Though I'm known mostly for my on-location family portraits, I also am passionate about creating beautiful headshots for business professionals. In this case, I did headshots for Atlanta real estate agents Debbie Redford and Debbie DeWinne of All Atlanta Realty and Color It Sold.
For these headshots, we wanted to have something that could both be used on business cards and on posters. We kept with a neutral background and soft lighting which I set up at their office on the morning of the shoot. As in any headshot, we worked to achieve a look that was both accessible, trustworthy, and professional. If you are interested in headshots, please contact me. I would love to be your photographer.
After my own family's photo shoot with fellow photographer Stacey Johnson, I couldn't help taking over with the camera for a few more photos -- of the photographer. "I want to put these on my Facebook page, so I can show my friends, 'See. It's fall!' " There you go Stacey! Love ya girl.
Oh, and scroll down, you'll see a sneak peek from my family's shoot. Stacey shot the photos with my equipment, and I took the images home to edit! Just the way any photographer would like it.
This summer, my family spent some time in Portland OR for my brother's wedding. I shot some (okay, a LOT) of photos of my family while there. This is one of my favorite portraits of my sister. She wanted the photo right away, but I wanted her to have the fully edited version. It takes more time--about 20-30 minutes if you are doing face retouching, eye sharpening, color enhancing, and vignetting--but I think the result speaks for itself. Hope you love it sis!
Spring is a great time to capture portraits with the blossoming flowers. Here's my "how to" guide with a few shots I did at a friend's house using this technique.
Find a flowering bush. Bushes are better than trees for quick spring portraits because they are close to the ground and don't cause awkward mergers like tree trunks do.
Wait until the late afternoon or early morning when the light is best.
Put your subject as close to the bush or even within the bush.
Shoot close to the subject and shoot at an angle that fills the background of your image with flowers or spring leaves.
Edit as desired! (Psst... I use a texture on the first image. If you want to learn how to do this and other custom editing techniques, sign up for online mentoring sessions! I'd love to teach you.)
I love Easter--the beautiful spring blossoms, the sunshine, and the first holiday we celebrated after my son was born. So it will always be a special time of the year for me. These past few years, it's seemed that nothing is certain in life with job changes, moving, our son's health, and the inevitable emotions that come with these changes. Yet, as I've reflected this week about what is unchanging in my life, I always come back to one experience: the first time I truly felt the assurance of the existence and absolutely overpowering grace of Jesus Christ, my Savior. That knowledge has guided me through a mission to Hungary, a marriage, and now motherhood--even when times are hardest. So, this Easter I'm truly grateful to Him who is the constant in my life:
"And now, I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of them, may be and abide in you forever." Ether 12:41, The Book of Mormon
And for my Hungarian friends . . .
--És most, azt ajánlanám nektek, hogy keressétek ezt a Jézust, akiről a próféták és az apostolok írtak, hogy veletek legyen és megmaradjon bennetek Istennek, az Atyának, valamint az Úr Jézus Krisztusnak és a róluk bizonyságot tevő Szentléleknek kegyelme. Ether 12:41, A Mormon Könyve
The first three photos were taken by Jacob, the last one by me: The petal blossoms were falling off the trees like snow yesterday, and that's my sweetheart with a handful. The text is Hungarian for "love."
After I shot her family portraits, a client asked for some professional head shots to compliment the professional portrait of her business partner in California. We wanted to include some sort of architectural interest in the background as well as match the lighting and tone of the image of her business partner. We found a spot nearby my client's home really lucked out on the light--a beautiful overcast day. Both of us were thrilled with the results, and I'm excited my photos may appear in press releases, interviews, and perhaps even magazine articles about their online home and fashion boutique, Layla Grace.
Don't these two senior sisters jump off the screen? They're so glamorous! Thanks to amazing light from the twilight sun and some fun effects in post processing (love the color on that third and fifth one!), these images really work as both senior portraits and head shots for the girls' budding modeling career. You can see more of their work at Amelie Photography. One of the owners is a friend and inspired me to get into the photography business in the first place.
I had so much fun with lens flare and natural rim light! I have been focusing on that kind of light lately, and it's great to see the work pay off. My favorites? So hard to choose, but of course the first one is my favorite. The pose was the girls' idea and I really worked in post to slightly overexpose their faces and bring out those gorgeous brown eyes. I also love the straight-faced shots especially the second shot and the profile shot of her sister in the same setting. Mom will love the smiles (she made sure I got some teeth in there!), so I think everyone will be happy with the results.
I did a fun little special edit for the girls using their last portrait. This 4x6 card has two versions: the first version with one sister facing towards you and the second one with the portrait flipped and the names rearranged accordingly. These two are close friends, but I thought it would be nice if they each had a version where their face was facing right side up. They can use these for graduation announcements or get wallets made and have them for yearbook signing day. Enjoy, girls! And congratulations!
