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Articles Tagged with: portrait

I Am Not A Wildlife Photographer…

I’m not a wildlife photographer…

But I love to shoot the birds and bugs in my backyard.

I’m not a landscape photographer…

But I love to capture the beauty around me.

I’m not a sports photographer…

But I love to witness mad skillz, yo.

I’m not a street photographer…

But I love to find art in the moment.

I’m not a fashion photographer…

But I love to collaborate with artists to make something interesting.

I’m not an architectural photographer…

But I love to witness man’s feats of greatness.

I’m not a portrait photographer…

But I love to see a part of a person’s personality conveyed in an image.

I’m not a wedding photographer…

But I love to see a bride looking her best.

I’m not an abstract photographer…

But I love to see the Devil in the details.

I’m not a maternity photographer…

But I love to see a woman becoming a new mother.

I’m not a pet photographer…

But I love to capture an old man saying goodbye to his old best friend.

I’m not a music photographer…

But I love music and I think it’s what saved my life.

I’m not a headshot photographer…

But I love to capture a person the way I see them.

I’m not a fitness photographer…

But I love to capture a person in the best physical shape they can be in.

I’m not an editorial photographer…

But I love to make a portrait that tells a story.

I’m not an event photographer…

But I love an opportunity to score a free beer (or seven).

I’m not a fireworks photographer…

But I love to see things that go boom!

I’m not a travel photographer…

But I love to see new places and faces.

I’m not a fine art photographer…

But I love to stretch my imagination.

I’m not a family photographer…

But I sure do love my family.

I’m not any single kind of photographer.

I’m all of them and none of them.

I’m just a person who loves to capture life in a bottle so I can open it up and share it with everyone else every once in a while.

Help-Portrait Charleston SC 2013

That picture says it all. Little Dereon was the first to come visit us in the atrium at MUSC Children’s Hospital on Friday for our annual Help-Portrait event that we organize there every December. She was also the last to get her photo taken! It took her a while to warm up to me, and she wanted to watch the other children with a curious eye to see what the deal was. The whole morning she was wearing a mask that covered her beautiful smile, and when she finally built up the courage to get her picture taken, she took off that mask and instantly transformed into an excited and confident little girl. I couldn’t think of a better story to explain what our Help-Portrait event at the children’s hospital means – It’s a way to make these kids and their families feel normal.

The holidays are an emotional time, and to add the struggle that these kids are going through is not easy to say the least. To give them any experience that lets them feel like regular kids is important in keeping them hopeful and strong. We’re just but one event of the hundreds of different kinds that are held every year for the hospital, but to see the happiness in Danielle’s face and the gratitude from her mom, you can see why we get so excited for this event every year:

How about little Kloeiann, who came out like a rock star? We had her and her mom design a sign for her to hold up for one of her pictures, and very awesome is quite appropriate for her 🙂

We also had a frame crafting station set up for the kids to design their own picture frame to put one of their photos in.

Thanks to Amy, Crystal, & Christina who volunteered to make this happen with me again this year. Also, thanks to the staff at MUSC Children’s hospital for letting us do this every year!

The photos are up on my gallery here, and there’s also a set on Flickr.

Studying Through Sketching

Here is #sketch no. 2 of @emmawatson that I got a little more ambitious with #drawinglaceishard #moleskine #sketchbook #art #graphite #drawing #draw #pencil #fabercastell #emmawatson #orlando #florida

One of the most important things I’ve learned about photography is that the equipment is not ultimately important. The overall image is. I’ve hammered it in so many blog posts that I’m not even gonna bother linking to them here. Just choose any month from the right-hand list and you’ll find me ranting about some facet of photography that has nothing to do with lenses or light modifiers.

Tonight's #sketch is of #AngelinaJolie - I dig her more now than ever for promoting women's health #art #sketchbook #moleskine #fabercastell #graphite #pencil #draw #drawing #portrait #girl #actress #bighair

So, I’ve recently rekindled my love for drawing with graphite – Something I did back in high school but never really pursued again until now. The whole process has inadvertently turned into an advanced lesson in portraiture. I scour through Pinterest feeds looking for faces that move me, and before I know it, I’m studying. I’m learning about which photos appeal to me, but more importantly why they appeal to me. Expressions, quality of light, overall mood, etc.

Tonight's #sketch of @nottildaswinton was made in 3 different airports and caught the attention of the TSA (in a good way). #TildaSwinton #moleskine #sketchbook #art #drawing #draw #graphite #pencil #portrait #face #actress #artist #woman #girl #shorthai

Once I’ve settled on a portrait to sketch, I then get a chance to slow down and really tear the image apart so that I can put it back together again. Every facial feature, every shadow, and every highlight gets meticulously recreated.

Tonight's #sketch is of @gilliananderson #sketchbook #moleskine #art #drawing #draw #graphite #portrait #hair #pencil #fabercastell

I even started adding my own little adjustments, such as the tears in this sketch of Benedict Cumberbatch that I did for my daughter:

Tonight's #sketch of a sad #BenedictCumberbatch @cumberbatchb was commissioned by my daughter @frostymac for a school research project. #art #moleskine #sketchbook #draw #drawing #graphite #pencil #sherlock #necromancer #fabercastell #portrait #tears #fa

The real trick is in translating that inspiration and effort back into photography. I find that getting people to slow down with me is helping me get some deeper images of their faces. Here’s an photo I shot recently after a head shot session where I just asked Christina to relax a bit and look at the camera without any predisposition. Just take it easy and let the face tell the story without forcing it.

If you want to keep up with what I’m doing in my sketchbook, follow me on my Instagram feed

Dirty

I woke up one Saturday morning with this image in my head. Inspired by my friend Katie’s new venture called “Black Swamp” in which she re-purposes the wood shavings from her & her husband’s woodworking business into jewelry, I saw that the pieces she’s producing look much like the curls of her own hair. The idea was almost too easy! I drove out to Eutawville, SC that afternoon to make it happen.

Of course, nothing worth doing comes without a price, and Katie did not come out of this squeaky clean.

I like to “warm up” for something like this to get a feel for the location, loosen up the subject, and get my brain on the correct frequency. I shot a few environmental portraits in Katie and her husband Joe’s new shop space. Here’s my favorite of those shots:

You can check out the rest of the photos on this Flickr Set.

Portrait Vs. Headshot

There’s a fine line between a portrait and a headshot. The main difference being that a headshot is a professional representation of the subject for the desired use of the photograph, while a portrait tells more of a story. It doesn’t have to be a complicated story either, just something that makes you wonder what’s going on. Dramatic lighting, coloring, and expressive poses can take the same subject wearing the same outfit with the same hair and make-up and transform the image completely.

The photo above is of Amanda Cruz, who came by to get this headshot made for her new real estate business:

These shots are only a few moments apart – The difference in her pose and expression coupled with a change in the lighting setup and you have a completely different product. Sometimes the difference can be subtle, so the best way to determine whether you’re making a headshot or portrait is in the story. Is the photo showing the subject being themselves? Is it displaying something in their character? Then it’s most likely a headshot. On the other hand, if the shot is implying an emotion, or leading you to imagine a scenario that is playing out for or in view of the subject, then you’re most likely looking at a portrait.

Lazy Days of Summer

This has been the longest I’ve waited between blog posts since I’ve launched this site – What happened? Nothing at all. I think the distractions of Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Vine, etc have been satisfying my need to communicate in a very basic and concise way. I’ve also been busy with my businesses, my family, and trying to enjoy the summer (albeit a wet soggy one so far). So, I’m going to share some of my photos since last we spoke on this old blog of mine…

That photo at the top was taken this weekend. For the first time since summer began, we made it out to the beach! I went specifically to capture a sunset on Sullivans Island, and I didn’t come home empty handed. A few days before was the 4th of July, where we went to Folly Beach to check out the fireworks. Here’s a shot I made that evening:

More importantly, my brother-in-law & his girlfriend are having a baby, and Mira’s finally started to look the part of an expectant mother:

I’ve also been shooting lots of headshots and commercial stuff. During one shoot for a local veterinary hospital, one of the vets may have posed for a shot of her latest tattoo…

Dr. Davis' new tattoo #DSLR #Nikon #JWNPhoto #Tattoo

Speaking of headshots, it only took a year to get Dr. Colleen Boylston in front of my camera again to update her headshot:

I’ve recently started watercolor painting stuff on a whim. I found some $12 kit at the bookstore and found it utterly relaxing and fun. Here’s a close-up of one of my creations:

Another watercolor painting based on another photograph I made - This one was at Kiawah Island in the spring. The pollen created a lot of cool shapes on the sand. #watercolor #art #painting #CHS #Kiawah

I had one of the most unfortunately soggy and stormy beach weddings ever to shoot, and the couple certainly made the best of it. Here’s a shot of their muddy feet underneath the gazebo on Sullivans Island:

I continue to add ink into my left arm. Margo has been a blessing in this department. She’s really turning my arm into a fleshy art gallery, and I couldn’t be more excited as I have a lot of skin to color in before this sleeve is done.

Adding background to my arm tonight - As always @MargoVenomous rules! #roadtofullsleeve #Tattoo #water #Flames #patchwhiskey #CaiaKoopman #TatianaSuarez

Of course, we took another trip to Disney World. I believe this was trip #4 on the year (I got the family annual passes this past Christmas). In an effort to keep things fresh, I’ve resorted to street style photography of people in the park. I love this shot because it truly doesn’t look like we’re in a theme park (which is not an easy feat to pull off):

We took a trip upstate to Freedom Weekend Aloft to check out the hot air balloons. I may have had drank some bravery during the festival as I was running right up to the balloons and snapping away. This was my favorite balloon shot from the trip:

As far as my other favorite past time is concerned (live music), there has been no shortage of fun this summer in that department. One of the lowcountry’s best events is the annual First Flush Festival out on Wadmalaw Island. This year’s headliners were Old Crow Medicine Show and they were pretty damn awesome.

And I couldn’t help but take advantage of the scenery at the tea plantation and the tattooed attendees. I love this shot of to willing subjects:

Over at the Music Farm, on of my favorite singer/songwriters, Ryan Bingham put on a kick-ass show:

Those are just some of the highlights of my summer so far. I’ll be back to regularly updating this blog now that I’ve had a little break. Thanks for having me back. TTYS

Charleston CPA Nails It

Just a quick shout out to the gang at Molony & Phipps, LLC who had me come to their offices recently to create some head shots for their new website. The woman in the shot up top impressed me because she nailed that on the very first click! I usually see a huge progression as I ease my subjects into getting their portrait made. The first shot is usually looks a little on the nervous side, and I have to work a bit to find the best expression for the what the photo will be used for.

I remember taking the shot and chimping the back of my camera in amazement and saying, “You’ve done this before!” Some people are just naturals 😉

Pictures of Kayla

Kayla came by for a photo shoot as a gift from her mother. Like most teenage girls, she’s got a busy schedule of school, sports, and family life and it was my job to capture that energy of youth.

We started off in my studio and gave her the model photo shoot experience, fans blowing and all. There’s definitely a dynamic in her set of photos that showcases the many layers of this southern teenager. She’s sweet yet edgy, and I think you can see a different personality in each of these shots.

We headed to the park under the Ravenel Bridge in Mount Pleasant to put a glorious sunset behind her. The shot at the top shows a sensitive girl, yet you wouldn’t realize how bitingly cold it was down there that night from it. Here’s one of my favorite shots of the shoot, she’s got her mom’s coat on and is warming up and I took this shot of here off her guard:

We ended up in downtown charleston and put Kayla in some classic areas, including this shot of her in an alleyway in the French quarter. This is my absolute favorite shot of the session photographically because of the mixed light and the texture. It’s a priceless backdrop 😉

I love the connections photography makes with a family – after this shoot, Kayla’s mom had me shoot her future daughter-in-law’s bridal portraits, which I’ll be able to show you after her big day. It’s those connections with humanity that are the heart of what I love about photography!

Happy Holidays!

It’s that time of year and we’re just about done stuffing envelopes with our holiday cards. The photo above is the one we chose out of few family portraits that I made one night recently. I actually like the other two better as photographs, but the one above just worked better on the cards. It’s more about us in it then the scenery, where as this one is all about the location:

And this one is all about those pink fluffies in the sky:

I also shot Aurora’s first Christmas pics. Here’s my favorite of that bunch:

And you can’t celebrate the holidays without a trip to the James Island County Park for their annual Holiday Festival of Lights. We come for the lights, and stay for the giant toasted marshmallows…

I had a client who really wanted to do a downtown Charleston shoot for their holiday cards and only had one day to get it done, and it happened to be raining like crazy that day. I felt a little pressure to deliver in the studio, so I had this crazy idea for a family portrait and this was the result (I think they like it):

My daughter and son’s piano teacher held her first ever piano recital as well. She asked me to shoot this group shot of her students at the recital (thank goodness for bounce flash and white ceilings):

Something about this time of year really makes it feel special. I don’t know if it’s entirely a spiritual thing either – maybe for me it’s more of a reflection on the past year combined with the hope of a new one.

When terrible things happen as they did this past weekend in Connecticut, I’d like to think that instead of fighting with old and tired arguments that don’t fix any problems, that we could start to work together to make things better. I’d love for everyone to start listening to each other. I’d love for everyone to start empathizing with each other. We can’t control every awful action that may happen, but we can control how we rebound from it. Stop pointing fingers and start a new conversation, because the victims deserve better than a lot of what I see going on on the social networks.

Peace out for now.

Harley

I’ve got another great senior to show you tonight – Harley is a guy who loves the guitar, drawing, and cars. He hates my Prius because he says that if he drove one, his friends would kill him! I guess his friends don’t pay for their own gas just yet 😉

Here’s a shot of Harley with his brother and sister. This is one of those rare moments with 3 teenage siblings where they all did an amazing job at the same time!

And here’s a close-up headshot. Check out those baby blue eyes. I love the blue and red contrasts in this shot.

I also wore him out with lots of jumping (that’s what you get for hating on my hybrid!!!)

Harley’s a great guy who’s got a lot to offer the world, I know he’ll graduate to doing great things!

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