The Chateau Laurier is in-arguably one of Ottawa’s most elegant and prestigious venues for a wedding ceremony. It was built between 1909 and 1912 for travelers stopping at Ottawa’s Union Station right across the street, and developed into one of Canada’s most prominent Hotels in 1923 when the Grand Trunk became part of the Canadian National Railway. Since then it has played host to thousands of special events and housed many elite members of society; ranging from distinguished political figures and heads of state to celebrities and royalty visiting from overseas. For many years Ottawa Photographer Yousuf Karsh, one of the world’s most well-known and accomplished portrait photographers, resided and maintained his studio within the Chateau’s walls.

Danjiella’s Wedding

Ever since childhood I have always had a fascination with vintage things.  I used to snoop around my grandmothers, check garage sales and loiter in antique stores just to get a fix of the olden days.  This fascination has never really gone away and now that I am a photographer I have developed a love for old photos.  Since it can take a long time to sit around and wait for a photo to look old, I have started experimenting with ways of getting it done faster.  There are two ways of making a photo look old.  Digitally or “manually” (couldn’t think of a better word).  I have been trying a bit of both.

To make a photo look old digitally it involves a lot of Photoshop.  Generally you want to add texture by adding different backgrounds, then add tints, color casts, dodge, burn and vignettes.  Basically doing the opposite of what I usually do to a photo to make it look good.

Now I haven’t quite nailed down the “manual” side of things yet but Ill keep you posted.  This involves taking a photograph print and adding textures by using heat and abrasives.  To add the old photo color I have been experimenting with soaking photos in tea, coffee, wood polish, lemon juice etc…  After doing this then I would re-photograph the print and re-print it.  This way you don’t have dried coffee and lemon juice on your photo.  The bottom line is there is a lot of trial and error involved.

In the wedding market there is a huge demand for vintage weddings and I really want to reach these couples with photography.  One thing I have learned since becoming a photographer is “Do what you love”, in my case its “Photograph what I love”.   What I’m hoping to do with all this, is create a Vintage Wedding Album.  I want to offer couples a custom wedding album that looks like it was made in the 1800′s.  Right now I’m still developing the album with a friend of mine.  I will keep you posted on our progress.

Take care everyone!

Ottawa Photographers | Ryan Parent Photography