Here is an addition to the list of senior boys photographed this past Fall season and another chance for me to talk soccer and all things local. ( He is a student at my home town high school.) His sister also hung out for a while for some extra portraits. A lovely session all in all.
Still wrapping up orders from last year and from some recent work I’ve done it occurred to me that in 2014 I photographed more guys than gals for senior portraits. That is a first! I’d like to say it was because I’m am pretty good at holding a conversation about soccer, Manchester United, The NE Patriots and all things engineering ( because that’s what my son is into). Somehow though, I don’t think these guys came to me for scintillating conversation. The sessions were great though and I know my clients liked the end product. Here’s a selections from some of the sessions. Good luck to all for in the next step of their learning.
This was a lovely session held just before Halloween. Everything fell into place perfectly. Many sessions this past Fall have been rather weather challenged to put it mildly. This one was no exception. When we started the wind was gusting and the rain clouds were looming. Fortunately the dark clouds moved away and the breeze dropped. Dad even managed to arrive early from work and we got him into more family portraits than planned.
I am blogging this session now because I am wrapping up my work on the family’s order. The family had a hard time selecting prints because there were so many choices. (That happens a lot. It is always my aim to produce work that makes my clients spoiled for choice!) In the end the family opted for the session set of files. This is really a great choice.
Digital file session sets require a lot of work. Some clients may only want to own images to view on a computer screen but that’s not the product we sell. All our images whilst looking great on the computer are perfected for printing as portraits.
I am meticulous with all my orders but digital file sets are especially labor intensive due to the number of images that need to be prepared. It takes many hours of work to individually prepare the 20+ portraits. Sure, I could cut corners and save time by running automated Photoshop actions on the entire group of images. I don’t do that. I prepare each portrait as if it is going to be printed and framed as a 10×8. This includes various touch ups, drool removal on babies, stray hairs, background distractions to name a few. I also sharpen and then convert each file to black and white. Clients get both a color and black and white portrait for each image. I could run a black and white converter on all the images at once to save time but again I don’t do that. Each image is unique and one type of black and white conversion does not work for all portraits, the background may require different tones and faces require precisely the correct amount of contrast for best results. If a client opts to purchase a larger file to be printed for wall portraits another layer of preparation is required to ensure they look great when printed for wall display. In the end my clients are given file sets that can remain as files on the computer, as a special keepsake or can be used to make their own high quality print portraits, now or in the future. Call me old fashioned but for me and my photography, it still comes down to creating a beautiful printed portrait.
And so all that is left of this order is for the mini accordions to arrive back from the lab and it will be shipping out …
There seem to have been quite a few dogs present on recent sessions and this is one of the nicest ones, he was such a pleasant mild-mannered chap! Of course the little boy loves him and gave him plenty of robust hugs, which he accepted most patiently. I thought these images turned out well, the color of the dog was well matched to the autumnal tones of the fields. We did this session in some preservation land in the Lincoln/Concord area, one I have not used too many times before but I really liked because of the nice grasses that make for lovely portrait backdrops. There were also some plants that had dandelion type seeds, something no typical young boy would be able to resist tossing in the air!
As is always the case at this time of year I have been doing many outdoor sessions, this is my busiest time of year and much as I enjoy doing outdoor work at our many local wonderful locations I am quite looking forward to the more frequent studio sessions that the colder weather brings. Here’s a selection of portraits from a recent newborn studio session of a local family from Concord. These three sisters together were so delightful. I am looking forward to mailing out this portrait and digital file order within the next few days.
Anyone who has ever visited my portrait studio in Concord will probably recognize this first image that appeared on my blog several years ago – I have a giant gallery wrap of it on display and most comment on it and the detail that is visible when seen in person. I had the pleasure of photographing this family again for a Fall family portrait session and one of the joys of my job is that with my repeat clients I get to see the children grow and it brings me great satisfaction that I can play some part in documenting their lives. The last image is one of my favorite family portraits from the session and I was so pleased it was ordered as a large print with a digital mat as shown, it’s great to know such a lovely portrait is hanging on the wall of this family’s house!
At the start of the summer I posted this delightful image of a toddler and his best furry friend and promised some more of this session from last fall, well here they are. We seem to be on a roll with dogs being featured on the blog and here’s another one… this was another well behaved dog – I wonder where all the naughty ones are, I never seem to get them! This session was done last November which can be a great month for fall color and late afternoon golden sunshine and when I tend to have some more openings if you’re trying to schedule a session. In fact there is often more “fall color” in this month than the preceding ones, as the color is on the floor where I can include it in photos rather than up high in the trees!
This session was unusual in a number of ways and made a pleasant change of routine. In these days of the internet and Google searches I find that most of my clients aren’t from my immediate surrounding towns. I get many clients from Boston and from towns throughout Massachusetts, and some from even further afield! These clients usually travel to my studio in West Concord above Nashoba Bakery or to one of the local parks I recommend. This family however was from my hometown in Littleton, which gave me the rare opportunity to do a newborn shoot indoors at their house.
Doing a portrait session in a house can be quite a tricky prospect, often the light is low and there is not much room to maneuver. The art of the photographer in these cases is too find the right combination of good light and uncluttered backgrounds that do not distract from the subject. In this case to add some variety a handheld flash was also used for some of the images to subtly add some extra light by ‘bouncing’ it off the walls of the room rather than pointed directly at the family to avoid any harsh shadows. This couple and their newborn made for perfect subjects, even the dog jumped in for a few shots. So it ended up being a great session and to top it all it was just a two minute drive around the corner back home again!
I believe this dog holds the record for the biggest I’ve ever had on a session! He was so well behaved though and made a great subject. Of course, so did these kids and their parents. This was a fun session and I think it comes through in these pictures. This first picture of the boy and the dog ended up being a lovely 14×11″ gallery wrap, it was great to see the product come back from the lab – so much character!
This session took place at one of my favorite locations, whatever time of year it is there are always settings available that produce great portraits. In this summer session there were wild flowers in the field to provide little splashes of color, which complemented the lovely summer dress this little girl was wearing. I’m busy working on this order right now, here are some of the great images I’ve done already as I work my way through it:
