Author: cecile

I strive to make my photos speak. Whether it's for a portrait, a landscape, or a lifestyle photo evoking an emotional response is a fundamental necessity in my images hence my moto 'words within pictures'.

Girl Power!!

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I’m always excited and honoured to collaborate with the amazing Desiree Ellis Beauty. We’ve been working together for a few years now and our photo sessions are always professional, creative and FUN!!

The goal for this photo shoot was to create images for Desiree to update her website. Desiree is a professional Make-Up Artist (MUA) and has worked in the film industry as well as running her own business Desiree Ellis Beauty We needed a series of close-ups shots focusing on Desirees make-up skills as well as half and full body shots. Desiree is a strong (literally) person with a ‘can-do’ attitude. She finds the best in people and works with them to bring out that side of them. One common goal throughout all our projects are to showcase women in a powerful way.

One thing I love about Desiree is that she takes care of the make-up (thank goodness because I’m clueless in that area – LOL!!) and the wardrobe while I take care of the photography end of things. Together we collaborate on the goal of the project and what we want to get out of it. Which means we can both get creative!!

Below are a few of my favourite images. I broke away from the traditional white background and threw in some different coloured gels on site as well as in post-processing. Once we got the close-up shots out of the way we went for full length shots that showed off the wardrobe essentially turning the session into a fashion photoshoot.

If you are looking for a MUA and/or a photographer please contact us. We’d love to chat and help you find your inner tiger!

AN ABOMINABLE SHOW

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‘I play in a rock band’…pinch me!! 😎

At last nights sectional practice instead of playing I broke out my camera and lighting gear. This is part one of the photo session, part two will be with the horns at a later date.

The bands name is The Abominable Show Band and we are eight musicians who get together weekly to play mostly 70-80’s tunes. We are a rock band with horns. Think Chicago, Tower of Power, Boz Scaggs, KC, Stevie Wonder, Blues Bros., Toto and all the other great tunes from the past. We also have a few originals thanks to some super creative types in our group. On lead guitar we have Davers, Malcolm on bass, Ray on drums, and Chris on keyboards.

Our goal is to start playing gigs and to do that we need an online presence. For this photoshoot I wanted the band to shine through with a fun and retro look. I absolutely LOVE playing with these guys – the music is so good, and they are just an amazing bunch to play with – respectful, professional, inclusive and safe. No egos here just plain fun! To convey this, I decided to gel a few speed lights that I used as background lights as well as my key light. I used a combination of yellow, red and blue. I did start with a green but the bass player looked like Frankenstein so swapped it out. I chose to gel my main light yellow because I liked the warmth it gave and it just created a happy scene. Which is what our band is…we are a fun and happy group that love to play music. To create a retro papparazi edginess I kept the lighting simple with no modifiers and lit the players to create shadows.

For the horns we will be working in another studio that is a bit larger and perhaps I’ll throw on different coloured gels or set the lights up differently. I don’t really know until I get to the place and let it speak to me. I hope you like these pics and if you’d like to hire us (seriously, we’ll get the party going with tunes you know) feel free to contact me. In the meantime, part two with the horns will be coming up in a couple of weeks. Stay tuned!

ONE NIGHT ONLY

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I was honoured to have been asked to take photos of the CGS One Night Only event June 24, 2025.

It was a special night for my husband and I as we listened to our eldest son play drums in the senior jazz band and sing in the choir. To say the least it was a bitter-sweet moment as we realised this was his last performance as he gets ready to graduate from high school in a few short weeks. It has been a great journey over the past 4 years listening to all the musicians grow and become the musicians they are today.

It is with heartfelt thanks and a testament to Carson’s music program who treat every student with dignity and respect teaching them the value of music. When you see former students who graduated a few years ago come back to work the event you know there’s something special!

Thank you to Mr. Kevin Yang, Mr. Elliot Lo and Mrs. Katy Cadman for your time, effort and love for music.

LVBB Knocks It Out of the Theatre

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Congratualtions to the Lynn Valley Black Bear Band for a wonderful 20th anniversary concert that took place at the Blue Shore Financial Theatre (Capilano University) on Monday May 12, 2025.

I might be biased (because I know quite a few people in the band) but I think they played amazing. As always, LVBB is precise, captivating and energetic when they play. No big surprise with conductor and director of music Kevin Yang at the helm. He strives for the best in his musicians and this band delivered!

I was lucky enough to be invited to take photos and captured images during rehearsal as well as during the concert. Thank you for having me!! For the full album, LVBB members please refer to the link that was emailed to you. If you didn’t receive it please email me.

Enjoy and let me know how you like them in the comments below. 🙂

@CecileGambinPhotography

Artist Feature: J. Randy Krauss

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That Gal Wears Black

New single release date June 3, 2023.

Double non Genre

CD Cover + Insert

Self-titled

A self-titled album cover.

Over the past few years I have been working with musician J. Randy Krauss on a variety of projects ranging from CD Covers to Posters to a full-blown CD Cover + Insert. See my post on his album ‘Double non Genre’ that my friend Jason Dack and myself created a while back with the sweetest insert (super proud of what we created)! Just like the good old days of sitting on the floor, listening to music while reading the album inside covers and leaflets.

Randy’s latest albums and singles are smoooooth and Canadian! His jazzy notes combined with hints of country remind me of what a good whiskey should drink like: smooth and gets better with age.

I had the priveledge of listening to the single ‘That Gal Wears Black’ ahead of its release date to help me design the CD Cover. The image itself has a cool story that begs to be told – it was created by one of Randy’s high school shop teachers in the early 70’s for Randy’s old band. That’s one cool cat to draw a poster for his student! I had Randy go to a professional scanner so he could send the digital file to me. It was faded, ripped in the corners, and had pencil and tape marks. I cleaned it up in Photoshop allowing me to continue with the design process. The poster was originally black and white but I changed the white to a cream colour and the black to a dark grey. I felt this suited the song better as it created wamer tones oozing with slickness.

The single ‘That Gal Wears Black’ releases June 3, 2023. This is one song you won’t want to miss!!

Hailing from Calgary Randy has produced several albums and his latest single ‘Walkin’ in Saskatoon’ is a rich and a romantically feel-good piece. Click here for a quick listen.

You can find Randy’s music on Spotify and on Apple Music.

Rascally Rabbits

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It’s been busy at Cool Cat Photography. Big live fluffy rabbits with floppy ears. Real life sized Gunds!

Working with the rabbits was nothing short of fun. I set up my tables, paper and lights and they didn’t listen to cues, sniffed, ate, and kept wanting to hop away. LOL! But, you just can’t get mad at them. Waaay too cute and funny! So, I worked at their pace like I do with all my animal clients. The pets dictate the session. I just provide the equipment and the skills to take fun, family portaits!

Cats, dogs, horses, and now rabbits. Interested in photos of your furry friend? I’d love to hear from you.

Climbing Fears

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As I dangled over the edge my mind said yes and my body said no. Or, was it the other way around? All I know was when I was asked to walk backwards into the void I found my voice and it firmly said ‘nope…not happening’!

I was proud of myself for somewhat hanging over the upper part of that ledge right below the tree in the above photo and taking photos. I wasn’t super comfortable at first but the more I hung around the better it got. Afterall, I was in a harness and securely tied off so I knew I wasn’t going to fall. The problem was my mind didn’t believe me. It was a total mindphuck!

And, then it was time to move and I knew, onto bigger and scarier things. Yelp!

My friends Jasmine and Marie-Eve took me on a short climbing expedition. Armed with my camera and several lenses I took on the challenge. While I didn’t achieve rapel down (the 100 meter drop, the jagged rocks below and the cold, torrential waters did it in for me) I am proud of the photos I took from where I was.

My friends made climbing look easy and that gave me an false sense of ‘easey peasey, I can do this’ attitude. Ha! I was so wrong. I think I would have mustered my fears had I have started on an easier, and shorter pitch but, I think Marie-Eve was getting back at me for taking her on a black diamond mountain bike trail littered with skinny’s and drops (and, it was only her second time on a mtb). Serves me right. Payback is a bitch! LOL!!

I learned a lot in the few hours we had and had tons of FUN (except for the part where I couldn’t see my feet). I’d love to have the experience again! I just need a bit more warmup time before the big drop into nothingness!

Merci les filles!!!

I dangled off the side of this cliff for this shot. #Proudofme

HNY 2022

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WOW! I cannot believe an entire year went by and not one post by me. Let’s just say 2021 flew by…at least it did for me.

A HUGE thank-you to DNV Fire Fighters who came to the rescue!

First, and foremost, COVID-19 threw a wrench in my photography business. Like many, I have a mortgage, and a family. Common sense told me that I needed to take a step back from photography as it wasn’t making financial sense. In 2020 I ‘lost’ my job as a ‘Teacher on Call’ (a substitute) when schools closed down and an online model became available. This was also the time where my husband began working from home due to COVID and my studio now became his office. At the end of 2020 and into 2021, I had the oportunity to be regularly employed. Today I am an elementary school teacher-librarian and I absolutely LOVE the position. It offers me a creative outlet, I see kids learning and I get to read books to them!!! Well, it’s a little bit more detailed than that but, the point is, I’m happy where I am today.

So, why did my year fly by?

In April, I went for a ride with my husband and youngest on a mountain bike trail I’ve ridden many times. However, I messed up bad. Real bad. We had to call Emergency Services to haul me off the mountain. I ended up with a broken tibia-plateau, and messed up ligaments and cartilage to my right knee. I was bed-ridden for a month as I could not move. The first two weeks my leg was straight out as I was in a full-cast. After that, I was able to move around a bit using crutches. I took the time off work to heal. I had LOTS of time on my hand and lots of time to think about things. One such thought was towards my photography business and equipment. My gear sat in my camera bag and it sat unused for over a year. I contemplated selling it. But, I could not bear to do it. I love my camera too much and I am not ready to let go of photography.

Fast forward a few months. I am back at school as the Teacher-Librarian and still loving it. I have also accepted that photography has been put on the sideburner for a while. I am not stopping as I will always be a photographer. But, I just don’t have the time, or money to actively market myself to re-start my business. I will pursue it again in the future. But, right now COVID makes everything uncertain.

In short, Cecile Gambin Photography and Cool Cat Photography are NOT closed. But, I am not marketing myself. If you would like a photography session please let me know and I will be there for you. I love photography and it’s creative process too much to just drop it.

Thank you to all my past and current clients for helping me become the photographer I am today!!

Art Reproduction

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Artist: Moira Elliot. For this piece I needed to rake my lights so that I could keep dimension that Moira painted.

There are some seriously talented artists on the North Shore.

I had the pleasure to work with two artists over the past few weeks reproducing their original work into a digital file.

While some may think it’s an easy job and all they need to do is come in, take a picture and leave this cannot be further from the truth. Take for example Moira Elliott‘s piece above. Moira has a lot of dimension in her pieces and I needed to keep that 3D look. I achieved this with lights taking care to achieve the correct shadow. Colour balance is also necessary so that there is colours are accurate. On the camera side, I center the painting with my lens to avoid distortion. Choosing the correct lens is very important for accuracy while reducing the risks of distortion. Finally, there’s post-production. I try and minimize the amount of time behind the computer by spending my time in front of the camera getting it right the first time however, there is always some sort of post-production which can be anywhere from 1- 4 hours.

Many of the artists I have worked with need correct imaging for galleries, websites, or simply to print. The good folks at Opus Fine Arts in North Vancouver do an amazing job at printing and have a wide assortment of fine art papers to choose from.

Artist: Kristen Walters. I just love the creativity Kristen took from nature. For this piece I needed to carefully cut-out the salmon, keeping the lines, texture etc. in line with the artists vision and clean up the file in post-production.

If you are in need of a digital print for your image contact me so we can discuss.

Add a bit of Bling to your Face Mask

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Adding bling to your face mask is a sure way of getting you to wear them (more). But, finding the right photo isn’t as easy as you think.

Not all photos are made to go on a mask. You need to consider colour, composition, sharpness, contrast and the quality (resolution) of the photo as well as the type of printing and the material it will be printed on.

Lucky for my kids, I’m a pet photographer and they were able to choose their favourite photo of our cats so that I could order their very own face masks. The verdict? They LOVE them. Letting them choose the photo was key as it gave them control over their masks and they are proud to show off their furry friend. Perfect for school and getting them to wear them.

I used a local printer. The masks are made with a stretchy material and slip on easily over the ears for a comfy, secure fit. They come in 3 sizes – small, medium and large. I ordered a large for my husband and it fits him great. For myself and the kids I ordered a medium . It fits me perfectly. However, the mask is a tad loose on both my boys. I think I’m going to reorder another set for them (with different photos for the fun of it) in the small size. My kids are aged 10 and 13.

If you are interested in customizing your face masks with a photo of your dog, cat, fish, horse or other animal let me know. I’d love to take a photo of them indoors or outdoors (don’t worry, I am practicing Covid-19 rules). Pay for the photo session and I’ll throw in a mask for free with your choice of photo. Not only will you end up with a kickass mask you’ll also have high-end photos that you can use for custom prints, wall-art, albums or a coffee table book.

$49.99 – gets you a short photo session, you choose the photo or I can help you and, a mask. I’d love to hear from you!!

Cecile