Modern Hippie Chic {Portraits of Women | Carbondale, IL}

Tags

50mm, 7d, canon, dSLR, flowers, hands, manual, natural light, photography, portrait, posing, processing, woman, women

When you’re different, sometimes you don’t see the millions of people who accept you for what you are. All you notice is the person who doesn’t.”

― Jodi Picoult, Change of Heart

I love photographing women.

I love photographing women of all ages, sizes, shapes, races, sexual orientations, and any other characteristic that makes them unique.

Too often women grow up not appreciating their differences; not recognizing their own unique qualities. We are taught to make fun, bully, and criticize each other instead of lift one another up.

And sometimes…we believe what they say.

Sometimes, we compare ourselves to the impossible ideal of what is displayed on billboards, magazines, television and movies, and while looking in the mirror, find it illogical to love ourselves just the way we are.

I want to change that.

I see beauty in every woman, and my dream is to be able to help women see it in themselves. No matter how many inches or pounds you’d like to lose, you are beautiful just as you are. No matter how many wrinkles, sags, dark circles or bags…you are beautiful just as you are. No matter your age or dress size, you are beautiful just as you are.

You are beautiful just as you are. Right now.

And, my camera…she knows that.

Let us show you.

You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”
― Gautama Buddha

 

Sun flare actions by Photographers Depot

 

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a long engagement {carbondale, il photographer}

Tags

50mm, black/white, canon, couple, dSLR, e-session, engagement, exposure, manual, natural light, photography, portrait, processing, XSi

I had the pleasure of photographing one of the most beautiful couples I’ve ever met. Their connection was obvious, and they were both very natural in front of the camera.

They’ve been engaged for two years, which I found quite refreshing in this day and age. It was lovely to see both their love for each other, and their deep connection of friendship come through in the images we captured.

Some of the more natural, unposed shots are among my favorites…

Editing these images was, again, a great pleasure, as most of the straight-out-of-camera (sooc) shots were exposed properly. My only goal was to enhance the richness of the colors and make the couple really stand out.

Which isn’t difficult when they are as good looking as these two!

I wish them a very happy wedding and blessed future together as they head down the aisle later this year.

the cutest family

Tags

50mm, background, canon, composition, dSLR, exposure, family, manual, natural light, photography, portrait, posing, practice, processing, toddler, XSi

I thought it wasn’t going to happen at first. This kid did NOT want to have his picture taken, but after 15 minutes or so of playing on the playground equipment, he was ready to go. And by the end, I think he even kind of liked me.

This portrait building session was a real challenge for me. Even though we started at 5:30pm, the sun was still high and bright in the sky. Next time, we’ll make it 6:30pm to get better light. Images taken under the gazebo were much better, but still had issues in the background.

I learned quite a lot during this session. Several things I need to work on include: posing, paying closer attention to my backgrounds, NOT taking pictures of a toddler at a park (good grief! What was I thinking!?!), exposure…getting it right in camera makes a HUGE difference in editing, and I need to work on my ability to connect w/ the young’uns.

We got there, but it took us a while.

unexpected results

Tags

50mm, background, beautiful, campus, canon, composition, diva, dSLR, exposure, iso, lake, manual, natural light, photography, portrait, practice, processing, rain, XSi

I was late. She was late. Way late. Five minutes after she arrived, it started to sprinkle.  Neither of us had an umbrella. I just knew it was going to be a disaster, but we persevered and suffered the light rain since there was enough light and no lightning…yet.

We started on the dock and used the water as a backdrop. I love how smooth it looks, you can’t even tell it’s water (which is good, given the lack of water-blue hues).  Her inner diva didn’t take long to shine.

I tried to remember: variety. Close ups (check), head/shoulders (check), 3/4 length (check) and full body (check).  Backgrounds were an issue…a canoe sticking out the side of her neck here, a building growing out of her head there. DoF helps, but you can still tell it’s a building. Where oh where is that lovely open field of green, with wild yellow or purple flower patches scattered throughout providing variation but yet clean, uninterrupted surroundings?!

Per my suggestion, she brought a change of outfit; which worked out well given the weather. In an effort to get out of the rain, she changed clothes, and we worked in another spot just off the lake…one of the campus building courtyards. Her black dress worked really well for this spot, which has various iron sculptures, brick buildings, concrete pillars, and dark reflective windows.

After changing clothes and location, the sky got a bit darker and though it never really rained very hard, light was getting more difficult to come by. I had concerns because I know that if I raise my ISO above 400, I start to get a lot of noise. But, at the time, I had no choice if I wanted to get proper exposure.  Fortunately, with proper exposure, noise is minimized, and my aperture was wide enough (but not too wide) to get good sharp images, despite the high ISO.

All in all, I was happily surprised with the results of these images, both straight out of camera, and after processing. She was such a natural, I didn’t have to worry too much about posing her, though I realize it’s still something to work on. Her hair and makeup was spot on (she is a beauty consultant, so makes sense 😉 ). Even though it rained and I was concerned about the location and the light, this is by far the best session I’ve had to date.

She was absolutely thrilled with the photos, and I was excited to see how easy processing can be when images are taken correctly in-camera. This session gave me a real boost, and I can only hope to achieve these kinds of results consistently in future sessions.

picture a party

Tags

50mm, aperture, bounce flash, canon, composition, DIY, dSLR, exposure, flash, lighting, manual, party, photography, pop-up flash, processing, white balance, XSi

Pictured just outside the dance floor area. My favorite picture from this year's party.

*****

For the second year in a row, a friend of mine threw herself an awesome birthday party. For the second year in a row, she invited me to take pictures of her and her guests during the party.  And for the second year in a row, I took on the opportunity, as frightening as it is to attempt taking pictures of people in the nearly dark environment of a bar or dance floor.

Last year was a true challenge indeed. I had owned my dslr for about 5 months, and had no off-camera flash. The only lenses I had were the kit lens, with a max ap of 5.6 at its longest focal length, and a telephoto 70-300 with about the same max ap. So, I rented an L-lens 28-70 f/2.8 in hopes that it would help minimize my ISO and maximize the light I had to work with.

I also diffused my flash – to avoid those nasty harsh shadows behind my subjects – with a DIY film canister diffuser. This worked really well in practice shots, but when there’s little light to begin with, diffusing the flash really doesn’t help matters.

Last year's party, guest comedian, neon lights, fluorescent stage floor, pop-up flash, ugh!

The first part of the party (both last year and this year) was a poetry jam and a special guest comedian. The picture above was the comedian. As you can see, the lighting was awful, and using the pop-up flash makes him look pasted onto the stage (are his fingers pointing forwards? backwards? or does he just have a really large disfigured hand?!!).

What was most annoying (for the performers and me) was the fact that it was so dark – and they were moving quite a bit across the stage – that my flash keep triggering to lock focus (which it found about 10% of the time) and blinding the performers in the process.  It was most frustrating, but they put up w/ me, and I managed to salvage a few shots.

This was also my first time shooting in RAW, which I have shot in ever since. White balance issues were a nightmare in last year’s venue, especially with all the tract neon lighting.  I must’ve taken 200 pictures last year and came out with a handful I was willing to show and share with others.

Last year's party: white balance hell

*****

This year I tried to step up my game. Unfortunately, I was going in with practically the same equipment I had last year, only this time instead of renting a lens I used my 50mm f/1.8. I’ve also since learned how to bounce my pop-up flash and decided I would try that instead of the diffuser.

Not knowing much about the venue (it was held at a different spot than last year), I stopped and picked up a piece of foam board to assist me with the bouncing. Picture me, holding the camera in the right hand, bouncing the pop-up flash using a DIY Party Bouncer onto a 5×7 cutout piece of foam board being held by my left hand.

I’m sure it was all quite comical for the guests!

Vertical images, with the bounce occuring from the left side instead of overhead, resulted in more dimension in the subjects' faces.

The lighting still came out a bit flat – particularly for horizontal images – but it was spread much better than the diffuser. Therefore, exposure was better, the white foam board helped minimize white balance issues (as did the different venue), and I wasn’t quite as annoying with the pre-flash, though my camera still had to hunt often due to lack of light.

The dance floor was still a challenge because it was so dark, and guests inevitably stood in the darkest areas. Desaturating the images worked best.

I had a lot less processing work to do on these images, and felt like they were worth sharing. I’ve got a long way to go, but am definitely getting better with the equipment I have at my disposal.

Thanks for looking! Feel free to leave your thoughts. 🙂