Yesterday, I spent the day with the girls – girls from Mary Kay. One of the local reps – who’s son we photographed for his senior portraits – thought that it would be a fantastic idea for us to attend one of her monthly Mary Kay meetings so that we could photograph all of the makeovers – before and after – as well as have some fun with various props.
Both Loretta and myself had a great time with the girls! Here are just a handful of the shots we captured yesterday …
Well, we cannot guarantee you fame and fortune, but at least the free portrait session part is true! If you are a student who will be a High School Senior in September and have a fun and outgoing personality, we want to talk to you about our Senior Rep Program!
Our Senior Class Reps enjoy a free 2-hour portrait session, customized to their individual styles with unlimited outfit changes, rep cards with their images to hand out to all of their friends, watermarked digital files to share online and a $25 studio credit for every referral!
You get to pick the location. You get to choose the clothes. We get to capture memorable images that are just as unique and fun as you are!
Hurry! Only A Limited Number Of 2010 High School Class Reps Will Be Accepted!
Call 1-866-832-4001 To Apply As A 2010 Senior Class Rep Today!
We recently did a family portrait session for a good friend of ours – who also DJs many of the events we cover. After watching us work at the Loller-Von Glahn Wedding, the Hazzard County Fair at Franklin Sussex Automall and Ray Perez’s Annual Pig Roast – DJ Eddie asked us to come and take some portraits of his children, Natalie and Brandon.
After arriving at their house in NJ, we setup our gear, tested our lights and made sure everything was ready to go. Brandon was the first to go and was a little shy in front of our lens. After a few shots, we decided to give him a break and bring in his older sister. Being a high school senior, Natalie was a little less shy in front of our camera as she added her own “model like” feel to the shoot – including a multi-colored scarf.
When it was time for Natalie to change outfits, we brought Brandon back in for additional shots in his new outfit. Though he had a new change of clothes … getting that one expression still proved to be difficult – until Loretta teased him with the scarf!
After telling Brandon that we were going to wrap the scarf around him for his pictures, we started to see “him” come to light. It was just about this time that Natalie came back downstairs and heard what we were talking about. Quietly sneaking up behind her brother, Natalie quickly wrapped the scarf around Brandon and I captured a moment between a brother and sister that simply says it all …
Kris, a 2009 High School Senior from Goshen New York, was looking for something different for his final set of school photos. After seeing us out on the football field numerous times for Kris’ little brother, his parents gave us a call to setup a Senior Portrait Session.
Since Kris’ favorite activity is skateboarding, we headed to a secret spot that he knew about behind the school. There, we found the perfect railing and set of stairs for skateboarders. We set ourselves up and had Kris show us some of his moves. Since the sun was fading fast, we only captured a few shots … so we setup another appointment to meet Kris at a skate park in Washingtonville NY.
It was a cool, cloudy day for the skate park shoot … but there was absolutely no one around. Loretta was out photographing this session and had Kris show her some of his tricks again while she captured shots from different angles. Thankfully, Mom didn’t come to the shoot as there were a couple close calls!
Our final session with Kris was setup to capture some formal and casual shots as well as some shots with his girlfriend, Lauren. He actually got his hair cut really short for this session … so he looks like a completely different person! Here are some shots from each of the sessions … and more will be posted on our homepage and within our Senior Portrait Portfolio. Check them out!
As a photographer, we face challenges every time we pick up the camera. From lighting to posing and into post-production retouching, we’re constantly working with things that are sometimes out of our control. This past weekend was no exception.
Friday night was filled with footballs games. The first was between the Junior Varsity teams for Minisink Valley and Middletown at the Minisink Valley High School. With the sun beaming brightly and very low in the sky, we had to contend with harsh shadows on all of the players. We were constantly adjusting our settings for the optimal shot. Later that night was the game between the Varsity teams for the same schools on the brand new Middletown High School field. While the lighting was perfect, the night was cold and keeping our fingers warm was enough of a challenge!
Saturday morning brought the same cold air as we set out for an entire day photographing the Minisink Valley Youth Soccer teams – all 900+ kids! As the clouds peeled back and let the sun shine down, things began to warm up … but gave us those harsh shadows that we love to hate.
Sunday morning followed with much warmer weather and a family session in New Jersey. With an energetic kid, a 7-month old baby and two extremely nice parents … there was nothing challenging about the day … until we packed up and got ready for something we knew would be tough for the both of us.
Our final shoot for the weekend was a portrait session. Not of a family or a child in the traditional sense – but of one family’s dog, Zeus, who was very much a child to them in his own right. Unfortunately, Zeus was dying of cancer. We had been asked to take some portraits of him (since he had never had them done) before his time came.
Knowing that you are taking some of the last shots of someone is an honor and a heartache at the same time. Having experienced this same feeling personally a little over a year ago, I know how hard it can be. So as we arrived, this incredibly massive Great Dane greeted us by the car and as we got our gear ready, settled down in the backyard under the shade of trees. As we maneuvered around each other, Zeus seemed to pose every so often and allow me those few short moments to capture him as if he were a perfectly crafted statue.
The hardest part of the session came when I needed to put down the camera – wondering if I could just get one more shot. We eventually packed everything up and headed home to try and take care of any last minute things before the weekend ended.
However, I was informed today that, sadly, Zeus was put to sleep yesterday to avoid any further suffering and pain. Our hearts and wishes go out to his parents.
Here were some of the shots from the best session all weekend …
