First Look for Wedding's (How I did it)

First, looks are always exciting, and you never know what you will see when your photographer. For me, I don’t want to be the attention. It’s the bride and groom and their private moment. In this case, we set it up. I had the groom sit on a bench. I told him to think about his bride and this day. With that, when his bride gets into position, I would ask him to get up and go around the corner of the tree to see her for the very first time.

When I told him to move, I went way out with my 100-400 lens so that they would not hear me or see me. It’s their special time. My job now was to document it.

Next, I told dad to wait for 15 minutes and then come down to see his daughter for the first time.

There is always a special moment between a dad and his daughter.

First looks as I said before are special. It’s our job to document and stay out of it. Yes, a few tears came out of my eyes. It’s a special time even for the professional.

High School Seniors

You can tell when fall is coming. Yes, the locus is one way, but I am talking High School Senior picture time. Last week I got the chance to do part 1 of Katie’s pictures. It was hot and humid. The mosquitos were out. But with all that, we manage through.

We arrived about 40 minutes before what photographers call prime time with the light or what is known as Golden Hour. For me, it does not matter because I can make golden hour just about anytime by using flash. This is what I did with the above picture. I used the sun as a backlight and a flash with a 1/4 CTO gel.

Finally, the magic hour came, and time to switch out for flash to a reflector. Again taking advantage of the sun as a backlight, but now I need to light up the face to bring out those beautiful eyes.

Just about the time, we were ready to leave, and it was getting dark outside, time for a quick picture with flash, and for the softness that I like, I shot it through a diffusion sheet. (Wind and a quick setup) That was a wrap for this session.

I am looking forward to the next where we will be doing more formal type studio shots.

Entering Sports

It’s been some time. But I am getting back into sports again, not playing, but taking pictures. I have expanded my photography by doing team and individual photos.

Bryan Softball Girl Association asked me if I would be interested in taking this year's photos. I felt pretty good about doing it but never did it before. However, I felt very comfortable doing it. After all, do headshots and group photos s today.

With that in mind, I used a 3 light setup. My backlight I made the artificial sun, knowing what background I would use for the finals. What I had to learn where all the different print formats we were offering and placing orders for them. (button, bottles, coffee cups, and so on)

Like any new adventure, you will always learn something. For me, I am looking forward to expanding my business with Sports. Feel free to contact me if you are looking for help for your team for association in Northwest Ohio and the surrounding area in Indiana and Michigan.

Having fun with Composite

Having fun playing around with compositing. Composite is when you take two pictures or more and make it look like you intended this picture. I like to keep practicing. In this case, I took a stock photo of the lady. Then I looked at what I was thinking and found a stock picture of the woods. One thing that is important that light is coming from the same direction. It makes it look natural. Once I blended the two photos and matched the color. I thought it was missing something. Out came the brush and made some butterflies. Again matching color with the scene and light, the butterfly was next. Last, I felt it needed type. That was it, and I came up with something that I liked, but more importantly, I got some more practice using Photoshop.

Chicago, Light and a bottle of Water

Back in Chicago to play with light at night time. I walked around the city of Chicago with our model and found this excellent light opportunity.

Playing with Light in Chicago. Behind the scene

After looking at the situation, we took our model and placed her about 25 yards from the sign. When I set up for the light of the scene, I noticed the low light on her face. With the help of the Icelight, I was able to take care of that.

Final of our model and Chicago

Never let a good thing go to waste. We took advantage of bottled water and pouring it on the ground to make a reflection. I find this amazing, something to think about when you are out there.

Reflections

So there you have it: a city, light, and a bottle of water. You never know what you may come up with.