13 May Spring Wandering with Cameras | Creative Portraits with Neil Coleman
Earlier this spring, I met up with my friend Neil, a fellow photographer based in Ottawa, for an afternoon of wandering downtown with our cameras. Neil is well known for his natural light photography, especially his bird and nature photography, but he also photographs portraits throughout the Ottawa area as well. We decided to reconnect after the long Canadian winter and simply create for the fun of it without overthinking concepts, mood boards, or expectations.
There’s something refreshing about that as photographers. So much of photography can become tied to business, deadlines, editing queues, marketing, and social media that sometimes you forget how important it is to just go outside with a camera and enjoy the process again.
Naturally, I couldn’t resist putting together a full outfit for the occasion. I leaned heavily into a vintage Parisian-inspired look with a red beret, striped shirt layered underneath an orange vintage dress, red stockings, and of course… a baguette. Because if you’re committing to a vibe, you may as well fully commit. 🥖
The whole afternoon felt playful and cinematic. We wandered around downtown Ottawa capturing portraits, candid moments, and behind-the-scenes style images of each other creating. I photographed Neil with his camera throughout the city, which as photographers we often forget to do for ourselves, even though those images become incredibly useful for websites, social media, and marketing later on.
One thing I really enjoyed about this shoot was how relaxed it felt. No pressure. No expectations. Just two photographer friends reconnecting, talking about creativity, and documenting each other in a very natural way. Sometimes those are the shoots that end up carrying the most personality.
I’ll also be including some of the photographs Neil captured during our afternoon together so you can see the experience from both perspectives. I always love how differently photographers interpret the same environment, light, and energy.
A reminder that not every shoot needs to exist for a grand reason. Sometimes creating just for the joy of creating is enough.
Photography by me:
Photographed by Neil Coleman:
To see more of Neil’s work, click the link below:
Neil Coleman – Photographer – https://www.instagram.com/neil_colman/
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