04
Nov
09

mayabeth – whs senior portraits

I just love working with high school seniors! They’re at a very special time in their lives, when the world is before them and all options are open. They’re hopeful and confident, yet still in the process of turning into the adults they will soon become. Most of all, they’re a lot of fun to shoot!

I had the pleasure of working with Mayabeth, a senior from Wamego High, and let me tell you, this young woman is busy! She runs cross country, plays basketball, volunteers at the elementary school, and to top it all off, was recently chosen to be the Homecoming Queen!

On a day that started out cold, cloudy, windy, and 48F (before wind chill), we went out to a local lake in the afternoon and found incredible blue skies and gorgeous temperatures.

Is it wrong to start a blog post with one of my very favorites from the session?

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We really couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day in mid-October! So yeah, we had some fun. :)

Here are a few of my favorites from the session:

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Man, I just love this next one!

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After hanging around the lake for a while, we hopped back in our cars and went over to the campus at KSU to get a few more in a more urban setting.

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As the light started to fade, we headed over to the old stadium there on campus to get make some images of Mayabeth in her cross country uniform and spikes.

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She has been hitting the weights for a few years now and wanted to make sure we documented the progress. Check out those guns!

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Good luck choosing a college, Mayabeth, and in all your future endeavors!

27
Oct
09

mindy + nathan: engaged!

To those that know Mindy and Nathan, this will not come as much of a surprise, given that they just tied the knot about a week ago in a beautiful hill-top ceremony at her parents’ farm. However, not too long before the wedding, we got together for a little engagement session, knowing that there was little time between the session and the actual wedding (there was only family at the wedding–a total of 18 people).

And, incidentally, for anyone else in a similar situation, where there is not that much time for an engagement session before the wedding, when you might be tempted to just skip it and focus on the nearing nuptials, I’d recommend going ahead with the session anyways. It gives you a chance to get to know your photographer in a much more relaxed environment, to see how he or she works, and develop an amount of trust and confidence that will come back to serve you on your actual wedding day. You’ll be more relaxed with your photographer, and that will only make you look better in your wedding portraits. Trust me on this one. ;)

So, we met on campus at Kansas State University in Manhattan and made good use of the great variety of locations available in such a small area. I’m going to try not to talk too much now because there are a bunch of images to share, so get ready for a long post!

Mindy and Nathan met in grade school. Sounds like the beginning of a great love story, doesn’t it? Really, it is.

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It was so cool to see how much fun they have together. They’re unafraid of letting it show around other people, too.

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Oh yeah…the dumpster thing? Their idea.

The real Nathan.

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The black and white Nathan.

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As we were moving from one location to another in the old stadium there on campus, a sweet, elderly couple that was walking the track passed us and commented on how nice the weather was. They then suggested we shoot right there on the track.

Ok!

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After the stadium, we moved over to the new parking garage and had some fun there. Don’t worry…we looked both ways before laying down in the street.

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The real fun started when we went to the top of the parking garage. It’s not finished yet, so there were a few locations that probably won’t be available in a few months when they do finish it.

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And my very absolute favorite of the night, the very last image we made:

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Mindy and Nathan, you guys rock! I’m so excited to have been able to create these images of your love before your wedding, and can’t wait to show you the images from your wedding! It’s coming soon…stay tuned!

27
Oct
09

dusting this thing off

*hack, hack* *ahem*

Pardon my cough. All the dust all over this poor blog really aggravates my lungs!

My goodness it’s been forever since I updated this thing! To get myself gently back into the habit, I thought I’d throw up a quick post.

Not too long ago, a good friend contacted me and let me know that he was being invited to speak at a conference. This was good news for him, but he wasn’t just calling to tell me his good news. Once he got the invite, the conference organizers let him know that he’d need a headshot to put in the program and on the organization’s website.

That’s when the panic set in. And that’s when he called me.

We figured we’d be able to run over to his school after hours (he teaches at the local middle school) and set up a simple headshot there in his room. However, when we actually got together to shoot, our schedules were a bit cramped and hectic, so we decided that we’d just shoot it in my dining room.

That’s right–in my dining room.

I threw up some seamless black paper over a doorway and set up my big light (a Norman head) with a shoot-through umbrella. We found something to hold up a white reflector to fill in the shadows, and put up a little speedlight with a CTO gel on it to color the background.

The result?

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And in black and white, just in case.

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His wife told me later (with a wink) that she never knew that she had married such a handsome man!

So there you go: a quick headshot in my dining room. Good luck on your presentation, Curtis!




 

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tweeted

  • @labrisaphoto seriously! that NEVER happens. of course, she wanted me to play as her on her game, so she really was still in control ;) 8 hours ago
  • my wife just told me that I needed to play video games while she's in the shower. #fb 10 hours ago
  • I've decided some window air conditioners were simply not meant to be carried up/down two flights of stairs each year. my back concurs #fb 15 hours ago
  • @dougboutwell yikes...sounds like a rough fight. except for me: I put my money on max ;) 16 hours ago
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