Portraits - Lucid Light

Portraits

September28th

1 Comment

Kate

Posted in: People, Portraits, Sports & Action

I met Kate last week at the 2nd “Heavy Metal Karaoke Takeover” a mutual friend of ours invited us to. The next day when I added her to Facebook (because that’s what you do to be OFFICIALLY FRIENDS now, right?) and noticed she was a belly dancer! I LOVE belly dancing. I used to even do it before hooping consumed my life! I was never great though, and Kate is AMAZING! She was so fun to shoot!

Here’s some favorites!

more to come from the Secret Dawn workshop, including model James Negri (a familiar face if you follow my work) and candid behind the scene shots!
September27th

No Comments

Drew

Posted in: People, Portraits

Drew is Leah’s other half, and he had laid claim on her company last Saturday! But he was kind enough to share his day with his lady with a group of shutternerds and myself at Michelle’s Secret Dawn Workshop. To repay his kindness, we put him to work modeling! Here’s a couple favorites…thanks Drew!
September26th

2 Comments

Leah

Posted in: People, Portraits

I’ve been in a serious slump. Weddings are going great and I see my work improving and evolving…but outside of work I have barely lifted my camera.

I’m not really sure why…I guess I haven’t been dedicating enough time to fostering inspiration. I barely have time to flip through my piles of magazines, let alone read a book. Most of that is backlogged wedding work fighting for all my time, the rest is the usual leeches of creativity and time-management (facebook, etc.)

So when it came time for Michelle’s Secret Dawn workshop in Worcester, I was so excited. I needed some time to spend thinking about what’s going wrong and how to fix it.

I will do a full review of the workshop once all the photos are done, but I’m going to post the model’s photos one by one as well.

This is Leah, she was our first model!

You can “like” Leah, aka Siren on Facebook here. You can “like” lil’ old me here.

Coming next…Kate, an amazing belly dancer!
October2nd

No Comments

Boston HipHop Artist, Greatness

Posted in: Client/Commercial, Portraits

Greg Dor, aka Greatness, is a Boston hiphop artist who actually use to coach my niece’s basketball team. You may recognize him as this isn’t my first shoot with him. This time around though, it was out of the studio (aka my little living room with a giant backdrop wedge in the middle and me shooting from the kitchen) and onto the trolley tracks in Dorchester, MA.

We were racing against the failing light and being swarmed by mosquitoes but I’m really happy with the results. I had James along to help out with the light and he set Greg up for my favorite photo from the session here…

Greg is incredibly talented and one of my favorite Facebook friends, I always have a blast trying to make him laugh and break his ganster face. (Sometimes it works…don’t tell anyone.)

These were all taken in about 20-30 minutes with a single off-camera flash, bare bulb with a 1/4 CTO gel except the graveyard photos which had a LumoPro flash on the shadow side for a little rim and fill. We were not eaten by zombies during this shoot…this time.
July14th

No Comments

Karyn’s Headshots

Posted in: Client/Commercial, Portraits

I met Karyn getting my useless 2 year degree at BCC here in lovely Fall River. We were forced to partner up and interview a stranger on the first day of Psych 101 and just as I was cursing my decision to return to school, Karyn dropped her books on my desk and walked into my life with a refreshing dose of snark and became my lifeline at that school. She’s a smart and ambitious woman always looking out for her next step forward in life and I really love that about her. She wanted some headshots for her resume and her LinkedIn profile, so we went for a corporate-friendly shot and then took off her jacket for a more relaxed, but still professional shot.

I’d hire her.

For the photographers out there, this was the over/under clamshell lighting with two shoot-throughs and small flashes, triggered by pocket wizards. The backdrop is my cream-colored wall, rendered grey with pure wizardninja magic. (i.e. I shot her a few feet from the wall)

Nudged the light to the side for a little more drama for the 2nd look.

What do you think, not bad for my first corporate headshot?
July9th

No Comments

Korey

Posted in: People, Portraits

Some quick edits I did this morning before the I dive into my final edits for my last wedding…the day before a double header work weekend with two weddings!

Here is Korey, tattoo artist and sister in law of Ashley, my bestie and make up artist. You find models everywhere if you look!
June9th

No Comments

Vickiann

Posted in: People, Portraits

Can we all sit down for a minute and talk about the fact that Vickiann is someone’s grandmother? I don’t look this good now. Anyway now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, here’s some favorites from my shoot with my friend Hope’s (who I’ve photographed a lot) mother Vickiann.

More here.
June2nd

2 Comments

Ashley in B&W

Posted in: People, Portraits

Someone said that Ashley looked like a young Elizabeth Taylor, which brought about this one…I love it.
June1st

No Comments

The Calm Before the Storm, After the Slump

Posted in: Blogging, People, Portraits

Wedding season is right around the corner for me, literally…my first 2010 wedding is in less than two weeks. This year I get the bonus of working with James Barron of Undying Photography for my weddings and I’m so excited to get started.

On top of the excellent partners I will have by my side this year, I have the added sense of peace I didn’t have last year because this is no longer my first year. I know my way around my job and I have the confidence that I can do my job under any circumstance and it’s letting me focus on enjoying the process. Last year was pretty intense. I couldn’t find a photographer to let me 2nd shoot (not even for free) so I just jumped in blind and learned the ropes while I was hanging from them. I’m glad that I did because now I feel like I can do anything. I’m hoping to fit in some 2nd shooter work this year however, I would love the opportunity to work with a seasoned pro and learn from them.

I really love my job. I look forward to the days that it affords me timely bill payments, but even in these early late penalty stages…I still love my job.

But I slump. I slumped for a while. I am coming out of it thanks to my amazing friends who I can’t help but be inspired by. I spend my days sitting in the sun and my nights by a fire with my models, my fellow photographers, my make-up artist and collectively, my best friends. This shoot was James’ shoot that he kindly brought me along for. I wasn’t expecting to go but I was carrying photographer guilt over my slump and jumped at the opportunity.

We brought nothing but our cameras and reflectors. More photos from this shoot will be appearing in my next Hideout Magazine post, going up soon!

This shoot went so well I asked Ashley (my beautiful make-up artist, click here for her website) to let me shoot her while she had her hair extensions in. I told her they reminded me of Cleopatra so Ashley transformed herself into a modern goddess and we shot her in this beautiful chair she has right in her dining room. I used flash here, with James acting as the world’s most awesome light stand.

More from Ashley’s shoot coming, as well as the new article and my first batch of roller derby shots! I’m one of the Providence Roller Derby’s “official” photographers this year, so there will be lots of roller derby popping up on this blog. Pretty cool!
March26th

2 Comments

Re-awakened!

Posted in: Client/Commercial, People, Portraits, Studio

Every photographer knows what a creative slump feels like. I feel like I’ve been in one for years and am just waking up. I’ve been crazy busy reading and learning and immersing myself in this thing I love so much. I’ve been writing articles for The Hideout Photography Forum (if you haven’t checked it out yet…do!) and snapping away!

I had a session in my “home studio” (living room) with Boston hip-hop artist Greg Dor, here’s the first edit from that:

He’ll be using these for his next CD, which means I’ll be getting published soon!

And of course, there was the model party myself and the amazingly talented Adam Wills threw here last weekend. If you’re a hideout member, I’ve done a 2-part article on throwing a model party (an idea I probably didn’t invent, but will take the credit for anyway, hahaa) but basically, it’s like a group-shoot where photographers pool their talent, gear and ideas and switch off shooting different models…all with music, booze and good times! All the fun of an evening party with all the awesome of a group shoot! We had an absolute blast, and these will be happening again!

Our photographers were supposed to number 4, but ended up being 3 when James (of UndyingPhoto) couldn’t make it. So it was myself, Adam Wills and Kelly Ellingsen (who 2nd shot wedding with me last summer).

I gathered five of my beautiful lady friends to be models for the evening and one of those ladies happens to be a very talented hair and makeup artist (the lovely Miss Ashley MacLean) who literally transformed these women into glamourous models in no time!

Here’s the first round of edits from me:

The lovely Dina:

Julie, ever beautiful…REALLY played her part and got the best pics for me!

Jacky (who was one of my very first models!) played soft and elegant like a pro:

And Ashley, our makeup artist (here she is on Model Mayhem- hire her!) is also an incredible model (and person, I love her)!

Our other model, Erin, had to leave before I could photograph her but Adam got AMAZING shots of her, like this one. Erin was also, along with Jacky, one of my first models!

Stay tuned for more from all of these shoots, plus more! I’m feeling absolutely caffeinated lately and broke my camera down to it’s smallest bulk (removed the battery grip and have re-acquainted myself with my nifty fifty) so I would use it and carry it more.

On Monday I’m taking it to IKEA for a field trip with James Barron of Undying Photo! Hilarity should ensue!