... create a nice tension as the sailboat takes the eye diagonally out of the picture, and the bright, side-lit faces bring the eye into the picture ...
Artist and Her Work - Close View
The Studio Portrait
Tilt
Sometimes a little tilt can make a portrait more dynamic.
Got Evidence?
Get evidence - hire a friendly still photographer to create a nice portrait of some of your 8 great grandparents before it is too late ... still photography.
Horse Whisperer
Loyal Lab
... and it helps when you come home with a biscuit in your pocket
Light in the Lenses
or glass windows, or car windshield can add context and interest. So can "shooting through" foreground objects with wide open aperture (here f2.8).
Photographer's Photographer
My long time friend Christine Brennan-Schmidt paused long enough on our walk through the DC Aquatic Gardens for me to get this contextual portrait.
NE Washington DC, 2013
Elvis In Indian Country
Elvis was found behind an old banjo in an Ojibwe workshop near Walker, MN
Walker, MN, 2005
Don't Try This At Home
Advanced Lindy!
Lindy Hop
When dancer "Shorty" George Snowden was asked in 1927 at a Harlem dance club the name of his dance, Shorty supposedly replied "Lindy Hop" upon glancing at the nearby newspaper headline - LINDY HOPS THE ATLANTIC.
Tuning The Wind Dreams
A moment to tune, catching a moment, imagining imaginings ... still photography
Two Fourth Faces
One with flag, one over 90, both engaged in living
Annapolis, MD, 2013
Annapolis, MD, 2013
Looking Up Two
In this group shot I stood higher by about 4 steps. At a greater distance (i.e., a longer lens), the looking up to the lens is more subtle and still pleasing. What do you think?
Baltimore, Maryland, 2012
Looking Up One
By standing on steps or a step ladder I can ask my clients to look up to the lens, creating a pleasing portrait, similar to the eye level, direct gaze approach (see 6/28/13 example).
Annapolis, Maryland, 2012
Direct Two
Again eye level and direct. A pair of direct staring portraits hung in a Pilates Studio for two weeks in 2008 until some of the clients asked that they be replaced by something less intense, like landscapes. Do you like a direct gaze portrait?
Marciac, France, 2007
Direct One
Direct, eye level gaze portraits catch ones eye ... engaging and mesmerizing, it can be a great way to get a good photograph
Clyburn Arboretum, Baltimore, MD, 2013
Smile
2013 graduate statistics, University of Maryland College Park. Back row: Doug, Leslie, Matt, Ashley, Eric. Front row: Bret, Kayla, Christine, Charlene, Karla, Laura, Julia, Gabi. What is the probability of 13 people smiling simultaneously?
Probability is very high given students are happy, UMCP, MD, 2013
Kid Brother
Kid Brother Jeff with son Sorrel
"When I get older losing my hair,
Many years from now.
Will you still be sending me a valentine
Birthday greetings bottle of wine ... " Beatles, When I'm 64
Happy Birthday Kid Brother ... slow down or you will catch up to me