Paul+Couvrette+(Famous+Photographer)

1- Paul Couvrette was born on June 22nd, 1956. He graduated from Carleton university with a masters in journalism. While attending the school, he was given access to the darkroom as much as he wanted. During his schooling he became more and more interested in photography, so interested that in fact that he traveled to europe with very little other than a camera and some clothes. While there, he worked at the world's first camera shop, "Wallace Heaton" for a year, which was established in 1837. When Couvrette returned to Canada, he searched around for work as an independent photographer and journalist, and was publicized in a broad variety of Canadian magazines and publications. Writing eventually started losing interest to him and slipped away until photography became his primary focus. The majority of his work is constituted by special event photographing such as weddings and barmitzvahs, and portrait photography of real-estate agents, polititians, and executives of various companies. His portfolio is filled with photos of celebrities like Rick Mercer, and people with high status such as Stephen Harper and many supreme court judges. To even further his prestigiousness, he has photgraphed every mayor in ottawa since 1975, and every Prime Minister from Trudeau to Harper.

2 - A large influence for Couvrette was to be outside the box; Do something orginal, make it stand out more than other photos. He really wanted the originality and quality to be on the extreme edge of creativity and quality. And he sure did that. He was shooting as much as 100 weddings/bar mitzvahs in a year. He truly wanted to shoot "Something Special"

3 - Although Couvrette specializes in most areas of photography, you could say the majority of his work is done is special event photographing, like Bar Mitzvahs, weddings, and other special gatherings. He is also renowned for his portrait photography; he has quite an impressive portfolio constituting many important people and celebrities.

There is a VERY strong sense of balance in this photo. The man's head is in the direct centre of the picture, with his eyes perfectly aligned on either side of the axis of symmetry. Also, it appears that there is almost a perfect color balance between gray white, and black, with each tint constituting a third of the picture. Its unbelievable how well balanced the picture is actually. If you inspect closely, there are many triangles in the picture aswell, In his face beside his nose, his shoulders, and his fist with the knuckles. Everything in this picture feels as if its on a downward angled slope.

This is a good representation of Couvrette's work because it is one of his strongest portraits (In my opinion) and that is a large part of his work, Portraits.

There is a fantastic use of light in this picture. The background is completely neutral and does not deter the eye away from the focus of the eyes. the light is coming from the left in this picture, which gives a rather nice shading effect, so the left side is consistently brighter than the right side of his face and knuckles.

The "S" curve is well at work in this photo, From the second your eye lays sight on the cover of this magazine it is instantly lead around the photo by the staircase, so you don't miss a single detail of this home. and even a perfect amount of "Less interesting" space at the top to leave room for a title. Very great marketing indeed. Lines are also strongly at use here, every rail of the staircase leads your eyes up more and more and more. It also is very interesting that some rails are angled, then straight, then angled at a different slant. You could say it creates a sort of fish eye effect on the viewer.

This is a good example of Couvrette's more recent work. Scouring his blog, i have noticed many of the pictures he's taken recently are architectural building photographs. I believe this picture portrays his ability to create an incredible picture while also allowing it to be easily marketable,well.

The use of lighting is very very good in this picture. The majority of light is coming from the chandelier at the tip top of the stairwell, with some light coming from another chandelier on a lower floor as well as a light on the same floor. All the light is coming from the top, which is very cool because it feels almost like an ascent to a higher place, it is very dark but rich in colour closer to the bottom and the top is much brighter and has a warmer, welcoming feeling. Definitely what you want in a magazine cover for real estate.

Depth is hugely at work here, as you can see far into the distance. Planes are also prominent, there is about 6 layers of true planes you can see, creating a really cool effect that almost makes you feel as if you're in the photograph. Rule of thirds is also used here, the peaks of the hills are generally in the bottom left third or bottom right. There is also a bird flying in the lower left of the frame, clearly demonstrating the rule of thirds.

This shot represents a lesser known/seen landscape work that Couvrette may be not as well known for. This was a shot he took while in Iqaluit to shoot the olympic torch run. He never marketed this photo, but i found it on his blog.

There is a very cool, almost desolate use of light here. The sun is shining in the top left corner of the frame, and shines upon the mountains and frosty mist. It creates shade on some mountain ranges and also seems to fade while approaching the foreground, as it is much darker there.

Depth is one of the more showcased design principles in this picture, as you can see the growing crops stretch out along the plains, as well as a barn in the background. If you look closely at the picture, you can see an upside down triangle formed by the row of poles in front of the crops, and the fence coming in at two different angles. Lines and direction are also HUGE here. The fence's abrupt end causes you to wonder what lies beyond the frame. Also the row of poles stretching both sideways and far greatly demonstrate lines and direction.

Like the previous picture, this represents a lesser known/marketed kind of photography by Couvrette. This picture was shot while doing much portrait photography on a woman in Ottawa's vinyard.

There is a very good use of light in this picture. It appears to be coming from mostly the left side of the frame. It appears to be roughly 6 or 7 o'clock in this picture, as the light feels as if the day is ending yet there is still some light from above. In my opinion, this is one of the greatest times to go out and shoot. The world feels almost as if it lights up, all the true colours of nature just glow and shimmer like no other time during the day.

There are many lines this picture. Although you might not realize, even the tiny lines make a difference in a photograph. The piano has many, many short lines between each key. The top of the piano on the front of it has a single strip of wood making a line, and there are also lots of lines in the woodgrain and even the curtains behind. Also, there is a great sense of balance in this picture. It almost seems to glow.

This represents a large portion of what Couvrette is known for, Portraits. This particular photo was shot for a brochure to market a retirement residence. I believe it does this well, as its a very warm and sort of inviting picture.

The light in this picture is coming through the curtain, which gives a very interesting ambient light. It adds a layer of atmosphere and provides a welcoming environment, as generally through white, the colour orange is showcased most out of anything. It adds a sepia feel, makes it feel almost like an old picture filled with happy memories.