Duke Again and Light Tests

Can I do two posts on one baby? I think YES! I had to share this little story board I created with one of my light testing images and a Duke photo because it just goes to show you that when God creates he only does amazing!

If you're thinking to yourself  "what's a light testing image" well let me just explain. Before each shoot I scout. I try to go out right around the time of the session and it is really important for me. I don't like going out on a shoot blind so I usually take test images of random things and I often give those to the client as bonuses just for pretty. I can manage without a scouting session but I like to go prepared. Duke's session was slightly different because they just came over to my house. Since Amy and Duke are my neighbors I went outside one evening and BAM! Light, gorgeous light! So I still did some test images to make sure what I was seeing would translate to how I envisioned it and then I just called her and said can you come now? At 8:00 at night... with your two year old and newborn? How considerate am I, I know :) But she was willing and the light was oh so right! I can't ever stress enough that lighting is key. You can be in a dirty ally, a car wash anything as long as there is good light you're golden... and for the record I've shot in dirty allies and car washes... several times :) The other great thing about these shots is that there was a lot of natural reflection happening, another crucial key to natural lighting. In the shot of the plant there is back light but there is also a source of reflection coming straight up from below the bush where the sun hit the ground. In Duke's shot he's looking straight up at the sky which always means amazing eyes or in this case amazing lighting for his sleepy little face. Reflection off something white like the sky, a white building or even glass can really make skin appear super smooth and helps get beautiful catch lights, or the twinkle in someone's eyes. Other things of different colors work well for reflection also. I've used brick walls, metal surfaces, and concrete is a personal fav and is almost always available. So next time you photogs are shooting around try to think reflection and find something that lights up your subject naturally.

Duke

 What a name! It was on my list of favorites with my first son but Levi didn't love it, of course so it was left on the cutting room floor BUT my beautiful neighbor Amy just had her second son and they named him Duke! Awesome :) He is SO handsome and so small weighing in at 5lbs. 2 ozs.. That's three pounds smaller than my Lincoln was! Oh how I love itty bitty babies especially when I'm pregnant. It's like I just can't get enough snuggles, hear enough labor stories or see enough newborn onesies. It's funny! I enjoyed my time with Duke so very much and luckily he lives right up the road and I can go see him pretty much whenever I want until my little one arrives in December!

Set Apart

 Set Apart is a local worship band that just so happens to rock my Church every once in a while. And please let me tell you how amazing worship always is when they are there; it's AMAZING! I know church isn't about the music but it sure does elevate the whole Sunday service when the music is really great. God has blessed our church with several amazing bands and Set Apart is made up of several dear friends and a couple of new friends. Their shoot was rainy and pretty yucky but since getting pregnant and having to take a break I've had a serious creativity back up. I had so many ideas that I wanted to use for this shoot, I mean a lot... of very untraditional ideas that may or may not have been rolling around in my head for weeks before the shoot. You see lead singer Shalendra is a rocker. He also works at our post office and so for the past couple of trips into the office we would chat about the shoot and he had some grand ideas which I am a total sucker for grand ideas. Well with his help and ideas and all of my randomness this was one of the funnest and best shoots, creatively, for me yet! I really got to let my wacky brain all out there!

For these head shots I asked each band member to hide half of their face behind a concrete wall... in my mind it captured the "Set Apart" idea perfectly because I knew that the concrete would turn white (pure) and that it would tell the perfect story of being purified through Jesus and truly being Set Apart. The band didn't think I was too crazy :)

  

In an attempt to find shelter from the dreary conditions we dodged into this car wash that I've had my eye on for sometime... it's been waiting for willing subjects :)

This shot was also inspired by the Set Apart name and involved the same concrete wall idea but incorporated the other band members into the background.

This shot also had been envisioned for a while. I found this vacant bank drive through that looked really fun and linear which is perfect for my eye. I like the effect of the rain on the pavement which was a little reward for laying down in a puddle ;)

I'll have some more things to post later this week including some details on why my site says No Longer Booking which has got some of you concerned :) I'll explain, I promise!  And Happy Fourth Of JULY!

Edit to add; Some of these darn photos won't clear up even after resizing for web! I've never been good at getting that resize thing down so any advice would be much appreciated!

The .C. Family

Did I mention I love meeting new people through this hobby? Well, I DO! I met this wonderful family tonight. They are a family with teenagers, nearly teenagers and a couple of cute tweens too. The C family was an adventure. In fact right when I arrived I was warned that little Trent had stabbed himself in the eye a couple of days ago and to avoid shooting his right side... OH MY! I was able to meet them at their home, which was made by dad Jason. AMAZING. The landscaping was phenomenal and the house was so warm and inviting. I really enjoyed getting to know this group and am thankful that my camera brings me new friends.

Edge Jumpers

I love doing photography for other artists. Whether they're painters, writers, musicians or fellow photographers there's just something different about their thought process that makes the creativity flow so seamlessly into their session. Siadus, the lead singer and guitarist of Edge Jumpers had a vision for their first album. She wanted something eclectic to fit the album title, something different with wide angles and some different views. I was so excited to try and capture her vision. I just hope I did it justice! Here are a few of my favorites from our session that made me think "Album!".