Mustache Monday
Mustache Monday begins on Dec 28!
Starting tomorrow, every Monday we will be posting a portrait from our Mustache Collection, an ongoing photo project we started over a year ago. All the fun of a real mustache without the awkward growing-in stage and no worries about how much of your lunch is living among the whiskers.
Last Portrait of 2013
Wow, 2013 is over! Still no snow here in Poland, but there are plenty of tiny white lights that make a great portrait background. See you next year!
It's a Girl! Our First Newborn Shoot
Not wanting to turn down an opportunity to photograph something outside our comfort zone, we accepted a friend's request to photograph their newborn. I'm not much of a baby person, but It went pretty well. I think babies are a little easier to photograph than toddlers. They pretty much just stay were you put them, and they fall asleep really quick. Once they are sleeping, you can mold them as if they were made of Play-Doh. Here are a few photos from the shoot.
Large Group, Small Space
Last week, I was hired to make a group portrait of 15 people. The client and her 4 siblings wanted this as a special gift for their parents upcoming anniversary. Such a great idea! The original plan was to shoot the group outside, but with arctic temps and fierce winds, typical February in New England, we had to bring the project inside. No problem...until I saw the space.
Due to the layout of the house, the largest and most open space was the finished basement, but it was still small and there was not a decent background. None of this was the clients fault. They had a really nice house, but finding space even in the open basement to group 15 people together for a pleasing portrait was going to be a challenge! Of course a wide angle lens would be able to fit everyone in the shot, but it's not a very flattering focal length and the distortion would make the final photo look odd.
The best option for this situation was to shoot small groups separately and them composite them all together later in Photoshop. I set up a white backdrop, a couple of flash units and we were finally in business! The nice thing about shooting a large group this way is that you only have a couple people at a time to manage poses, smiles, and non blinked eyes, especially when kids are involved. Plus, it's fun for everyone waiting for their turn to get the ones in front of the camera to loosen up and smile naturally.
When the white backdrop is not directly lit with the flashes, it turns gray. Once in Photoshop, the gray makes it easier to select the subject and remove them from the background. Next comes placing each group, now on their own layer, together to form the final photo, and adding some fake shadows so that it looks real. The new solid white background gives the photo a crisp, cheerful feel, and the panoramic 8" x 20" print when framed will make for a very special gift.
