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Practicing For Help-Portrait

Last night I setup my white seamless background and umbrellas and invited some friends over to be models so that I could test all of my equipment and setup for the Help-Portrait sessions I’m leading. Since one of the key points of Help-Portrait is to give the photos you take of a person in need back to them and not publish or use them for your own personal gain, I thought it would be nice to share the type of photo’s I’ll be taking by using my friends’ shots as an example.

The photo above our family’s friend Krista’s children. Below is our neighbor & friend Melinda & her daughter McKenzie.

Here are a few other shot’s of their families that stuck out for me. We had a lot of fun making these, and if I hope the kids at the hospital can get a few minutes to escape their surroundings and feel a bit of normalcy.

Lola, our Pomeranian princess, was interloping on quite a few shots!

McKenzie is adorable!

Lola knows who the star of our home is, doesn’t she?

The all-American family shot. Anthony looks quite proud, as he should!

Yoga with a giggling prop!

I’d like to thank our friends for helping us out as we prepare for today’s event. They were awesome and their families are beautiful!

Raw Talent

I got to witness some really talented kids today. My children are lucky to attend an arts-infused school, and my daughter is part of the school’s chorus team. Today, they performed two showcases in the area and included dance and painting as well as singing in their performances.

The three painters that were participating started with a blank canvas and were given the duration of the performance (which was only about 20 minutes) to create something. I was particularly interested in them because I love to see a creative challenge like this. I’ve posted previously about the occasional benefits of boundaries, and I think it really separates the people who love their craft from the excuse-makers who aren’t quite there yet. These kids did not disappoint.

The painters were positioned right up front with the vocal performers, and the onlookers who were curious enough to walk around to take a peak were treated to an evolving trio of paintings. I can guarantee that if they were not forced to finish, they would have kept going and would have ended up with totally different paintings than what they created this afternoon.

It was a great display of raw talent. These kids are all about 10 years old, and are at varying levels with their arts, but they are mostly uncorrupted. There’s no agenda, just the urge to make something and say, “look at what I can do”.

I have to give the faculty members of the school that came out to participate on a Saturday great praise. They are an example of the right kind of educators that our children need to grow up in an enlightened and progressing world. A place without creativity would be a frightening one because it screams to be set free from the minute you begin to connect with the life around you.

I put up a set of photos from the events on my Flickr.

My Favorite Shot From Vacation

Last week I was enjoying some time off for the Thanksgiving holiday with my family at Disney World. I posted some of my more “artsy” shots in an article earlier this week and mentioned that I still haven’t shown you my favorite shot of the trip. The shot at the top of this article was the result of the perfect storm of outdoor lighting. Most of my shots from that day during that time were in very hard mid-day sunlight. At one point, the clouds behind me covered the sun, while the sky in the background was a very saturated blue. I quickly looked around for a spot and saw some kids running around on this grassy hill (which I don’t think they wanted people walking on). In a mini panic, I begged everyone in our party to get up on the hill for a family portrait. Below is the shot of everyone that was available to me. After that, I knew the clouds were moving and I told everyone to do something silly, like jump, before the light changed. Well, that lost a few of my models, but I managed to grab the shot above regardless. I particularly enjoy the contrast of the boys vs. girls. The girls gave 100%, while the boys halfheartedly lifted one leg each.

I’m almost done sorting through my vacation pictures, I’ve got well over 100 of them in a set on my Flickr page.

Not much else to report as I’ve been buried at work this week, I just wanted to quickly share those two photos with you. When the light is right, you need to take advantage of it (even if you look like a raging maniac in the eyes of your loved ones when it happens).

Time To Give Back

**UPDATE – 12/1/2010** – I have posted the notes from our first planning meeting here. We have our volunteers set for the December 6th event, but still need people for the 16th and back-up volunteers for both dates. We also could use a portable photo printer if you have one to loan us.

**UPDATE – 11/29/2010** – Our first planning meeting will take place on Wednesday, December 1st at EVO Pizza in North Charleston. The details can be found here.

**UPDATE -11/22/2010** – We have set two dates: December 6th & 26th 2010 – please click here for the details.

Original Post – 11/16/2010:

Last year, I saw a video about the annual Help-Portrait event in Charleston. I thought it was brilliant and put a reminder in my calendar so I could remember to get involved with it this year. Help-Portrait is the brainchild of celebrity photographer Jeremy Cowart. The idea is for local photographers to organize a way to use their skill to give back to their community by volunteering time and prints for those in need.

My wife and I have been talking back in forth for a long time about how we could help kids with cancer. She regularly follows the blogs on CaringBridge.org, and get very emotionally attached to the families and their stories. Recently, one of our daughter’s classmates, Jesse, got diagnosed with Leukemia after he couldn’t walk into the state fair with his grandparents. Just the thought of a 10 year old boy not being able to make it into the fair is heartbreaking enough, and to suffer through the horror of finding out that your child has been diagnosed with cancer is something I could never even fully imagine – but it happens to the most unlikely and innocent children.

So, when I signed up for Help-Portrait in anticipation of volunteering for an event that was being run by another local photographer, I was kind of bummed that nobody had anything planned yet for this year. Then it clicked in my head. I could do it. Why not? But what to do – who could I serve for this? The answer hit me like a ton of bricks – We could do it at the MUSC Children’s Hospital and we could take holiday portraits of the families who are in similar situations as Jesse’s!

Today, my wife Amy finally got to talk to the Child Life Manager at MUSC and explained our plan. Unfortunately, the day that Help-Portrait is planned for (December 4th) is not a possibility with their schedule. However, she did say that she was really excited about the idea and that there are plenty of other days that we can do it on! So I talked it over with my wife, and we both easily agreed that the date is really unimportant – we don’t have to do it on a specific day to be part of this. The idea is to give back, not to give back on only one specific day! I’ve created a group for this MUSC Kids project on Help-Portrait.com for anybody who wants to participate with me. It’s the same idea as Help-Portrait, just on our own schedule. Anybody can help – photographers, make-up artists, hair stylists, people who can hold a light stand – anybody who wants to be a part of this is welcome! I also signed up with the existing Charleston, SC Help-Portrait Group because I plan on helping out with whatever event pops up for the 4th of December.

This is what we are going to be focusing our efforts on in the coming weeks, so please, sign up at the Help-Portrait community site and get involved! Lets make this happen together, it will be fun and you will make someone’s day a bit brighter.

The End of No Shave November

After a month of growth, today marks the last day of November as well as the end of my beard (for now). It’s interesting to see how even a simple chore such as taking my own photo every day starts to make my mind wander into new territory. I started out just using the same lighting and spot and then started experimenting with the way I was lighting myself – changing the umbrella configurations, playing with gels, and using the walls as a giant bounce flash. I actually learned a bunch doing this because I let myself play around with it. If you find yourself in a personal project such as this one, by all means you should exploit it! I only wish I started stepping out of my element sooner.

You can check out the whole set on Flickr here. Here is today’s final photo. I half-assed it.

Making Art On Vacation

One of the benefits of being a photographer and going on vacation is being in a place you don’t experience every day. On the other hand, one of the obvious problems in visiting a vacation destination is trying to make something new in a place that everyone shoots! No other place defines that issue more to me than Disney World. You can’t take a step without seeing someone with a camera up to their eye. From cell phones to the most expensive DSLR’s on the market, it’s a safe bet to say that Disney World is the most photographed vacation destination in the world. So how do you make something new while visiting a place like that?

I look at a place like this as a great way to further define your style, because that is the only thing that will separate your shots from the tens of thousands of other shots taken every day. What can you inject into a scene that makes it yours?

It can be overwhelming when you start to think that you are photographing a mostly man-made environment – how are you making art out of someone else’s art? That is what photography is all about! Capturing images of life the way you see and interpret them. You’re telling a story with your own voice, even if it’s a retelling of another person’s tale.

Adding your loved ones into an interesting background is a no-brainer, but how about making them a part of the artwork by composing them as an element in it?

I personally like to look for shapes and textures in a place like this – especially during those harsh mid-day hard-lit hours. You can shoot in every type of light, but you need to work within its limitations while exploiting its positive points.

When looking for design elements, you can always make a decent picture much better by adding an element that sticks out, such as people. I started shooting this scene and even though I loved the color and angles, I was bored with it until I asked my daughter and her cousin to sit off on the side of the wall.

As I’ve stated in previous posts, I also love to shoot in low light. I composed this shot and used the guard railing inside Space Mountain to brace the camera as my son awaited the last ride of the evening (and our vacation).

This photo was made by holding the camera steady against the fender of the car/table directly in front of my family’s seats at the Sci-Fi Diner.

When you don’t have anything to act as a makeshift tri-pod, you can get low to steady your elbows on your legs, shoot wide open and crank up the ISO. This shot was done at f/2.8 and ISO 1600. I had to take quite a few of this scene to ensure that at least one of them would be acceptably sharp. It’s digital, it doesn’t cost you anything to let the shutter fly, but you can loose everything you’re trying to say if you’re not generous with your disk space in extreme shooting conditions such as this.

There are plenty of opportunities on vacation to relax and stretch your creative mind out while behind the lens. Go ahead and try new stuff while opening your eyes a bit wider to find the shots that most people might skip over. I still haven’t shown you my favorite shot that I took on this trip, but I have hundreds of photos to go through. I promise to share it with you this week as I get more time – the sucky part of returning home from vacation is all of the work that piles up in your absence, so I’ve got a busy week ahead of me.

Go Big!

Reflecting after Thanksgiving, being away from my day job, and having some time to generally rest my brain has been a cathartic experience. I run so fast through each week and am amazed at the beginning of each month that I’ve passed through the previous one without even a chance to settle into it. It has me thinking that I need to keep growing my craft. Time is of the essence and I can’t settle, I need to go big.

Ever since I identified photography as my creative outlet a couple of years ago, I’ve been on a steady climb with my ability, focus, and style. Within this past year, I’ve been giving myself personal projects, stepping out of my comfort zone, and really putting myself out there. I’ve completed a 365 project, which was a huge task (just look at how many start on Flickr, but never get finished – it’s not easy) and after that I started this website. I’ve also been published in Charleston Magazine a couple of times, including their Last Page feature, as well as various other publications such as Australia’s Hysteria Magazine, and I’ve been featured on blogs and news sites such as The Digitel. I actually received an award for one of my pictures, and I got the opportunity to lead a photography related session at BarCamp. I’m super excited about the upcoming Help-Portrait sessions because it is something much bigger than anything I could ever do on my own. In particular, this Help-Portrait project really has been inspired.

I need to keep climbing this mountain ahead of me, and there is no time for plateaus. I need to push my ambition into overdrive. The question is what next? I do hope to keep the Help-Portrait idea going for more than just this December, but other than that, I need to do something big in a different way. Up until now, I’ve been what I consider an amateur – someone who does this for the love of it. I don’t want to ever lose that affection for photography. But, my wife has been yelling in my ear lately that it’s time to get paid. I get a little scared of that, because if I get paid, then it’s a job. If it’s a job, then it becomes something you have to do. If I have to do it, instead of wanting to do it, I will resent it. But enough of this silly rationalization. I see now that my own fear is making up excuses. I need to prove to myself that I’m worth it. I need to get hired and deliver above an beyond what I’ve been asked to do. It’s not about the money, it’s about the accomplishment.

Right now, the creative part of my mind is an open book. A journal that has been written into randomly and needs to be organized into a cohesive work. I’m very open to your suggestions, in fact, I would truly appreciate your input on this one. So please, whether it’s on Facebook, Twitter, or right here – please shoot me some thoughts about going bigger. How do you see someone like me best contributing to the world of photography?

Happy Thanksgiving

Just a quick post from the Magic Kingdom from my family to you. We have a lot to be thankful for, especially these two happy and healthy kids who we get to spoil every now and again!

This picture was taken with my camera by one of the street photographers on Main Street.

A Change Of Pace

For the last couple of Thanksgiving holidays my family has traveled up into the mountains of North Carolina for some sledding, hiking, and Turkey. The picture above is my son gliding down Beech Mountain last year. This year, we’ve decided to change it up a bit and head to warmer pastures. We’ll still be spending our time with family, but also with the giant mouse and his gang in Florida. I’m kind of sad that we wont be playing in the snow, but who can resist the allure of Space Mountain five times in a row during “Magic Hours”?

I will try to post a short update or two during my vacation and I will still be updating my “No Shave November” self-portraits here.

To all of you folks out there reading this, I truly hope you can take some time during the holiday to reflect on all of the positive things in your life. No matter what cards life deals you, there is always something worth living for in everybody’s life. The challenge is to identify and accept the gifts you have, then have the strength to employ them.

I for one know that the most thankful thing my family claims at the table every year is small, fluffy, and likes to sleep on top of my head at night. Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours (and to little Lola too)!

The Shot Between The Shots

If you read a lot of photography blogs and/or books, you will hear the veterans of the craft talk about the shot between the shots. That it, the real shot is the one that is caught when the subject is off guard and their true personality shows.

Over the weekend, I was walking my dogs with my son and when we came upon a small pond in our neighborhood. The morning light was awesome and my jaw dropped when I looked up and saw the color of the trees behind the pond. I immediately decreed that it was time to take fall portraits of the children. Unfortunately, my wife and daughter were working at a community garage sale and then I had to take my daughter to piano practice right afterward. That meant no picture taking until the ugly hours of the middle afternoon. Booo. As luck would have it, a bunch of clouds rolled in and turned the ugly direct sunlight into soft diffused daylight! I dragged an umbrella out to the pond that afternoon and asked the kids to stand together for a portrait to send to their Grandmother for her upcoming birthday. I swear, I almost lost my mind trying to get these two to stand still and smile. After only a couple of attempts, this was the best I could do:

I wish I had the patience with my own children to somehow get them to cooperate, but within seconds after this shot my kids were rolling on the banks of the pond and then my son ran off all upset at his sister! Here I was, just getting started, and they were finished. When shooting kids – there’s no practice time. You’ve gotta get it right immediately or else you lose them.

I asked my daughter to smile pretty for some shots after my boy ran off. When I did that, she put on what was obvious to me as the world’s most forced smile and pose. If I could see it, the world would see it as well. So, I began to talk in a crazy demon voice and she started to giggle at my silliness. Luckily, she was in frame. That is the shot at the top of the post, which was my favorite of the day – the shot between the shots. That’s my daughter – a happy kid who loves to laugh, and that’s how she looks when she’s doing it.

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