…and I don’t know where it’s gone to. It was just New Year’s Day yesterday wasn’t it?
Starting a new year is tough, and a lot of it doesn’t involve shooting. Things like getting the taxes together, holding annual meetings, putting together this year’s business plan, putting new products together, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
With all of this stuff going on, you’d think I didn’t have time to shoot anything. Well a good photographer always finds some time to shoot and you’ll be happy to know that I did too.
Moda Spa and Salon had their grand opening this month with drinks, hors d’oeuvres, a fashion show and a live photo shoot. Guess who the photographer was. It was me! Their stylists did the hair for five models that modeled dresses from Lola’s Boutique, and they brought in a makeup artist. While the evening progressed, I shot each of the models in a Hollywood/dramatic lighting style while guests mingled in and out of the shooting area. The images created will be used by the stylists and the salon for their look book and some will even be hanging on the walls of the salon.
Later in the month I had the opportunity to shoot at a workshop. It was interesting and a few ladies were there to add to their portfolios. I was able to get some interesting fashion images and here are a few examples.
That’s it for now, don’t forget to check back often for updates or add us to your RSS feed to get the updates automatically.
Wow! Has it really been two months since I’ve posted to the blog?! Either time flies when you’re having fun or I’m not very good at keeping you informed about what’s been happening at the studio. I prefer to think it’s the former.
Well here’s what’s been happening at the studio. Last month we started a new email newsletter that we’ll use as another way to keep you informed of upcoming events, specials and general news involving the studio. If you’re interested you can sign up by clicking this link. SIGN ME UP! If you like it, forward it off to friends and family that you think would find it interesting. Of course you may opt-out at any time if you wish.
The holiday season brought a visit from Santa Claus. Circa History Guild had an Old Fashioned Christmas party at their location and I was able to shoot Santa…with my camera of course. He was there visiting with the children for a couple of hours and this is one of the images from that shoot that we used on our Holiday Card.
Family Christmas images were busy also. The Diaz family was particularly enjoyable to work with. The girls, Kendall and Kayla, kept Ann busy while I shot Krystal and Mark. Here’s the image they chose for their Christmas cards.
We also had numerous business clients in during this time. Ivan Ruiz of Georgia Brace and Spine, who’s putting together a product catalog showing the different styles of back and body braces used after spinal surgery, is using a number of our images in their catalog which is being assembled by MMI Creative.
Melissa, Kelly, Chuck and Sam were in need of head shots for ads, new web pages, and business cards. This is Melissa.
I took part in a Fire and Ice workshop. Yes, fire and ice. On day one, we built an array of six propane gas burners that were set up behind a model. Then we lit them up. We got some very interesting shots and we were kept busy keeping the place cool so as not to set off the fire alarm from the heat created by the burners.
The next day we built a set to hold the ice and water. Two 350 pound blocks of ice were brought in and the models posed either in the water or on the blocks of ice or a combination of both. I’ll just say they were troopers and I’m glad I wasn’t in that water.
Another model, Jane Teslenko worked with us to update her portfolio. We did more than 10 looks that day and here’s one of the more dramatic images we created showing a bit of Hollywood style glamour.
That just about wraps up the last two months around the studio at di Sogno Photography. As you can see it’s been busy. I’ll endeavor to update it more often in 2009. We’ll have some new things to talk about soon, so check back or add us to your RSS feed to get the updates automatically.
We hope you have had a great holiday and a safe and Happy New Year.
I had the pleasure of photographing an event this past week called A Novel Exchange. It’s a social, a book exchange and a fund raising event created and hosted by Dale Israel. Around 50 readers from the Roswell and Alpharetta area attended and enjoyed snacks, socializing and exchanging books as well as hearing local author, Brad Cohen, talk about his story and his latest book.
Brad shared his extremely interesting story about living with Tourette’s for most of his life and how, after college, when given the opportunity to teach at a Cobb County elementary school, he not only excelled at it, but was named recipient of the Sallie Mae First Year Teacher of the Year Award for the State of Georgia!
To learn more about Tourette Syndrome and Brad, check out their websites by clicking on the links in the above paragraphs. To learn more about A Novel Exhange, contact Dale Israel.
A good time was had by all and here are some of the images from that night.
Dale Israel, Brad Cohen, Tricia Kardon
Brad Cohen and his Wife Nancy
Socializing prior to the book exchange.
Brad telling his story.
The audience listening intensely!
That’s it for now. Take care and leave your feedback or questions in the comments section. Be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed if you wish. Until the next time!
Well it’s been another busy couple of weeks around the studio. A few models, a few family sessions and business head shots, some commercial work and one really fun shoot with a photographer friend of mine! Essentially it was a fun couple of weeks here at di Sogno Photography and here are some highlights.
A young lady and an aspiring model, Aura, needed some lifestyle images for a local agency so she could start her portfolio. The agency wanted at least five different looks and one formal studio style head shot. She has some really great photos from her session, don’t you think?
Aura was a pleasure to work with; she’s a natural in front of the camera and takes direction very well. I think she’ll go far and I know I’d work with her again.
Jay, owner of web design company Kapp Koncepts, contacted me because he was creating a new web site for a local company that makes turbine engine parts and needed fresh images. This project included head shots of the company leaders, images of four to five computer controlled milling machines while in operation, general images of some of the parts produced and images of the building.
I captured everything over a few days of shooting, did initial editing of the images and turned them over to be used on the site. I am happy to say that Jay was pleased with the results our collaboration.
Model Mickie Lynn was scheduled in the studio for some additional images for her portfolio and we wanted something elegant for her to wear. Stephanie, the owner of Lola’s Boutique, often allows me to borrow outfits for use by the models. This time Stephanie lent us a stylish black and white dress and a very cute white top. I shot Mickie in both of the outfits we borrowed and the images turned out great. In return, I printed two images from the shoot that Stephanie is using on the walls of her boutique.
This is one of the images. If you want to see the others, stop by Lola’s…and check out her selection of clothes while there.
Now for the fun shoot. Friend and fellow photographer, Valerie Smith, invited a few select photographers and models to her studio a couple of weeks ago for an “anything goes” fun shoot. Since the format was totally open, the photographers collaborated with the models to create scenarios and capture different images.
Sometimes they were casual…
sometimes they were sophisticated…
and others were just plain fun.
As you can see, the ladies dressed up in very loud and colorful outfits, made up their faces as small children, put their hair in pig tails, blew bubbles and licked oversized lollypops! It was a blast!
Well that’s about it for now. Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed and if you like, leave some feedback in the comments section. Until the next time…
I’ve been away from blogging lately because I’ve been busy shooting a variety of subjects ranging from high school seniors to big fish. You’ve seen one of the seniors in the blog entry labeled “Personality…” Shannon was a blast to shoot and she just loved the images we made together.
Although I don’t shoot weddings, when newlyweds receive images back from their photographer without formal images of the bride and groom, or the images are just not good for whatever reason, the newlyweds sometimes panic. Other times they settle for what they have and still others find another photographer to create those formal images. Well, Rachel and Jeff found themselves in the third situation and came to my studio. They enjoyed getting dressed in their wedding attire again and we created some great images for the album that they are putting together.
A few head shots satisfied clients updating web sites and business collateral and a client appreciation day at Care More Chiropractic was fun for all. There were visits from the Roswell Police and Fire Departments showing off some of the equipment they use and they shared the spotlight with a young Irish Dance group that performed for the crowd.
Finally over the Labor Day weekend my wife and I decided to become tourists and took a short vacation to Chattanooga, TN to visit the Tennessee Aquarium. Although we have visited the River Journey multiple times, we had not yet visited the Ocean Journey, the salt water aquarium that opened a few years ago. I would recommend a visit if you haven’t seen it yet. Just don’t become shark bait!
During the weekend we took a two hour cruise down the Tennessee River Gorge on a boat built specifically for this purpose. It’s a 70 passenger, hydrofoil assisted catamaran with quad 850 horsepower experimental diesel engines. This boat really flies down the river at speeds in excess of 50 mph. And it can stop in less then two boat lengths and can turn a 360 degree circle “on a dime”. We know because the Captain had fun going from high-speed to a crawl a few times and he did the 360 degree turn…because he could. Check it out at this URL, Tennessee River Gorge Explorer Boat.
That’s it for now. If you have questions or suggestions, be sure to leave a comment for us. We look forward to hearing from you.
…whether it’s bright and bubbly or dark and growly, we all have a personality. When a photographer captures an image of us, we want our unique personality to come through, and as a photographer I can tell you that it isn’t always easy to make that happen.
With Shannon though, my latest high school senior, it wasn’t difficult at all. Whether she was outdoors, letting the wind blow her hair, or in to the studio with a change of clothes and some cowboy boots, her playful, bubbly personality just shines through!
I really enjoy creating images that let my clients’ unique personality come through. If you’d like to have an image that captures your personality, contact us today to schedule a session!
In Part 1 of Creating Better Vacation Photos by using the Rules of Composition, we covered Having a Subject, Filling the Frame, and the Rule of Thirds. If you’ve practiced these in your photography you are probably noticing that you are taking better images already. In this part, we’ll talk about:
The Horizon - Where to Place It
Leading Lines
Leaving Some Space
If you missed Part 1, you’ll find it further down in this blog. So let’s get started!
- The Horizon - Where To Place It
The general Rule of Composition here is to not put your horizon in the center of the image. Put it on or near either the 1/3 or 2/3 composition line. Here we have two views of the same image. The first one is a general snapshot of a beach in southern California. It’s okay, but it’s not something that tells a story or that you’d print and frame. Note in particular that the horizon in the top image is in the middle of the photo and the subjects are centered.
The image on the bottom is a crop of the top and I’ve used the Rules of Composition to fix it. The surfers are placed according to the Rule of Thirds, and doing this has brought the horizon closer to the 2/3 line. It’s a much more pleasing photograph and easier for the viewer to get a sense of and feel a part of what is happening on the beach. In general, to emphasize the upper part of the image, the horizon should be at the 2/3 line, and by placing it at the 1/3 line, you emphasize the bottom part of the image.
Leading lines are meant to brings the viewers attention to specific areas of the image. They can go horizontally, vertically, or diagonally through the image. The image below demonstrates the rule of Leading Lines. The grasses around the edge of the image lead the viewers’ attention directly to the center and the subject of the image.
The image below is an example of leading lines that converge. These lines bring the viewers attention directly to the person walking across the bridge. Remember that leading lines can be anything as long as they lead the viewer in to the image and not out of it.
This Rule of Composition generally states that you should leave space for the subject to move in to or through the frame of the image. If the subject is a person running from left to right, the right side should have space for the subject to run in to. If not it looks as though the subject is running out of the photo.
In portraits, space makes the subject look comfortable. Here are two versions of images leaving space.
In the image above, because I made tight crop, I’ve placed a small space to the right side of the image keeping the subject from looking like she’s bumping up against the edge.
In the image below, the additional space on the right allows the subject to move in to the photo. The other photographic technique used for this photo, although not a Rule of Composition, is called panning. I used a slow shutter speed to capture some motion in her arms and legs at the same time I was following her with the camera in order to blur the background, giving the effect of her moving quickly in a still photo.
I know it sounds like a lot to think about when taking a photo…and it is…and as you practice them, they’ll become second nature. But if you remember to think about these Rules of Composition each time you look through the viewfinder and prior to pressing that shutter release, your pictures will go from just snapshots to great vacation images in no time.
Be sure to leave a comment if you have questions or other comments. Thanks for stopping by.
