I’ve done pictures with Marla before… she was about 5-6 years younger. I’ve also photographed her daughter, Julia. The objective with Marla’s shoot was to balance natural surroundings with a casual approach. Again, we only used natural light via a reflector.
Heavy filtering here focuses the subject within her surroundings.
The light was in the perfect place… or rather, we positioned Marla to take perfect advantage of where the light was falling.
Aligning a subject with the existing lines is more flattering than crossing them.
There was no way we could ignore Marla’s daughter… so a tender moment was well worth photographing. It ended up being a favorite, of course.
Diana called this one “End of Day”. Aptly named.
All little girl. What fun in those little eyes. 🙂
You may remember Taylor from the shoot with did with her in Charles Town. The objective with her was to combine architecture with her beauty, and once again use only reflected light to illuminate her face. This is in two parts… the first part takes place in some areas of Shepherdstown. The second part takes place along the Tow Path across the river from Shepherdstown.
Just a reflector and a lot of playing with the balance of light.
There are two people laying on the ground to get this shot. It was worth it.
Love the lines of the stairway with this one.
The patterns of light were great to work within.
She wasn’t a fan of the hat, but we knew what would happen to the light on her face with a white hat in direct sunlight. We did a little dodging and contrast adjustments to get the balance just right.
As part of an ongoing commitment to education, both for myself and for others I intend to teach, I take on a variety of assignments that are just for my benefit. This was one of them (as well as two others you will see with Taylor & Marla).
I had specific ideas for lighting and posing with each model, which was augmented by ideas from Diana as we worked our way through each venue. This particular venue was downtown Shepherdstown, in about a one block area. Most of you who know Shepherdstown may recognize certain places.
In front of the Shepherdstown Bakery… love big glass windows. I should note that all of these shots were lit using only a reflector. Properly positioned, a reflector is a very powerful tool for lighting.
There’s a doorway next to China Kitchen (and I’m glad nobody decided to come out right then) that is old and weathered… a perfect contrast for a beautiful portrait.
Often just something as simple as leaning on a rail is a very nice portrait. If you look closely at the railing, you will see faces. 🙂
White or light colored hats on very bright days can create a kind of softening effect of the light on the face. Filled reflector lighting helped bring out the lovely smile and eyes.
With only a little post-shoot work, Diana added considerably to the overall image. It’s not how much effort is put into an image that makes it work… it’s knowing how little you need to do to keep that natural beauty of a well-captured image.
Sometimes I hit it off well with parents AND their children. Really having connected with Bill and Diane (Alexis’ parents), they were wonderful to work with and knew exactly what they wanted.
Alexis was just a great subject… she has an amazing smile, a great disposition and once we got to know each other, she was a lot of fun. The first picture here is hanging in their living room as a large gallery wrap canvas. Beautiful.
To see more, visit our Seniors page!
In the past, we have had several different holiday session fees. One for in-studio, one for mini-sessions, and one for on-location sittings. Well, no more. We have decided to create just ONE sitting fee for the balance of this year for all family, baby, pet and event sessions.
And yes, this applies to on-location sessions, too. No more on-location fees for the remainder of the year. So, if you would rather have your portraits done in your home, a favorite family location nearby, or in one of our area’s beautiful parks, there’s no extra charge. That could save you as much as $150! The only requirement is that the location be within 20 miles of our studio.
A quick note about our studio before you decide to have them done at your favorite location. In addition to our large, state-of-the-art studio facility, we also have a large portrait park in the backyard of our studio. It sports 18 fixed sets, including a gazebo, porch swing, Spanish house, barn (complete with hay), fountain area (see picture below), double-sided rock wall (dark on one side, light on the other), park bench, beach and much more. Because we grow ivy, most of these sets remain green year round.
But you need to act fast. We have already booked nearly half of the weekend slots available before the holidays, and that’s BEFORE we sent out this information. You must call to reserve your time and date, and you must pay the non-refundable session fee of $50 to hold your date/time. We are happy to give you a quote for out-of-area sessions, special events and other types of photography.
Just call… 304-263-3100 (out of area, call 888-349-3686) 🙂
We all know the term “terrible twos.” How about the term “wonderful twos?” When this little guy started actually directing the photo shoot, I was pretty sure he was going to be a wonderful subject. Thankfully, I was right.
For more portraits, please visit our website.
We did the senior portraits of Kelsey’s older sister, Erin, about two years ago. Kelsey seemed to find most of what I said funny… hmm. :\
For more information, visit our Seniors page.
Chris is a musician… prolific in several instruments. His parents were quite avid about one particular image… the first one here.
Sometimes you bring your family for photos, and you end up with an experience like no other. The kids take over, the dog explores places you didn’t know existed, or a funny story breaks out. The McKinney family had a great deal of personality… you can see it here.
We’ve had the pleasure of meeting a lot of twins over the years… from newborn through adult. And certainly the most interesting thing about twins is how they interact, and how different they can be. These two were funny, fascinating and we had a great time with them and mom.
Visit our website to see more portraits.