70 posts tagged “photography”

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.  ;)

I know I've mentioned my 365 project over on Flickr, but none of my photos to date have been anything worth sharing.  Some people have these amazingly creative 365 sets, but I seem to have lost my mojo for now.  I'm on day eight so far, though, and this is really about shooting every day for me.  Hopefully the creativity will come with time.

I finally tried something resembling a concept shot today.  It didn't quite turn out the way I wanted it to, but I ran out of time.  At least it's not another self portrait in my foyer mirror.  LOL

Kaelin is seriously driving me crazy with all the "Mommy!!" business lately.  She is so demanding and needy and draining right now, and I don't have the energy to handle it sometimes.  I love my daughter fiercely, but I swear she will be the death of me. 

And yes, I promptly started banging my head against the wall after this shot...because she started with the inquisition as soon as I brought out the camera.  lol

There are too many to list, but I also love these photos:

A week or so ago I picked up a copy of Life's "The Classic Collection:  The 100 Greatest Life Photographs and the Stories Behind Them."

I love these photographic collections and find them to be truly inspiring.  I feel like a kid in a candy store as I browse the pages, and many times the story behind a photograph is just as compelling (if not more so) than the photograph itself.  I discover new artists all the time since I still feel very "green" when it comes to the history of photography, so while many of these photographers are world famous they're new to me.

I curled up in front of the fire last night with a glass of wine and the magazine.  All the photos are black & white, and some of them are just so damned moving.  Others made me smile, and there were quite a few that made me say "Damn!" out loud.  So much raw talent.

I'd never heard of Milton H. Greene, but I fell completely in love with this portrait of Marlene Dietrich:

The version in the magazine is much more low key, and I prefer the darker version.  Your eyes are completely drawn to her amazing legs and her glowing blonde hair.  The effect isn't quite the same in this version.

Greene photographed Dietrich quite a bit, so I'll have to use the power of Google to find more of their collaborations.  But I love this photo.  It's simple, it's elegant, it's sensual and sexy, and it's mysterious.  A winning combination in my books.

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.  :)

I love this time of year.

I'm one of those people who smiles and loves it when the stores put up their Christmas decorations the day after Halloween.  I would keep my house decorated year-round if I thought I could get away with it, and I've been known to leave up a stray Christmas decoration here and there under the guise of forgetfulness.  I just love everything about this time of year...the decorations, the holiday music, the food, and the spirit.

I love holiday traditions and have been trying to instill a few of my own.  I have a leather strap with huge jingle bells on it that was passed down in my family.  On Christmas Eve we take it outside and shake it near the kids' windows so they think it's Santa and his reindeer.  The excitement it creates is absolutely priceless, and I love seeing their little faces light up at the thought of stealing a glimpse of the jolly ol' guy.

This year we finally took the kids to see Santa after missing him the last couple of years.  It was a brunch and photo opp at a local golf club, and it was really well done.  Santa was just wonderful, and both kids were very well-behaved.  Kaelin even sat on his lap while Kieran went over his Christmas list (that he brought with him) line item by line item.  lol

After the photos we headed into another room for brunch.  We were almost done when Santa meandered in to grab a bite for himself.  When I saw him in the buffet line I absolutely had to take a picture:

I even spot-metered the shot!  :D  I think this might be one of my favorite holiday photos hands down.  I can't quite put my finger on it, but the whole scene just screams Christmas to me, and I just smile every time I look at it.  It also turned out exactly the way I'd hoped, and all you photographers out there know how rare that can be.

It turns out that Santa was also an art photographer many moons ago, so after he finished eating he waved me over to let me know he was going to show me where to take a beautiful photo of my daughter.

That's right...Santa totally gave me photo tips and help me set up a shot.  :D

He told me I couldn't use flash (which I didn't have anyway), and that I would need to use the available light.  So we grabbed Kaelin and walked over to the large Christmas tree in the corner of the room surrounded by windows.  Santa gently posed Kaelin right next to the tree, had her hold onto an ornament, and then told her to look up at the tree.  Here's the final result:

The photo itself isn't really anything spectacular, but I think it has a really special story behind it.  So of course it becomes an automatic favorite.  :)

After I finished taking the pictures Santa walked over and said, "Well...let's see 'em!"  So I had to show him the shots on my LCD.  LOL  He patted me on the back and told me how lovely they were.  Gotta love that guy.  :)

It was a really nice trip and one I'll remember for a long time.  I doubt it made as much of an impression on the kiddos, but that's why we blog, right?

A few other favorites from the day:

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

It really did.  I had such an amazing time photographing this wedding, and I have entirely too many photos to post.  But here's one of my favorites.  Isn't she just a gorgeous bride?

And I think the two of them together make a pretty good-looking couple.  It was freezing out, but they were good sports and let me get a few shots of them outside.

There's just too much to write about (again) from the pinstriped suits and Pumas, to the Scrabble block cufflinks, to the giant log they sawed in half during their ceremony.  It was nonstop laughter and fun, and every single wedding should be as laid back and happy as this one.  I hope you'll stop by my other blog to read the recap of their wedding day:

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!