Lifestyle Photography, Show the Love and Keep those Memories Safe

“A Day in the Life” photo session is just that. From the time you get up until you go to bed, your day is filled with life.

And as normal and regular you might think it is, there’s a heck of a lot going on. Then you add other people ( spouse, kids, friends, co-workers) and the stuff you do ( hang out, play, talk, laugh, cry, yell, play in the pool, read the paper … get interrupted, eat, feed the cat, take a walk, look at some flowers and show them to your kids, pick those flowers to bring home to your spouse, see their reaction, get a hug and kiss … you see where this is going, your life is awesome!)

OK, so now you’ve got all these epic “day in the life” pictures of your awesome life what are you going to do with them?

First, realize how nice these captured memories of this epic day will be to look at in a month. Then realize how great they will be to look at in a year and how precious they will be in 10 years ,,, and 30 years when your kids are Grandparents and in 60 years when you are gone. They are no longer nice, or normal or just snapshots, they are so precious that the album they’re in is put carefully in a special box.

I offer “day in the life” sessions and they are truly heartwarming and real and full of all the borning moments that will one day be precious memories.

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Everything In It’s Own Time, Even Fame

Every day we get up and do what it is that we do. Work, play, eat, pray, travel … we do “stuff”. And then after years of doing “stuff” some of us, actually most of us try something new to try something that we’ve never done before, but at that moment it sounded exciting and we were ready for the challenge.   When you’re offered sushi and you say to your self ‘today’s the day”!

And it was that day for John. It was the day that he would audition for a gig as an extra on a movie.  But John had no headshot, heck, he’s never had professional pictures made. Was it really worth it to get professional headshots for an extra role?

YES, absolutely. There are millions of people out there, maybe a thousand will show up for the casting call, hundreds will make the first cut, a hundred will make the next cut, 30 will make the next cut … and so it goes.

A great headshot is expected, it’s not special, it’s normal, not required of course, but you want one just so that you’re at least competitive in what you present to the casting director when you show up.

Then after everyone who showed up (remember the cast of thousands I mentioned?) has left, when they’re looking (very very quickly) through the hundreds of professional quality headshots they’ve received that day, you want your headshot to be put on the pile of a hundred … to be considered for the 30 that they actually pass back and forth with a “what do you think of this one?”

So, back to John. This was the day for his first headshot. And from the first few shots I took, I could see a spark in his eyes. It was a natural and authentic spark. Nothing cheesy here, he barely had to pose.

After a few more images I asked him to smile and his face just lit up!

He was the real deal. Now can he act?

Let’s get through the first hurdle first. Get him chosen as an extra, the rest will happen.

 

 

Family Portrait Sessions Can Be Formal and Full of Love … if you’re willing to let them be

When I’m preparing to photograph a family’s portrait I ask them two things “where will the prints be hung?” and “what do you want the photo to say about your family?”.

The first question is easy to answer “It will be hung in our formal sitting room, over our vintage baby grand, illuminated by color corrected museum lighting”,  or “We’re going to hang it in the family room, right above the pool table beside our other photos of the family”.

The second question is even easier to answer “We want the photo to capture the love and respect that we have for each other … but I’m not sure that I can get the family to show it”

Well, that’s two very different scenarios and will result in two very different poses and backgrounds.   And both can be epic.  If I can get everyone to let their guard down.

Personality, the true family dynamic, the bond that comes from relying on each other through thick and thin, good grades and bad, good haircuts and bad is hard to capture early on in the session.

This image is my favorite from the session with this beautiful family. It’s classic, timeless and worthy of being passed down for generations.

But it wasn’t until they all changed into black T-shirts toward the end of our session did I see them relax. They became so comfortable because they weren’t posing as much as they were a family just being family.

Now, remember, I said that the more formal image was my favorite. I’m guessing that it will also be the family’s favorite. Because there are two kinds of “timeless”. Images that capture family as art and images that capture family as “family”.

Images for the formal areas that show how beautiful the family really is and images for the family to look at and remember how much their love for each other is.

Epic images, all of them.

Regular Guys and Girls Need A Great Headshot – Your Big Break is Waiting

Think about it, every person that you see in every scene of every TV show or movie is an extra. Yep, a paid extra that someone chose to be in that scene, dressed the way that they are, looking exactly the way that they do.

They didn’t choose them because they looked like a fashion model or a beauty queen. They choose them because they looked the part.

You may look the part too, exactly the body build, hair color and smile that they’ve been looking for.

Spike, is a self-professed “regular guy”. So when a casting call recently went out for “regular guys” for an upcoming movie, Spike knew that he needed a headshot. Not a “new headshot” … his first headshot.

I am so happy that he trusted me with helping him create that first headshot to present to the casting directors.

Hey Spike, I’ll be seeing ya in the movies!

Why You Need a New Headshot, Or Why You Need that First Headshot!

Professional Headshots aka “Business Portraits” can play a crucial part in who a potential client will choose to contact for the products and services they need or want.

We live in a visual-centric world where there are endless choices for what you and your company offer.

Update your headshot with an image that will give you the best chance to achieve your personal and business goals

During Jim’s high school and undergrad years he was a star football player, but now it was time for grad school and a career in the law. He knew that it was time for some new headshots which would highlight the professional career path he was pursuing.

I’m so happy that Jim chose me to work with him on his new headshots.

When they ask ” Do You Have Anything Else?” You need to be prepared with ” Why yes, yes I do!”

“Great Headshot! Do you have anything else?”

If the answer is “No, I just have this one epic, incredible headshot … isn’t it enough?” No, it’s not.

Now while this question is more likely to be asked in the theatrical and modeling worlds, executives also need multiple headshots for the various ways their image might be used.

These various uses include: formal (annual report, national magazine interview, industry conference marking materials), less formal (internal company email image, industry-specific blog posting) and casual (internal company whiffle ball team picture, or charity event, hobby magazine article, golf tournament you are playing).

In all these cases, your picture must speak for you and introduce you to those you have never (but may) meet you.
The same picture cannot meet all your needs.

In the case of Mr. D., we photographed a number of looks and he chose a formal and a relaxed look.

One spoke well for his position as CEO, industry authority, subject matter expert. And the other image being more relaxed, spoke well for an event where he would be meeting with his peers or speaking at a local charity his company supported.

So, “do you have anything else?”

2013 Boston Marathon Bombings

I will never forget that call. The voice said that I had photographed Martin Richard ‘s First Communion photos and that they’d like to use them in a news report on him. It was a Canadian TV station calling and everything became a blur as I said, “yes, of course you may”.

Martin was just one of the 100 loud, laughing kids that I photographed at his church in May 2012. Things were moving so fast that day that (as much as I am sorry to say) I didn’t remember photographing Martin.

Martin died in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.

I was a bit stunned. How could I have been so insensitive to have not remembered photographing him and all the other kids ?

A few weeks after the 2013 Marathon bombings (May 2013) I was back at Martin’s church photographing that year’s First Communion class. It was a different scene for me. I talked way too long with each child as I prepared to photograph them. But we all healed  and dealt with this in our own way.

Now each year on Marathon Monday I think how lucky I was to have met him, and to have had the great pleasure to have photographed him.

The moments of our lives pass so quickly, they soon blur and fade away, but a photographic print waits for us, until that time when we need it. To comfort us, to help us remember those moments that will never happen again, to make us laugh and to cry.

Martin Richard – May 2012