Category Archives: Portraits

Samples from any portrait shoot that I do.

Portraits

It’s prom portrait time.

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Last week I got a text from a friends little brother asking if I could take some pictures of him and his girlfriend before their prom.  I agreed, we set up a time and I started to pack the gear.  We were going to meet a little after 4, so I knew the afternoon sun was going to be rough.  As with all the prom-goer’s in our town, they wanted the pictures at a local park area.  Almost all of the area was exposed to the bright sun and there was very little shade. I felt fairly well prepared for this since I had a plan going into it.  Here is the first shot in a very harsh mix of shade and beams of light coming down through the tree’s overhead.

 

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Family, Portraits

Feeling the love for black and white

For anyone that has seen any amount of my work, you will notice that the majority are rather vibrant and full of color’s and contrast.  Since that has become my status quo, I’ve been trying to make an effort to broaden my experience and do something different.  With this comes more black and white.  In so many ways, black and white can convey so much more meaning than anything with color.  I feel like I’m channeling a little bit of Kirk Tuck with this portrait.

This is my daughter, who is 18 months old and normally does the exact opposite of what I tell her too when I have a camera in my hand.  When I tell her to say ‘cheese’, she will, but only after she looks away from the camera.  This was shot while I was chasing her around a playground area and she stopped to catch her breath.  The wind was blowing and something just caught her eye.  I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, I get lucky with shots like this.

Of course, no foray into new photography techniques can be complete without a cat picture.  Oh yeah, for the gearheads, these were shot with a Panasonic G3.  Picture up top was with the Olympus 45mm f/1.8 and the cat was with the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7.

Family, Portraits

Just some portraits

Yesterday was the first time in a good while that I broke out the light-stands, umbrella’s and backdrops to do some portraits.  Since the Nikon gear is all sold, I was relying on only my micro 4/3 gear.  Without going into an overwhelming amount of detail, I’ll just say that I’m very happy with the results.  The compact camera system did not disappoint in the slightest.  I got the shots I wanted with no fuss from the gear.  The Olympus 45mm f/1.8 is simply superb for this type of shoot.  It is quickly becoming my new favorite lens.

Once some inside shots were done, we moved outside since it a nice overcast day.  This was shot with a single flash (camera left) with a small softbox on it.

Today I went off and rode the bike trail from Connellsville to Ohiopyle and back.  Total mileage was 35.  The weather was beautiful and temperature perfect.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t focus on photography too much and didn’t really get anything worth saving.  I have a few shots I like, but just enough for me not to delete them.  Here is one of the only ones I thought might be worth showing.

Animals, Family, Portraits

A few from the weekend

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With the weekend about over and the rest of the family in bed, I’m sitting in my lounge chair and going over some of the pictures from the weekend.  There weren’t many to go through, as I have been trying to be very selective about what pictures I take and even more selective about which ones are actually kept.  It’s not about quantity, but quality.  Some have asked how I get the shots and that I must be very lucky or very good.  I normally respond with I’d rather be lucky than good and I don’t think I’m either.

A different thought came to mind though, it’s really about being ready.  The 3 shots below are all pure candid photography while either walking, visiting or playing in the backyard.  None of them were set up or the subjects coerced into the pose.  These are the result of two important things, having a camera on hand and being aware of what is going on to capture the moment.  Now that my daughter has found out the wonders of being outside (gotta love the abnormally warm March weather here), we have been venturing outside and walking all around town.  Normally, I try to sling a camera, just in case.

This first shot was taken in a neighbors house that a family member was dog and cat sitting for.  Since Brooke loves dogs and cats, we took her in to visit.  This was the result.

Brooke walked over to the chair, pointed excitedly at the cat and yelled to lift her up.  So we sat her down next to the cat.  Suddenly, she got that twinkle in her eye and a mischievous grin on her face, so I knew what was about to happen.  Up came the camera and this was the result.  The cats face is priceless and contrasts greatly with the peaceful face of Brooke.  The cat took it well and was not harmed in the making of this picture…

On the way home, there were some dogs in a yard barking and chasing each other and Brooke just had to stop and watch.  The sun was behind some clouds, so the light was beautifully diffused and I could shoot wide open for the blurred background.

The last picture was right when we got home and were playing in the driveway.  Looking up, our cat was apparently feeling left out and was trying to get our attention.  Even though she’s scared of being outside, I think she wanted out.

We didn’t let her out.

So there are my 3 favorite pictures from the weekend, none of them possible if I wouldn’t have had a camera slung over a shoulder while on a walk.  The kicker is that these all happened within a short time of each other.  Once again, it’s not about having the best camera, but having a camera with you.