Portraits

Welcome back to the blog. It’s been nearly 2 years since I made a post, but here we are! Im sure you’ve been patiently and anxiously waiting. As the year comes to an end in about 48 hours this is one of two posts I am making.

Just before Christmas I enjoyed catching up with my friend Mark. Many years ago when we first met I photographed him for his campaign. Then 18, he was running for local office. He wanted to be a part of a positive change in the community. Fast forward to the present, by passing all the office hjinks, the plenteous pizzas we had from Dominos, and the mockery of local politics, we are both in different places in life and career.

Mark has taken up photography using vintage cameras and various films as his medium of exploring the world around him. He has a keen eye for composition and enjoys making photos simply for the fun of it. The portrait of Mark I made below was shot using a Canon slr, a hand held light meter, and Portra 400.

Mark with his Mamiya. Soft focus from 1/15th exposure.

Throughout the Pandemic I didn’t have much time to create work using film. In January 2020 I purchased a very beautiful Pentax 67 that was, by all visible appearances and functionality, brand new. I had plans for that camera as the decade changed. Whatever plans I was making would soon be take away from me. Since purchasing it, it has been sitting on my shelf next to my Hasselblad patiently waiting to come out and play. Our time together was spent producing these head shots for his LinkedIn page, enjoying some food, and catching up on life and business all while making photos.

Business Portraits: Less than 15 minutes

I have read countless articles and blog posts about those super famous, super high end photographers that shoot executives, CEO's, Celebrities, and the likes of famous and ultra busy professionals. While I am not shooting Fortune 500 CEO's yet, everyone I photograph is as equally important.  

This afternoon I stepped out of the studio and went to the rest room for a hot 20 seconds. I came back and found I had a missed call. Before I had a chance to call back, I received a text. I thought it was life or death. "Call me ASAP," a phrase that usually means someone needs something in a hurry. So I did. It was Bob, my assistant and second shooter for some work. His day job is shlepping paint on walls of homes and other buildings. The owner of the company, a serial entrepreneur, need some new head shots for some PR and Marketing purposes. I had a miss communication in my schedule and told Bob I only had a specific time I could fit him in today. They were set to arrive at 4 pm. Will, CEO, Owner, Important person, had a 5pm meeting or something and needed to drive to the location from the studio. I knew I would have a mere few minutes to capture him.

After realizing I fahcked up my schedule, glitch with cell phone calendar, I didnt have to worry about setting up the studio, lighting for head shots, while he was there. I pre set the studio with two different setups. Both set ups required two very different lighting set ups. I whipped that together in a jiff and was ready for them to arrive. Will was in studio for about 10 minutes. It took him longer to adjust his wardrobe than it did to make the photographs. Within an hour of the shoot, the images were processed, retouched, and in the dropbox folder. I may not be shooting the worlds most important people at the moment, but everyone I shoot for is treated as if they are the most important person whom has walked through my door, or sat in front of my camera.

Fashion Photography: New Works

Over the past two weeks I have been doing a large editing project that has kept me from posting a great number of ideas and topics. I have however, had a few moments in between to do few shoots. Here are a few samples from some work I did on Saturday February 4th. Fashion Photography, portraits, and head shots.

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