Born and raised in Montréal, Alan Dean moved to Vancouver in the 1980s, where he studied photography at Langara College{s Focal Point professional photography program. In 1990 he moved to Ottawa and quickly established himself as the city{s premier fashion photographer, shooting for modeling and acting agencies in Ottawa and Montreal.In 1992, he was hired as the principal photographer for a Montréal casting agency and throughout the next 7 years he commuted to Montreal weekly to shoot actors{ headshots for thousands of professional and aspiring actors of all ages. "This is really where I learned to shoot," he confesses. "With so many different faces to photograph, I began to seriously study the face and try to find the best possible perspective for each person." But the true key to getting a great portrait, he quickly learned, was "establishing a relationship with the subject and getting them to react to me instead of to my camera. People are intimidated by being photographed, so I realized that if I have a warm approach as a person and don{t {play photographer{, my clients are more inclined to open up and reveal their true personality." This proved to be a winning formula that he uses to this day.By the late 1990s, Alan Dean Photography had expanded from shooting editorial fashion and actors{ headshots, into the realms of children{s and family portraits, business portraits, and commercial photography. His clients are diverse and his portraits are in high demand. He continues to be well-known in the acting community, and has provided headshots and/or production photos for companies and schools including Orpheus Musical Theatre Society, Kanata Theatre, Tara Players, Suzart, GOYA, Ottawa School of Speech and Drama, OYP Theatre School, Ottawa Little Theatre, and many others. He also shoots on a regular basis for professional and aspiring actors, models, musicians, dancers, authors and visual artists.During the past decade, Alan Dean began to focus on the business community, offering high-quality business portraits to realtors, mortgage brokers, lawyers, doctors, accountants, executives, government officials, small business owners and other business professionals. His attention to detail and unique approach lead to successful business portraits that are a popular choice for the Montréal and Ottawa business community.