Environmental Family Portraits at Christmas

Patty and I and our family had a lovely time with Pam and Andy and their family Christmas day. In the morning we opened presents at home with our kids here in the Dayton area, then we drove to the Cleveland area first to visit my wife’s parents who are currently both in the hospital. After our visit, we went to Pam and Andy’s (Pam is my wife Patty’s older sister) for a beautiful visit and dinner. But, before dinner they had asked if I would bring my camera and take some family portraits for them.

I think the hint of Christmas is a wonderful way to be in the mood for Christmas year round. Since the portraits were taken in their own home, they will also have a more special meaning. I also took some in their formal family room without Christmas decorations showing.

I showed them a stretched canvas print that I had made for one of my senior high school student portraits so they could see what it might look like as a canvas print. It can make portraits like these into wonderful works of art. I also like to show samples so that people can understand size a little better. The canvas print that I showed them was 16×24 which is a nice starter size for framed display on a wall. It is very common for people to think that an 8×10 or 11×14 is a large wall portrait, but those are considered more for desk and bookcase display and usually look very small once held up to a wall. I even lend various sized print samples to people to allow them to hold them up where they intend of making their display so that they can see how various sizes appear. It is not something that you can do from memory. It’s kind of like bringing paint samples back from the store to hold up against various pieces of furniture to make sure they compliment what you already have.

This is Pam and Andy.

This is their lovely family.

The other images from the session can be seen here: Pam & Andy Family Portraits

Kentucky Diehard Endurance Ride at The Nature Preserve at Shaker Village

The weather was near perfect for the Kentucky Diehard Endurance Ride at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill & The Nature Preserve at Shaker Village just south of Lexington Kentucky. I stayed overnight in an old Shaker Village meeting house before the ride on Saturday November 21, 2009. My room was on the third floor up a very narrow staircase with a latch door and simple decor (except the bathroom which was modern). The room light was a lamp in the form of a candle stick and a dim electric candle light bulb.

This building was about 300 yards from the stable at Shaker Village where most of the riders had their trailers parked. Stalls and running water was available.

The well kept trails were beautiful with rolling hills and taking the riders right past the buildings of the main part of Shaker Village then out into the countryside through meadows and rolling hills. Many areas had beautiful stone fences along the trails. The brochure says there are 3000 acres of original Shaker countryside.

There were lots and lots of smiles throughout this well organized endurance ride. This is a don’t miss ride for 2010.

The gallery is here: Kentucky Diehards Endurance

Learn more about endurance riding: AERC

The gallery is here: Kentucky Diehards Endurance

Daniel Goffe Senior Portrait Session

I know Daniel’s mom and dad from church. Daniel and his mom and dad are all very active at Fairhaven Church. One time I saw one of his Facebook updates and I sent him a friend request. I was impressed that Daniel was informed about politics and did not have his head in the sand as many do. His mom Sueann called and we set a time for some fall portraits, however about that time Daniel got the Flu so we had to postpone things for a week. That was after the windy weekend that brought most of the leaves out of the trees. Furturnately there were some trees at Cox Aboretum in Centerville that still had some color.

For the photographers among my readers here, I shoot with a Canon 1D Mark IIn digital camera using a 70-200mm f 2.8 lens. My wife Patty helps me with a large silver reflector to bring some extra light to my subject so that I can create the portraits mainly in the shade. Portraits are bets in open shade because the light is even and the variations in brightness are all within the digital camera’s range of sensitivity. In bright noonday sun you will bet burned out areas and harsh dark shadows in the eye sockets. In the summer I shoot just when the sun is going down. Now in the fall that is much earlier so most of my sessions will now have to happen on weekends. I shoot RAW format (not JPG) which requires processing of the images in photoshop. I also shoot a gray card a couple of times throughout the session for color calibration when processing. The card I use gives me good whites and nice warm skin tones. If you like my photographic style and you have questions about photography, I am certainly open to sharing my thoughts with you. I would also encourage photographers in SW Ohio to join PPSO (Professional Photographers of Southwest Ohio). We meet monthly and have outstanding speakers and trainers come each month. Not only that, but I get to talk with other professionals who are also open and willing to discuss what they know with me. You can’t beat that.

Back to Daniels session. Here are a couple of highlights from the session. At the bottom of this post I have a link to the rest of the portraits we created.

Here is the gallery of images, just click on this link DANIEL

I’ll be sharing some environmental pet portraits soon. If you would like some portraits of your pet at your home or some other special location, don’t hesitate to give me a call so we can discuss your ideas.

Session books can be special keepsakes for seniors and others

I spent the evening preparing a book to be sent off for printing. It has a hard cover with a portrait wrapped onto the front cover. Inside there can be 20-40 pages of pictures from the session.

My first sample book is of my client Jennifer Truett and her horse Lydia that she lost earlier this year. On Facebook she had posted about her prize show horse and companion and that she may have to put her down due to a severe founder from getting sick. She would know within the next two weeks if the horse could survive or not. I had gotten to know Jennifer while taken pictures at a couple of horse shows at the Dancing Horse Farm which her and her husband, Lenny, own and operate in Lebanon.

I called by phone her the next day and said that I wanted to come out that weekend to do a portrait session (No charge for this one as I wanting to give her the session). Weeks earlier we had done a session under saddle and conformation with some other horses. We were supposed to do portraits of Lydia at that same time only she was at the equine hospital at the time and very ill. It was the aftermath of that illness that caused the severe founder. So I called her and we selected a time and I explained that we could do the session in their soft grass. It would be portraits of Jen with Lydia and anything else she wanted to do.

When I arrived Jennifer told me how difficult this might be as she was not sure she could keep her composure. Jen had to wipe away tears several times during the session and Patty (my wife assisting) and I also got choked up. At one point Jennifer, she told me later, said that she had almost called to cancel the session because she was so upset, but we proceeded and had a very lovely session not knowing if the news in the following weeks would be good or bad. Lydia’s last day was only a week away as it turned out.

Jennifer, Lenny and Lydia photo session (click here)

I sent a link to the proofs within a day or so. Many tears later.  This was still before Jennifer found out there was no hope and Lydia had to be put down.

Jennifer made a long post on facebook about that last day explaining that it was the most difficult thing she had ever done in her entire life. Jennifer made it a very special day for Lydia with a bath, flowers braided into Lydia’s mane and other special moments photographing the entire process. They had many special moments together before walking  to where Lydia would be put down at the remoted farm graveyard down a tree lined path.

This is the cover and back cover. On each page within the book I placed a word to try describe her horse and her relationship with her horse. Beauty, Affection, Memories, Honor, Grace, Laughter, Passion, Pride, Partnership, Whimsy and others.

Jen brought her horse out very carefully and slowly. She was so sweet with Lydia and it was very touching to watch and photograph.

I sent the computer files showing the insides of the book and this cover to Jennifer to review and so that she could request to perhaps add some additional pages with additional words. Then I will send it to the book company so that can put it together and print it and ship it back to me. I will finalize pricing for this type of book once I see the finished product. This particular book is 13″x 11″ so it will be rather spectacular in my estimation.

(Update) Jennifer loved the pages of the book and we decided that we would be adding some photographs from shows in the book along with the narrative and pictures from Lydia’s last day on this earth. In addition we will be adding many letters of condolence which poured in after Jennifer made the facebook post about Lydia’s last day.

They are available in 7″ x 7″ , 8″ x 10″, 10″ x 8″, 13″x 11″ and 12″ x 12″.

Tell me what you think.

Evan & Kyle’s Senior Portrait Session

So what happens when two moms who were best friends as kids grow up and both become teachers. What happens when they move to the same city and just happen to become teachers at the same school? Well, there youngest sons become best friends through elementary school, through middle school and through high school. It was pretty fun doing their senior portrait session and seeing just how comfortable they are in their own skin. Still clowns and always having fun.

Here is some history for you to enjoy, then I am going to share some of my favorite images from the session.

Two mom’s and two kids on trick or treat night long, long, ago. Patty DeMott, my wife, on the left and Jennifer Damon on the right. Our Evan is Santa. Kyle was the head elf.

Patty, Evan, Kyle and Amy (another teacher in the fifth grade team)

Here they are today, both seniors getting their portraits done. As a High School Portrait Photographer, I can play around as much as they do. It was actually quite fun because these two young men are completely comfortable in their own skins. Letting they play around a bit, and even showing them a couple of these goofy images helped them to relax and have a great time.

Still Clowns and a couple of nuts when they are around each other, but getting more serious about life too.

Enough to make two mom’s cry. To see more images from this session click on this link Evan & Kyle .

Evan and Kyle are seniors at Miamisburg Highschool in Miamisburg, Ohio.

I’ve love to hear what you think of these images. Please feel free to leave a comment.

Jen and Ken Damon’s Family Portrait Session at their home in Miamisburg

We were all set to meet at the Cox Arboretum for their family portrait session when we realized that there was a garlic festival going on so it would have been a major hassle to get into the park. My wife suggested that we consider doing the session at their home in Miamisburg. Last spring they had beautiful new paver walk and patio along with landscaping done at their home.

When I arrived I checked things out and set up some chairs by their front porch. As you can see it worked out wonderfully and Jen said later that she felt even better that it was at their home. It gives it a very personal feel. This is a one-of-a-kind piece of art that they will cherish for years to come. Ken Damon is the pastor of a Baptist church in Oakwood. Jennifer is a 5th grade teacher at Mark Twain School in Miamisburg, Ohio.

The other thing I found is that the love in this very close family just shines through. Posing was easy and relaxed and everyone had a nice time, even Kyle and Joel who very seldom have their pictures taken. Still hoping to arrange for Kyle’s senior portraits. He wants to wear the crown from being elected the king of the homecoming court at Miamisburg High School. Sure we can do that for part of the session.

Kristen Lay’s senior portraits with her horse & her very large puppy/Fall colors

Kristen and her mom Michele have known me for several years. We have met several times at horse shows in the Dayton area. In addition, they attended the same church in Germantown that my son Jordan participated in. In an earlier post I said that Kristen had asked me about senior portraits this spring at one of the DLSC (Dayton Local Show Circuit) horse shows.

We talked about it each time we saw each other at the other horse shows. Michele and Kristen wanted to wait for the fall colors. When I arrived at her home in Miamisburg Michele pointed out one tree that was very vivid and bright. It was a perfect background for some of the images.

Kristen had a real workout trying to keep her horse’s head up out of the grass. I think that both Michele and Kristen doubted that we were going to get ANY good images from the session. I explained that it is always like this and that I have a very quick trigger finger. Even though the ears are perked forward for only moments, I would say, “got that one” to their surprise and we would move on to other poses. As a photographer with a specialty in equine photography (taking pictures of horses) Kristen and her mom chose the right person for her senior portraits with her horse.

When I was processing the images late into the night (some people don’t realize that after taking 200-300 images I have to sort out all the very best images and do my special processing on each image that I plan to show in the proofing ablum) I came across this image. It is definitely my favorite from the entire session. I made a Facebook version of this particular one and tagged Kristen with it on Facebook. Shortly, to my surprise, she replied with,” I know it’s just one image, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!!  Now she has all the portraits to look at. I wonder if this one is still her favorite. To see all the proofs from this senior portrait session just click on this link: Kristen Lay’s Senior Portrait Session

Here are some other highlights from the session.

Autumn Cates Senior Portrait Session at her grandparents home in Farmersville

Autumn called me about senior portraits a couple of weeks ago. When I asked her if there were special places or things she had in mind she explained that she would like her portraits taken at her grandparent’s home. They live out in Farmersville and their neighbor has a horse she wanted me to take her portraits with. In addition they had the restored hotrod Charger SS that used to belong to her dad.

I have other posts of people with their horses and I thought that these portraits with a car that has special meaning for Autumn turned out great so I am sharing a few here. To see other images from the session you can go to the proofing gallery Autumn Cates.

Sarah B.- Senior Portrait Photography Session on location at Cox Arboretum near Dayton

Pegge is a close friend to my wife Patty DeMott and had seen some of my photography work. She asked if I would do a senior portrait session with her daughter Sarah so we scheduled something toward evening. We almost rescheduled because there was a little drizzle when we arrived, but we decided to go ahead and do the session. I figured if we got rained out, we could just go the rain date later in the week. Sarah and her mom have a great relationship and between my wife and Pegge they kept Sarah smiling. A couple times we had to stop talking for a while so that Sarah could relax her smiles a bit, but it was great fun. Here is a portrait I took of the two of them together.

To see more portraits from this senior portrait session go here: Sarah

Sarah Wheeler’s Senior Portraits at Dancing Horse Farm

It was fun to create portraits of Sarah with her horse for her senior portraits at Dancing Horse Farm near Lebanon, Ohio (only about a half hour from where I am based in Germantown, Ohio near Dayton,  Ohio). Her mom and her little sister helped some with getting ears up. When shooting horses sometimes the most difficult thing is to get the horses attention. In this case, I think that Sarah’s arms were very tired from pulling his head up out of the beautiful green grass. I’ve done several sessions at Dancing Horse Farm including portraits like these as well as action photography of horses under saddle doing dressage. Here are some pictures of Sarah with her horse, but the last two portraits are her little sister who had been jumping around behind me to get the attention of the horse. I was able to sneak the shots before she could turn away. I think they are very cute. Sarah is in love with her horse and it shows in how she looks at him and leans into him for some of the portraits. I think everyone had a wonderful time and I think they are having a very difficult time not buying everything they see. Should I just show 20 images and make it easier for my clients to choose? I think not. I will just continue to make them work hard selecting their favorites.

Hey, are you taking pictures of ME?  I was able to take several candid portraits before she turned away. How cute is this? To see more portraits from Sarah Wheeler’s senior portrait sessions go to Sarah Wheeler. As a senior portrait photographer and an equine photographer I truely enjoy bringing both of those areas into one portrait. For truely unique senior portraits, wouldn’t you love to have your senior portraits for your cherished riding companion?

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