While the images that Manuela Stefan produces at her company, Manuela Stefan Photography, have a common flair for capturing emotional reactions in a creative, fun and colourful way, she says she approaches each wedding with a fresh eye and a challenge to push her creativity farther with each one. Since 2005, between working with prestigious Toronto studios and opening up her own, Manuela has unleashed this creativity on brides within Canada and some abroad, adapting easily to any given situation.

With an unobtrusive style based on observing and allowing her subjects to be who they truly are and end products that feel like you're watching a movie, it came as no surprise to The Ring that many local brides already rave about Manuela's fresh approach to wedding photography and her ability to bring out their playful side. We met with Manuela and discovered that she offers customized packages with many unique options to preserve your memories. At the time we sat down with her to check out her portfolio she still had some 2010 dates left, but when more brides hear about what Manuela offers, we wouldn't be surprised if those spots booked up quickly. Let us tell you more...

Personally speaking...

Manuela has photographed weddings since 2005, starting out working with some local prestigious wedding studios while she was able to shoot some of her own weddings and gain a lot of experience from the experts in the industry. "Establishing a deep connection with my clients and sometimes even making new friends made me think of how rewarding it would be if I opened my own business and did more of this," Manuela told us. And that's just what she did in 2007 when she started working for herself at Manuela Stefan Photography.

Now, almost three years later, Manuela says that working for herself and promoting her own style has come with a deep satisfaction for seeing clients reacting to their photos at the end. "It adds a personal note to the experience and makes it worthwhile and inspiring," – something she never got to see while working for studios.

After developing her own portfolio Manuela became a member of the Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA), a prestigious group of artists where she gets inspiration and knowledge from. "It helps me stay connected with the work of excellent professionals and, as part of being a member, offers participation in their quarterly international wedding photography contests." She's also a member of the Digital Wedding Forum, another great group of people who share their vision and inspiration.

While Manuela is the primary photographer in her company and the one who meets with couples from beginning to end, she has an assistant help out on the wedding day to add more of a spontaneous, documentary flavour to capturing your day. "While I may be busy photographing the couple and their immediate family, the assistant's job is to capture candid moments, guests having fun and kids enjoying themselves," Manuela told The Ring. She adds that the assistant usually has a photojournalistic approach and a style that matches hers well.

Aside from weddings, Manuela also does food photography for local restaurants and cafés, which can help you with your detailed wedding shots; as Manuela points out, "Photography is all about having an eye for the details."

A passion for weddings...

In her (almost) five years of shooting weddings Manuela says she has been exposed to many different stories, cultures and flavours; "I have photographed couples locally and also traveled within Canada and abroad... I adapt easily to any given situation and I like to believe that my shooting style does justice to my clients' big day, no matter what the traditions and backgrounds are." She adds that she treasures multicultural experiences as they help her grow artistically and as a person.

Last year Manuela shot a total of eighteen weddings and she has been a part of seventy weddings in total since she began photography. And still, with each one she told us that she strives to approach each of them with a fresh eye and challenges herself by pushing her creativity farther. "... each couple is different and their emotional response to the events is what makes each story unique. When looking to capture emotion rather than poses, it all changes and inspiration kicks in to a high degree." That's how Manuela says she shoots a new experience with every wedding and produces images that have a common flair, but are specific to each subject, reflecting who that couple truly is and the emotions they feel for one another. "I ultimately document moments as they unfold," says Manuela.

Erin Churchill and Lee Hooper would certainly agree. They had Manuela photograph their October 2008 wedding day and told us that Manuela's photography tells a story. "There is wonderful movement and feeling in the pictures. She captures people in a natural, sensitive way that makes for wonderful photography – especially during a wedding when there is so much emotion."

A style to call her own...

Manuela describes her photography style as unobtrusive. "I basically capture their emotional reactions in a creative, fun, colourful way," she told us. Jennifer Cardella and Matthew Lunardini told The Ring that they hardly knew Manuela was at their August 2008 wedding because she was so unobtrusive. "Her candid shots are amazingly creative. She also captured moments that we were not around for and some that we forgot even happened."

There is also a fine art touch to Manuela's images that she says is connected to her abstract photography work. "The images I create turn into a lively, vibrant and modern visual document."

"Our guests noted that Manuela stayed out of the way, but she still managed to get very intimate shots during the ceremony," say Erin and Lee. "Our wedding party pictures were a lot of fun. Manuela put everyone at ease, and encouraged us to be ourselves and have fun. A lot of the best pictures she took were while we were being natural, not posed."

Her desire to get to know each couple she photographs so that they're comfortable with her is just one thing that makes hiring Manuela seem like an easy decision to make. She doesn't want to be a stranger in your home; she wants you to trust her and be comfortable with her, putting you at ease while she's photographing you. "I truly believe photographing people is about managing to bring out their playful, relaxed side, sometimes in spite of potentially stressful circumstances."

Erin told us that Lee doesn't enjoy having his picture taken, but on their wedding day it wasn't an issue. "Manuela was able to photograph us while we talked and laughed, and while we were kissing or looking at each other – this made for very romantic pictures. She really captured us in our element... ."

Melis and Rob Piluso had engagement photos and their September 2008 wedding photos done by Manuela and loved the fact that her methods were unconventional. "Manuela is incredibly personable and warm and makes you feel so comfortable in her presence. It was definitely her amazing work that drew us to her and the personal connection that sealed the deal... She became our friend throughout the process and that says a lot."

Clients that Manuela says she meshes the best with are fun-loving and understand her approach while connecting with her work and personality. "They want to hire me because they feel what they get goes beyond the usual wedding product. They look at my samples, imagine what they would get for themselves and ultimately want to invest in the quality I offer."

Part of that great quality she offers seems to be her dedication to going above and beyond to make sure clients get what they want. Nadine had Manuela photograph her September 2007 wedding. She told us that Manuela scoped out the area around her wedding venue before the wedding day in order to get ideas of where the most appealing and creative shots could be taken. "The angles and backgrounds used were so well thought out – you definitely need a talented eye like Manuela's to visualize a beautiful and unique shot."

Services & packages

Packages at Manuela Stefan Photography can be customized as per the clients' needs and she says she can work with most budgets – just be honest and tell her what you need and what your budget is. If there is a way that she can make it happen for you, she says she will. Packages start at $2950 for seven hours of coverage. Travel fees may also apply depending on the distance she has to travel. But Manuela says she loves shooting in different locations so she's pretty flexible.

"Manuela was willing to work with us in terms of a budget," Jennifer and Matthew told us. "Her prices were fair and reasonable and we were able to get everything we wanted."

One of the main reasons that Erin and Lee hired Manuela to photograph their wedding was because she was one of few photographers who seemed to offer what they were looking for. "Manuela was willing to listen to the kind of coverage and prints we were looking for and tailor her services to meet our needs. She got to know us as a couple in order to give us the most appropriate service for our wedding." Not to mention that Manuela made herself available from the beginning. "She sent many samples of her work, and met with us to get a good feeling of how we wanted our day to unfold. We were extremely confident that she would do a great job... her personality and passion for photography made it a pleasure to work with her."

The basic offer that Manuela shows couples includes an engagement shoot, all high resolution images on a DVD, a web link active for one year with the highlights of their day, 200 professionally printed 4x6 images and fifty thank you cards with envelopes.

Clients also have the option of adding other a la carte items to their customizable packages, including photo enlargements (regular, canvas or fine art paper), coffee table books or matted or flush mount albums, all custom designed to tell their story in an artistic, unique manner. "I try to always look for the best products to offer when it comes down to albums so the client receives the best value for their investment," says Manuela. She adds that she specializes in album design because it appeals to her artistic side. She even does this as freelance work for other local photographers. But she keeps her prices below market value (or suggested retail value) so that everyone can have a great album.

Melis and Rob told us that Manuela was able to meet all of their needs within their budget. "She offered us an incredible coffee table book which no one else did and it was AMAZING!" Erin and Lee agree that Manuela's packages were very reasonable, and when they saw their pictures they say that they would happily have paid more for what they received. "We would recommend Manuela without hesitation. I have never seen wedding pictures like the ones she takes. They are all absolutely stunning."

Walking you through it...

Email or call Manuela to check her availability. If she's available, set up an appointment to meet with her (most likely at a coffee shop or location of your choice) so you can get to know each other better and custom design your photography package. Since Manuela keeps her overhead low, she can offer you great prices.

A non-refundable deposit is due when you decide to book (averaging $500, but dependent on your package price). The second payment of $1000 is due two weeks before the wedding and the balance is due when you receive your disc of images. Sometime between booking and your wedding you have an engagement shoot with Manuela and review (by email or phone) the final details of your day, like locations, times, and important notes.

If the wedding is small Manuela can shoot it herself, but she does prefer to bring a second shooter with her to most weddings. On your wedding day, they will both be capturing every moment of the day. While she is photojournalistic in style, Manuela recognizes that you still need some of the more posed shots and she'll make sure you get those too. "I love the photos of guests laughing and enjoying themselves. I love to show brides, through my photography, some of the details they themselves may have missed during the day."

Manuela recommends booking her six to twelve months before your wedding, though she can do weddings on shorter notice if she's available, and she still has some 2010 dates open. But, she does limit the number of weddings that she shoots and would ideally like to space out her weddings to two per month in order to maintain her creativity and fresh approach for each one – so you should probably book as soon as you know you want her to capture your wedding day.

A wedding photographer is someone who captures photos from a very important day of your life so you would presumably want that person to have a professional manner and very kind and trusting personality, which is exactly what Nadine says Manuela has. "She's very sweet, respectful and always accommodating, whether it was to organize the payment or plan a meeting to discuss ideas... I have already recommended Manuela to a number of people that I know and will continue to do so."

Details, details, details

• Manuela recommends booking her 6 to 12 months before your wedding date.
• Packages are customizable but start at $2950 for 7 hours.
• A non-refundable deposit is required to book. The cost depends on your package price (averaging $500); $1000 is due 2 weeks before the wedding with the balance due when you receive your images.

Making contact

Email or phone Manuela Stefan, Owner and Photographer at Manuela Stefan Photography at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 416-924-7457. Check out Manuela's amazing portfolio and photo galleries on her website at www.manuelastefan.com.