Wordless Wednesday: The Vendor

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday: Take Flight

Monda Mantra

Monday Mantra

Strive to be limitless!

Wordless Wednesday

Monday Mantra

Wordless Wednesday

The Tools of the Trade #1

Losing your tools. 

There is a team building exercise to should how much we rely on our senses. It requires the participants to describe an object to another person with one or more of their ability being restricted. It very clearly shows how much we may rely on visual clues or that we may need things described to us to understand. We take these things for granted until they are taken away from us. Logic dictates that it applies to world of photography and I found that out this year. 

I dropped my iPad and shattered it  earlier in the year. And no, I didn't have Apple care so it would have cost me $300 to repair it (I have been thoroughly chastised already so save the comments!). It was still functional (if you consider looking at everything through a shattered glass functioning) so needless to say, I wasn't going to cough up $300 for something that still worked. I'm not rich yet (my $1,000,000 check keeps getting sent to the wrong address...go figure). Unfortunately, I started getting some dead spots so it was time but by the time I decided to get it fixed, I had all but stopped using it out of frustration. I repaired the tablet this weekend and immediately felt like I had been reunited with an old friend! 

I hadn't realized just how much I used this thing! I respond to emails on it. I type blog post like this on it. I create fliers for promotions. And very importantly, I watch videos on new techniques and gear. And that just on the train ride in! I also use it for client demos, image checking in the field, and a myriad of other apps that make my life easier. It increases my productivity and is a great tool. This is by no means a testimonial for iPads however. There are other tablets out there that are just as good and some that are better. This is a blog about the stuff that helps us do the things that we do and we take them for granted. 

I'll be starting a new series on the tools that I use that are not actual cameras. I think that it's helpful to see the whole picture because photographers don't just pick up a camera and start shooting. There are a lot of tools in the mix that don't ever get talked about. Hope you enjoy. 

On to the next frame...staying in focus. 

Pensive

flight

July 2013 Newsletter!

How'd they do that?

Ever wonder how they pulled off a great photo like this:

Well WE KNOW!!

Book us now for a session or let us do this at your WEDDING!!

Onto the next frame...staying in focus.

Before and After: Maternity and newborn photography

One of the more interesting things that I do in this field is maternity/newborn photography. Many times, I am called to shoot an event with which I am VERY familiar with and that's the case with this kind of photography. I have come to really enjoy working with mothers and then their newborns.

But that wasn't always the case! I was never sure how to pose kids and/or mothers to get the best shot.  However slowly but surely I developed my own style and what became very true was that it was more important to show how happy the parents were in that moment. As a father, I look back at the months leading up to and just after my daughter's birth and if not for pictures, things would be a BLUR! I keep that in mind when shooting these paired shoots. so much happens so quickly that it's important to have pictures that tell the story of the exact emotions of that period. I hope I captured that.

I would like to share a couple of my favorite "Before and After" shoots. Enjoy!

Until the next frame...staying in focus!
Hayden

New Life

Hey everyone,

Just sharing an awesome maternity shoot with an amazing client...MY WIFE! Hope you enjoy!

Shoot what you love: Artist talk.

There is an old saying "Do what you love and you will never work a day in your life". It refers to finding your passion and pursuing it, believing that rewards will will follow.  I believe that the same is true for photography. For me, the statement would read "Photograph what you love and the pictures will be amazing!" I submit to you proof of said concept: Gummi!

I was shooting a Sweet 16 party and there was a bowl of gummi bears for the guest. I LOVE GUMMI BEARS so I had to take the shot. I am sure people around me were probably wondering WHY I was taking a picture of gummi bears. But I knew that I would LOVE looking at that big bowl of richly colored treats. I think i was right. What do you think?

Until the next frame...staying in focus.
www.GreeneLightPhoto.com

Artist Talk: Cloud City

 Hey everyone,

Happy New Year! This year we will be much more active on this blog. I have been posting a lot of things on the Facebook page but the blog has been getting neglected.So a lot of the same content will be in both places and I will start sharing my tips and tricks. I hope that I don't sound TOO amateurish!

The first thing that I want to share is the latest installment from the series of photos from the Met Summer outdoor exhibits. Two years ago it was Bambu and last year it was Cloud City.  I find the rooftop displays very image worthy! Cloud City was a series of mirrored, multi-sided orbs in the form of a cloud. The sculpture itself was magnificent and I took the image below and then decided to render it as a quad. It's now hanging in my dining room. The image was run through four different filters in Color EFX Pro 3 and generated these four versions.

 This next image was taken while looking at the city next to one of the mirrors. The view from the roof of the Met is spectacular to begin with but it was amazing to see that scenery reflected in the 'cloud'. The image below extends the skyline and the dramatic sky punches up the picture. I waited for a long while for people to completely clear out of the picture and then i realized that the people actually gave it a sense of scale. So I waited for someone interesting to come by and snapped the pic. What's interesting is that the forward subject is actually NOT looking at the sculpture! It's hard to compete with that view!

This next picture is one of my favorites! I like split images and color separation. Typically what people do is take an image and duplicate it in Photoshop then reverse it. After that they line them up next to each other. As I walked out onto the roof, I immediately saw this image in my head. I crouched way down near the sculpture and got this image that looks like it's Photoshopped. In post I desaturated the bottom half and punched up the vibrance on the top half. I mounted it in a gold frame and it really popped. Love this image!

Hope this gives you a peek into what makes me take certain pictures.
Until the next frame...stay in focus!
Hayden.