cora lea loves

i had the pleasure of interviewing tiara, the gorgeous face behind tiara brouse photography based in ontario. she is such a sweet girl with amazing energy and passion for what she does. read what she has to say about her photography background & love for making people smile! and see her latest wedding shoot below the interview : )

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how did you get into photography?

photography has always been a part of me, instilled by my father growing up. as an only child, parents divorced and living provinces away from each other, summer vacations were spent visiting my dad and taking pictures of our adventures. every year for christmas he would send me a photo album of our summer along with other images to update me on his life. i treasured these albums. i could go on with events that inspired me, from being a child rummaging through the tin boxes of photographs at my grandparents homes to living and exploring in france at 21 working as an au pair. it wasn’t until i was living in newfoundland that i was introduced to photography professionally. i was offered a job assisting a photographer in her studio. we became really great friends, she took me under wing and taught me everything she could. from the moment i met her i knew this was exactly what i wanted to do.

what are 3 things that inspire you?

– the need to create. i’ve always been very creative and imaginative. growing up as an only child, learning to entertain yourself is something i think just comes naturally.
– the beauty within all of us. i’m a portrait photographer, so meeting new people can be very inspiring! when i first meet someone i immediately begin thinking about how i would photograph them.
– i want to succeed. that’s something that drives me every day. photography is not just about taking pictures. i recently read a quote that said, “consider yourself a business person first who happens to be a photographer” -jerry ghionis. i love that! not many people go into photography realizing everything involved in running a photography business. less than a quarter of the time is spent actually taking pictures, the rest is paperwork and research.

what do you love about shooting weddings & engagements?

weddings are amazing because i get to photograph it all! the emotional ceremony, the intimate bride and groom portraits, fun with the bridal party, the spontaneity of the dance floor. there’s just so much going on all at once, i love that! the great thing about engagements, like weddings, is witnessing the passion two people have for each other. with the engagement session, we can get comfortable with each other and experience working together in advance. i think that’s key to great wedding images.

describe your dream wedding.

i think my dream wedding would be a destination one. some place with lots of character, but not on a resort. i always skip to what the images would look like… walking down a cobblestone street, very old stone buildings and interesting people in the background. yea, that sounds pretty dreamy to me.

what has been your favorite photography moment?

recently my boyfriend surprised me with tickets to see one of my all time favorite musicians, jonny lang. my boyfriend is quite notorious for surprises like this- i’m lucky to be so spoiled! so we’re at the concert, we have on “ok” view of the stage but we weren’t right up front or anything. i was getting some cool shots but they weren’t amazing, i was so absorbed in the music that i wasn’t thinking about the pictures. jonny just played his last song and the band is walking off the stage, we’re all shouting “ENCORE! ENCORE!” (concerts are so fun!). suddenly it sinks in that i didn’t even get a good picture… all the shouting must have worked because the band was coming back on & i knew this was my chance! i kissed my boyfriend and made a bee-line for the front of the stage!

here i am at the front, leaning up against the fence that separates the crowd from the stage. i make friends with the people around me, a photographer to my right and a jonny super-fan to my left. i told them my story about how i just had to sneak up and grab some shots before it was over.  now the photographer is helping me out and the super-fan is cheering me on, “shoot! shoot! shoot!”. jonny is up there singing the most beautiful version of “lie to me” i’ve ever heard! the crowd is totally blown away by his amazing guitar skills.  i’m shooting away and SO completely and utterly flabbergasted by everything that is going on around me (it was truly incredible!). the concert ends… i hug the super-fan and trade cards with the photographer. i find my boyfriend and give him a big running-jump-hug! i’m grinning from ear to ear, flicking through showing him the images on my camera and literally BURSTING with excited energy!

you can connect with tiara on facebook too and check out her awesome blog!