Madison | Alpharetta GA Senior Photographer

Meet Madison - and her precious pup!  He tried his best to lick her teeth while she kept right on smiling.   And you have no idea how hard it is to photograph bubbles with a constantly shifting breeze...  Thanks for a fun shoot, Madison and best wishes for school next year!

Morgan | Playing with Light

Sometimes I ask someone to step in front of my camera just for the fun of it and for this shoot I wanted to play with different lighting setups.

The photo above was made on a bright sunny day, inside my garage.  The natural 2pm daylight is reflected off the concrete driveway straight onto Morgan's face, resulting in Flat Light: a low contrast look that gives very little detail to the face, emphasising the eyes and mouth.

Compare this with the photo below, which I made using my studio lighting setup.  The main light is a softbox just in front of, and very close to, her left shoulder (camera right) but not aimed directly at her.  Instead, the light which 'spills' off the edge of the softbox is what reaches Morgan's face, creating a much softer look.  This technique is called 'feathering' the light.  

In addition, I placed a diffuser between the softbox and Morgan's face to soften the light even further.  Finally, there's a second light behind Morgan on her right, which serves to separate her from the background a little, often called a 'kicker' light.   You can see the effect of this light in the hair on the right side of her head (camera left).

The angle I'm shooting from produces what's called Short Light on Morgan's face.  The fully-lit side of her face is turned slightly away from the camera, leaving the shaded side toward me.  This creates a little shadow in the outside curve of her nostril called Loop Lighting, as well as giving definition to her right cheek bone.

So which is best?  It all depends on your taste and why you're photographing the model.  What story are you wanting to create with your image?

These photos of Morgan were taken just after she'd graduated as a high school senior and not long before she headed off to university, to study photography.  I've seen some of her work and she's definitely someone to watch.  Thanks, Morgan - and best wishes!

A Passion for Learning

Buckingham Fountain, Grant Park, Chicago IL USA

This week I was in Chicago for Skip Cohen University's Summer School, an annual photography conference that gathers many of the great photographers of our day into one place, to teach others in the field.

Industry icons such as Joe McNally, Clay Blackmore, Roberto Valenzuela and Ryan Schembri joined many other well-known photographers in heading up the list of instructors for SCU 2013.  We studied topics such as lighting, posing and fashion, for family, child and wedding portraiture, as well as fine art, marketing and the business of photography.

All this so that we can get better at doing what we do, for you our clients.

So what do a bunch of photographers do at night after class?  We hit the town - with our cameras.  We learn from and teach each other; because we love what we do and get a kick out of helping others improve their skill.

It's all about learning, progressing and improving the photography industry as a whole.  As Anthony J. D'Angelo said: "Develop a passion for learning.  If you do, you will never cease to grow."

Isabelle | Suwanee GA Senior Photographer

Being a Senior Ambassador, Isabelle also had an early season photo shoot.  Luckily for her though, she didn't have to deal with a cold day.  After all, spring comes early in Georgia, right?  Sometimes...

Isabelle didn't have it easy though; she had a warm, beautiful day, but had a strong wind to contend with.  She kept her cool though and handled it extremely well.  You'd never know except for the occasional photo with her hair streaming out behind her.  Have a look at the video page on my website to see more from Isabelle's shoot.

Many thanks to Rachael Adams for Isabelle's hair and makeup.  If you're looking for a stylist for your senior shoot, I recommend her.

Maddie | Cumming GA Senior Photographer

I'm a little behind on blogging but here we have Maddie, one of my Senior Ambassadors.  She was a real trooper on a fairly cold spring day - her happy, light-hearted attitude shone through in her photos.  You can see more of her session in her video on my website.

The location for this shoot was Burruss Mill and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Gray and Kelley Smith for allowing me to shoot on their property.

Rachael Adams did a great job of Maddie's hair and makeup.  If you're looking for a stylist for your senior photo shoot, Rachael is fun to work with and I recommend her.

May Special | High School Senior Photographer

Did you miss the 12 Hour Sale?  

No worries, we still have a discount for you.  

Until 31 May 2013, 

High School Session Fees are 50% off!

Call now and ask about our Local Area, Destination and Destination Plus! sessions.

Ph: 404.583.0659

12 Hour Sale! | High School Senior Photographer

We're gearing up for our next

12 Hour Sale!

This time we're focusing on High School Seniors (okay, bad pun...)

Mark your calendar for 

Monday, 20 May 2013

9am - 9pm EDT

Call 404.583.0659 between the hours of 9am and 9pm on Monday, 20 May 2013, book your Senior Photo Shoot and get

75% off Session Fees
That's only $23.75 for a local area shoot!

Offer applies to High School Senior session fees only and photo shoots must take place prior to 15 October 2013.  May not be combined with any other offer.

Beauty? It's in the Eye of the Beholder

When clients come back in after the photo shoot to see their images, sometimes I'll have one who is a little surprised at how they look.  My personal thought has been that the usual way we see ourselves is in a mirror, which is a reversed image.  So when we see a photo, it looks familiar enough, but there's something different and you can't quite work it out.

Today I watched this video and it really made me think about how we look at ourselves.  Do take the three minutes to watch this because you really need to see it for yourself.  And then think about it some.  Think about it a lot.

What to Wear on Your Photo Shoot

Notice how the colours worn by each person are in the same palette (earth tones) and are brought together in the scarf.

One thing that all of my clients ask me (well, except for the four-footed kinds) is: "What should I wear for my photo shoot?"  While the type of shoot does determine the style of clothing, e.g. formal, casual, individual or family portraits, there are some basic guidelines that you should consider.

Colour

Don't wear brightly coloured clothes!  They look good in real life, but neon-bright shirts or blouses will give a tint to your neck and face that won't show up until you see the photos.  That said, don't feel the need to stick with neutral tones.  Choose colours you like that flatter your skin tone, as well as your eyes for those close-up shots.

When dressing for your family photo shoot, you want to look like you're meant to be together rather than a group of people randomly gathered off the street.  But this doesn't mean donning a uniform of khaki pants and white shirts.  It's often easiest to use pants and skirts to create a coordinated base and allow individual characters to show through with the remaining clothing.  Help younger children to select their clothes and give older family members guidelines that help them stay coordinated.

Remember also that the eye is attracted to the lightest part of the photo, so if one person is wearing a shade of clothing that's a good deal lighter than the others, the viewer will automatically be drawn to that person in particular.

If you're planning on having a wall portrait made for your home or office, consider the colouring of the room where your piece will hang.  Look for shades that complement those of the surroundings instead of competing with them.

Patterns

While we don't need to completely avoid patterned clothing, it's best to be conservative in your choices.  Individual photo shoots such as seniors, baby portraits and headshots are more forgiving, but it is possible to include patterns in family portraits without causing eyestrain.  Regardless of the amount of people involved, choose a basic pattern such as stripes or argyle so that your clothing doesn't upstage you.

If you do decide to incorporate patterns into a group photo, have only one or two people (depending on the size of the group) wear a pattern and make sure the patterns are similar.  Base the other subjects' clothing around the colours included in this pattern.

Style

You may also want to think about clothing trends: what looks good this year might be out of style next year.  And while we can't avoid changes in fashion, selecting clothing that isn't outrageously trendy helps prevent photos from looking overly dated, even when they're 20 years old.

Of course, you might want something completely different.  Coordinating a group of family or friends in a period theme is fun and can add a new dimension to your family portraits.  I rented clothing from a local theatre company for a personal photo shoot a few years ago, which made for a lot of laughter and enjoyment.  Which is what we want in our photo shoots, right?!

Location
Keep in mind the location of your shoot.  Unless you're having a beach wedding, your seaside photos will look better with fun, summer-type clothing rather than formal attire.  Urban areas might call for a stylish look while natural settings will favour more casual clothing.  Be aware that you will likely be sitting on the ground at some point in your photo shoot and while I do bring something for people to sit on if necessary, it's better to dress with this in mind.

Most of all, you want to wear clothes that make you happy and are comfortable to wear, so that you'll be relaxed during your photo shoot.

Senior Photos: Ambassador Programme

Class of 2014

It's not long now and you'll be looking at having Senior Photos done.  Time flies...!  How does a free photo shoot, free hair & makeup and free prints sound to you?  

We are now accepting applications from Juniors for our

Ambassador Programme.

Interviews will be held in Dec 2012 / Jan 2013.

Applications must be in by 31 Dec 2012!

Call us now for more information and to request an application form.  Or click HERE to send us an email.

Forsyth Central High - Senior Photos Promo

Forsyth Central Class of 2013 and 2014 - want to earn some money for your school's Drama Club?  Here's a deal for you:

Yup, that's right - we're donating $50 to the Forsyth Central High School Drama Club for every Senior photo shoot that is booked with us.  These flyers are at your school now - grab one and bring it with you to your session!

The Vintage Look

I was going through photos from our Thanksgiving trip out west and found some that were just begging to be touched with a vintage brush.  These first two were taken in a small town in New Mexico.

 

After spending time with family in New Mexico, we headed to Colorado for Thanksgiving.  Along the way we spotted some pronghorn antelope just off the road and we came to a sudden halt so I could take some photos.  Combine a photographer with an expat Kiwi and you can pretty much guarantee I'm going to stop to photograph animals, especially those I've never seen.  My big regret was not being able to get the buffalo we drove past on the way home.  Roadworks made it impossible to stop...  But hey - I've seen a real live buffalo!

I had to overexpose this slightly to make sure the antelope weren't silhouetted against the harsh middle-of-the-day light (click HERE for my post on the best time of day to take photos).

This one was just too funny to pass up.

And here we are, back to the vintage look.  This is from one of my favourite shoots - a senior from last year.  I didn't publish it at the time because I couldn't find the right look to convey the sense of whimsy I felt when taking the photo.  I love how their feet are in step - forgive the horrible pun...

Photo Shoot - Suwanee GA Senior Photographer

'Tis the season for Senior photos - and this was a fun shoot.  To really capture the essence of a person, you need to put them in their element.  In this case, we have a young woman who loves everything horses.  Here we get to see her feminine side in a pretty summer dress, all serious while show jumping and lastly her barefooted sense of adventure, lying on her horse.  She makes that pose look easy.