Andrew and Heather Engagement Shoot

Today was the perfect day for a photoshoot with Andrew and Heather. The sun was hidden and we had a little wind. It was a tad chilly, but perfect weather nonethelesss. I am excited to be shooting their wedding in just a few short weeks. I cannot wait! They are a beautiful couple. Hope you enjoy the pics!

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Hannah and Casey's Photo Shoot

This was a fun photo shoot we did in a neighboring city of Louisville, Kentucky. It was a prelude to the shoot for Hanna and Casey's pregnancy shoot we will do in June when I travel to Louisville, to photograph Nick and Samantha's wedding. Considering the little preparation time we had, well, actually none at all, we came away with a lot of good shots. The biggest key to successful portrait shoots is bonding and enjoying the photo shoot along with your subjects, or clients. In other words not just being their photographer, but being their friend too. Then we can start thinking about some of the rules of photography and shot selection. Here are several shots I took from this occasion.

Lessons From the Bridge

"What are you doing?" I was totally surprised to hear those words as I was walking down the desolate railroad tracks in Akron today. I had just walked past the bridge and there was this middle-aged woman sitting against the outside wall. I looked at her and she asked me what I was doing. I explained that I am a photographer and I am just walking the tracks taking photos. 

"What are you doing here?" I asked her. She looked at me and casually replied "Hiding from my old man," as she clutched her tall can of beer. "I am tired of getting yelled at 8 times per day." She added. I didn't know what to say, so I then asked her if she needs any help. She replied no, but I still talked to her for a few minutes and gave her a little money for food. I looked at her and told her that I am so sorry that life is so bad for her. 

Then she arrested me with her words. "Don't be sorry for me. All is okay because of Jesus." She is so correct, and moreover, she had such an upbeat spirit. That lady taught me a lot in that 5 minute encounter. No matter what life throws at us, we can still be happy and have a positive outlook. She permitted me to take a few photos of her and then I left. That is one encounter I will remember as long as I live. 

Life is full of challenges. How we fare depends on our attitude. Are our problems big or are they small? That may depend on how big we make them. 

The Serendipity of Craigslist

I never figured I would see the day that I said I love Craigslist. You read about bad things happening there all the time, so I have largely dismissed that site. However, I was so very fortunate to give it a try, despite my preconceived notions.

I ran an ad this week to offer my services as a backup wedding photographer free of charge. Unbeknownst to me, I a talented wedding photographer needed backup, and now I have many weddings to shoot with Kelly. I am grateful and honored to work side-by-side with her, and I am ecstatic that she will be working with me when I do casual portrait shoots and senior pictures.

Thank God I left my preconceived notions at the door and proceeded to run my ad anyways, just to see what would happen. The serendipity of it all still amazes me. This is the week that my photography career got catapulted into high gear. I have no idea where I will end up, but the road just got paved with solid gold and I intend to enjoy my photographic journey wherever it may lead.

Portrait Shooting Location

How exciting! I have a location to shoot portraits, both senior and personal. It is located on 20 acres in Malvern Township, and boasts of a cabin, trusses, 2 streams, 2 bridges, rarely used railroad tracks, and total privacy. Can't wait to start snapping! If you would like to schedule a shoot, please call or text me @ 330.906.7118!

Audience Awareness and Viewer Consideration

I got some sage advice from a trusted writer today that arrested me in my tracks. He caused me to reflect on my own photography. This gentleman wisely told me that people are depressed and they don't want to look at depressing photos. While the captions were appropriate and well written, the viewers may feel worse after viewing them, not something I want to happen since I want this business to be profitable. 
 

I am taking more photos to try to tell a story in one frame. That will require me to think as a writer does when he addresses his readers. Audience awareness should be paramount in the writing process, yet it never dawned on me that I am writing with pictures. Therefore, it becomes incumbent upon me to exercise the same audience consideration when I publish my photos.

When viewing photos, we bring our past experiences to the theater of our minds eye as we interpret them. The environment we live in also influences the way we interpret some photos. For example, in my Gloom series, the lonely stuffed Teddy bear below brought different interpretations. How can that be? It's simple and straightforward! Just look at the picture...right?

Wrong. I see that Teddy bear as a symbol that someone has passed on. That theme is underscored by the title I gave it which I later removed - "One Chance." Someone came over to my house today and I asked this person for their interpretation of that photo: she told me it reminded her of a baby that had been deserted and was all alone. Yet another stated that they felt that it represented abandonment. One photo, 3 interpretations. 

My point is this, photographs can carry meaning. I want to reshape my strategy to illicit positive reaction and response from my viewers. That may be seen as week kneed, however I am largely a guy that has always encouraged people to press on, and that is my true personality. Can that be done with photos that depict dire circumstances? I believe it can. It is my job to find the words to achieve that. This will leave my viewers feeling better after they look at my work, which ought to be my goal in the first place. Perhaps this can be my small way of making the world a better place to live...one viewer at a time. 

I have put two versions of the same photo up. One is depressing, and the other one depicts possible tragedy. That shows we can influence the way our audience sees a photo. What if I had placed a positive phrase on that photo?

Gloom

Here several shots in my series of gloomy, story telling photos. To answer your questions...NO, things are not this bad in my life, but the opportunity existed to tell a story! Therefore, I have set out to try to express some stories with photos. Snapshot photography is good for creating family memories, vacations, picnics, and such. I enjoy shooting photos that trigger emotion and cause my viewer to look again...and again...and again. Thanks for taking a look! Please share your thoughts!

Empty Words

"Marriage life stinks!" These are words I heard a few months back from some middle-aged gal; "my marriage ended and I cannot tell you why" is another comment I heard later from a gentleman I know. How shocking it is that people can look so happy and yet, they are far from it. Based on photos I have seen of them in on Facebook or other sites, it appears they're living a fairy-tale life. However, being a photographer, I know that pictures can lie.   

So, as I am walking through my house, I see these tattered shoes my daughter owns. Not tattered from use, they are a super hot style of shoe you buy. When I was a kid, we threw shoes that look like these away! Imagine that. To me, they are a big waste of money, but to a 16 year old, they are a symbol of coolness. 

For some reason, those shoes just kept getting my attention. Finally, I had some free time so I grabbed them and began to think about ways I could use them to tell a story in a photograph. The shoes alone were not enough, so I kept looking around for something else that would compliment them. Then I see this little balloon that has the caption "Today, Tomorrow, and Forever," printed on it right below the heart that says "I love you."

From my own experience of talking to countless people, those are merely words that come with expiration dates. Am I wrong? Is the photo over dramatic? You will have to decide. I actually feel that this type of balloon sets people up for a fall. So, when I was out taking my photos to create stories, I used both of these items in the photo. I feel that I got my point across. How sad it is that photo is so accurate.

Practice Photo Shoot with Erika

BRRR. The icicles are everywhere, and the ladybug temperature says 24 degrees. It was a cold March day to be sure. However, I still got out with my daughters to shoot some photos. They shivered a bit, but for that brief time we were out, they did very well for me. My emphasis was on eyes. Sharply focused eyes are paramount to good portraits. I shot with a wide open aperture to throw the backgrounds out of focus while keeping their face and eyes in sharp focus.

In the top 2 photos, I use a technique to lighten her face and darken the rest of the photo. I use the circle marquee, set it to blend by 200 pixels. First I circle her entire facial area. Then I hit Ctrl+Shift+I to reverse the selection. This actually makes the rest of the photo editable while leaving her facial area alone. I then darken that portion of the photo. Then I use that same Ctrl+Shift+I to reverse back into her facial area and adjust that to be a tad lighter if necessary. Now the rest of the photo is not affected. The 200 pixel fade prevents the formation of any hard lines and creates a smooth transition. Thus, I have made her face the focal point of the photo.

The bottom photo is simply adjusted with the levels control and left alone. You can see the difference between the top two and that bottom photo. I would not do this everytime, but it doesn't hurt to do that to a few photos!

I use Photoshop 7. If you are using a newer version of Photoshop or using Photoshop elements, you should be able to do the same thing with that software.

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Time to Grow Up

I cannot believe 2011 is here! Parts of me wish it was still 2010, while other parts of me embrace 2011. This year, I have to grow up; Photographically speaking that is. I must step out of my comfort zone of casual shooting and create beautiful images at critical times. Is that a scary thought? Sort of. But then I say to myself, this is the very reason I have spent 3 years, fired 29,000 shots, and invested in nice equipment! 


But it's more fun to just practice! It's easier! I get more pats on the back and then no one will criticize my work, and I can nonchalantly shoot. But that is not rewarding either emotionally, or financially. The training wheels must come off for every photographer at some point. This has happened to me. Now I find myself investing in more equipment, more lenses, and now I am faced with increasing demands. It is a bit scary, but i cannot doubt myself forever. 


Every successful photographer has experienced my same feelings at some point in their maturing process. They accepted the challenge and succeeded. Now the time to grow up has come for me, even though I am now 44.