Toronto · Since 2019 · By appointment
The photographs you'll still be framing in twenty years.
Stephen Sha's Studio makes unhurried, editorial imagery for weddings, portraits and brands across the GTA — shot on location, delivered with the kind of care most studios reserve for their own portfolio.
Typical reply within 4 hours · Limited to 18 weddings a year
02 Selected work
Forty rolls a season, and only the frames that hold up.
A small edit from the last eighteen months — three Toronto weddings, two commissioned portrait sittings, and two brand campaigns for independent makers. Hover or tap an image for the detail.
03 Services
Three ways to work together, priced out loud.
Every commission includes a pre-shoot call, a colour-graded gallery you own outright, and a print licence. No hidden fees, no album upsell in the eleventh hour.
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01
Weddings & couples
Full-day documentary coverage with a second photographer for anything over ninety guests. Eighteen dates a year, and I hold one weekend a month clear for editing.
from $3,400
- 8–10 hours of coverage, two photographers
- 500–700 edited frames, delivered in 3 weeks
- Engagement session credited to your balance
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02
Portraits & headshots
Natural-light sittings for founders, actors, authors and families — in my Willowdale space or somewhere that actually means something to you.
from $450
- 90-minute sitting, two looks, wardrobe notes
- 12 retouched finals in colour and black & white
- Web, print and press-kit licence included
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03
Brand & product
Campaign and catalogue work for independent makers and small teams — stills, on-figure, and the quiet in-studio frames that make a shop page feel like a magazine.
from $1,200 / day
- Half or full day, art direction included
- 40+ finals, sized for web, print and paid social
- Unlimited-term commercial licence
04 How it works
Four steps, and I do most of the work.
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1
Enquiry & date hold
Send the date and the shape of the day. I'll confirm availability within four hours and hold it, no obligation, for seven days.
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2
Coffee or a call
Thirty minutes, in person on the Danforth or over video. We talk about light, timing, the people who matter and the parts you're dreading.
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3
The shoot
I arrive early, work quietly, and keep a running timeline so nobody is chasing you. Two bodies, dual card slots, spare everything in the bag.
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4
Your gallery in 3 weeks
A private, downloadable gallery — hand-graded, no filters, print-ready — plus a short edit for sharing the week after the shoot.
05 In their words
Our ceremony ran forty minutes late and the light we'd planned for was gone. Stephen never mentioned it once — he moved us to the loading dock behind the venue, of all places, and those six frames are the ones both sets of parents have hanging in their halls. He also spent twenty minutes photographing my grandmother's hands because I'd mentioned her arthritis in passing on our call in March.
I hate having my photo taken and I'd sat for three headshot photographers before this. Ninety minutes, two coffees, and he got a frame that finally looks like the person my team says I am. The files were in my inbox in nine days, named properly, cropped for LinkedIn and press.
06 The studio
I studied photography at Ryerson (now Toronto Metropolitan University), graduating with a fine art degree in 2023. I started shooting in 2019, for the cost of the film, during coursework — mostly because I wanted an excuse to keep shooting outside the classroom. Seven years later, the approach hasn’t changed: show up early, stay out of the way, and wait for the ten seconds that actually mean something — whether that’s a product on a table or a room full of people.
I shoot digital for coverage and a medium-format film back for the frames that deserve the patience — then grade everything by hand, one image at a time, in the same warm palette you see here. No presets sold to me by someone in another country. If a photograph doesn't survive that edit, you never see it.
- 7 years
- 30+ projects
- 3-week delivery
- Fully insured
07 Good to know
The questions I get asked every week.
Weddings begin at $3,400 for eight hours with a second photographer; most couples land between $4,200 and $5,600 once coverage and an engagement session are added. Portraits start at $450, brand days at $1,200. A date is held with a 25% retainer and a one-page agreement — the balance is due two weeks before the shoot, and you can split it into three payments at no extra cost.
Do you travel outside Toronto?
Constantly. Anywhere inside the GTA — Hamilton to Whitby, up to Newmarket — is included. Prince Edward County, Muskoka, Collingwood and Niagara add a flat $250 for travel and a night's accommodation if the day ends after 9pm. For anything further afield, including destination weddings, I quote travel at cost with no markup and I'll show you the receipts.
How many photographs do I get, and when?
A full wedding day yields 500–700 finished frames; a portrait sitting, twelve retouched finals from roughly forty proofs; a brand day, forty-plus finals in web and print sizes. Everything arrives in a private online gallery within three weeks — a sneak edit of fifteen images lands within seven days. Files are high-resolution JPEGs with a print release, and the gallery stays live for twelve months with unlimited downloads.
What happens if your gear fails?
Two camera bodies on me at all times, every one recording to dual cards simultaneously, plus a third body in the car. Cards are backed up to two drives and encrypted cloud storage before I go to bed on the night of the shoot, and originals are kept for two years. The studio carries $2M liability and full equipment insurance — most Toronto venues ask for a certificate, and I can send yours to your coordinator the same day.
What if it rains, or our plans change?
Rain is often the best light of the day — I carry clear umbrellas and I've scouted a covered fallback for every venue I shoot. If you postpone, your retainer moves to any available date within eighteen months at the original price. If a shrinking guest list means you need less coverage, we rewrite the agreement rather than holding you to it. And if I were ever unable to shoot, I have three photographers in the city whose work sits beside mine, with a written arrangement to cover each other.
08 Enquire
Let's see if your date is free.
Tell me the date and a little about the day. I read every enquiry myself and reply within four hours during business days — usually sooner.
- Telephone
- +1 416 617 6641
- Studio
- Based in Bayview, working across the GTA and beyond
- Hours
2026 has four spring Saturdays and nine autumn dates remaining. 2027 opens in September.
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