Model in sound boot with colored lights at Heard Magazine
A while back, I had a chance to photography some models for Heard Magazine. I had a lot of fun doing this photo shoot. There were a few models and some musicians around and I had a blast photographing them for various promotional material. This photo shoot was set up as a last minute thing, so our studio was already booked with another artist. To add to it, a bunch of my lighting equipment was on loan to a friend of mine who was shooting some portraits and a wedding in Columbus. I set up a mobile Photo studio at the Magazine’s recording studio. The set up was basic, a couple of 250 watt mono lights and a couple of 160 watt strobes, a black background rounded out the set-up. What was great about the shoot was that I got a chance to try out some lighting with colored bulbs that I did not have a chance to do in the studio. My colored flood lights and fill lights were mounted in 8″ and 10″ reflector pans and fixed with universal clamps. This is one of the pictures from the shoot. There are many more, and I’ll be adding them to the gallery when I have a little more time. But for now, I have to pack my gear for a portrait session this afternoon.
Look at the Hena Tattooing!
This month, we were fortunate enough to be selected to photograph another Indian wedding! I have to tell you guys, I love photographing Indian weddings, these events are often grand galas that last more than one day. The colors, coordination, ceremonies, and outfits are just absolutely amazing! If you have never attended an Indian wedding, I suggest you find a way to get invited to one.
I would love to show you the pictures from this wedding, however; at the request of the bride and groom, I have refrained from posting the images online. The pictures of this wedding and many like it are available in our portfolio books. So contact us for a consultation and make sure to ask about “The Books” so we can show you these beautiful images!
Get your skin ready for a photo shoot.
So I was shooting with a friend of mine a few weeks ago, and after the shoot was done, I went home and began dumping the images onto my computer to do some compulsory post production work… you know, white balance, sharpening, etc.. Now I’ve shot with this model before, so I expected minimal processing for her skin tone and some color correction of her eyes, and hair. To my surprise, I began to notice a slew of stuff on her skin. I took a closer look and I see that her skin is dry, I mean like the Kalahari, and there is a multitude of breakouts in different regions of her face. So I took to clearing her skin for some selected images.
Last week I met her at Caribou coffee and sat down to a nice cup of coffee, I gave her her pictures and asked her the questions that I was sure would elicit a slap to my face. ” Hey Alex, (short for Alexis) what happened to your skin?” I asked, and all I got back from her was look of confusion. “I mean two weeks ago when I photographed you” I responded, and she looked at me for a minute and I could see the light bulb going off (sorry Alex, no pun intended here). She tells me, “Oh, well, see, that was kind of a rough week for me; I went out a few times, and got hammered, and OMG; the night before the shoot, me and a few friends went out and…” the rest might as well have been Blah, Blah, Blah… Alex committed a carnal sin of modeling; failing to care for her skin. This is as bad if not worse than cutting your hair or getting a lip piercing the day before a photo shoot!
Know what happened here? Alex here dehydrated her skin, I mean really really dehydrated her skin. When it comes to photography, this is bad; bad like running through a mine field the day before you run the marathon, or deciding to singe all of your taste buds before you cook for your in-laws the first time. See where I’m going with this?
So what can you do? Turns out that caring for your skin is actually pretty simple, as long as your willing to do it on a regular basis. Here are some tips:
This especially applies to brides to be, since standing in front of the camera may not be a regular happening for you, this may be a good time to think about getting your skin ready for the big day.
Do:
- Drink a good amount of water, you don’t need 8 glasses of water; but you need at least three – four glasses depending on your life style. Tea, soda, Vodka, and coffee all have water; but be moderate with the latter three.
- Wash with a mild soap, antibacterial soap has no business on your pretty soft skin (unless of coarse you somehow manage to get a significant amount of bacteria on your face).
- Moisturize your skin, not with a 100 dollar moisturizer and not with a 2 dollar moisturizer; something middle of the road that achieves results, but won’t bankrupt you.
- Water (especially hot) can strip your skin of its natural oils
- Don’t take long baths
- Don’t take long HOT baths or Showers
- Use a face mask at least once a week
- Exfoliate, some people say once a day, others say once a week. Really this depends on how dirty your skin gets. If you work in a coal mine, or you happen to wear a pile of make-up then consider regular exfoliating with shorter intervals. If you happen to work in an office and are a fan of the natural look, then there really is no reason for exfoliation on a daily basis, is there?
- REST, need I say more?
There are hundreds, No, thousands of skin care products out there with as many opinions about the right method; but these seem to work pretty well for everyone I have worked with. So create your own routine; but remember to stick with this. There’s nothing worse than having your skin go on strike a day or two before you have to stand in front of the camera for a photo shoot, For you or me…
Enough of this for now, I’ll put more up after I get some reset.
Yesterday, we added a wedding photography portfolio gallery to the site. Today, we added a glamor and fashion photography gallery to the site. Please use the navigation menu on the right to visit and view the pics in our glamor and fashion photography page. We will be updating the page on a regular basis. There are many many other images (I would say several hundred more) that still need to be updated, but that’s going to take a while, and we will be working in reverse chronological order to get these images online.
We are a full service photo studio and developing portfolios for budding models is one of our favorite things to do. If you would like more information about how we can help you develop your portfolio and further your career, please contact us today.
We added a new wedding portfolio page to our site, please use the navigation menu on the right to access the wedding portfolio page to see our images. This is a small sample of the work we have done recently, the rest lie safely in our portfolio books; and we’d love to show them to you. Contact us now to set up an appointment so we can get together and go over the images with you.
By the way, did you know that booking your wedding photographer at least six months in advance of your wedding date drastically increases your chances of booking your choice wedding photographer and at a lower rate?
Well, I finally figured out how to add a gallery to the site, it is not fancy, so I’m going to go ahead and just throw these pics in here as it stands. I’ll try for a nicer gallery a little later. Incidentally, if you would like contact information for any of the models on our site, please let us know.
Last summer a few of my friends got married. Unfortunately, I was not available to photograph their wedding, and it seemed like I was answering emails with their questions every other day. So I wrote up a few things that I thought were pretty important. Now with wedding season coming up again, I figured I’d publish this list for everyone to see.
Take a look, if you have any questions, hey, let me know.
Now that you have selected the date for your wedding it is time to begin looking at your options for capturing your special day in pictures and video.
There are several important points to consider when deciding on a photographer for your wedding.
The following list is in no particular order, as I’m sure what is a top priority to one person, may not be a top priority for another, so look at the list and decide what’s more important to you, then prioritize and select a photographer based on you what’s important to you.
1. Experience:
How long has the main photographer for your wedding been photographing weddings?
How long your photographer has been performing wedding photography is important and so is the number of weddings they have photographed, but more importantly is their ability to capture the perfect images, the ones you want.
2. What about the support crew:
Sometimes the second photographer (you may or may not have one for your wedding) takes some of the most important photos, such as those of the guests, the landscape of the ceremony and reception site, your drive off and arrival. It is important to know who your second photographer will be. Though this information may not always be available as it is common for the second photographer to be in training. If this is the case, how much instructions will the main photographer provide the second photographer?
3. What Style of photography are they comfortable and experienced in shooting?
You will need to decide in advance what type of photos you want, do you want traditional pictures, photojournalism style, artistic, etc… This is important to know because you don’t want to waste what little time you have right now speaking with the wrong photographer.
If you want traditional pictures, what’s the sense of speaking with a photographer who only shoots photojournalist style? Decide on this now before you begin your search, that way you can narrow your search down to the most relevant photographers.
4. Do they offer post-production-editing (touch up) services?
You may not think about it but the majority of wedding photos in portfolios and website have had some level of editing performed on them. The photographer wants to make sure his best work is on display. You should expect to have the same for your wedding. You should discuss with your photographer about how many images they are willing to touch up for you, and any additional charges (if any) that you may incur.
5. Can you provide the photographer with a list of photos you want taken?
There may be certain photos that you envision and consider an absolute must for your wedding album, your photographer should be willing to take the pictures you want; after all, you are employing them and it is only fair that you get exactly what you want. A professional photographer should be able to achieve about 75% of the photos you want taken.
6. Do they have a portfolio for you to view?
A photographer’s portfolio is a resume; they select their best to put on display for potential employers. Review the portfolio; think about the photographs in the portfolio, do you like the quality of the images? How about the composition of the picture (the angle, lighting, clarity)? Is the photographer’s work consistent with what you are looking for?
7. What type of equipment do they use?
It may seem like a stupid question, but this is important. Do they have professional equipment? Digital cameras or film cameras? Yes some photographers still prefer using film cameras. Film photography offers higher quality prints (if you are concerned with large enlargements) but offers fewer photos in comparison to digital photography.
8. Do they have backup equipment?
Professional photo equipment doesn’t fail often, but if they do, do you want that failure at your wedding? A professional photographer will have at least one full set of back up equipment.
9. Are they local to your area? If not, are they willing to travel?
This is pretty simple to go through, if a photographer is local to your area, chances are that they may be familiar with your wedding venue, they will also be familiar with the layout of the land. This is important because you really don’t want your photographer to get lost on the way to the ceremony or get stuck in traffic because they don’t know the busy roads and times for your area.
If you have your heart set on a photographer outside your area, ask them if they are willing to come to your area a day in advance and do a site inspection of your venue and get to know the area. Be forewarned as this may cost you extra, most photographers will charge you for travel, including Gas, tolls or airline tickets, Hotel stays, and maybe even food.
10. How much do they charge?
This is directly tied in with your budget. Don’t shop for your wedding photography based on price. It is important to find a photographer within your price range, but picking the lowest bidder is not the best policy for photography. If the photographer is out of your price range, decide if their work is worth the difference you will be paying.
11. Do they offer packages? Can you mix and match services?
Almost all wedding photographers provide packages, many offer an a la cart option. Review your options carefully, take time to think about what you really need and want. Once you find what you like then ask about prices and discounts with your photographer. This is the time to ask about any additional fees that they charge. One such fee would be if you ask the photographer to arrive before or stay beyond the contracted time. Most photographers charge an additional PER HOUR rate for this. Make sure you know how much this is and know what you are getting in your package.
12. Contracts, deposits and payments:
Once you are satisfied with everything else ask about deposits and payment. Know clearly how much you have to pay as a deposit when you sign the contract and when you are expected to pay the remaining balance.
Read the contract carefully, everything you discussed should be in the contract, double check the cancellation policy as stated in the contract. Once you are satisfied with the terms of the contact, sign it and make sure you get a copy of the contract
That’s all for now, I’ll add more to this as it comes to me.
