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Lisa Luft Photography bio picture

Welcome to my Blog!

Lisa is a family and wedding photographer based on both Salt Spring Island and Vancouver, British Columbia.  She works with families, children, babies, and couples to create fresh, creative portraits in natural settings.  


To see posts before July 2009, click here.

turning one…

i’ve known teresa and her lovely family for a good few years now and it’s been a pleasure to photograph her three kids as they’ve grown.  last month teresa baked up the most yummy chocolate cake for her youngest, olivia’s, first birthday session.  my first time to host a “smash the cake” session and it was so much fun!

we started with some goofing around and jacob and cassidy got into to run around and join in too…

you can see those gorgeous baby blues in all three kids…

jacob, turning into quite the little man

cassidy….so, so pretty and loves to laugh…

miss olivia of course, getting into the swing of it and having fun…


olivia’s adorable dress and matching bonnet were so sweet – i love the old-fashioned feel to this one…

and her mischievous smile in this one…

but that’s nothing for the trouble she was about to get into…all at mum, dad and my urging, olivia went for it with a chocolate cake all for her!  wish the computer screen had “smellavision” so you could smell how delicious and chocolate rich it was…

at first a little shy, it took a while to pursuade olivia to get up close and right into the cake…

she quickly lost her shyness however once she tasted it – then it was a free for all!  love her look in this one.  like Teresa said, she’s saying to us, “what?  you said go for it, so i did!”

happy first birthday kiddo!  can’t wait to see the whole gang again next year…..                                     lisa

ceremony with a view….ruckle park, salt spring island, august 2010

while i’ve been there more than a few time for weddings, it’s still breath-taking to watch a ceremony take place under cool, shady trees overlooking the gorgeous view from salt spring’s ruckle park.  maria and jason’s ceremony there this august was just gorgeous.  surrounded by a close group of witnesses and friends, they exchanged vows on one of our last gorgeous sunny summer days.

my favourite thing about ruckle park is the variety of surroundings there – i could go for hours hopping from one stunning location to another, but funny how the couple just wants to go on to the reception…;)

and the late day light in the park…so so pretty!

i think, my favourite shot of the day….love the light, setting, and way maria and jason are so at ease with each other

best wishes you two…

sea dogs, oysters and 2 bouquets on a tuesday afternoon…

i’ve been so fortunate this summer to be part of some amazing weddings that stand out for the incredible love that is shared, not just between a couple, but from their family and friends witnessing their big day.  tanya and erin’s wedding this month at quarrystone house, on salt spring island, was a perfect combination of friends, family, a gorgeous setting, love, humour and good times!

tanya and erin are from calgary, but chose salt spring for their destination wedding.  friends and family came not just from alberta, but north carolina and chicago to attend.  i love how destination weddings, particularly here at salt spring, bring together the closest of friends, and really speak about their friendship with the couple.

t & e choose a gorgeous viewpoint in quarrystone’s property to exchange vows.  their ceremony was performed by their good friend erin.

tanya’s best friend, coolio (also an erin!) performed songs during the ceremony – so touching.

flowers and centerpieces were done by heather, from ooh la la flowers on salt spring.  i love the bright vibrant colours and especially the lemons!

my future competition sophie…

the favourite drink of the day, sea dog ale, from vancouver island brewery…

the piece de resistance, kelly from quarrystone’s stunning and luscious fruit and cheese platter…

congratulations tanya and erin!  i hope you make it back to salt spring for some oysters and sea dogs soon.  :)  l

jenn + paul – love shoot, gastown style

i’m looking forward to paul and jenn’s wedding in a couple of week’s at salt spring.  according to them, it will be very casual, relaxed beach setting, photos by a barn.  a lovely, rustic salt spring wedding.  so for contrast, jenn thought it would be nice to get all dolled up with paul and do our e-session in a more urban setting.  we chose gastown and i’m so glad we did!  the buildings, architecture and overall feel there were a rich contrast to their gorgeous outfits – i COVET this dress – so so so pretty and it suited jenn to a t!  and check out paul’s great tie…

can’t pass up a red wall…

i think the waterfront station columns were a fitting setting with jenn and paul’s fancy duds…

jenn reminds me of a jane austen character  - she has such a quiet beauty and confidence all in one.  look at these eyes!

you two did so great!  can’t wait til we meet again in a couple of weeks for your big day!

kassandra + adam – yaletown love shoot

i’ve known kassandra through her cousin and my friend hannah a long time.  a really, really long time.  which means i remember the lovely woman below as a high-pitched, throaty-voiced little cousin who used to pester us big girls as we tried to play.  we didn’t mind though…she was funny and always, always had that impish grin that so easily came to her, and an adorable laugh.   it’s still there though – the easy, friendly smile, and throaty giggle that you can’t help but fall for.

i’d say adam agrees…

we met in yaletown, such a great area for finding lots of nooks and crannies to hang out in and take a photo or two with rich textures and colour all around.

and do a little dance move or two…

typical vancouver, it suddenly showered, but only for a few minutes.  the skies though were a gorgeous moody mix of the last cloudy days of spring and the promise of sunny blue skies poking through, just to tease us.

thanks k & a!  you were great!  and thanks to my friend brian for his help too…

can’t wait for november to see more of those gorgeous smiles – from both of you – all day!

family reunion at deer lake park

jenn and paul are a couple getting married this summer at salt spring and at christmas, jenn and her brother had the idea to give her mom a family session for a present.  what a great idea!  i can truly appreciate, even with my young family, how hard it is to get everyone in one place (these days for us, it just means gathering them together from different parts of the house, but i can see when they’re older how hard it will be to get them in the same town, just as it is for jenn and her family!)  so the other weekend, i met jenn, fiance paul, brother jeremy, girlfriend lauren, dad gyle, and mom sam at deer lake park in burnaby.  mom and dad had just come in from salt spring for the day and everyone else, from various parts of the lower mainland.

the misty rain and wet ground kept us undercover most of the time, but we managed to get out onto soggy grass for at least a couple of shots…

it was lovely to meet you all and i hope you enjoyed your (brief!) family time together…see you next month for the wedding at salt spring!

angie & nigel – may 23rd at westwood plateau

angie and nigel choose beautiful westwood plateau for a planned outdoor wedding last weekend, but the sun gods weren’t listening that day and the drizzle that the weathermen promised would disappear, never did up in north coquitlam.  but apart from that small hiccough, their wedding was beautiful and went of without a hitch…except them, getting hitched….get it?  ok, so i’m no comedian!  here’s some pictures instead…

angie, just before…look at those eyes!  stunning….

shoes off (LOVE them!)

and on…

angie’s gorgeous daughter, abby…(same beautiful eyes as her mum, lucky girl!)

good friends…

proud dad helping with the finishing touches..

the ceremony!

and married!

and still, the weather gods were not smiling…drizzle continued, but gave us a break and the rain stayed away just long enough for us to make it down to Rocky Point for some photos!

the bridesmaids sweaters were a gift with their names embroidered on from angie!  i know, nice touch!

nigel!  relaxed, now the tough part was over…

then back to westwood plateau for the party!

wonderfully organized by sweet beginnings event planning (thanks lisa & jodie for your help all through the day)

and also to valeskca – by trusty assistant and second eye – thanks for everything!

first dance

and fantastic tunes that kept everyone dancing by gary robertson music

so thumbs to you, mother nature, your drizzle didn’t ruin everything!  it was a wonderful day, and nigel and angie had a beautiful wedding after all, just like it should be.

congratulations again!

kirby & shauna

one of the advantages of photographing portraits, is getting to witness love in all its forms – between families, couples, friends.  i’m always honoured by the privilege of being able to see this in so many people i would otherwise not have met, strangers who within a few minutes, let their feelings for each other show so beautifully and sweetly.   this weekend, i met and photographed shauna and kirby, who will be married later this summer.  they are both from salt spring, but live on vancouver island now, with kirby away long stretches for his job.  so this engagement session seemed particularly sweet as kirby & shauna were  just reunited.  we met at kirby’s grandparents’ family home on salt spring.  what a gorgeous setting…

i love how comfortable they are with each other – it’s not hard to see how in love they are!  and so at ease even in front of the camera which is harder than it looks…

enjoy your time together you two!  i’m sure it goes by far too fast, but you have september to look forward to and a whole life together after that!   best wishes to you both!                   xx L

coal harbour engagement session

maria and jason are getting married later this summer in salt spring, but chose coal harbour for its stunning views and urban surroundings for last week’s engagement session.  the city buildings and water views were a nice offset to the more rural and natural  settings that a salt spring wedding will offer so it was a perfect complement!

despite getting plopped on by a very rude seagull (what are the chances??? not as slim as you’d think… but not what you want to happen mid-photo shoot!)  luckily it was just on the leg and lens wipes (and a little photoshop)were able to do the trick to clean it!  now you just need to go buy a lottery ticket maria…  :)

and lastly, my favourite of the day…makes the long walk to the non-existent round tunnel totally worth it!

swingin’ into spring…

last weekend  we were finally able to finish our outdoor photo session with salt spring girls, g & a.  it was so lovely to feel the sun and feel that maybe, just maybe, summer is just around the corner…

thanks g and a – you two were troopers!  and thanks to carli and kyler for keeping them busy and fixing that bubble machine (which i think i loved more than the girls!).