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!

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

Testimonials...simple and sweet.

Travelling to do commercial photography is one of those fantasies that is a lot more idyllic than realistic. I am happier when I get clients from other parts of the world...and they come to me!

We have catered to Toronto execs who actually flew in for a portrait, New York musicians who drove here and even a lady from Newfoundland who came all that way for a boudoir shoot.
Lately we have had a run of clients from along the St Lawrence. We had a lot of fun with this real estate group who drove up from Kingston for a shoot for their upcoming web site.

Then I saw this and wow.

Awwww Thanks ladies!

Couvrette Studio

Recently I decided to research the history of my building on Gladstone Avenue. The shape of the building always puzzled me and the City Archives finally solved the mystery.
Couvrette Studio was built in 1910 as a Livery (horse and carriage depot)by one of Ottawa`s top hotels, The Alexandria on Bank Street founded by entrepreneur Thomas Babin. By 1923 it became Horner Motor Sales, the first automobile showroom in the city. In the mid thirties it was the home of Progressive Printers and was heavily reinforced to hold huge presses on the second floor. The building is so solid that it easily withstood a car crashing in the front window last year.
Kinda reminds me of my company, which has withstood three recessions so far and counting. Yes, we started in 1977...making us one of the longest standing studios in the city.

Dollco took over the printing business and 430 Gladstone became one of Ottawa`s original hi tech companies in the mid sixties.I purchased the building in the mid 1990's and after extensive renos...voila, Couvrette Studio.


When I started my business there were 15 studios owned by photographers in the downtown core, bounded by Bronson, the Ottawa River, the Queensway and the Rideau River. How times change...now its just us......STABLE .you betcha! (its a joke,...livery (stable) oh well.

It sure would be nice to have some shots of horses and Model T`s in front of our building...maybe a project for the 100th anniversary next year!

How much should you spend on a photograph...

We quote on jobs all day long...some we get..others we don`t. Thats life.

Ottawa is a very competitive market and hey...competition is what makes life fun.

How much should a great executive portrait that will sell your personality cost?
What should you pay for that product shot that drags customers to your door?
Whats the right fee for a portfolio to sell your services as a model or actor?

The answer is...as much as you can budget.

I look at it this way....how much do large successful companies pay for their ad shots. They pay top dollar.
Why...because they know a couple of things about running a successful business. First, if you pay peanuts you get...well you know_____________. Second, a great image IS worth a thousand words. Third, given the cost of running an ad, creating a web site or
publishing posters and flyers...the cost of the image is really...well....tiny. Is it wise to save a hundred dollars on an image that you will use in ten thousand dollars worth of ads in the next year or two...
If you are trying to sell a service, a product or your own talents...don`t go cheap. Sometimes a bargain is simply a bad investment that doesn`t make the photographer or you a profit.
If I take for example the real estate industry, it seems that the top 10 in the city all have great
shots and invested in those shots even when they started out...How do I know this...because most of them are still my clients.