll learn a lot more than looking at pretty pictures...even mine.

Wanna play...start here!

Ottawa Headshot.

Here`s one for the girls...just a nice clean headshot for an aspiring model/actor. We have shot hundreds of these and its always rewarding when we see our work helping others find their calling.

Video Rental.

We rented the studio for a video yesterday...a crazy day indeed with probably 100 people running around the building getting busy. The guy on the left is probably our next Prime Minister. These guys from Toronto sure know how to do lunch...

Web site concept and Executive Photography.

Now what do these funky family shots have to do with commercial photography. For the answer, go to Winning Charities and check out their site, especially the staff head shots.This group came to our studio in Ottawa from Brockville just to do the shoot. We came up with the concept and I think it really works in todays business environment where showing more than a corporate look
can separate you from the crowd. Nice working with you guys and gals.

BTW....this just came in from the client....unsolicited.

Hello Paul

I wanted to let you know that our website is slowing working its way to completion. We have a few pages online, at www.winningcharities.com

Thanks again for the great day at your studios. We had a great time, and the website (and soon to be marketing materials) are going to look great because of it.

Hope we can work together again. We highly recommend you!

Abby MacIntosh-Hooper

Vice President, Marketing | Winning Charities