Hart House Engagement | Shaarifa + Talha

Shaarifa was born and raised in London, U.K.. She and Talha met in Toronto. They're one of my many long distance couples. Shaarifa wanted an engagement location in Toronto that had a British flare, nineteenth century buildings that'd reminder her of British architectures. She had her eye on Hart House and University of Toronto's downtown campus during her regular visit in Toronto. These beautiful architectures brought her back to London U.K. where she chose to leave behind for her new page with Talha in Toronto. We had a sunrise engagement session at Hart House. The dusk colours made it looked like as it's romantic, cloudy day in London only with more stunning colours as the sun rose. For the entire time, Shaarifa and Talha couldn't stop smiling and chitchatting among themselves. Their approachable personalities and love for each other was evident in every engagement photo. The physical distance between them had only strengthened their relationship over the years. Now they're ready to move forward to live a married life together, I wish them a lot of happiness.

To Shaarifa, Toronto welcomes you.

xx, Ally

Fall Engagement Photos

Fall was the best season to take engagement pictures in Toronto. The weather's perfect for snuggling and the fall colours are unbeatably gorgeous. It's also more quiet than summer in most popular engagement photo locations. For the same reasons, I also found fall weddings the best for brides who look for a relaxed, unique experience. Dina and Aren waited till the weather cooled down after summer and foliage colour changed to have their intimate engagement session in the wood. Dina even wore leather jacket, ripped jeans and boots for the session. What could be a better dress code for a fall engagement session. This hidden forest was suggested by the couple and it's where the lovers usually walked their husky, Haven (who was also with us on the day. yay to engagement sessions with dogs)! I fell in love with this woodland immediately. It's full of cool shaped trees and it's very quiet. We only occasionally ran into other dog lovers and in most cases only Haven got distracted. The session became very smooth after some warmups. Dina and Aren flied with a sexy engagement session at ease. We made sure their furbaby was in some pictures too. It was a lot of fun leisurely walking in the wood in the fall weather with Dina, Aren and Haven. Did I mentioned that Dina and Aren were also Blue Jay fans and brought along Blue Jay hats? All went well except unfortunately for Haven, his favourite ball toy was lost as we were playing fetch with him to keep him away from some of these engagement pictures. I bookmarked this location and would definitely return. For now, please enjoy these sexy engagement photos of Dina and Aren, special ft. the mighty Haven. 

Toronto Island Engagement | Maha + Salman

Engagement session's not only a perfect excuse for a soon-to-be-married couple to get some lifestyle photos to document their dating slash engagement life but also a great opportunity for a wedding photographer and the couple to get to know each other before the wedding day. Speaking of which, Maha and Salman offered me rum and coke before the their engagement session started. I thought that told us something about this professionally successful yet fun couple. Maha and Salman were both strong-minded and driven. They had been dating for about a year before they're engaged and were very passionate for each other. We spent a fun afternoon on Toronto Islands and took most of the engagement photos on Centre Island. Sometimes I felt being an engagement photographer can be quite different from being a wedding photographer. An engagement's more like an elopement. While going into a wedding day, a wedding photographer got to meet and greet and photography not only the bride and groom but their wedding party and friends and families, an engagement photographer spent an intimate time with just the couple. While on a wedding day, a wedding photographer observed and documented moments and emotions, an engagement photographer although didn't necessarily create those moments and emotions, I had to facilitate and intuitively capture the fleeting moments and genuine emotions. We posed too and we tried to make those posed pictures look effortless. I've been to different parts of Toronto Islands for various occasions - engagement sessions, wedding receptions, wedding ceremonies, personal leisure trips (click here to see a wedding ceremony I shot on Ward's Island and click here to see another quieter engagement session that felt quite different from Maha and Salman's) . It's a special location that's so close to the city (10 minutes ferry from downtown Toronto) yet felt so different. I've also been to the islands in different seasons. The islands looked unique in each. I must also admit that I have some special feelings for taking a ferry. There's something nostalgic and romantic about taking a ferry (or water taxi in this case for Maha and Salman's engagement lol). 

xx, Ally

CNE Engagement | Laura + Jay

He's a designer at Audi Konzept in Munich. She's a graphic designer in Toronto. They met on a designer platform online, fell in love, and date for two years before they met in person in Toronto. When Laura looked at Jason, there's admiration in her eyes. When Jay looked at Laura, there's love in his. Going to the Canadian National Exhibition (the Ex) was an annual family tradition of Jay's since he's small. Jay's visiting Toronto this time of the year and the two of them decided to have their engagement session done in this special place. I had only been to the CNE twice myself. Frankly, I used to think that it's overrated. Jay and Laura showed me a new perspective. It's indeed a place full of fun and joy and it's not because of the many game stations nor the revolutionary food offerings but the spirit of family and friend gatherings. Most couples felt somehow awkward with engagement sessions in the public. Jay and Laura were no exception given the fact that the CNE was especially busy compared to other places/ events in Toronto. But they were able to relax quickly and focused on each other's company. The bond between them was strong. At the end of the session as the sun was setting, I thought to myself what a romantic place CNE could be too. It's fun, joyful and romantic. What a unique location for engagement photos it was. Congratulations Jay and Laura. I will see you again when you get married!

xoxo,
Ally