Be Striking. Be Happy!

I found the coolest site a few days ago which uses facial recognition technology to analyze the emotions captured in photographs. Naturally, I wanted to see how my own portfolio of photographs stacked up, so I ran the emotional breakdown on this very blog.

Here's what I got:

As you can tell from the colors (sorry it's a little blurry, it's just a screen grab), my work is happy almost 3/4 of the time! And people wonder why I love my job! LOL

Sneak Peek: Laurie Sittin' on the Dock of a Bay...

Love that golden oldie of the same name by Otis Redding, don't you? :)

Another sunny shoot from this summer...

 

While shooting with Laurie, an up-and-coming model, we ran into the nicest group of guys who were returning to the dock house from an obviously long hike. Their big backpacks and hiking boots were so perfect for the outdoors-y feel of the shoot, I just had to ask if they would mind shooting with us. One doesn't really become a photographer unless one is comfortable interacting with many different people from all walks of life!

Even though it was hot and they were sweaty and probably tired, they were great sports to play along with all my silliness and posing. Thank you so much, guys!!!

Sneak Peek: Joan's Business Portrait

Had an excellent opportunity recently to shoot with Joan, who is the Executive Director of the Kansas City Chapter of the CPCU and also happens to be a neighbor as well.

While the headshot itself is fairly straight-forward (a close view of the head and shoulders with direct eye contact is standard in most industries), what was particularly fun and challenging for me from a photographer's perspective was that this headshot was going to be displayed alongside some already existing headshots that had been taken a few years earlier. So I needed to create a seamless integration of Joan's new headshot with the existing photos by leveraging the existing color scheme and settings of the old images.

When Joan first called me, I initially thought of shooting an image with a much darker brown and tan backdrop, which conveys a very traditional and rich feel. Think tapestries, libraries, Harvard. However, upon talking with her and checking out where the photo was going to be used, I realized that this would look completely awkward and out of sync with the rest of the website. It was too dark and serious! The color scheme of blues, greens and whites called for a much higher key portrait, with a casual business office background.

Joan had this to say about her portrait: "Thank you for the photos. Dang, you make me look good!"

And I can't think of a better endorsement than that! =)

If you would like to schedule a business portrait for yourself or your entire team with Striking Photography, please give Debra a call at 913/602-8061 or email at debra(at)strikingphotography.org. We can shoot in the studio or on-location, and I am happy to work with you to create an image that conveys all the values your business stands for.

Sneak Peek: A Gentleman in an English Garden?

There was something about these images that made me imagine a dapper young English gentleman strolling around the grounds of his mansion and garden in the 1960s... However, this was shot right here in the heart of  Kansas City!

There was a bit of a vintage feel to it all, hence my unusual (for me) choice of a retro look in post-processing. It's a little bit Polaroid, little bit Hipstamatic... I love using interesting filters when the image calls for it! If this is a preferred style of yours, call me -- I'm game! 

My personal favorite, though, is the shot below where the gentleman is relaxing on the bench, looking off into space and dreaming of... what? It just feels like summer to me. And the sun is creating the perfect flare to suffuse the entire scene with light. 

Dream on, dear readers... we've but a few days of summer left and soon trees will be turning...

And if you are dreaming of a photo shoot, please contact me soon! I will be traveling to Hawai'i in December and January, so let's get something scheduled!

Sneak Peek: Jill and Kyle's Wedding!

This wedding was held at the Overland Park Arboretum and was absolutely the epitome of what an amazing summer wedding should be. The lushness of the garden, the sunny warmth of the images, and a gorgeous and madly-in-love couple... so wonderful and so beautiful!

I am truly blessed to have played a part in capturing the memories of Jill and Kyle's incredible day.

Every wedding has its own unique feel, and this one was simply radiant !

Sneak Peek: Stacie!

Had fun with so many different moods in the lighting! Strong and graphic, soft and dreamy, warm and glowing...

Sneak Peek: Danielle and Aaron's Engagement Session!

Had a great time strolling around downtown with Aaron and Danielle, capturing some portraits, dramatic shots and some sweet and romantic images. Engagement sessions are such a blast because it's a little more low-key, and a wonderful chance to chat and really get to know a couple a little better prior to their wedding day. Aaron and Danielle were so open and easy-going, and so much in love, and we were even serenaded by a band that was playing al fresco that evening that we were shooting. Congratulations, Aaron and Danielle!

So Many Shoots, So Little Time to Blog (Missouri Town 1855)

I adore maintaining this photoblog because it makes me feel like I have a connection with you, dear reader. But I have to admit that sometimes I simply run a little behind on the posts. Just recently, I logged well over 2,000 shots in one week... whew!

Here is a perfect example of some landscape work I did which I simply haven't had a chance to post here. Those of you who follow me on Facebook may recognize a couple of them, as I often post exclusive first looks for my friends there...

I took a weekend jaunt over to Missouri Town 1855 this spring, when the leaves were new and the grass was sweet. It was full of incredible character and sense of place and I captured some stark scenes as well as truly lovely scenes of pastoral peace.

I found the forge absolutely fascinating as well. This man was a true worker of the anvil and not merely a character actor. The blacksmiths there make all the ironworks for the entire village, including the hinges, pulls, horseshoes, etc., thereby preserving the knowledge and practice of a time-honored trade.

 Master Blacksmith was also an excellent storyteller, entertaining us with a tale of how an old raccoon hide ended up nailed to the wall of his shop... turned out a mighty wind blew Br'er Raccoon right out of his hide and he ran away naked, leaving his skin behind for Master Blacksmith to tack up on the wall (with a nail of his own making, I might add)!

Sneak Peek: Christian's Senior Session

One of the nicest things I get to do as a photographer is be present in some of the happiest moments of a person's life. This was just the case with Christian when we shot a few weeks ago. Everywhere we went, perfect strangers would stop and smile at Christian (looking quite dashing in his cap and gown) and often offer congratulations.

Christian wanted a very classic and classy look to his pictures, and we definitely got that by taking advantage of the incredible architecture on the Plaza as well as utilizing a simple color scheme of black and white. In twenty years, I am betting these images will still look incredible!

Congratulations, Christian!
 

  

Driving past St. Louis, still lots of flood water from the Mississippi standing in the fields and streets.

Thoughts on My Favorite Photography Quotes

“You don’t take a photograph, you make it." - Ansel Adams

"Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph." – Matt Hardy

"A fancy camera and lights and a studio do not make a good photographer... those are only tools. If I gave you the best paintbrushes and paints in the world, do you think that you could paint like Michelangelo?"

 "It’s what you include, not what you exclude, because what you exclude no one has any idea exists." - Dan Winters

Above are four of my favorite quotes about photography. I was updating my Facebook page the other day, it occurred to me that I might spend a few moments explaining exactly what it is about these particular quotes that appeals to me.

The first by the great master Ansel Adams, and the second by Matt Hardy, are really referring to similar things for me. Due to the instant nature of photography, it is sometimes tempting to think that the photographer just got lucky when they pressed the shutter and the resulting image is wonderful.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that yes, there are occasions where this happens and the lighting conditions, the subject, the setting and just everything combine into the most beautiful harmony that you've ever heard (or seen). I have the word "serendipity" on the wall in my studio for just this very reason.

But to create images over and over again that are outstanding... that is not just luck. That is hard work and talent. So I think when Ansel Adams is referring to "making" a photograph, he means that there was effort and intention in most work. And when Matt Hardy speaks of "composing beauty", he means that same thing.

The third quote is meaningful to me because like a lot of photographers, I have serious bouts of equipment envy every once in a while. I see an incredible new lighting modifier, or a fat lens, and I have to wipe the drool off my chin! LOL
 
But aside from depriving my children of shoes ;-) I have finally realized that there's a much more compelling reason to not worry too much about the newest, shiniest equipment: At the end of the day, it's not the camera itself as it is who is wielding the camera.
 
The final quote is one I read recently in an interview of Dan Winters by Rob Haggert. This one is speaks to me on quite a few levels.
 
First, you can consider it a commentary on composing a photograph. What you leave in the frame is what counts. See my recent post about Lawson Lavender and the set I constructed... without seeing the behind-the-scenes shots, would you have known what the rest of the set looked like from the final image?
 
Second, it's a commentary for photographers building a portfolio. Be selective. What you leave in and display to the world is all anyone has to judge you by. You may have some masterpieces sitting on your hard drive, but although you know it's great work, no one else does. So show it off! Don't always put the safe stuff out there because you are afraid to take the risk.
 
Which brings me to the final reason I love that Dan Winters quote: it is a reminder to me that if you don't bring your best to every shot and gig you take on, if you don't INCLUDE that energy and love and attention in your photographs, no one will ever know they exist.

Don't let your photography be paved only with good intentions that never get seen. Bring the images that live in your mind to life and show them to the world!

Just for Fun: Time Lapse Chicks!

I had a fun opportunity to do my very first time-lapse photo project recently with my son's kindergarten class. To learn about a life cycle, the class was hatching some baby chicks in an incubator. My son's teacher (who is absolutely the best kindergarten teacher on the planet -- we love you, Mrs. P.!) sent out an email announcing that the class was "expecting" some babies. Because an egg can take anywhere from 2 - 12 hours to hatch, this was a perfect opportunity to use the time-lapse function. I arranged to come and set up my camera and photograph some of the hatchings.

It was somewhat difficult to shoot, as the eggs needed to be kept warm and the incubator had only a small window through which I could shoot. But it was still so great to share this experience with my son and all his friends! Here is the final video, assembled from over 900 images shot over several hours. I think it's cool how you can see the chick pecking a straight line across its shell from the inside before it bursts out!

This was so fun, I hope to do some more time-lapse photography soon!

Sneak Peek: Jullianna's Senior Session

It was a grey and cloudy day when we shot these images... not that you would know from the end results! Had a great time with Jullianna and a friend out in a beautiful garden. We wandered around and stopped here and there, wherever we liked the scene.




What I love the most about Jullianna's session (aside from her gorgeous hair and wonderful natural posing) was the amazing number of looks we got -- in one hour of shooting! There are some serious, slightly edgy modern grunge feeling images, fun and playful shots with the dandelion, and some "classic" senior poses highlighting her natural beauty against the green leaves and trees. It was rather difficult to pick out just a few for this highlight reel!

Plus... the rain held off until we were done! Yay! I snapped the last shot of Jullianna playing with the silk scarf in the field, just as the first little drops began to fall.

Enjoy the video!

Sneak Peek: Fashion Shoot at Simpson House Mansion! Part 1

Had a fantastic time shooting at the Simpson House Mansion right down off the Plaza last week. Brock, the site manager, could not have been a nicer guy to set us up and turn us loose on this gorgeous property all day!

For those of you unfamiliar with the Simpson House, it is a three story, stone mansion built in 1909 and lovingly restored to all its turn-of-the-century manor glory. Gorgeous chandeliers, crown moulding on the walls and ceilings, a dramatic staircase and a really stunning garden with a fountain and a beautiful piece of sculpture. Hello, brides! :)

In fact, while we were on lunch break and relaxing on the lush grassy front lawn, I had an older gentleman and his wife approach me and ask if I knew anything about the property because their daughter had just booked it for her wedding this October.

And just to complete the romance of this place, I have to share the best story of the shoot... Our last model of the day, Brek, arrived to shoot a little earlier than expected. He seemed unusually nervous and fidgety, which as anyone who knows Brek will say, is not his usual M.O. He's normally a very laid back guy, as well as an incredibly talented model in front of the camera.

So Brek keeps pressing me, "How long did you say this was going to take? When do you think we will be finished here?" etc. So I kinda looked at him funny and asked in a friendly way, "What's up? Do you need to be somewhere important?" And then he responds (very very quietly) "Well, they just called and said that they have the ring ready, and so I was hoping to go and pick it up before they closed today..." Turns out my man Brek was planning to propose to his sweetheart just a couple days after the shoot!!! As they are both absolutely wonderful people, I could not have been happier for them, and it added even more awesomeness to what was already a pretty kickin' shoot.

(P.S. Brek did in fact get the ring in time and she said yes! )