The 50mm and Miss Alex

I had a great time catching with a friend during a photo shoot.  I also had a great time getting to know a new, and soon to be very close friend; the Nikon 50mm 1.8D.  Wow, what a great little lens! I have only shot with zooms before but I love the clarity and colors from this prime.  I don't think I changed lenses at all during this shoot.  A great challenge for me and I like the fact that I have to move my feet to create better compositions.  New angles are found all the time doing that.

Here is the slide show of all the images selected from the shoot

Sneak Peek: Slaney

Meet Slaney.  She is a working in NYC and taking some Musical Theater auditions.  I went to college with her and she contacted me for some headshots.  More to come!

Photo Shoot with Alex

Having friends who are willing to pose for me is a blessing, especially since I need all the practice I can get.  My friend Alex was in town and wanted to do a photo shoot so we set it up and it also gave us a chance to catch up; and use my new Nikon 50mm 1.8D.  I don't think I changed lenses at all during the shoot.  She is so full of energy and gave me a lot of expressions to work with.  Thanks Alex for a great shoot.  Here is one from yesterday's shoot.  More will be added to my Smugmug site once they are all edited.

The Wharf

Took my camera to work the other day and got this.  I don't play with black and white processing that much so this a bit different for me.  I saw this scene and knew it needed to be black and white. Comments welcome.

Branding The First Impression

As part of my business development, I needed to reevaluate my logo and website.  Both of these are very important as it should represent your brand.  What does your website and business card say about you as a photographer? It is that first impression your client gets of you.  I was told by my high school band teacher that "You never get a second chance at a first impression, so make it a good one."  I live by that to this day.

A photographers brand is what sets him/her apart from the rest of the crowd.  Brand is not only the visual elements; like the logo or website.  It's how a photographer is perceived, and viewed by the world. Personality, values, people skills, etc. all play a major role in how the photographer is viewed.  Don Gianntti, a.k.a Wizwow of Lighting Essentials, puts it very eloquently in his post about brand:




        It is NOT your logo.
        It is NOT your camera.
        It is NOT your gear.
        It is NOT how much you spend on marketing.
        It is NOT how much you make. Or how little.


        It’s YOU.


I whole-heartedly agree, but would like to discuss brand identity, and how it should encompass what your brand is. Mainly the process I am going through to re-design my logo to fit my overall vision of my brand.  Read my previous post on my discoveries about myself and my brand.

Finding my Brand

Do what you like. Like what you do

This mantra surrounds me when ever I go to work.  Not because I don't like my job but because I work for Life is good®.  A great company to work for, and has almost forced me to reevaluate my life, mainly what I wanted my photography business to be.  First place to start; my passions

What are your passions? What do you do for that passion; dress a certain way, set strict guidelines for yourself, research for the sake of research, show up early and stay late? I did this exercise and came up with several things that I think are important to me, and my developing business.  Some are probably obvious to you but I have nothing to go by, no formal business training just my own experiences and values.  Read on...

Out Takes = Missed Shots?

Well I had my first engagement shoot for a couple that I know from college.  They were great and were very pleased with the result of the shoot; as was I.  After reviewing the photos I noticed that there were some shots that I wanted to get but didn't quite get them nailed down. This shot was an out take that I like but it shows how distract it can be during a shoot, especially as a fairly new portrait photographer.  This image has a good composition and exposure but I could have gotten a better... SQUIRREL!... Expression out of them (an actual quote from this image).

Seriously, I was having a good time but may have missed a great image, by not just taking one more composed shot.  I know I shouldn't be to too picky but as I am beginning a new start as a portrait photographer and getting out of my comfort zone, I want to do really well at what I do.  I had several images that were on their way to being pretty good but felt that some major things were not up to par.  Expressions were great, but exposure was off, or exposure is great but I didn't focus on the right part of scene.  These are just a part of the learning process, I know, and I am too much of a perfectionist.  I did get some great shots for my first engagement shoot. I just can't get past the ones I missed.  How do overcome that inward critic, and nail the shots you have on your list?

A slideshow of the ones I chose to present to the client; after their approval of course, after the jump

Fear = Change

So while out for a run the other day I had a pretty big realization about me and my photography, especially the growth of my photography.  I am afraid... of several things, and it is holding me back from reaching the goals I have in my head. 

So what am I afraid of exactly? I wasn’t sure and it took the remainder of my run to figure it out. The multiple facets of my personality have their own fears but it all comes down to the unknown and leaving the comfort zone.  The introvert in me doesn’t want to meet new people in fear of rejection or not pleasing them in some way.  The business person is afraid of not pleasing the customer; having seen my share of unhappy customers as an employee in a retail setting.  I am also afraid of not being disciplined enough to get what needs to get done.  I am afraid of that big step, I know once I step and start to walk then I will be fine, it's the first one that gets me.  All of these fears have been proven not to be an issue in other areas of my life, like teaching, but I still find I am tied in knots trying to move forward.  All of these personas are needed to run my own business, and they need to be in better control for myself but more importantly my potential clients.

Some solutions to this are mentioned in this article, although not the “magic wand” everyone wants, but they resonated with me.  I, for one, need to take it slower and get into a routine of getting out of my comfort zone.  For instance, little things, I run on a trail and go the same way every time.  This past run, maybe the reason for the revelation, I decided to take a shorter run and go the opposite way.  It is still the same, comfortable path, but I am going about it at a different angle.  I am very good about talking the talk but need to walk the walk so I can eventually run the run if you will.


This blog, being another huge step, will be a place to put the new and exciting things that I do to further myself and my photography.  I will share photos, stories, trials and tribulations but  please excuse the writing for now as it will come with time.  Comments are more than welcome as long as they are appropriate to the conversation.