What's New?
Tales of a Portrait Photographer
Continued..........
Female Actor / Actress
What's right ?
I got chance to work with and photograph a wonderful actress recently. But before writing a post about it, I started searching to see whether actress or actor is politically correct or not. I see a lot of debate about it on the web but it seems more like personal taste versus a hard and fast rule. The Academy still has a "Best Actress Award". I was brought up with the terms, "actor and actress" so I feel more comfortable with actress versus female actor. Does that just mean that I'm getting old?
I'll post more shots from this modeling session shortly.
Commercial Photography
Models, food, and lots of fun
This one has been under wraps for a while until the project was completely finished and in use on the Birdseye Foods website. I've photographed the executives at Pinnacle Foods Group for many years, but we recently did a commercial shoot featuring children of Birdseye employees and employing all sorts of garden vegetables. I can't begin to tell you how much fun we had and the results were fantastic. Check out the Birdseye.com website as they roll out different images each month. This was the first model. I'll post more images once they start to be unveiled on the official website.
Sleep Baby Sleep
Newborn portrait session in dreamland
I had the perfect newborn portrait session recently. The baby in question slept through the entire 2-hour session and didn't make a fuss, not even once. This little lady was just 2 weeks old which is the perfect time. During the first 1-2 weeks, most newborns sleep for much of the time and are still used to being curled up into cute little shapes. Beyond the 2-week mark, they start to become more active and like to stretch out in every direction. Mom was able to just sit back, relax and enjoy the experience too.
Actor Headshots
The changing styles of actor headshots
Over the past decade, actors have gone away from the traditional, high-contrast, black and white studio headshot and gone towards more casual styles and even environmental portraits to help define the sort of roles they want to play. Everything in nature and fashion is cyclical so I'm sure the traditional Broadway Theater black and white headshot will come back into fashion soon, but for right now, bring on the brick walls, stairwells and damask backdrops.
Had a wonderful actor portfolio session earlier in the week with an upcoming teen actor with aspirations for the big city and twinkling lights. My hat's off to anyone that can get up on stage.
Hi Ho Silver Away
Pet portraits of an equine kind
I have to start out by saying - "I love my job". I can't think of any other profession where there's so much variety from week to week, day to day or even hour to hour sometimes.
Each session requires something a little different. Different lighting, different camera settings, different environment. As a portrait photographer I spend a lot of time refining the pose, refining the lighting and building a rapport with the client. So when I was commissioned to photograph a retired polo horse at full gallop, I had to throw away my usual process and quickly hit Google to do some research.
My portrait photography uses a lot of careful nuanced flash. But you can't use flash with horses unless you want to get trampled or have the rider thrown. You can't get a horse to hit a mark and then give you a certain look or have him do a stylized trot so it looks like he's at full gallop and yet keeps his legs in the all important classic gallop look. Anyway, this was definitely a natural light shoot. We timed it so the sun would be just behind the trees, so no direct light, but still bright enough to stop the action without cranking up the ISO too high.
Unlike my usual precise timing and meticulous setup, we had to go into sports shooter mode and fire off frames continuously as the horse and rider made repeated passes. A sort of spray and pray approach. But in the end I was pleased with the results, although I'm glad it was digital and not film :)
Modeling Portfolios
From children to seniors, they all started somewhere!
We work with a lot of aspiring models and actors of all ages in Morris County. Our studio offers a relaxed, low stress atmosphere, which, for someone new to modeling or who is curious whether they have what it takes to be a model, there is no better learning environment. We have the experience to provide the creativity and "Wow" factor required of professional portfolio portraits, but also the patience to guide you through the process. Showing you the simple steps and building your confidence as you go. So when you land your first advert or modeling job and find yourself on a busy commercial set with 30 other people staring at you - you'll be able to go to that happy place we instilled in you.
Pet Portraits
Painter portrait of that faithful family friend
Who's the one that's always there for you when you've had a bad day? The one that jumps up excitedly every time you walk through the door? Of course it's your old faithful friend, the family dog. I just started making wonderful "Painter Portraits" of pets. They start out as a regular photograph from a regular pet portrait session, but then with some romantic lighting, judicious brush strokes, some antiquing and lots of time, the portraits are turned into a style reminiscent of the great renaissance painters.
Family Portraits - Weather Permitting
What do you do when it rains on your large outdoor family portrait?
This happened recently. We'd planned this family portrait session for months. Had the location, clothing, family groupings and poses all organized. But sometimes the weather decides to change things. I had literally just set up for this outdoor shot when the heavens opened. The light was fading fast and I was walking my ISO up and my aperture and flash power down every few seconds. I've never seen it go dark so fast. Anyway, needless to say we didn't get the photographs we'd been hoping for.
Luckily we were within easy driving distance of the studio where we could quickly and easily accommodate 14 people. The end result was a sophisticated indoor family portrait. We ended up having a really great indoor portrait session despite the bedraggled look and the ominous gloom outside.
Happy Halloween
Too cute to be scary
I think the byline says it all. This is not what I'd call the wicked witch of the west. More the cutest little witch you're ever likely to bump into on a dark night. I bet she does really well on Halloween.
Baptism Portraits
Capturing a little bit of heaven
I got to work with a little guy this week. He was really excited to show off his Christening gown and was so full of beans he kept kicking his feet and gown up to his mouth. Wish I was only half as flexible. Can't tell you how many times we had to keep retying the bow on the front.........not that you can tell from these pictures :)
Senior Pet Portrait
Wait.......did you mean senior portrait or pet portrait?
One of my neighbors has a wonderful dog that's getting up there in years. With her age, she's had a long list of medical problems, so her owner wanted to create a memorable portrait that will last. This is just the first step in the painter portrait of the full length pose we're doing for her.
Dogs Gone Wild
A great local event where the dogs call the shots not the owners
Our local town, Denville, organizes a fantastic event each year for the local dog community. Enduring Images sponsored the event this year by providing pet portrait sessions for raffle prizes. Of course, I just had to attend to see what all the fuss was about.........I only wish I could have stayed there longer. Talk about fun. These family pets showed everyone just how much fun they could have in a simple environment. It was great seeing big dogs, little dogs, rowdy dogs, quiet dogs, all playing together. Watching ten dogs chasing down a tennis ball is a funny thing. Watching five smaller dogs waiting for the big retrievers to haul the tennis ball back to shore and then pouncing all over it is also great.
Click here to see a gallery of images that I got during the hour or so I was there.
Fall Family Portraits
Looks like it might be a short Fall this year
At this time of the year I keep a close eye on the trees as this is by far my favorite time of year for outdoor family portraits. You can't beat the crisp air and incredible color of the foliage. This year looks like it might turn very quickly due to all the rain and sudden drop in temperature. Click here for more information on Fall Outdoor Family Portraits
Communion Portraits
A significant moment in anyone's story
Many of you know me for my location communion portraits where we're able to capture some truly stunning images in remarkable environments. However, since opening the studio, I've had the opportunity to do a lot of things that wouldn't have been possible previously. Wit the help of a 10 foot ladder I was able to capture some images with a birdseye perspective. While we're talking about communion portraits. If the clothes still fit, it's not too late to get those wonderful memories.
