Last year my favorite muse, Abena, and I went shooting along with trails and the creek of the Wissahickon Valley Park. Abena is always up for anything and we walked parts of the trail and cooled off in the river, all with Ari in tow.
These are the shoots that I love to do where we play it by ear in unusual locations. I am anxious to do another similar shoot with a non-"model" so if anyone is interested or know someone who would be interested, send me an email.
Spring made an entrance in a big way with 80 degree weather on the weekend and hastily retreated to rain and cold. I am wishing for more sustained warm weather so can I go out and do more summer like activities, like water play with my daughter. 2 years ago I captured her trying to wash my car. This is the best in terms of cheap summer fun.
My sister is into fitness and a big part of her journey has been her training with Nelson, her trainer at NY Sports Club. He is a beast. He double trained us one day last year and I was dying.
One weekend last winter I took a few photos for him. If you live in the north new jersey area, please check him out.
I had the pleasure of photographing my friend Megan and her 3 month old Sarah Grace (at the time) in February.
It is always nerve racking photographing a fellow photographer, but Megan was chill and relaxed and moved with the flow. I adore the connection these two have.
Last year I ran a session giveaway and awarded 2 sessions to persons I thought could benefit from new photos. One of the winners was Natalie Dean who runs a female empowerment non-profit group called Whine & Cheese. It is a safe space for women "whine about the stresses of life and cheese (smile) in acknowledgement of their blessings".
Natalie is an inspiring young woman and it was an honor to capture portraits that she can use in blog posts, on her website or personally.
My friend Jen took some behind the scenes photos of my capturing Natalie. Its always hard seeing pictures of myself but I resolve this year to get in more pictures and become more comfortable in front of the camera as well.
I took these photos about 2 years ago at one of my favorite farms, Maple Acres in Plymouth Meeting. It has a cut your own flowers, a market, horses and a host of other farm animals that kids can pet. This session with Ari remains one of my favorite to date.
I had the delight last fall to photograph an old coworker's family in a fun play session. Capturing the wonder and energy of kids is a blessing.
Whether you have an iPhone or a digital camera, you can take interesting photos by thinking before you press the shutter. Today's camera phones are so good, that you really don't need in a DSLR for most things (I heard the portrait mode in the iPhone 7 rivals that of a DSLR which is mind blowing!). I thought I would share some universal tips to improve your IG Photos or selfie game.
1. Change Your PERSPECTIVE. Especially in locations and spaces that are "stale" to you, changing your perspective will make the location look totally different and add interest. Look UP at that tall office building towards the sky or Look DOWN that stairway. Especially in a location that is highly photographed, you will be able to capture a photo that not many have.
2. Magic is in the DETAILS. Get close, closer still. If you want to get closer with macro photos on your phone, you can get an attachment for your phone, similar to this.
3. Include NEGATIVE Space. Minimalist scenes are interesting and can add interest.
4. Take More CANDIDS. Capture all the natural genuine expressions that will make you smile years from now.
5. Look for the LIGHT. A great photograph needs great light, even if it is a sliver of light. If you are taking a selfie, go right up to a window or get a selfie light. Indoors, open the curtains and let in light so that the photos are not blurry and there isn't too much grain. Outside, the best time to take portraits is an hour or two after sunrise and before sunset when the light is soft and there are minimal shadows on the face. You can also get beautiful back light or rim light in the hair. You will note that if you go outside at noon to take a photo, the sun is so high, your eyes are squinting against the light and there are harsh shadows below your eyes; not ideal.
Let me know if these tips were helpful. Leave me a comment if you had a question or want me to address anything in depth in future blog posts.
