Review is written by Staff @ The Ring and is based on • Interviews with this vendor • Interviews with past brides
Love, teach, create is what LTC Photography stands for in everything that Primary Photographer, Laura Carrelas does along with husband and Second Shooter, Jason. Both teachers to start, this photography duo puts their love for art and their couples’ love for one another into creating photos that capture every detail and special moment of a wedding day so they’ll become heirlooms that will be cherished forever. As newlyweds themselves, and with Laura’s bridesmaid experience, the pair has a ton of experience with planning weddings and they know how important it is to take amazing photos.
But it’s not just their love for photography, fine art skills, and their ability to capture wedding days that has London and area brides and vendors talking about this easy going and passionate husband-wife team; it’s also their competitive pricing and their ‘I-feel-like-I’ve-known-you-forever’ personalities that has brides telling us that Laura and Jason are more like invited guests at their weddings… who just happen to have killer cameras.
With inspiration from fashion, art, the love of their couples, and the limitless possibilities of creativity, we met with Laura and Jason to find out how this creative couple are constantly pushing and inspiring each other to try new tricks and techniques, and why they and their couples are always having fun. Let us explain…
Love. Teach. Create.
Laura has always had an interest in photography and art. As a visual artist, her passion for photography began while she studied Art and Art History in Venice Italy. Laura has a degree in Fine Art from the University of Western Ontario and has taken a Classical Portraiture course at the John Michael Academy in Toronto. “My Fine Art background has provided me with a solid foundation in the principles of art and design, which directly relates to creating an image that will stand the test of time,” explains Laura.
Narrowing down her passion to wedding photography specifically began while Laura was doing her undergrad degree and started to work as an assistant for a wedding photographer. “After shooting my very first wedding as the primary photographer, I knew that I had found something that allowed me to fully express my creativity.”
After her undergrad, Laura went on to get a Bachelor of Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto and has been teaching Fine Art and Media Art for the past five years in London Ontario. “My experience as a high school art teacher has provided me with excellent people skills, time management skills, flexibility and patience for the unexpected. All of which are needed during a busy wedding day.”
Laura’s husband Jason is the Secondary Shooter for LTC Photography, and also a teacher in special education. He’s primarily self-taught and has been Laura’s second shooter from the beginning, with his creative eye steadily developing.
LTC Photography began after Laura was approached to shoot her first ‘solo’ wedding. From there, Laura and Jason’s names were passed around and business grew as 100% of their brides came from referrals. Laura and Jason have been shooting weddings since January 2007 and officially started LTC Photography in 2009.
“Spending an afternoon with a couple that is in love, or witnessing the first few days of an infant, is not only inspiring, but this love and excitement is contagious as well.”
The husband-wife advantage
Being a husband and wife team is not only advantageous for Laura and Jason (who get to spend all their time together), but it’s also beneficial for their couples. “Our chemistry and the passion that we have is contagious,” they told us. “We love being able to show couples exactly what to do by re-enacting poses without getting frisky with a random second shooter. Being able to be ourselves in front of our couples also really helps them to be comfortable in front of our lenses.”
Donna Mendes from The Portuguese Club Hall of London had a chance to see Laura and Jason in action and she says she loved how they were so full of life and new ideas. “It’s refreshing to see a couple so passionate at what they do.” She adds that both of them were very professional, courteous and personable.
Having been recently married themselves, Laura and Jason say they approach every wedding as if it were their own, with a focus to capture “every single detail, every special moment, every little glance as these images will be the first heirloom you create together and will cherish forever.”
Laura and Jason photographed Despina Oosterhoff’s engagement, wedding (two different ceremonies), maternity, and newborn photos and she certainly agrees that the photos she has are heirlooms that will be forever cherished. “Forty years from now when we are sitting around with our children and maybe our children's children, we will be able to look at our memories on paper and know that our emotions at those moments were captured perfectly,” she says. “We were not sitting rigid in ‘standard’ poses or looking unnatural. We were lost in those moments, captured forever by Laura and Jason.
For their own wedding, Laura and Jason say they were very hands on from making centrepieces and menu cards to cutting out nearly 300+ birds for place cards and painting a custom seating chart. So, they know how much work and detail goes into a wedding and make sure that they capture these aspects, too. “We love capturing the details that brides spend hours working on… It is a very real honour to be invited to be a part of a couple’s first day as husband and wife.”
Plus, with Laura’s experience of being a bridesmaid seven times, this duo has quite the advantage when it comes to wedding planning experience, which helps contribute to their ability to capture every detail and moment.
Friends before they’ve even met
Laura thinks brides choose LTC Photography because Laura and Jason are easy going, creative, and passionate about what they do. “After most of our consultations we are often told that ‘it feels as though we have known you forever’.”
Such was the case for Despina who has returned to LTC Photography over and over for milestone photos. “They feel like part of the family,” she says. “Whenever a major event happens in our lives, it just seems natural to include them.” From the first moment Despina met Laura, she says it felt like she’d known her for years. “She is genuinely interested in her clients and it shows. She even made a great impression on my husband who had been quite nervous to be photographed for our engagement photos, and she made him so comfortable that he ended up taking the best pictures I'd ever seen of him.”
Since they’ll be spending a great deal of time with their couples on their wedding day, Laura and Jason make sure that each one is comfortable and confident that together they’ll create images that the couple will love to share with friends and family.
Jessica Campos Reales was first attracted to the relaxed, modern style of photos that LTC Photography offers when she was looking for a photographer for her June 2010 wedding. Her and her fiancé didn't want anything too traditional and wanted to look natural and relaxed in their wedding photos. And they got just that. “What we loved best was the relaxed, fun feeling Jason and Laura brought to us,” Jessica says. “They made us feel comfortable, relaxed and beautiful. We laughed, joked around and got some wonderful photos.”
Part of Laura and Jason’s passion comes from a natural talent and genuine love for all things art, but they also find inspiration in fashion, art, the love of their couples and the limitless possibilities of creativity that they’re faced with every day. “We are constantly pushing and inspiring each other to try new tricks and techniques, which is a lot of fun,” adds Laura. “It is so much fun to be able to capture a couple’s chemistry in a way that truly reflects them on their first day as husband and wife. Seeing the reaction of our couples after seeing their photos keeps us excited and inspired.”
Becky VanBilsen had LTC photograph her August 2009 wedding and she told us that both Laura and Jason are “calm and creative people who make you feel at ease, and that was truly the most important thing about choosing a photographer… My experience was nothing short of amazing. Laura was welcoming, informative, creative and patient. She has an enthusiasm for life that is contagious and you can’t help but smile whenever you are with her.
But it’s not just brides who love and recommend LTC Photography as we talked to Melissa Bell, a Wedding Planner for Bell Occasions Wedding and Event Planning, who worked with Laura and Jason during one of her client’s weddings. “LTC Photography is one of a kind, they are true professionals with a truly creative eye,” she told us. “They make everyone feel natural and at ease and their attention to detail is outstanding. Laura and Jason are an amazing couple, both professionally and personally.” In fact, Melissa was so impressed that she says she’d hire LTC if she was getting married as their work “is truly amazing and they really capture each and every couple's individuality and it really shows their love for one another.”
Creating moments and candid memories
Although LTC Photography tries to make a majority of their images un-posed, Laura says she will set-up ‘poses’ by prompting their couples to do things knowing what their reaction will create within the frame. “This allows for real expressions and emotions to be captured.”
“I like the balance between traditional and artistic images,” Becky told us. “They take very creative, detailed photos, awesome candids, and ones that made my parents happy.”
LTC does a selected number of ‘traditional’ poses to ensure that everyone will be happy and will have something to hang over the mantel. In general, though, Laura is responsible for bringing the couple’s unique vision into a reality. “I am the one who guides our couples throughout the photo shoot, while Jason primarily focuses on the candid moments going on around the couple and shooting from different angles throughout the day.”
Even though Laura admits that some of the photos need direction, Despina told us that her photos still look natural and not staged. “Laura's photos can be whimsical one moment and take your breath away the next.”
Packages and prices to love
All of LTC’s packages include a high resolution DVD of fully edited images. They offer a four, six, and eight hour package that range in price from $1200 to $2000. Additional hours of coverage can also be purchased for $200 per hour.
“LTC Photography’s prices fell within our budget and we got more than we expected for our money,” says Despina. “Laura and Jason were very reasonably priced and at the end they gave us the disc so that we could print off our own photos. This translated into huge savings and allowed us to print far more photos for family than we would have if we had had to pay for every print individually.”
The eight hour package is the most popular because it offers enough hours to cover the details as the bride gets ready all the way until the bride and groom walk into their reception. It also includes an engagement session that allows the couple and photographer to be comfortable with one another. Plus you get a hardcover coffee table book of the engagement session.
“I found what we received far surpassed what the price tag was,” says Becky. “I have so many favourite photos and love to share them with friends and family – over a year later!”
Walking you through a wedding with LTC Photography
The process from beginning to end is pretty straightforward for LTC Photography. They recommend booking them about twelve months in advance. Email or phone is the best ways to contact them to set-up a consultation.
Laura is primarily the one who meets with couples in their home office, though she adds that Jason joins in when he can as they both believe that it’s important to really get to know their couples right from day one since they spend a lot of time with them on their wedding day.
“During the initial consultation, we always recommend our couples to collect source images (if they haven’t already done so) to share with us so that we can see through their eyes what style of images they are looking for.”
They also go over packages, answer questions and show sample photos from their portfolio. To fully reserve your wedding day, a 30% deposit is required when you sign the contract. The remaining balance is due in full on or before the wedding day.
There is no limit to the number of consultations LTC has with their brides during the whole planning process. At some point before the wedding, Laura creates a tentative itinerary to ensure that everyone is on the same page. Adjustments can be made up to a week before the big day.
On the wedding day, Laura and Jason show up in their formal attire, too, ready to document the day.
After the wedding, the photos are featured on the LTC blog, highlighting the unique details and special moments. After the images are edited, Laura and Jason arrange a pick up day/time, and your heirlooms are yours to enjoy.
Becky enjoys her photos, and her experience with LTC Photography so much, that she, without a doubt, recommends them to other engaged couples, saying that LTC is the best choice because of “the quality and variety of photos produced. Photos are one of the only tangible things that last far past the day of the wedding and live on throughout married life. LTC has a natural ability to use a couple’s love and distinct personalities to create photos that will be treasured by everyone who sees them.”
Details, details, details
• Email or call LTC at least 12 months before your big day to set-up a consultation
• When you’re ready to sign the contract, a 30% deposit is required to secure your day. The remaining balance is due the day of, or before, the wedding day.
• LTC offers packages with all edited, print-ready, hi-res images on DVD ranging from 4 to 8 hours of coverage at $1200 to $2000.
• The average bride spends about $1500 on all things photography with LTC.
• All prices include tax.
Love, teach, create is what LTC Photography stands for in everything that Primary Photographer, Laura Carrelas does along with husband and Second Shooter, Jason. Both teachers to start, this photography duo puts their love for art and their couples’ love for one another into creating photos that capture every detail and special moment of a wedding day so they’ll become heirlooms that will be cherished forever. As newlyweds themselves, and with Laura’s bridesmaid experience, the pair has a ton of experience with planning weddings and they know how important it is to take amazing photos.
But it’s not just their love for photography, fine art skills, and their ability to capture wedding days that has London and area brides and vendors talking about this easy going and passionate husband-wife team; it’s also their competitive pricing and their ‘I-feel-like-I’ve-known-you-forever’ personalities that has brides telling us that Laura and Jason are more like invited guests at their weddings… who just happen to have killer cameras.
With inspiration from fashion, art, the love of their couples, and the limitless possibilities of creativity, we met with Laura and Jason to find out how this creative couple are constantly pushing and inspiring each other to try new tricks and techniques, and why they and their couples are always having fun. Let us explain…
Love. Teach. Create.
Laura has always had an interest in photography and art. As a visual artist, her passion for photography began while she studied Art and Art History in Venice Italy. Laura has a degree in Fine Art from the University of Western Ontario and has taken a Classical Portraiture course at the John Michael Academy in Toronto. “My Fine Art background has provided me with a solid foundation in the principles of art and design, which directly relates to creating an image that will stand the test of time,” explains Laura.
Narrowing down her passion to wedding photography specifically began while Laura was doing her undergrad degree and started to work as an assistant for a wedding photographer. “After shooting my very first wedding as the primary photographer, I knew that I had found something that allowed me to fully express my creativity.”
After her undergrad, Laura went on to get a Bachelor of Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto and has been teaching Fine Art and Media Art for the past five years in London Ontario. “My experience as a high school art teacher has provided me with excellent people skills, time management skills, flexibility and patience for the unexpected. All of which are needed during a busy wedding day.”
Laura’s husband Jason is the Secondary Shooter for LTC Photography, and also a teacher in special education. He’s primarily self-taught and has been Laura’s second shooter from the beginning, with his creative eye steadily developing.
LTC Photography began after Laura was approached to shoot her first ‘solo’ wedding. From there, Laura and Jason’s names were passed around and business grew as 100% of their brides came from referrals. Laura and Jason have been shooting weddings since January 2007 and officially started LTC Photography in 2009.
“Spending an afternoon with a couple that is in love, or witnessing the first few days of an infant, is not only inspiring, but this love and excitement is contagious as well.”
The husband-wife advantage
Being a husband and wife team is not only advantageous for Laura and Jason (who get to spend all their time together), but it’s also beneficial for their couples. “Our chemistry and the passion that we have is contagious,” they told us. “We love being able to show couples exactly what to do by re-enacting poses without getting frisky with a random second shooter. Being able to be ourselves in front of our couples also really helps them to be comfortable in front of our lenses.”
Donna Mendes from The Portuguese Club Hall of London had a chance to see Laura and Jason in action and she says she loved how they were so full of life and new ideas. “It’s refreshing to see a couple so passionate at what they do.” She adds that both of them were very professional, courteous and personable.
Having been recently married themselves, Laura and Jason say they approach every wedding as if it were their own, with a focus to capture “every single detail, every special moment, every little glance as these images will be the first heirloom you create together and will cherish forever.”
Laura and Jason photographed Despina Oosterhoff’s engagement, wedding (two different ceremonies), maternity, and newborn photos and she certainly agrees that the photos she has are heirlooms that will be forever cherished. “Forty years from now when we are sitting around with our children and maybe our children's children, we will be able to look at our memories on paper and know that our emotions at those moments were captured perfectly,” she says. “We were not sitting rigid in ‘standard’ poses or looking unnatural. We were lost in those moments, captured forever by Laura and Jason.
For their own wedding, Laura and Jason say they were very hands on from making centrepieces and menu cards to cutting out nearly 300+ birds for place cards and painting a custom seating chart. So, they know how much work and detail goes into a wedding and make sure that they capture these aspects, too. “We love capturing the details that brides spend hours working on… It is a very real honour to be invited to be a part of a couple’s first day as husband and wife.”
Plus, with Laura’s experience of being a bridesmaid seven times, this duo has quite the advantage when it comes to wedding planning experience, which helps contribute to their ability to capture every detail and moment.
Friends before they’ve even met
Laura thinks brides choose LTC Photography because Laura and Jason are easy going, creative, and passionate about what they do. “After most of our consultations we are often told that ‘it feels as though we have known you forever’.”
Such was the case for Despina who has returned to LTC Photography over and over for milestone photos. “They feel like part of the family,” she says. “Whenever a major event happens in our lives, it just seems natural to include them.” From the first moment Despina met Laura, she says it felt like she’d known her for years. “She is genuinely interested in her clients and it shows. She even made a great impression on my husband who had been quite nervous to be photographed for our engagement photos, and she made him so comfortable that he ended up taking the best pictures I'd ever seen of him.”
Since they’ll be spending a great deal of time with their couples on their wedding day, Laura and Jason make sure that each one is comfortable and confident that together they’ll create images that the couple will love to share with friends and family.
Jessica Campos Reales was first attracted to the relaxed, modern style of photos that LTC Photography offers when she was looking for a photographer for her June 2010 wedding. Her and her fiancé didn't want anything too traditional and wanted to look natural and relaxed in their wedding photos. And they got just that. “What we loved best was the relaxed, fun feeling Jason and Laura brought to us,” Jessica says. “They made us feel comfortable, relaxed and beautiful. We laughed, joked around and got some wonderful photos.”
Part of Laura and Jason’s passion comes from a natural talent and genuine love for all things art, but they also find inspiration in fashion, art, the love of their couples and the limitless possibilities of creativity that they’re faced with every day. “We are constantly pushing and inspiring each other to try new tricks and techniques, which is a lot of fun,” adds Laura. “It is so much fun to be able to capture a couple’s chemistry in a way that truly reflects them on their first day as husband and wife. Seeing the reaction of our couples after seeing their photos keeps us excited and inspired.”
Becky VanBilsen had LTC photograph her August 2009 wedding and she told us that both Laura and Jason are “calm and creative people who make you feel at ease, and that was truly the most important thing about choosing a photographer… My experience was nothing short of amazing. Laura was welcoming, informative, creative and patient. She has an enthusiasm for life that is contagious and you can’t help but smile whenever you are with her.
But it’s not just brides who love and recommend LTC Photography as we talked to Melissa Bell, a Wedding Planner for Bell Occasions Wedding and Event Planning, who worked with Laura and Jason during one of her client’s weddings. “LTC Photography is one of a kind, they are true professionals with a truly creative eye,” she told us. “They make everyone feel natural and at ease and their attention to detail is outstanding. Laura and Jason are an amazing couple, both professionally and personally.” In fact, Melissa was so impressed that she says she’d hire LTC if she was getting married as their work “is truly amazing and they really capture each and every couple's individuality and it really shows their love for one another.”
Creating moments and candid memories
Although LTC Photography tries to make a majority of their images un-posed, Laura says she will set-up ‘poses’ by prompting their couples to do things knowing what their reaction will create within the frame. “This allows for real expressions and emotions to be captured.”
“I like the balance between traditional and artistic images,” Becky told us. “They take very creative, detailed photos, awesome candids, and ones that made my parents happy.”
LTC does a selected number of ‘traditional’ poses to ensure that everyone will be happy and will have something to hang over the mantel. In general, though, Laura is responsible for bringing the couple’s unique vision into a reality. “I am the one who guides our couples throughout the photo shoot, while Jason primarily focuses on the candid moments going on around the couple and shooting from different angles throughout the day.”
Even though Laura admits that some of the photos need direction, Despina told us that her photos still look natural and not staged. “Laura's photos can be whimsical one moment and take your breath away the next.”
Packages and prices to love
All of LTC’s packages include a high resolution DVD of fully edited images. They offer a four, six, and eight hour package that range in price from $1200 to $2000. Additional hours of coverage can also be purchased for $200 per hour.
“LTC Photography’s prices fell within our budget and we got more than we expected for our money,” says Despina. “Laura and Jason were very reasonably priced and at the end they gave us the disc so that we could print off our own photos. This translated into huge savings and allowed us to print far more photos for family than we would have if we had had to pay for every print individually.”
The eight hour package is the most popular because it offers enough hours to cover the details as the bride gets ready all the way until the bride and groom walk into their reception. It also includes an engagement session that allows the couple and photographer to be comfortable with one another. Plus you get a hardcover coffee table book of the engagement session.
“I found what we received far surpassed what the price tag was,” says Becky. “I have so many favourite photos and love to share them with friends and family – over a year later!”
Walking you through a wedding with LTC Photography
The process from beginning to end is pretty straightforward for LTC Photography. They recommend booking them about twelve months in advance. Email or phone is the best ways to contact them to set-up a consultation.
Laura is primarily the one who meets with couples in their home office, though she adds that Jason joins in when he can as they both believe that it’s important to really get to know their couples right from day one since they spend a lot of time with them on their wedding day.
“During the initial consultation, we always recommend our couples to collect source images (if they haven’t already done so) to share with us so that we can see through their eyes what style of images they are looking for.”
They also go over packages, answer questions and show sample photos from their portfolio. To fully reserve your wedding day, a 30% deposit is required when you sign the contract. The remaining balance is due in full on or before the wedding day.
There is no limit to the number of consultations LTC has with their brides during the whole planning process. At some point before the wedding, Laura creates a tentative itinerary to ensure that everyone is on the same page. Adjustments can be made up to a week before the big day.
On the wedding day, Laura and Jason show up in their formal attire, too, ready to document the day.
After the wedding, the photos are featured on the LTC blog, highlighting the unique details and special moments. After the images are edited, Laura and Jason arrange a pick up day/time, and your heirlooms are yours to enjoy.
Becky enjoys her photos, and her experience with LTC Photography so much, that she, without a doubt, recommends them to other engaged couples, saying that LTC is the best choice because of “the quality and variety of photos produced. Photos are one of the only tangible things that last far past the day of the wedding and live on throughout married life. LTC has a natural ability to use a couple’s love and distinct personalities to create photos that will be treasured by everyone who sees them.”
Details, details, details
• Email or call LTC at least 12 months before your big day to set-up a consultation
• When you’re ready to sign the contract, a 30% deposit is required to secure your day. The remaining balance is due the day of, or before, the wedding day.
• LTC offers packages with all edited, print-ready, hi-res images on DVD ranging from 4 to 8 hours of coverage at $1200 to $2000.
• The average bride spends about $1500 on all things photography with LTC.
• All prices include tax.
