Monthly Archives: January 2012
Red Falcon Armouries-A Renaissance Company
Early last year, Julie and Tim Gunter contacted me about photographing their product line for a new e-commerce site and catalog for Red Falcon Armouries, which is a York, PA-based company that specializes in high-profile, low maintenance stainless steel armour for live-action combat. In addition, they offer a broad line of clothing accessories for the Renaissance, Medieval, Steampunk and Pirate look.
We had worked out a budget where we would photograph everything in a single day. It was a bit optimistic but very doable. When I arrived at their location, I immediately set up my travel studio. Because of the wide variety of items from large to small and various clothing, I went with a flexible set-up. I used three lights. Two Dynalite Uni400s with 60 inch umbrellas to lighten the background a little and a Dynalite ringflash attached to an M2000er pack as my main light. This worked out quite well as the room was a bit tight. All of the items were shot on Savage seamless paper in Thunderhead Gray.
I took most if not all the photos using Mamiya RZ67 with a 33MP Leaf Digital back and a 110mm/2.8 lens or the 180mm/4, which is a wonderful set-up for product photography. The image above, however, was taken at the end after I had already packed up my medium format camera so I shot that with a Canon 1Ds Mark III and a 35/1.4 .
It was a great day shooting with the Red Falcon team, who took turns donning all the attire. They were professional and organized and we got everything done on time. It was all great stuff and if I had an occasion to participate in any events at venues such as the Renaissance Faire or participate in live-action combat competitions, I would’ve purchased many of the items on display.
Lindsay Gates – Profile of Transformational Artist
Lindsay K. Gates
Lindsay K. Gates is a studio artist working out of Milford, Pennsylvania located along the Delaware River where NY, PA & NJ meet. She likes to transform mundane materials into extraordinary works of art.
She had contacted me a few weeks ago about photographing one of her pieces, which will be part of a fiber show to be held in Philadelphia some time this spring. The photo will be used in the show catalog as well as for a feature to appear in the spring issue of Fiber Art Now. I cannot show you the piece I photographed. At least not until after it appears in the magazine and Lindsay has had a chance to show it off to her regular customers so I will have to show you another piece I photographed for her in November of last year.
I photograph her art against a gray seamless paper that is spread over at least 10 feet so I can get the background light to fade from bright along the bottom to dark along the top. I typically use two studio lights with either umbrellas or softboxes. Because she wants to be able to show the fine details of her work, I usually shoot it at f/11 ISO 160 at a shutter speed of 1/125th of a second using either a Canon 1Ds Mark III with a 70-200 lens.
- Lindsay K. Gates
After I finished with her sculpture, I told her I wanted to create her headshot. This was a pre-planned goal so I had Jackrabbit batteries attached to my Dynalite Uni400s instead of plugging them into an electrical outlet. I had her step outside into the Poconos forest and I simply carried my two lights along. We went outside because I wanted to use the mid-day sun which is usually too harsh for a portrait, but with my two strobes I could use the sun to create a halo around her. It was nice and quick. I had her stand with the sun “behind” her, right foot forward, left foot back, dip the shoulder, lower the chin, three shots with my Leica M9 with a 90mm Summarit at f/11, ISO 160 and we were done with her portrait.
I almost always put the sun behind my subjects so they do not have to squint. The style works in just about any kind of sunlight but you need a flash to fill in the shadows. You can also go without a flash, but you will either have to shoot manually after metering the light falling on your subject or adding 1.5-2.0 EV to your settings. Give my portrait style a shot. It works for group shots as well.
WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2012 Recipient!
Okay, this sounds a bit formal and blatantly self-serving but I’m going to post this press release on my blog anyway. Who knows maybe you will be in the neighborhood planning a destination wedding at the Hotel Fauchere or at one of the three all-inclusive Woodloch Resorts here in the Poconos. Why not? We’re only about 90 miles from either New York City or Philadelphia.
Milford, Pennsylvania – January 26, 2012 – WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding Marketplace, is excited to announce Alex Cena On Location has been selected to receive the prestigious WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2012 for Photography!
The esteemed annual awards program recognizes the top local wedding vendors from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism within the wedding industry. While many industry awards are selected by the organization, Alex Cena On Location was selected based on its stellar reviews from past newlywed clients.
Alex Cena On Location, who is available throughout the United States in addition to Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Texas, is recognized as part of the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire local vendor community, comprised of over 200,000 wedding professionals throughout the United States and Canada. The Bride’s Choice Award recognizes the best local wedding vendors across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, based on their overall professional achievements throughout the past year.
“WeddingWire is thrilled to honor the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community,” said Timothy Chi, CEO, WeddingWire. “Since the launch of the Bride’s Choice Awards™ program four years ago, thousands of outstanding wedding professionals have been recognized by the bridal community for their supreme service and dedication to the wedding industry. It is with great pleasure that we congratulate {Enter Your Business Name} for their continued professionalism and commitment to enriching the wedding planning experience for engaged couples.”
We are happy to announce that Alex Cena On Location is one of the very best photographer within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Project Wedding, Brides.com, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for taking the time to review our business on WeddingWire. Thanks to their positive feedback we were able to receive the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ for 2012.
For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at http://www.alexcena.com
To learn more about the Bride’s Choice Awards™, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.
About WeddingWire, Inc.
WeddingWire™, the nation’s leading marketplace serving the $70 billion wedding industry, is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding professionals. For engaged couples, WeddingWire offers the ability to search, compare and book over 200,000 reviewed wedding vendors, from wedding venues to wedding photographers. WeddingWire also offers a comprehensive suite of online planning tools for weddings, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding professionals, WeddingWire is the only all-in-one marketing platform for businesses online and on-the-go. WeddingWire offers one simple solution to build a professional network, improve search visibility, manage social media and reach mobile consumers. Businesses that advertise with WeddingWire appear on WeddingWire.com, ProjectWedding.com and other leading sites, including MarthaStewartWeddings.com (NYSE: MSO), Brides.com and Weddingbee.com.
The Art of the Head Shot with Peter Hurley
The above headshots are some of my favorites from my collection. However, it does not hold a candle to those works of art created by Peter Hurley, who is an absolute master when it comes to headshots.
Michael Ares recently forwarded a YouTube video to me containing an excerpt from Peter Hurley’s The Art Behind The Headshot Tutorial. I watched it from start to finish then immediately purchased the 4-hour DVD as well as signed up for his April workshop in New York.
The advent of social media websites such as Facebook and the proliferation of point and shoot cameras as well as cell phones with camera have created a whole generation of individuals who will settle for a photo that is just good enough. However, I believe there will be a resurgence in demand for high quality headshots for use in professional networking sites such as LinkedIn. Also, increasingly people are using FB for more business related applications where you want to place your best foot forward.
Yes, your credentials found in your resume or C.V. are immensely important to landing a new job or publicizing your product and services. However, we would be close-minded to think that potential customers or employers do not mentally generate an impression of you based on your photo. In that case, you should be critical of your images. There is a huge difference between a $50 headshot and an $1,100 image created for you by Peter.
If you have a head shot you use for publicity purposes that was shot by a neighbor, friend or relative, please go have your photo retaken by a professional photographer. You will be happy with the results.
Scatter Everyone for Group Portraits
One of the most difficult part of taking group photos is everyone’s tendency to bunch up and face forward. It’s somehow wired in our psyche to do just that. Maybe because that is how all those yearbook photos are done since nursery school. The shots always look like a lineup for a firing squad, a yearbook photo or an image shot at home by a relative.
Sometimes it works better or provides greater interest to either spread people around or have everyone pose a tiny bit different from each other.
My personal favorite group compositions are when each person or subgroup can stand on their own even if they were cropped out of the image. It’s not always practical to do as it requires more time and thought.
So the next time you need a group photo, for a more professional look. Try having some people stand, some can sit, others can kneel. Or just have them stand a bit far apart and stand differently. If you need inspiration, get a subscription to Vanity Fair or review images from the Renaissance.