Simply Lemonade

I am embarking on a quest to add some more advertising style shots to my portfolio.
Most of the images currently in my book are of people. People are my favorite subject matter to shoot, but they are only one aspect of what I photograph.

In an attempt to diversify, I made a list of shots that I am going to be attempting. Product shots, food shots, landscapes, architectural shots, things of that nature.
To kick things off, I spent a few hours creating this shot:


It took several hours of testing and experimenting with light and positioning before I got it the way I liked it. But it was all worth it.

Let me just add a note here for those of you who are amateur photographers. This shot cost me a total of $10. Don't think that because you don't have the funds that an ad agency has that you can't create some cool concepts and some great sample images. It just takes some creative thinking.

I'll post some more about this photo soon, along with some behind-the-scenes shots.
Hope all is well with you, my friends!

As Promised: Bridal Portraits!

In my last post I showed you how I photographed my friend Melissa for her bridal portraits. Unfortunately I couldn't show the images at the time, but I'm happy to say that, as of yesterday, they are happily married and I'm now free to show off the photos!

As I showed you the setup for the indoor ones, I'll go ahead and show you those.


Here is one with only one of the strip boxes firing. As you can see, the black background and white dress create a beautiful contrast, and the light makes the photos so incredibly dramatic.


Both lights firing this time. I probably should have moved them back a bit farther behind her, but the result is still very dramatic.

Finally, my favorite image from the series, which was blown up to a 16"x20" for her wedding day:


She loved them almost as much as I did! I was very happy that she let me shoot inside, as I've been trying to convince the brides-t0-be that I've shot to do it, but none of them have gone for the idea. Since she is a very good friend she was kind enough to indulge me.

Bridal Portraits

I did some bridal portraits last night for a very good friend. I have been trying to get brides to let me shoot them indoors on a black background so that the images could be black and white. The white dress with a black background really creates some powerful contrast and draws attention to the dress. Finally I was able to, mainly because my friend was nice enough to be my guinea pig.

For the project I rented two 6' tall strip boxes. The guy at the rental place acted like I was crazy for wanting to use them for bridal portraits! But I wish he could have been in the room with me as I shot some of the most powerful and dramatic bridal portraits I have ever shot. I put one on either side of her so that only her sides were lit. The bride loves them and I'm hoping that now that I have something to show to future brides I will be able to do it more often.
I mean, why would you not want to shoot indoors in July in Texas??? Its 100+ degrees outside, with 90% humidity!! This way you can do your hair and makeup and it stays the way you want it. You are not wearing a 10lb dress and sweating for 2 hours. OK, I can't promise you won't break a little sweat in a studio with lights and a heavy dress, but I guarantee it will not be anywhere near as bad as if you were outside!

I can't show you the photos I got for another month or so, but this is the basic setup I did:

FOOOD

I recently did a project for a restaurant. This was my first exposure to food photography as an art. I must say, it is a complicated process. In fact, I have heard from multiple sources that food photography is the hardest form of photography due to the short time window to shoot the food before it ceases to look appetizing.

With the help of my good friend Mike and the owner (who turned out to be a great food stylist), we knocked 6 shots out in a two hour window. Here are two of my favorites:







Both make my mouth water, so I think that's "mission accomplished" as far as making the food look good!