VANTAGE PHOTOGRAPHY » model shoots

Photoshoot: Hippie Love

vantagep — Sat, 30 May 2009 01:38:53 +0000

Last weekend I had the pleasure of working with two gorgeous ladies (inside and out), Cat and Aline. We had a fabulous time exploring the hippie-zen-natural side of life at Torrey Pines State Park and I can’t WAIT to shoot with these two again. Thanks to both of you for such a great experience!

Headshots: Sara Olson

vantagep — Thu, 21 May 2009 18:30:29 +0000

When I was in NYC visiting my sister Sara, one of our goals was to create a new set of headshots for her while I was there. Sara’s an up and coming actress in musical theater and is going to start auditioning this summer for Broadway shows–and she’ll need updated headshots to do so.

We had an absolute blast working together but I’ve discovered a little snag that comes with working with my goofball sister–every time I asked her to look into the camera and give me a certain type of “look”, she would burst out laughing. Apparently having your older sister tell you to “give a little smile” is hilarious. :)

Seriously, I love creating images with my sister. She’s always been my favorite subject to shoot, so beautiful and very willing to let me shoot forever and a half until I get exactly what I want. And then she wants to shoot some more. That’s my kinda gal. Love ya, sis.

Tuesday Tidbit: Kids and Pets

vantagep — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:00:37 +0000

Kids and pets: every photographer, amateur or professional, has taken AT LEAST a zillion photos of them. Here are some tips for anyone who’s wished they could take even better photos of their kids/pets.

1) Rule numero uno, always, is get down on their level, kids and pets. Now, as I’ve always said, rules were made to be broken…but only if they’re broken intentionally. So back to rule numero uno…get down on their level.

2) Engage them (both kids and pets) in some sort of activity so you can catch them “in the moment”. They’ll stay a little more stationary, stop giving you the wide fake grin (if they’re kids that is…pets tend not to smile usually) and just act like themselves.

3) One of the biggest challenges to taking pictures of kids and pets is getting them to hold still–they just have so much energy! Engaging them in a slower activity can help…but what if they just won’t sit still or, worse, actively avoid getting their picture taken? First, stop making it about the picture. The worst thing you can do, especially for the kid who seems to move just BECAUSE you’re taking his picture, is to tell him to “Say Cheese!” or “Smile!” Make picture taking a game of sorts, asking them silly questions to direct their attention to you or telling them to close their eyes and then on the count of three open them and yell “Yippee!”. Then click their picture as they collapse in a fit of giggles. Basically, get them to forget the camera is there and THEN start shooting.

4) Another challenge is literally focusing on kids and pets when you have a point and shoot camera (which tend to have slow focusing speeds). The trick is to hold the shutter down half way to focus on your subject…and then wait until the perfect moment to release the shutter (push it down the whole way). This way, when the perfect moment occurs, you won’t miss it because your shutter is taking so long to focus. If your subject is moving, you can still do this–just make sure to follow the subject with the camera. That is to say, as your subject moves to the right, your camera moves to the right to make sure s/he’s framed the way you want; as your subject moves left, the camera moves left, and so on.

5) HAVE FUN!!! (And patience doesn’t hurt, either)

Tuesday Tidbit: How to look your best in photos

vantagep — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:42:32 +0000

So many of us hate to get our picture taken, often because we think we look bad in photos. But it doesn’t have to be that way! Here are some tips for looking your best in photos the next time someone tells you to “Say Cheese!”:

Get your winks the night before. A good night sleep will help you look bright eyed and refreshed, minimizing dark under-eye circles and red eyes.
In general, don’t aim your face directly into the camera. By turning your head slightly away from the camera (while still looking into the lens), your face will have a more flattering shape.
When faced with the camera, people have a tendency to give a big smile and jut out their chin. To avoid the “all chin” look, keep your neck stretched out slightly to avoid a double chin but tilt your chin down just a bit. Ladies, you can get away with doing this even more so.
Forced smiles are never pretty and a big giveaway is a smile on your mouth but not in your eyes. When you “smile with your eyes” (a phrase that anyone who’s worked with me has heard before), your whole face moves, including your cheeks, your forehead and your eyes. Next time you’re smiling naturally, notice the changes in your face and try to recreate that.
Another way to prevent a forced smile is to think of something that makes you happy or chuckle. Sincere, natural smiles make our eyes shine brighter and our face light up, something that can’t be faked.
For full-body shots, angle your body three-quarters towards the camera, with one shoulder closer to the lens than the other. Ladies, put one foot slightly in front of the other and turn them out a little, with your weight on the back foot. Guys, your stance can be a bit wider and more centered over both feet; feel free to casually put your hand in your pants pocket. And, like our parents always told us, stand up straight!
If you’re at all concerned about your weight in photos, here’s an interesting rule: If you’re wider than you are thicker, turn your body more to the side. If you’re thicker than you are wider, aim your body towards the camera, turned just slightly away. Also, make sure not to hold your arms directly against your sides as that makes anyone’s arms, no matter how large or small, appear larger.
Lastly, if you’re posing with someone else, tilt your heads towards each other a little to create a feeling of closeness.

Help me with my Generations project.

vantagep — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:32:18 +0000

As some of you know, my 95 year old (“95 and a half” as she would have said) grandma Frieda passed away two weeks ago. I know I will (and already do) miss her immensely and am so appreciative of the time I was able to spend with her. She was a phenomenal woman who touched many lives.

As a testament to my relationship with her, her love for her family and my appreciation for history, I’m starting a new project with the a working title of “Generations” and am in need of subjects. Please help!

I’m looking for families able to gather at least THREE generations on one side of the family (grandparent, parent, child) in one place for a portrait created in their home (even more generations is great too!). Portraits will be relaxed: no backdrops or lighting. I simply want to document the generations of one family interacting with each other. I will be conducting short recorded interviews of the family members in addition to creating the portrait.

I am interested in creating portraits of all different types of families: adoptive families, LGBT families, all different races, economic backgrounds, abilities, etc.

You will receive a free portrait session and all final images on a CD (with a letter from me giving you full permission to print the images at a photo lab of your choice) in exchange for your time and written permission to use the photo(s) and recordings in my project (I will ask you to sign a model release). You will also have the option of purchasing prints directly from me if you’d like.

I plan to produce the project as a coffee table book, an interactive website and whatever else pops in my head.

I will create portraits wherever I can, whether in San Diego County, southeastern Wisconsin, etc. Even if you’re not in San Diego or Wisconsin, contact me since there’s a chance I’m traveling out your way in the upcoming months.

I will be working on this project for awhile, meaning long enough until I have a sufficient group of photos for publishing, so even if you won’t be getting the whole family together for another 6 months, contact me anyway.

If you are interested, please contact me at info@vantagephotography.com.

MC Flow Music Video

vantagep — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:28:19 +0000

My toes are gonna be famous!! Yes, that’s right, my tootsies got their 15 minutes, er, 15 seconds of fame yesterday as they got “in frame” for a music video being shot by the talented Rebecca Joelson and her husband Kevin for MC Flow, a San Diego based hip hop group. I won’t tell you *how* they got in frame, you’ll just have to watch the video to find out. Hint: the shot involves a kiddie pool and a scuba mask. Hee hee. :) How did that happen, you ask? Michael and I stopped by the shoot yesterday morning to check out the goings-ons (I think I just invented a word), joining the already gathered onlookers. When Rebecca turned to the “crowd” and asked for a volunteer for one of the shots, well, I just couldn’t resist. What can I say, I’m vain. :)

Rebecca and I met for coffee about a month ago under the guise of “Hi, I’m new to the area and want to meet other cool photographers here” and we clicked as fellow photographers right away. I’m looking forward to working with her in the upcoming months–we’ve already got a collaborative photo shoot planned for sometime in November. Stay tuned for pics from that!

Lots’o headshots

vantagep — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:23:09 +0000

Right before I left for the land of cheese, I was busy building up Vantage’s headshots portfolio with some models in the San Diego area. I really like doing headshots–it’s a good way for me to change things up from my wedding work, interact with other fun and creative people and, I find, it helps me to create even better portraits during my weddings. Here are some of my favs from those recent sessions:

Photoshop Love

vantagep — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 17:26:51 +0000

In mid-June, I shot the promo pics of a local Madison band, Sound Byte Society. They had asked me to play around with the images in photoshop and here’s what I came up with:

Greeny

Creamy Love

Eerie

Old Blue

Used sparingly, these effects would look great in a modern, hip album. I can’t wait to find a bride that wants to try some of this! I had so much fun creating these looks!

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More model shoots!

vantagep — Wed, 02 May 2007 15:36:46 +0000

In the past two weeks, Michael and I have had the privilege to work with 3 different models on 3 different studio shoots. And I got to develop my first set of Medium Format negatives! Here’s one of my favorites of Meagan (taken by Michael):

We’re still working on the post-processing of those shoots to be able to show you more. Michael’s hard at work at school (end of year rush) so it’s going a little slower than usual. But that’s good, right? It builds up the suspense. ;)

We’ll be shooting a wedding this Saturday for Travis and Robin. We are psyched beyond belief–they are a fabulous couple, both laid back, beautiful personalities and beautiful faces, clearly in love. Can’t wait to show some pics from that!

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Weekend shoot

vantagep — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 15:31:58 +0000

Check out the image below from the shoot we did this weekend with Terri Rae. This was taken with the medium format camera. Isn’t it amazing what can still be created from an ancient (1970s) camera and film developed in your basement?!

This was great practice, especially for any studio engagement shoots we do. We’ll upload a couple more from our DSLRs as we finish them…

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