I live in Vancouver BC, am a mom to two crazy and energetic boys who like to get up before the sun rises, play hockey, eat all my food and supply me with endless hugs and cuddles.

Hello. I'm Justine.

I’m a coffee and book lover, a light chaser and a bit of introvert. I grew up in a small Northern BC town, despised the cold winters so upon graduating,  flew somewhere warm to go to school and run track (hook 'em horns for you Texas fans!). I came back to BC, became a personal trainer and ran a few marathons (yay Boston and New York!), met my husband.. And then finally decided I wanted to became a photographer. Which seems like a complete 180 from the path of Science/Math in University, marathon running and personal training! But ... 

I do remember very vividly burying myself in National Geographic magazines when I was younger. We had boxes and boxes in our basement and I would spend afternoons going through these - fascinated by the stories that images could tell.

As chaotic and messy as it was with a newborn baby at home and 2 very sleep deprived parents, it was also beautiful in it's own way. It might sound crazy, but it was that beautiful and chaotic mess that I wanted to remember. The realness of life and the love. So I started just simply documenting. I also hated the idea of constantly having to tell them to do this or do that. It just seemed the natural way to go. And now looking back at those photos, I LOVE them and what they represent and the memories they bring up.

A lot of that 'why I shoot this way' has carried over to my wedding & family work. I LOVE watching how families interact and documenting those relationships. Trying to show that in photographs, that THIS here is your family is challenging and rewarding and what I'm constantly trying to capture in the images I take.  


My style evolved to what it is today and I can really credit that to having my own family. When my oldest was a baby and I was still learning how to take an actual photo, I realized around the time when he was 6 months old that I was photographing all these set up moments and that really wasn't what our life was like during that time

And growing up, we had a dark room in our house that my dad used - the black and white images he took and developed up on our walls. So photography was always present. But there was still this small part of me that was scared to admit to anyone that what I really wanted to be was a photographer. It would have meant throwing away my expensive degree and fitness background and I credit some of that bravery of just jumping in to my husband who questioned (and bought me my first camera!) why did I not just be a photographer?  I wasn't happy in the career I had chosen and spent all my free time pouring over photography books and art.. So that's what I did! I literally quit my job one day and never looked back. 

You likely want deeper and more meaningful images that show you the personalities, the love and the relationships surrounding you through all the moments captured at your wedding.

There are so SO many things going on at weddings besides an actual wedding that helps to contribute to the entire story of your day. And it’s not just a ‘day’ - It’s your entire lives – two individual lives and families coming together. And it really should include photographing and attempting to show all of that.. not just pretty & perfect looking portraits of the wedding couple. It’s all the other stuff going on that really helps to create your story – who you are as a couple, what is your story and your ‘about me’.

And there are many layers and people that help to create that. Wedding or not – I love to document those relationships and the people involved.. As humans, we're so complex and our lives are intertwined in so many intricate ways, especially in families. I want to show that in photographs - that THIS here is your relationship and your relationship with all your closest loved ones.

BACK

01.

Our first date was a 21km run. He was training for Boston Marathon and I had run it the year before. I think we both wanted to see if the other was legit! He was the first person I dated that could keep up to me running. And yes, his marathon time is faster than mine.. But I beat him in a 10km. We are not competitive at all. ;)

I met my husband on the original dating app Plenty of Fish.

02.

I love cooking and trying new foods. 

Not so much cooking when I had little babies at my feet, but now that they are older, my boys seem to have this same love for different foods and cooking that I do. We enjoy experiencing this with them and trying new restaurants and dishes is one of our favorite things to do as a family.

It’s the most common heart attack in young women and often fatal (and is considered the otherwise healthy person heart attack). It was scary and I’m still learning to process emotionally more than anything. But on the flip-side: it has given me a new perspective on life and it’s fragility. A lot of things I used to stress or worry about have been replaced with a deeper clarity of what’s actually important and what we need as a family - love & each other.

Three years ago I had a heart attack; something called SCAD (Sporatic Coronary Artery Dissection)

03.

I am a textbook INTP and enneagram 5.

For you personality people out there ...

04.

I struggle a LOT with being on social media as a business and how much to share of “me”. A lot of ‘me’ is my family and kid time which I value a lot of and not so comfortable sharing that with the whole world. I get the 'who is the person behind the lens & business" (hence these little tidbits!). But as for social media, I really have to make an effort to put myself out there every now and then; I would really just prefer to share my work only!

I'm very protective of my private life.

05.

I'm  rarely wrong on my instincts and often quick to come to decisions because of this. And this definitely makes me a better photographer of people and events as I can easily perceive personalities and situations. When photographing people, I can often anticipate how people are going to react in order to tell the story through images more clearly.

I’m very perceptive and intuitive.

06.

It started for health reasons and morphed into environmental and animal welfare over time. And because I do enjoy cooking and my kids are up for trying new foods and dishes, this hasn’t been extremely challenging. Plus seeing the health benefits from this past year (everything from less general sickness to more energy and overall mood improvements - especially with the kids!) I think it’ll likely be here to stay. And trust me, if you had told me 3 years ago that I would be giving up bacon for good, I would have thought you were crazy! 


As a family, we’ve become vegan over the past few years.

07.

It just seems like such a silly ‘social’ event. Socially, I would way rather enjoy a good meal, glass of wine and good conversation at a restaurant. 
Some of my favorites - Casino, Blow, About Time (everyone should watch this movie! So good!), The Departed, The Family Man, Oceans 11 and Gladiator.

I love going to the movies - especially by myself!

08.

Chances are, if we meet and chat in a busy environment, I will not recognize you when meeting you again. I’ll remember the conversation, but your face will be a blank and you’ll likely think I’m a crazy person for mixing you up with someone else before it finally sticks. My husband enjoys making fun of me for this - especially when watching movies together and I get the actors mixed up! My theory is that it comes down to the disorganization. I'm disorganized on the outside but can hold a lot of information in my head (I rarely write things down to remember and was never a note taker.) so faces get lost in there somewhere.. at least that's what I tell myself!

I have a facial recognition issue.

9.

10 Little Tidbits.

2018 Single Capture Top-Scoring Image

International Wedding Photographer of the Year

MORE

2018 Single Capture Top-Scoring Image

International Wedding Photographer of the Year

MORE

Overall Best Wedding Photographer

2018 BC Wedding Awards

MORE

Overall Best Wedding Couple Photograph

2018 BC Wedding Awards

MORE

Overall Photojournalism Winner

2018 BC Wedding Awards

MORE

Overall Photojournalism Winner

2017 BC Wedding Awards

MORE

Top Wedding Photographers

Vancouver Magazine

MORE

Top Wedding Photographers

Narcity

MORE

2017 Fearless Photographer Award

MORE

Top 15 Wedding Photographers in Canada

PWPC

MORE

2016 Top 100 Photographers to Watch Worldwide

CLICK MAGAZINE

MORE