Over the years as a professional photographer, I have done many many shoots, from model portfolios, creative concepts, weddings, engagements to portraits… pretty par for the course for a studio. A few years ago, I became involved with a worldwide movement called Help Portrait which had and still has, one single aim, gathering together professional photographers, make up artists, hair stylists and many volunteers to provide people in our local town that could not afford a professional portrait, the chance to have a makeover, portrait and print completely free of charge. To boot, local businesses chipped in to provide them with drinks and snacks while they waited. Help Portrait has grown immensely since 2009, and its run worldwide on one day each year, usually just before Christmas. In 2011, I joined Helping Hearts….initially as a photographer, and in the fall of 2011, I became one of the administrators running the voluntary organization nationwide here in Canada. Helping Hearts provides a free portrait session for families with seriously ill children. Sad to say, I’ve seen some of the children we have photographed within the organization pass away and become an angel.

A few weeks ago, a commandant on my local military base approached me on behalf of her friend (with her friends knowledge and permission). She told me her friend was ill. Being a single mother, with two young teenage children, money was tight, and her request was simple, could I possibly see my way to doing a portrait session for free. Normally a request like that to a professional studio would be met with rebuff.  However, I remember many years ago, I was working for media publications and work was non stop. I traveled by motorcycle to jobs – until I was involved in a serious road accident and lost my job overnight as a result. I know from experience what its like to not have money to spare, more so when you are trying to make ends meet, and provide a quality life for your children. It was partly because of this, and partly because this mother was in her third relapse from cancer, except this time, the treatment was not even touching it. Its a matter of weeks, perhaps months, none of us know…but essentially, her portrait session was something asked of me so that her son and daughter have something to remember her by.

Unfortunately my  hair stylist wasn’t able to make it, but my  make up artist was there…daughter and mom enjoyed the pampering immensely. Her daughter was also quite adept with a curling iron I discovered. During these few hours, as my assistants and I chatted with them, we discovered what an amazing family they were. Close knit, a deep love of music, and an incredibly strong willed mother hanging in there for her children. Meeting someone like this, without any shadow of a doubt,  puts your own issues into perspective and is a somewhat humbling experience.

Make up services provided by Jessica Hart (Facebook for J Hart)

I absolutely love working with Casey and Crystal because they styling they create is simply amazing. Fabulous and meticulous attention to detail, crafting the perfect look. When Crystal approached me a few weeks ago about doing a creative fantasy shoot, I was excited. I enjoy creative themes and with Casey as both make up artist and model, it was bound to be phenomenal. The basic concept was a mix between fairy tale characters Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and the ice queen of Narnia. Casey is tall and is easily able to pose with a regal look, so she was the perfect choice of model for the role. Our location for our fun shoot was Country Spaces Studio here in Barrie. Thanks to Crystal and Casey for having me as their photographer on this shoot…it was a blast.

Sleeping Beauty

Angel of the night

Ice Queen

Just one bite....

Here’s hoping (albeit belated) that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a great New Years.

Our first shoot of the year was with Hayli from Parrysound last weekend. Hayli’s mom Sherri got in touch with us just before Christmas and the photo session was a Christmas / birthday gift for Hayli. At just 17 years old, Hayli stands at an incredible 5′ 9 and loves Taylor Swift…so it only followed that we would kick off her photo session with a Taylor Swift theme. Make up artist Casey Lynn and hairstylist Crystal Walley swung into action creating an amazing look for her. The shoot took place at Country Spaces studio which I love shooting at, the opportunities are endless there. Since this was Hayli’s first shoot, she was understandably nervous at first. With the support of her family and a great team, she soon settled in and we all had a blast. I love working with Casey and Crystal, they make an amazing team and cultivate the perfect look for the shoot concept I’m looking for.With Hayli’s amazing looks and height, I’m sure she’ll do well on the modeling scene

Here’s a few favourites from our time with Hayli….

Hayli

Hayli

Hayli

What an amazing year its been. We’ve all seen some remarkable events globally, from attempted assassinations, the death of Bin Laden, another royal wedding, rioting, and so many natural disasters. Over the past few days, I took time amidst getting final work orders completed and delivered to look back over the work of the past year. I was amazed at the changes here with my business, new endeavours undertaken, and so many shoots. I wanted to create a slideshow to share with all of you that encompassed the best and favourite moments of the year, I just didn’t realize how hard a task it would be to pick those favourite moments.

Of course, without our clients at O Driscoll Imaging, the business wouldn’t exist. Back in January, it seemed such a long year ahead. The year kicked off shooting for overXXXposed II, a valentines night themed exhibition at the Paul Buceta studio in Mississauga. January also saw us winning an award from Beyond Fantasy magazine in the US for one of our images.

During the year I’ve had the privilege of meeting new people, becoming reacquainted from some old friends who have become new clients and had the honour of being at some amazing weddings as their photographer. My work has also been published once again internationally in magazines and book covers, something I am still quite chuffed about.

As many people know, I help coordinate Help Portrait here in Barrie, and once again, thanks to a phenomenal team effort from everyone, we had another successful event. 165 portraits given out this year, hopefully making some peoples Christmas a little brighter. 2011 also saw me becoming a team photographer for Helping Hearts, a community of photographers across Canada photographing children who are suffering a life-altering illness or disability.In early summer, I joined the admin team of Helping Hearts and now help run the organization.

When one reads about the struggle a lot of these children have, and what they endure, it certainly puts our own issues into perspective. Sadly, I have also seen some of the children we photographed through Helping Hearts pass away. Mid summer, I became involved with Cuts for Gilda’s (Simcoe Muskoka), a fundraising event which raises funds for the Gilda’s club here in Barrie, and the 2011 event was the busiest to date, and most successful.

This time last year, I had published a book featuring my favourite images of the previous few years. This years book had a slightly different approach in that while I featured my favourite images of the year, I also talked about the model, the shoot and how it all came together, as well as some tips on how to recreate the concept if the reader wanted to try it. With the shooting of six weddings over a seven week period, my workflow simply became too busy and so the 2011 book got put on the back burner. However, watch this space as the project is very much back on track with an expected publication date of February 2012.

Prior to early summer, I introduced subscription packages. These simply combine various shoots into one large package, which potentially save the client money in the long run. Its resulted in a lot of success for the studio here, and while the packages and pricing for 2012 will be revamped, the subscription packages will continue to offer great value.

Thanks to a recommendation from fellow photographer Megan Slater, I am now a photographer for the Pro Image Hair Academy here in Barrie. An amazingly busy place any time I call by, its a fun place to be and I enjoy the photo sessions there.

The fourth annual Scott Kelby walk was held much later this year, in October, to avoid the scorching summer heat, and had a tremendous turnout. Although a longer walk that previous years, participants were extremely creative and some fabulous photos entered for the contest. Following the walk, all participants indulged in some amazing food and refreshments from TLC bistro on Maple avenue.

Thanks to models, hairstylists, make up artists and indeed, fellow photographers that I had the opportunity to work with this year, and capture some amazing images.

I also joined the ‘dark side’. Originally a Nikon shooter, I changed to Canon a few years ago when I moved to Canada. Recently, I added a Nikon pro Dslr to the kit again (I already had glass for it, and the price was rather reasonable)…I guess this kind of precludes me now from the Canon vs Nikon wars. A sony bridge camera (converted to infrared) also joined the kit and I’ve enjoyed the creative freedom it gives me.

Heres wishing you all a very merry Christmas, and hope 2012 will be a fabulously successful year for everyone. Stay safe, and remember, don’t be the elephant in the room – don’t drink and drive.

Enjoy some of my favourite images of 2011

Stemming from an idea put forward by celebrity photographer Jeremy Cowart, Help Portrait has in the past three years become somewhat of a global phenomenon.

The concept is simple;
1. Find someone in need
2. Take their portrait
3. Print their portrait
4. Give it to them FREE

Christmastime is time of joy for some, reuniting with family, exchanging gifts….but for some, it simply means a lonely time, away from family, and perhaps a time when financial hardship is felt more than ever. Last Saturday over 10,000 of us photographers around the world gave our time, our expertise and a bit of our hearts away to the people we met at Help-Portrait. We were one of over 1000 locations with volunteers giving hugs, loving on people and listening to their stories. All 50 states and 55 additional countries participated in this world changing 3rd annual event this past Saturday. Help Portrait is all about giving hope to the less fortunate in our community. Here in Barrie, I was proud as a team of professional photographers, make up artists, hairstylists and many volunteers came together and united in giving these people an amazing time. Seeing the warm glow on faces when they see their photograph makes all the hard work leading to the event completely worthwhile. At the suggestion of fellow photographer Luca Ragogna, this year saw the introduction of mobile portrait teams visiting participating long term care facilities in our area which was a resounding success.

This year Help Portrait Barrie took 165 portraits. That’s 165 families with a portrait that would have gone without.

News coverage:

a look behind the scenes at this years event

Last weekend I visited Electrafire Studios with fellow photographer Steve Locke. I don’t get down to Toronto to shoot as often as I would like to, so the list of models that I wanted to collaborate with on various concepts had grown considerably. Over the past few weeks, Steve and I had discussed organizing a shoot down in the city as both our schedules was finally freeing up a little. Having recently attended / viewed a weekend seminar online with renowned photographer Matthew Jordan Smith, I was feeling inspired to shoot some beauty work. Photographer Matthew Jordan Smith has worked with some of the top names in entertainment today such as Halle Berry, Jennifer Connelly, Jamie Foxx, Mandy Moore, and Oprah Winfrey, Singer and actress Vanessa L. Williams, television personality Star Jones Reynolds and basketball legend Michael Jordan to name but just a few, not counting the international companies he has shot commercially for.

Electrafire studios is located on Weston Rd in Toronto near the major intersection of St.Clair & Weston, in Toronto’s Stockyards area. With amazingly huge windows, red brick walls and a gorgeous wood floor, its a fabulous studio to shoot in.

My first model of the day was Natalia Jade, represented by Sutherland models. I always enjoy having experienced models at a shoot as its easier to get into that creative zone. Natalia is very comfortable in front of the camera and the first thing I noticed about her is her amazing eyes and ability to create an intense look. During our shoot together we explored this aspect and captured some amazing images. Here’s two of my favourite images from that shoot….

Natalia

Natalia

Following Natalia’s shoot was Kate Hoekstra. Kate is an experienced model with several years in the business. Kate is also a professional model with agency representation and for her shoot, the make up artist Natasha was given carte blanc to be as creative as she wanted. With an extensive kit including air brushing, gems and some rather large eyelashes, we were ready to shoot an amazing creative look. Like Natalia, Kate is also really comfortable in front of the camera and transitioned poses seamlessly. One of the items Kate bought to the shoot with her were the most amazing shoes…they were just begging to be photographed…and I duly obliged!! Heres a few favourites from Kates shoot

Kate

Star Studded Shoes...

Kate

With wedding season just about over for us here, we’ve been busy with post production for our happy brides, creating their metallic coated custom dvd’s, printing enlargements and so many more goodies. We love seeing the expressions of amazement, delight and wonder when we deliver the final product to them, giving them memories to cherish for years to come. Over the past few days, we took a little break from the hectic pace and have some beautiful mum’s to be into the studio. Kait had modeled for us in the past and I was excited to see her back, and catch up. Also in the studio was Shana.

I love doing this sort of work because of the intimacy and beauty inherent to this kind of photography.There truly is a certain glow that only pregnant women possess — almost like an aura of wisdom and serenity. I especially like to capture the emotion and expressions of expecting mothers and fathers. It is just so beautiful to see the mother rubbing her belly in an affectionate way. Pregnancy is such an intimate and powerful miracle. The only way to photograph it I honestly think is with a sense of awe and solemnity. After all, a brand new person is about to be born into the world, and being able to be a part of the parents’ joy and eager expectation is amazing. Congratulations ladies and I look forward to seeing your beautiful babies.

here’s some favourites from the maternity sessions this week

Kait

Kait

Shana

Shana

After being busy with wedding photography for the past few months, it was a nice change of pace this week to slow down and shoot some local beautiful ladies. It’s been a while since I shot models so I was excited and looked forward to getting back in the groove. Not that there isn’t a mountain of editing to get through at the moment, I also welcomed the opportunity to break away from the computer screens for a while. Kicking off the week was Mandi, with make up artist Deborah Brown. Mandi and I had discussed various concepts to shoot over the past few weeks and one we both agreed on was that of her having make up applied – with multiple brushes. I loved the idea because it was different and unusual….after much tweaking of lighting, brush and hand positions, we captured the perfect shot. Mandi was fabulous to work with, chatty and listened to direction exceptionally well. Here’s a few favourites from our shoot together

Mandi

Mandi

Mandi

Mandi

Finishing out the week, I joined local Barrie model Sara today for a shoot in some local woodland. With the amazing fall colours we still have (just barely I think), it was the perfect setting for our shoot. Sara was amazing to work with, and perfectly encapsulated my thought that a woman can look both sexy and beautiful clothed.  Although bright and sunny, the wind had that winter chill to it but Sara was a true sport and battled through. Here’s some favorites from todays shoot

Sara by Barrie Photographer Christopher O Driscoll

Sara

Sara

Last week I had the unique opportunity to shoot a 1953 Chevrolet truck. Immaculately restored (and now for sale as I subsequently learned), the fire engine red and black colours together with the gleaming chrome simply made this truck pop.

General Motors’ first major redesign post-World War II, the Advance Design series was billed as a bigger, stronger, and sleeker design. First available on Saturday June 28, 1947, these trucks were sold with various minor changes over the years until March 25, 1955, when the Task Force Series trucks replaced the aging Advance Design model. From 1947 until 1955, Chevrolet trucks were number one in sales in the United States. While GMC used this front end, and to a slightly lesser extent the cab, on all of its trucks except for the Cab Overs, there are three main sizes of this truck. The half-, three-quarter-, and full ton capacities in short and long wheelbase.

Are you in need of a little pampering? some early Christmas gifts?

Why not check out the Helping Hearts Fall online auction? There’s some amazing offers there up for grabs!! Just to give you some idea of whats on offer; there’s a flight for two from Westjet, LensRentals canada have a rental GC for the discerning photographer, there’s toys …photo sessions (including one from us, our silver portrait package)…prints from iconic Canadian photographers and so much more.

Helping Hearts is comprised of professional photographers from across Canada who provide complimentary  photography services to families with children who are suffering from a life-altering illness or disability. The project features photographers from across Canada united in a single purpose; we believe in sharing the gift of photography and providing precious captured moments for them. O Driscoll Imaging is proud to be one of these photographers, and more recently, joined the administration team. The funds raised go directly to implementing new services for families and photographers, defraying costs such as web hosting and promotional material. Helping Hearts is a non profit organization and does not receive any funding.

Your support would be greatly appreciated. The auction starts on Friday October 21st at 8pm PST (BC time) and 11pm EST (Toronto time) and will run for 24 hours. Don’t forget to tell your friends about it!!

You can visit the auction at http://www.facebook.com/helpingheartsdotca