Krystal

This past Thursday I had a modeling/portrait session at Settler's Cabin Park. Krystal is model I contacted via OneModelPlace. I contacted her as one of the sessions that I was going to have videotaped as part of a promotional video that I am having done.

One of the things I experimented with this time was "Pseudo-moonlight". This involves using lighting and white-balance tricks to make in appear that the photo was taken at night, rather than the middle of the day. It is actually a very old Hollywood trick. I'll have more on this in a future post.

Share

Share (pronounced "Shari" or "Cheri") is another model I contacted via OneModelPlace. She joined OMP recently and has been extremely busy, including appearing in the new Taylor Lautner film Abduction which has been filming in Pittsburgh. Because Share has been so busy lately, it took us several weeks before we were finally able to get together for a session. Unfortunately, the weather was a solid overcast, which meant the lighting was extremely dull. So out came the flashes to add some spark to the photos. We started the session at the Allegheny County Airport, and from there moved to nearly McBride Park. Unfortunately the pavilion at the park is in a state of disrepair and is covered with graffiti. We were able to actually get more of an urban look (as shown at left), even though we were in a park. Unfortunately Share's stomach started to bother her, so we had to cut the session short after one clothing change.

Shooting a Self-Portrait

I decided it was time to create a new photo of myself for use as an avatar on various photo forums and for social networking sites. But too many photographers use a standard studio portrait of themselves, or a photo of them holding a camera. I wanted something different.

The concept for this photo got its start with an old manual typewriter sitting in my basement. I wanted to use it as a prop for some vintage photos. Since I'm an "old school" (or is it "old skool"?) photographer, I decided to have some fun with that theme and go with the idea of an old-time (1940's or 1950's) news photographer.

Unfortunately I no longer have my cameras that would be appropriate for that era (a 4x5 view camera or a twin-lens roll film camera), so the best I could come up with was my first Nikon film SLR. It is a 1983 motordrive-equipped Nikon FM2. I guess it says something about the current camera state-of-the-art that a manual-focus film camera is "vintage".

I decided to try shooting this in my garage, just to see how well that would work. Unfortunately we have a detached garage and it isn't air conditioned! I used the blue side of my collapsible chromakey backdrop, which I prefer to the green side. The table is a plain plastic folding table (I didn't feel like trying to lug a vintage desk into my garage!).

I wanted strong dramatic lighting, so my main light was my SB-600 flash clamped to one of the ceiling rafters. My SB-800 was bounced off a silver umbrella to the right of the camera. This was at a fairly low angle, so there would be enough light under the brim of the hat.

Originally this was going to be a true self-portrait, and I was going to use an infrared remote to trigger the camera. Since it was summer and he is off school, I decided to let my Junior Assistant-in-Training trigger the camera. Unfortunately his attention span is only slightly longer than a full-power flash, so we only worked with the one setup.

Since this is supposed to be a vintage shot, a B&W conversion was the obvious choice. I went with a more contrasty conversion to get the effect I wanted. I'm pleased with the end result, but I may revisit the concept to try some alternate angles.

"Double Exposure": How NOT to be a Photographer

The Bravo cable channel started a new reality show this week called Double Exposure. It follows the behind-the-scenes life of celebrity photographers Klinko and Indrani. They have been featured extensively in Digital Photo Pro magazine, among other places. So I was interested in seeing how the "pros" did it.

The Wall Street Journal reviewed the episode, and noted that Klinko and Indrani had recently gone through bankruptcy proceedings. Given what I saw in the premiere episode, I'm not surprised. Besides the "jet setter" lifestyle (and the expenses entailed), the way these two act during a photo session is enough to send potential clients running. They apparently believe that "Celebrity Photography" means that the photographers are the celebrities. They fight with each other, fight with their assistants, and fight with the clients:



Although I can see where this kind of tension can result in some great photos, it doesn't inspire any confidence from the client. Why would anyone want to hire them? Ironically, Kinko talks about seducing the subject (which I agree with), but there's nothing seductive about screaming and carrying on like a prima donna. You're supposed to make a client comfortable in what for most is an uncomfortable situation.

The whole point of doing a "behind-the-scenes" video, whether it is just for YouTube or for your own reality series, is to show how professional you are, and make clients want to hire you. And Double Exposure just plain doesn't do that...

Corey and Carrie

In spite of the weather, I had a lot of fun this past weekend photographing Carey and Carrie's wedding. Carrie's mom had a really amazing backyard, which was great for posing Carrie and the bridesmaids before we headed out to the church. After the ceremony and family photos at the front of the church, we headed to the North Shore to photograph the bridal party at the waterfall there. The entire bridal party ended up climbing into the waterfall (Their idea, not mine!), which has to rank up there as one of the craziest things I've had a bridal party do...

Mother's Day Special: Gift Certificates

We have a special Mother's Day offer available if you are still looking for something unique and special for Mom: A gift certificate for an on-location family portrait session and one 8x10 print (which you select) from the session. Normally this costs $80.95 ($70 for the session and $10.95 for the print), but for Mother's Day, you can purchase a gift certificate for only $39.95 (less than half price!). If you would like a gift certificate, you have two ways to order one:

1) If you wish to pay by cash or check, please email (pwossidlo@aol.com) or call (412-480-4698). We will make arrangements so you can purchase your gift certificate and receive it before May 9.

2) If you wish to purchase your gift certificate using a credit or debit card, click on the button below to pay for your gift certificate using PayPal. We will mail the gift certificate to your PayPal address within 24 hours.

Samples of my portrait work can be found in my portrait portfolio. If you have any questions, just ask!

Paul

"Hoops for Hope" Gala

On April 23 I photographed the American Cancer Society "Hoops for Hope" Gala that was held down at the Heinz History Center. This is my second year photographing this event. The idea is to give people a chance to pose in front of some of the historical treasures, and I print out a 4x6 print for them right on the spot. This type of on-site photo work is the main reason I recently purchased a new Epson PictureMate printer. The prints are dry, waterproof, and smudgeproof, and I put them in a small folder for the guests to pick up when they leave. Although I could have printed directly from the memory cards, I opted to use a slightly longer workflow with my laptop. The main reason for doing this was to add a "plate" at the bottom of the image with the name and date of the event. This also made sure the images were backed up on my laptop for safe keeping. After the event I posted the images to a gallery on ExposureManager, so guest had the option of ordering additional prints if they wanted.

Last year we were posing people in front of the old Pittsburgh trolley that is on display. This year, we went with one of the cars from Kennywood's "Racer" rollercoaster. As you can see, folks had quite a bit of fun with that!