adding to the mix...

Spent Saturday afternoon working on tearing down several pallets to use the wood on a wall in my eventual studio space & darkroom. All I can say is that tearing apart something that is built to stay together is not the easiest job. Didn't take long before I had to add some coffee and film to the mix...

in the studio with Maci and Tyler...

Took quite a few pictures this past weekend.  Makes for a great weekend!  I guilted Maci and Tyler into coming over on Sunday after lunch to let me take a few studio shots of them.  Mainly took Polaroids, that I will post later on my instant blog, but I took a few pictures with my trusted Olympus EP2.  Really would like to upgrade to the OM-D, but I keep getting winners with this one.  I only took six shots and three of them are below.

  Tyler always seems to start the shoots off by really posing and making faces.  He does this stuff and he knows that I will get the picture.  The great thing is that these are usually the ones that I want to post/print.  I really like this one because Maci was getting ready for the picture and of course she looks over and sees Tyler acting out. What a look, what a moment...

Here is a closer image where both of them have great expressions/smiles.  Square format rules!

Lastly, two different edits of a posed full-body photo.  The first one just has the minor adjustments to contrast/sharpening.  For the second one I added the Aperture vintage preset.  When I can't decide which one, I post them both...

two tylers...

Took this a while ago and wasn't really happy with the results. It was taken with the Olympus EP2 camera using studio lights.  Sometimes you need to let the image set on the computer and it comes back to you.  

The image that Tyler is holding is an Old Gen PX70 Color Shade image from Impossible that I took of him outside a few days prior to this portrait.  Not for sure if it is my best image ever, but after editing it in NIK Color Efex Pro it definitely has a neat look...

don't delete this one...

Set up all of my studio stuff today to take pictures of Sadi and Jace before they headed to Prom.  Actually, Tyler did most of the shooting.  I just set everything up, assisted him with the photo session and took a few Polaroids (check out my Polaroids later here).  After the setup, we did a few test shots to check out the lighting and background.  Most of the time these photos get deleted because they are just test shots.  Not this one...

pyper is boo-tiful...

Had the studio stuff set up, so I couldn't pass on the opportunity to take this shot. Pyper was all dressed up in her halloween attire and the shirt says it all...

emotional pictures...

So sometimes I get these ideas in my head that I never seem to be able to replicate in the camera.  This is one of those times when I acted on it quickly and I think I succeeded.  I wanted to produce a square head shot that showed some emotion.  I love it when I have to dig deep to get the picture that I want.  I used my Olympus EP2 camera, my Nikon 50mm f/1.8 manual focus lens, two of my Alien Bee strobe lights and a small white background.  Studio shots such as this allow you to focus on the person and their facial features.  To me, these shots really show emotion.  In the top shot, Maci definitely implies that there is some joy in her life (Pyper is in the other room letting us know she is there).  In the bottom shot, Tyler is determined as a person can be and to me the shadows create by the light (or lack of light) help portray this.  Seeing these pictures just makes me want to create more.  I hope to continue this series with the rest of the family...

an afternoon with pyper...

Got to spend the afternoon with Pyper!  It would be a waste of an afternoon if I didn't create a memory...  Set up my new gray background with the studio lights and waited on Pyper to wake up from her nap.  Couldn't wait to try and get a good photo of her sitting up.  Wow, it is hard to get a "posed" picture of a 6 month old.  Here is one of the keepers...

more Maci and Pyper...

Here are a couple of more pictures of Maci and Pyper from this past weekend.  So peaceful...  I love the closeup shots that isolate the emotions between them.

Took both of these using my studio lights and Canon 40D camera.

am I crazy...

I have photo ideas running through my head constantly.  I know it is weird, but it sometimes makes it hard to sleep.  I've got to find a toddler and an older man, another older man for a picture in a cemetery and diner, some old christmas decorations and last but not least I am waiting on Pyper...

more Maci and Tyler and oh yeah, don't forget Pyper...

A few more shots from last night.  Glad we got to capture these moments.  We all had alot of fun doing this...  When I was modifying the pictures today I noticed right off that I made a slight (or stupid) mistake on the camera settings. I had been messing around taking pictures a few days ago and I changed the ISO setting to 400.  Well, I forgot to change it back and I took all of the photos last night with this ISO.  The result was alot more digital noise than I planned.  Definitely would have rather had this setting at 100, but it is one of those things that you can't have a do-over.  Technically I could have a do-over but I wouldn't want to be the one to tell Maci that I needed her to do this again...  Will definitely pay more attention when I take the pictures of Pyper.  Modified all of them using Aperture 3, Silver Efex Pro an Color Efex Pro.  

Maci Silhouette

Here is a quick preview of one picture from last night.  I shot several pictures of Maci and Tyler trying to catch her right before Pyper is born.  She is 37 weeks today so I figured that I better take the opportunity while we had it.  Next photo shoot setup will be the birth announcement.  Finally found a old set of baby scales for the occasion...

little miss Sadi...

You know when you get that idea in your head...  You may have seen it somewhere, or if your the super-creative type, you may have imagined it yourself.  To me, one of the hardest things is to take this idea and make it a reality.  Especially in photography...  I love taking pictures, but I sometimes just can't get "that pose" that is trapped inside my head to come out in front of my camera.  I always blame the person in front of the camera, because the guy behind the camera knows exactly what this person should be doing.  Today was just another example of this...  Poor Sadi was the person in front of the camera.  I had this idea, but I was having trouble getting it across to her.  After a few tries, I was even starting to doubt that the idea was even really that good in the first place.  Well, today, persistence ruled in my house...  I wanted a picture that seemed extremely personal, in Sherri's words "it had to be vintagey", it had to have a bit of innocence coming through, it also should be one where she had to look comfortable (ie. natural) but stretch/lean forward as much as possible (ie. be very uncomfortable).  Oh yeah, I also wanted her to smile.  For those that know Sadi, she doesn't like to do this in pictures.  I think that I nailed it.  I love this picture of "little miss Sadi".

is anybody there...

Well, this one is definitely different...  They were getting tired of "normal" shots and Sadi and Mikayla started walking toward the camera and acting out.  Sadi was inches from the lens and Mikayla was right over her shoulder.  Once you get that close to the lens, the perspective is somewhat distorted.  I had the aperture wide open (f/1.7) and only with the modeling lights on.  The shutter speed was 1/13th of a second and the camera was handheld.  This camera (the E-P2) is amazing because it has an internal image stabilization.  Sadi is in focus and Mikayla is slightly blurred because the aperture is so small (wide open).  Still have the "normal" shots to post later.

sadi & mikayla photo shoot...

Sadi and Mikayla let me shoot some photos of them on Saturday morning.  Originally I wanted to take the pictures outside in a "street scene" using my Leica M8 camera, but the Saturday morning rain put a damper on that.  So I dragged out my white background and studio lights and shot away with my Canon 40D and Olympus E-P2 cameras.  If you look on my iPhone blog (troybradfordiphonephotos.blogspot.com), you will see that I also used the opportunity to take some of the pictures with my hipstamatic app (the absolute best camera app).  Well the picture below is the first one that caught my eye, so I wanted to post it first.  I will post more later after I get some time to do the minor adjustments.  This one was taken with the E-P2 pen camera. 

maci & tyler

Wanted to take an engagement pose of Maci and Tyler before they got married.  They are getting married on August 6th, so I was running out of time.  Got all of the studio equipment set up and only took 11 shots total.  About 20-30 minutes in photoshop and here is the keeper!  This pose/facial expression really stuck out to me.  Some may say that they look too serious, but I get the sense that this look shows that they are very determined...  To me a marriage is built around determination to stay together no matter what.  I pray for their marriage and life together with this same determination...

bentlee

Took these pictures of Bentlee a couple of weeks ago.  His mom, Shea, is a friend of ours.  I don't take pictures using my studio equipment very often because of the time that it takes to set up the lights and background (and take it down), but I couldn't resist giving it a shot with Bentlee.  What an adorable baby!  After the shoot, I figured out a few things that would have made it easier.  I didn't realize that you should have the room around 85 degrees to take pictures of babies without their clothes.  Poor Bentlee had to suffer through a 75 degree room.  No wonder he had trouble sleeping in the last photos...

Daughters...

One of my favorite pictures that I have taken of Maci and Sadi.  No work to get them to not smile!