23 posts tagged “eclecticphoto.com”
I am so behind on blogging it's not even funny. Not even remotely funny.
*heavy sigh*
The weather has taken a turn for the better around here, and for that I am incredibly grateful. February and March tend to be my least favorite months of the year because of the dreary weather we have here in Atlanta. So I welcome the warmer temps, the slight increase in humidity, and the sunshine with open arms.
Yet it still rained the day I had this shoot. :D
A photographer friend of mine asked me to join him on a bridal fashion shoot for Perfect Wedding Guide (a local bridal print and web directory). The shoot was at the King Plow Arts Center in downtown Atlanta, and the purpose was to get promo shots of wedding dresses and bridal bouquets. We had three female models, one male model, and a team of hair and makeup artists. It was insane. lol
The space was incredible, though. The women from PWG wanted something edgy this time around, and from what they said it was a departure from their typical shoot. I was a little nervous going into the shoot because edgy just isn't really a word I'd use to describe anything about me...including my photographic style. But I was excited to break out of my box and try something new.
Jeremy and I sort of split up so we could divide the dresses and the space to move things along more quickly. That means the full responsibility of these shots FALLS ON ME. :D The location, the angle, the lighting, the pose...it was all on me to direct it all. And anyone who knows me knows how much I dislike directing my subjects. lol For that reason alone it was a phenomenal experience for me.
And here are the results. :)
I spent most of the day working with this last model (obviously), and I'm ok with that since I loved her look. After we left I could not shut off my brain, though...kept thinking of things I should have shot or tried. But I'm pretty much that way after EVERY shoot. LOL All in all I'm really happy with the way things turned out, but good lord was I stressed out about it all! It's the first time Jeremy and I have worked together, and this is the first time I've worked with PWG. I always feel like it's an interview of sorts, and I just wanted to do well. There's always room for improvement, but I also think I learned a lot from this shoot. And that's what it's all about. :)
Plus it was kind of fun to shoot something other than expectant moms and newborn babies for a change. ;)
Yesterday was my first session in over a month, and it was kind of nice to shoot again.
I did a family portrait session/promo session for Brian Molin and his family. He's the guitarist for Sweetwater Junction. They played at a wedding I photographed back in May, and we still keep in touch via Facebook. So when I got his note last week asking about a photo session I was excited to work with him again.
He and his family were a lot of fun. His son is about the same age as mine, so we hit it off immediately. Brian's very laid back and easy going, and he had me laughing the entire time. He also made my day by asking if I lived in Decatur. He was shocked when I told him I was right down the road from the studio because it's in one of Atlanta's suburbs. He assumed I lived in the artsy part of town, and I'm sure my fellow Atlantans can appreciate the compliment. :)
I'm still processing photos, but I picked out a few of my favorites to share:
I don't think I realized how much I missed being in the studio. It's usually my home away from home, but I've felt a little estranged from it lately. It was good to be back.
I also had another maternity portrait request today. I guess you just can't fight some things, so I'll try to book the session if possible. I feel bad now for canceling the baby's first year client, but I honestly wasn't sure where I'd be in a month let alone a year. I didn't want to commit if I couldn't follow through. I think she would have been a great client, though.
I've been sticking with my 365 project over on Flickr, but it has turned into a set of self portraits. I really don't want it to be, but they're easy. I'm not attempting to do anything creative at all right now. I just want to make myself shoot daily, and this seems to be working. I hope I'll attempt to be more creative and shoot a few concepts I have floating around in my mind, but I don't want to put a lot of pressure on myself and ruin the project. If that makes any sense at all. lol
Kieran and I are headed to the dermatologist on Tuesday. He has a plantar's wart on his foot that isn't responding to OTC treatments, and I have another cyst that's flaring up again. I'm prone to them and have already had two removed. This one's on the back of my left arm and it's really bothering me right now. Yay for more stitches and scars. :S
On another random note I think I'm going to join a local photography Meetup group so I can meet new people. I think they meet on Saturdays, and Mike has already mentioned a couple people he wants me to meet. It'll be good to get out of the house more, and I miss talking shop with other photographers.
I hope you all are enjoying your weekend. :)
Of course I had to tinker with the design, and now I kind of wish I hadn't. :S But the cards are ordered, so live and learn!
Here's the new front:
And the back:
It's a 5x7 flat card from WHCC. I wish I had used the smaller, non-obnoxious snowflake pattern from the back on the front as well. Not sure what I was thinking. But it was late last night, I was overly tired, and I was on my second glass of wine. So that might explain it. LOL I did the front first, and the back was kind of an afterthought. Isn't that usually the way it works?
I can't wait to see how they turn out, though. I also ordered cards for my sister. She really liked this peppermint twist template I had, so we tweaked it a bit for her family cards.
I'm not crazy about the font on the back because I think it's hard to read, but she wanted a script font. I hope it's not too difficult to read on the actual cards.
So it was a productive weekend! I finished proofing my last wedding, did family holiday portraits, and designed and ordered two sets of Christmas cards. I need a vacation now. :D
Because I just love them that much.
I need to quit procrastinating, but I can't. LOL
A cutie patootie one year old boy who cooperated during his portrait session today. Yay!! :D
Just look at this face...how cute is he?
His mom is one of my favorite maternity clients, so it's crazy to see him all grown up like this. I had a lot of fun at his session and can't wait to show his mom the proofs.
More photos on my other blog!
I've been wanting to do a maternity progression series since I first started taking maternity portraits. Unfortunately, most women were well into their pregnancies by the time they got to me so I never had the opportunity. Until recently. :)
One of my brides from last year got pregnant earlier this year, and luckily she and I stayed in touch and I found out pretty early in her pregnancy. I asked her to be my guinea pig for this project and she happily agreed!
Next time I will try to schedule the sessions at more specific intervals, but she and I just got together whenever we could. I will also try to be more consistent with the lighting, but I still love the way it turned out:
She's due the beginning of next month, and I cannot wait to see her little baby girl. I'm going to see if we can add a shot of her holding her daughter to the end of this collage, but it will depend entirely on how she's feeling after delivery.
I hope I'm able to do more of these progressions. I also wish I'd really done one with my last pregnancy. I tried taking a shot every month but more often than not I wasn't feeling well and just didn't want to do it. So I don't have as many as I'd like. But at least I have a few. :)
I need one. In the worst way. But since Kaelin refuses to nap it means Mommy can't either. Oy vay.
I can't remember when she stopped napping on a regular basis, but it's been at least six months. Right? She gave up her naps way too early, and I'm sure her therapy schedule and Kieran's school schedule had a lot to do with that. I was dealing with it, though, because she would got to bed at a decent hour. Last night she went to bed at 7:15, but the little stinker was up shortly after 6 this morning. Now, I was up too since I had to get Kieran ready for school, but there's an unwritten rule about one rugrat at a time before 8am. :D
She is still waking during the night for whatever reason, so I am a zombie today. The lack of quality sleep is really starting to take its toll, but maybe I'll get lucky and get some sleep tonight. Maybe.
It's been a busy week working on a few client projects as well as some of my own. I wanted to put together some sort of portfolio to leave at the studio. Some of the other photographers have traditional portfolios there in the lobby, so I wanted to do something a little different.
I thought about an album, but I know how often I like to swap things out. The album would be old news before I even got it, so I decided to order one of these really cool custom portfolio boxes from Finao. The box will focus on my maternity and newborn portraiture since I do have sample wedding albums to show. The box holds 8x10 prints, and here's the outside:
I'm also really trying to promote Family Portrait Month this year. It's a PPA-sponsored charity benefiting Operation Smile. I participated last year but October was full of weddings for me. I don't have any weddings in October this year, so I decided to focus on FPM instead. It's such a wonderful charity and I'm hoping I'm able to double last year's donation. It's just a good feeling to be able to help out others...especially when you're talking about children. :)
My 08.08.08 wedding was an absolute blast! I had so much fun with this couple, the wedding party, and their friends and family. It was an intimate wedding up in Gainesville, and the bride and groom are just two of the nicest people I've ever met. They are all a bunch of goofballs too, so I fit right in. :D
This is actually the first wedding I've ever shot completely solo, and I was feeling it the next day. My back was KILLING me. I think I'm getting too old for this stuff. :D
Anyway, I posted tons of photos over on my Eclectic Photo blog, and I hope you'll go take a peek. :) I also hope you all had a great weekend!
One of my favorite shots from the night...
It was a jam-packed weekend, and I'm actually kind of relieved Monday is here. LOL
Friday night my family and I had our family portrait taken by AltF. It was a lot of fun, and I can't wait to see the photos! :)
Saturday was full of family stuff the first half of the day, and then I had a maternity session that afternoon. The studio is not air-conditioned back in the shooting space, so it gets pretty freaking hot in there. The owner is about to bite the bullet and have one installed, and I have to tell you...I cannot WAIT. He currently has one of those fans that cools water and blows it into the space, but all it does it add to the humidity back there. Blech.
Anyway, my summer sessions tend to be rather short because it's just miserable back there. But this mom-to-be was a total trooper and didn't mind the heat for the most part. We were there for a little over two hours, and she really put me to work! :D It was fun despite the heat, and I got a lot of photos I love. Most of them aren't safe for work, though, so I can't post them. But I do love the way this one turned out:
I cannot believe school starts in a week! I'm looking forward to some quiet time during the day, but I am NOT looking forward to waking up at 6am again. Yuck. :P
I second shot for another local Atlanta wedding photographer this past weekend. The wedding had both an American and Hindu ceremony, so it was a crazy day! The wedding was absolutely beautiful, though, and I had a great time...even if I'm paying for it today. LOL
My favorite photo from the (11 hour) day:
Isn't she stunning? There are more on my blog, too. :)
