Buying camera equipment is always a love/hate thing with photographers. A friend recently sent me this great article on the whole photography buying cycle. Enjoy!
http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2010/05/letter-to-george.html
This weekend, Dean played in baseball tournament in Irving.
When I arrived there, I was shocked to realize that I had been to this place before. It was the same baseball complex where I had photographed my very first paid photo assignment - when I photographed my boss’ little league team several years ago. How funny to return to the same spot and photograph my own kid so many years later!
Just got back from a great week of shooting in New York - so exhausted!
I’m still working on several of the images I created, but thought I’d share a few grab shots we took while exploring the city.
One of our first stops was the Broadway Theater to catch a performance of Promises, Promises - which was great. We hung around afterwards and got to see Kristen Chenoweth and Sean Hayes.
The next couple of days was a lot of walking around trying to get acclimated to the sensory overload that you get in NYC.
My buddy Chad and I spent several hours shooting in Central Park - trying to get some killer New York images. While we were doing this, Heather took this shot with the point-and-shoot … which was better than most of the stuff I got!
On the last day, we visited Central Park again and happened onto the New York City Aids Walk. It was unbelievable how many people were there. It was just people, people, people as far as you could see.
Now that I’m back home, I’ve got to sort through the hundreds of images on my laptop and separate the keepers from the junk - which could take a while! As I get more of the images sorted, I’ll post them to the blog, so be sure to check back often.
After putting it off for months and months, you’ve finally scheduled your child for a portrait session with a local photographer. What now? Believe it or not, the things you do BEFORE the session can have a huge impact on the results of the session itself.
As a professional portrait photographer for over 14 years, I’ve seen it all - from very well-behaved kids to wild, crazy, out-of-control kids. The biggest problems, however, were usually caused by things that had nothing to do with the kid.
Coaching
Whatever you do, resist the urge to coach your child before the session. Working with them on their smile is just about the worst thing you can do. Chances are, your child already knows how to smile. By trying to teach them how to do it on command, you are increasing your odds of getting a really fake expression in the portrait. A good photographer knows how to get expressions out of kids - by interacting with them and making them laugh. If the child says “CHEEEEEEZE” every time I step behind the camera, I know I’m in for a long session.
Haircuts
Another popular strategy is to take your child in for a new hair cut right the morning of the session. This is never a good idea, because they often end up with that “new haircut” look. Schedule any haircuts for 3 or 4 days in advance, so the hair has a chance to settle back in and look natural.
During the Session
When you arrive at the portrait session, do your best to be completely quiet. In fact, its better if you wait in the next room. By sitting off to the side and encouraging your child, you will cause them to look over at you constantly. As a result, you will view the final images and say, “Wow- that would have been a great one, but he’s not looking at the camera.” I know it is difficult and it probably will drive you crazy - but you must be strong. Trust me on this one!
If you will follow these simple strategies, you will make the photographers job a whole lot easier and increase your chances of getting those “perfect” images. All you have to do is….. do nothing. How much easier can it get?
Came across this article today. How cool is this?
Ok.. I think I’ve finally got the Twitter feed working right… so please follow along!!
Had a great time at the opening of my art show last night at 55 Degrees. Thanks a bunch to everyone who came out!
In addition to some of my previous paintings and black&white prints, I had an extra bonus: three preview images from my upcoming 40@Forty Exhibit. (Details soon!)
If you are near Plano this month, I hope you will stop in. Aside from the chance to see my work, its also a great wine bar. The food is awesome and the wine selection is excellent - you can’t beat it for a relaxed night out.
Ok, I’ve fallen a bit behind on the blog lately - so I decided it was time to kick it back into action.
I came across this blog entry called “Life is a Guest List” today. A friend from high school wrote it and I was really stunned by how moving it was - I just had to pass it along.
http://www.lushclick.com/lush-mommy-blog/91-life-is-a-guest-list.html
Working on another slideshow today. If you do slideshows… you gotta check out Animoto!
I posted this on Facebook a while back, but realized I never actually put it on the blog. For those of you who don’t do Facebook, I thought you might enjoy these images!
****
Over spring break, I had a chance to photograph three of my favorite models: Sami, Gusi and Addie. We ran through a bunch of different looks, but these were my favorites:
I loved the retro look of this outfit, so we we went with an antique-looking portrait. The soft grain really gives it a timeless look.
For Addie, we went the opposite direction. This super-high contrast image really brought out her eyes. I played with a few different colors, then settled on a blue tint. I was thrilled with how it turned out.
Sami’s portrait was somewhere in between. It has a little bit of an old-school look to it, but it is also very contrasty and processed. I loved the dark, moody feel we ended up with.
Who could ask for three better models!!???
Posts
