Kitties

I took some photos of my beautiful kitties out of boredom last week. I love them! 

  

Jordan's Senior Photos

I had the pleasure of working with matt's best friend and his girlfriend this weekend. We shot her senior portraits, and they turned out great. She's a beautiful girl!

I caught Tim playing with Jordan's cousin...so cute!

Matt felt left out apparently

CCAD-I will miss you!

 Jen & I in front of the art sign

My photographs & I in Canzani (Portrait on top left, landscape on bottom)

My family & I at dinner

Receiving my diploma!

Matty and I!

(Warning: The following is incredibly sappy and sentimental)

The time I have spent with my tight-knit family at CCAD has been irreplaceable. I truly cannot believe it is over, and if I had to do it over again, I wouldn't change anything. I will miss everything about the campus, the people I have gotten close to over the years, and of course, my professors that have taught me everything that I know. I hope that I will be able to take everything I've learned here and turn my passion into an actual career, but I know that this, especially in my chosen industry, is something that takes time. My goal is to continue to keep my camera by my side and to never stop capturing my life, and important moments in my client's life as well.

I leave this institution with an immense amount of knowledge, fond memories, and friends that I will be able to count on for a long time. I will deeply miss all of the people I have met here and the learning experiences I had each day, but now my education is in my own hands, and will continue learning every day. I'm certain the next year or so will be difficult financially speaking, but I only have a positive outlook on my future. I wish all my fellow graduates luck in their futures as well!

Portrait Shoot with Susana and Laura

I took photographs for Susana and Laura today, and they turned out really well! 

MY FAVORITE!:

I couldn't make up my mind about which of these pictures I liked best:

The Girls:

Kevin Keefer: Wedding Photography Workshop

Yesterday I attended Kevin Keefer's wedding photography workshop, and it was wonderful! I learned so much, and now feel more confident about being able to capture those special moments. Needless to say, if you're getting married and are in Ohio, I'm available :).

We all had the opportunity to photograph a recently engaged couple Kira and Jason (I hope I'm spelling those correctly!), and they were stunningly gorgeous and did an incredible job. I tried to focus on the environment more, and I also experimented with black and white, something I NEVER do because color is so beautiful, but I thought that for some of these shots it added a layer of emotion.

 

 Major things he covered:

-Create pricing structure based on time and talent, and keep the focus away from prints. Prints, on some level, are dying out and we can't expect to make a living on them.

-Expression, Gesture, and Environment together make up the ideal image

-Get to know the client before hand, especially for weddings. The couple needs to feel comfortable around the photographer in order for genuine moments to present themselves in front of the camera.

-Pre-visualization is key-when possible, view location and make detailed sketches beforehand in order to create the best composition, and plan camera controls. 

-Shade is your friend: find it and use it as much as possible.

-Study your work frequently and learn from your mistakes. 

Although I already knew a good amount of what he was saying, especially about shooting outside/on location, It was still great to have a refresher and to just get out there and shoot a little (6 gigs worth, to be exact). I am really looking forward to having my first real wedding gig as a professional, mainly because I have this sappy obsession with weddings, and also because it will fit perfectly into what I already love to do.

The most important thing I got out of it however, is a renewed desire to push my work, and continue to grow and learn from my mistakes.  I want to be a stronger photographer who makes people feel beautiful and give them images that last them a lifetime.