Life is a Cabaret Old Chum…
I had the fortune of helping one of my favorite charities last Friday. The Mt. Airy Art Garage was putting on a fund raiser to try and raise money to build out the studios they have planned for local artists to grow, learn and share their art (Feel free to donate to the cause!). The fund raiser was a cabaret and the singer was excellent! Michael Richard Kelly has a beautiful voice and he sang some of my favorite old tunes: “Where or When”, “Moonlight in Vermont”, and The Very Thought of You” to name but a few.
It is a rare event where the singer really grabs my attention in such a way that I almost have to concentrate on my job as a photographer. Mr. Kelly nailed it in such a way that I found myself wanting to put down my camera and just listen. My wife thinks my camera is permanently attached; he’s that good.
Party! Business Portrait Party
Perhaps you have seen the Special Services section of this site that briefly explains Portrait Parties; maybe you haven’t gotten there yet. A Portrait Party is just one of the services I offer and it is where you can host a party with your friends and get yourself a free portrait. Your friends can save a whole lot too; it’s kind of like buying in bulk.
A couple of weeks ago I was asked if there was such a thing for business portraits. Of course there is! Well, it’s really not any different. One person (the host) gets their portrait done for free and everyone else saves up to 75% off my normal portrait session rates. It’s a heck of a deal actually. But back to the business portrait party.
Back to School?
First let me apologize to anyone who tried to visit the site on Monday. My server crashed and it crashed hard. I didn’t lose much data, only a day’s worth or so but it did bring down the site for over 12 hours. If you tried to post on the blog or contact me, please try again, everything seems to be working now but I may have missed your question or comment. A situation like that shows you how much, and how little, you really know!
Overall though I did OK, maybe that is because late last week I went back to school. Sudlersville Middle School in Maryland to be exact. One of my clients, Nason Construction, just finished a new LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), AKA green school and needed some images to show the completed project. With the wonderful natural light from windows that span from floor to ceiling, a huge stage that can play to the cafeteria or the gymnasium, the Sudlersville Thunderbirds have a new school they can be proud of. Seeing that the school was just completed Friday and the students started attending classes on Monday, I am sure the students were a bit overwhelmed. Continue reading
A Fan Club?
If you have been following me long enough you have heard of the Free Business Portraits for the Unemployed that I did a few times in recent years. In fact I was even written up in the LA Times about it and you can read about that here: Joblessness in the LA Times.
At that particular event I was also on the local Fox news station and they recorded me shooting the 174 portraits I did in just 4.5 hours that day at the Wachovia Center (now the Wells Fargo Center) in Philadelphia. A copy of the video is on YouTube and you can link to that on the Publications page of this website.
Where I’ve Been
I want to take a moment to apologize to my readers for not posting in almost 3 weeks! Bad Michael! But Good Michael has been busy shooting weddings and portraits and bears (bulldogs actually), Oh my! I will be back writing very soon but in the mean time here are a few of the sessions i have shot since I wrote last. And yes a couple of these people are return clients like Grace and Gayle. Leave a comment below and give them a shout out.
Click on an image to view larger then use your arrow keys or… Continue reading
Leaping Van Gogh
Just the other day I had the opportunity to photograph a local modern dancer. Deneane is a dancer and choreographer in Philadelphia and we met when she needed head shots done for her portfolio. When I photographed her head shots in the studio we got to talking and had all sorts of ideas of how we might be able to get creative and do a few images that would be above and beyond. What better way to go above, than to actual leap over a building!
I had the idea of Deneane doing high leaps on the top of the Philadelphia Art Museum steps. No matter where you are in the world if you have seen the movie “Rocky”. One of the most famous scenes is of Rocky running up those steps and putting his arms up in a victory stance at the top.
Looking Special
Often when you decide to have your portrait done you want it to look special and you want it to stand out. So how do you achieve that special look? Themes.
You can always choose to do the usual themes that are everywhere: a standard family or personal portrait, the ever popular pinup themes. Some choose to go with a western theme or even the Mafia type images complete with Fedora, cigar and Tommy Gun. There are also many photographers that specialize in things like western themes, barn not included.
This past weekend I had a chance to work with a young lady who by nature really enjoyed a retro look. When we met in December she was wearing something that looked straight out of 1938 Paris. Her natural look just screams mid-century fashion. When we setup the photoshoot we decided that a 1920s, 30s or 40s look is just what she wanted, and it was just a matter of her finding the clothes she wanted to wear for the shoot.
Special Moments
How important can images be? I mean everyone has a digital camera these days and the ones in our phones are dynamite, right? Meh, they are OK if the image you want is only going to be displayed on your phone or your friend’s phone. Professional portraits cannot be replaced because it’s not just that image that means something. The memory of you at this age, this time in your life, perhaps your partner’s life and your time together; maybe it’s not about you or your partner but the magic of life the two of you share. The magic of a child.
Portrait Shmortrait
“Portrait shmortrait. All my portraits look the same, why do I want to have another one done?”
I have written on this blog before about how often it is recommended that people get their portraits done in the articles “Has Your Company Lost Its Face,” “Putting Your Best Face Forward,” and many others. But that seems almost like useless information if each time you get a new portrait it looks just like the last one. That can happen if you go to a place that is creating images en masse and all they focus on is bulk; lots of people with a simple formula that gives consistent results every time.
I Shot a Man in Reno (or Philly)
I shoot them. I put them up against a wall, or just if they are standing in the middle of the sidewalk it doesn’t matter, I walk up and POP! I shoot them. Most times they never see it coming, they may never know what is about to happen. I think it’s better to surprise them. No time to worry or think about it, no time to worry, just a quick well aimed shot, done.
Often though they are the ones hiring me to do it; they want to know the person that will do it. I still try to surprise them though; I want them to be relaxed and not expecting it when it’s coming. Perhaps they are smiling, thinking nothing is going to happen, at least not yet. The surprise almost always makes it enjoyable, at least for me. The shock, the sudden flash when I pop one off at them, I love that surprise. It helps me remember the emotions they have at that last moment before…
