Some engagement sessions are just a shoot. And then some come with a little bit of history attached, and this one is exactly that kind.
Meet Vanessa and Ryan. We spent an evening downtown wandering around one of my favourite hidden-in-plain-sight backdrops in the city: the old post office at Confederation Square, right where Sparks Street runs into the National War Memorial. If you’ve never stopped to really look at that building, do it next time you’re downtown. The stonework, the arches, the carved lions guarding the base of it, all of it makes for the kind of texture and grandeur you just can’t fake in a studio. Pair that with the energy of downtown Ottawa on a weekday evening and you get a session that feels equal parts romantic and real. It’s one of my go-to favourite spots for engagement and couple photos around Ottawa.
A bit of a full-circle moment
Here’s the part that made this session extra special for me. A couple of years back, I photographed Vanessa’s sister Ashley’s wedding to Dylan at Mill Street Brew Pub, and it remains one of my favourite days behind the camera. So when Vanessa reached out, I got a little giddy. Getting invited back into a family to capture another love story, especially a sister’s, is the kind of trust that never gets old. If you want to see where this all started, you can read about Ashley and Dylan’s wedding at Mill Street Brew Pub here.
Photographing siblings a few years apart is such a fun way to watch a family’s story unfold. Same warmth, same easy laughter, completely different love story. I’m so glad I get to be the one holding the camera for both.
Why the post office works so well for engagement photos
Downtown Ottawa has no shortage of pretty backdrops, but the post office is one I keep coming back to for couples who want something that feels a little more elevated than a park bench. The scale of the building does a lot of the work for you. It photographs beautifully in flat light and even better right around golden hour, when the stone warms up and the whole square goes quiet. It’s close enough to Parliament Hill and the Rideau Canal that you can easily build a whole route around it if you want a mix of backdrops in one session. If downtown isn’t already on your radar, here’s another downtown Ottawa engagement session for more inspiration.
Vanessa and Ryan leaned into all of it. Easy, unposed, laughing between frames kind of energy, exactly what I hope for with every couple I work with.
The little details
There’s something about watching two people who are just genuinely comfortable with each other. No forced poses, no stiff smiles, just Vanessa and Ryan being Vanessa and Ryan while the city carried on around them.
Wrapping up a beautiful evening
Thank you, Vanessa and Ryan, for trusting me with this one. Getting to photograph a second sister in the same family is the kind of full-circle moment that reminds me why I love this job so much. I cannot wait for the wedding.
A few favourites in black and white
Curious what an Ottawa engagement session actually costs and what to expect? I’ve got a full guide for that. If you’re planning a downtown Ottawa engagement session of your own and want a mix of history, architecture, and city energy in your photos, get in touch and let’s plan your session.
