Archive for Editorial

In keeping with the mantra that a wedding is “all about the bride,” the bridal portrait is one of the most important and compelling images taken at any wedding.  Every bride dreams of the perfect bridal portrait.  It is often the culmination of years of dreams, preparation, shopping for the perfect dress and even choosing the best location for its character or natural beauty.  At a recent wedding, the bride’s mother reminisced about how the bride and her sisters began planning this day on her third birthday; they would have ceremonies in the backyard.  It was a single moment 22 years in the making!

 

Choosing a photographer is probably the most important decision a bride will make in creating the prefect bridal portrait. This is the time to “trust their instincts,” and choose the photographer whose images resonate with their own personality and style.  Ask the photographer about their approach to bridal portraits; mention specific images in their portfolio that moved them; ask the photographer to explain how they created the images and whether real brides were photographed on their wedding day or the images were created prior to the wedding?  We suggest asking the photographer if their previous brides can be contacted to ask for a firsthand account of their experience.

 

There are several key factors that create a timeless, elegant and artistic bridal portrait.  First, experienced photographers always scout the location well ahead of the wedding in order to find all the best compositions and angles and to study the light.  This is necessary so that they are fully prepared for the moment immediately after the bride steps into her dress.  Once the photographer has been selected, trust them to create images that will truly be loved and cherished for a lifetime!  Children and grandchildren will thank you.

 

We recommend that the bride plan her portrait and bridal party photographs to take place shortly after putting on her gown.  This is the best time – her hair and makeup are perfect!  Most brides are somewhat nervous and have little-to-no experience posing, so it is important that the photographer not only chooses beautiful lighting, but the bride must also feel completely comfortable and confident with the process.

 

It is common for people who aren’t models to take some time to feel comfortable in front of the camera.  A good photographer will make the bride-to-be feel at ease and be able to show her exactly how to move in ways that are flattering.  A technique called “mirroring” can help to get the bride strike the perfect pose.  This is achieved by simply “mirroring” the photographer’s moves, i.e., follow his/her lead.

 

Often very subtle movements of your head or body can make all the difference, so when changing positions, make small changes, and follow the leader.  In addition, simple shifts of your weight onto your back foot and a slight bend in the front knee creates an hourglass shape characteristic of beautiful bridal portraits.  Careful attention to detail can result in adding depth to thin faces or shedding 15 pounds from “curvey brides.”  Lastly, have fun with the process and bring your personality.  Remember, there are two people involved in creating these images, so giving the photographer your energy will result in exceptional, unique and beautiful bridal portraits.

 

In an all-too-common story, we were contacted several months ago by Dannon to create editorial style fashion images for her bridal portraits.  She was not happy with the results taken by another photographer on her wedding day.  We were thrilled to have the chance to create the photographs she had always dreamed of.  During our initial consultation, she informed us that she didn’t want the “typical bridal portrait.”  She wanted an edgier contrast for these images, so we began planning for an editorial style portrait session.  Since Dannon is a wedding makeup artist, we knew her “face” would look awesome, and we were able to create an amazing portfolio of photographs for her album.

 

Dannon is a trained MAC Pro makeup artist and specializes in traditional and airbrush makeup.   Her makeup looked flawless throughout the shoot and she explained that her products are specifically used to make your photographs look amazing all day.  In addition to finding your photographer, trusting the advice of a professional make-up artist will result in finding the best products for your face and always give you results that last the entire wedding day.  If you need a great makeup artist for your wedding, you can contact Dannon and see examples of her “before and afters” at her website: http://www.dannonkcollard.com/

We had a lot of fun shooting these images for Dannon and look forward to hearing any of your interesting of different ideas for your bridal portraits!

 

 

 

A few years ago I was contacted by a company specializing in cycling apparel worn by elite athletes including riders of the Tour De France.  One of the athletes, George Hincapie, was a preparing for the tour in his hometown of Grennville, SC.  George is well known in the cycling community and was the only teammate on all  seven of Lance Armstrong’s  Tour de France victories.  I was informed that due to his specialized training schedule, George would not alter his schedule for the shoot and we would only have a short period of time to capture these images.  Northwave’s ad concept was to feature professional riders in a funny ad featuring the rider wearing the apparel in a movie poster.  The ad was to show George in the hybrid of various Matrix poster designs.

After many years of editorial experience, I approached this shoot with the same energy and preparation I would for a wedding at a new venue.  Prior to landing the job, I did my homework and realized that George was 6’4″ tall and would require a set with high ceilings in order to pull off the lighting concept from the original Matrix poster.   We would be shooting at Hincapie Sports and in scouting the facility, it was clear the only place we could shoot was the front lobby near the large west facing windows.  I was prepared for every possible lighting condition and the shoot went off without a hitch.  George was very accommodating and professional during the quick shoot and we nailed it within five clicks of the shutter.

The principles used in this shoot were exactly the same as any family session or bridal portrait.  Light is light?  Briefly, one of the main considerations was creating sculpted and masculine facial features .  To accomplish this we used a small silver umbrella roughly three feet from George and positioned camera right.  We used subtractive lighting technique’s and brought a large black “flat” on set and positioned it camera left very close in order to further darken the shadows.   As one would expect, George is very fit and lanky and by turning his face away from the light, we created what is known as “broad lighting”-this style adds depth and “roundness” to the face rather than slimming it even more?  On the contrary, short lighting works great for slimming faces and, when used effectively can shed ten pounds from the subject being photographed. By knowing these concepts prior to shooting this image, we were able to execute the shot within minutes-much like the timeline given at a typical wedding.

I am often asked by photographers new to the industry, which lens or camera is the best.  These new art school graduates or aspiring photographers are often in awe of assignments, such as the Northwave job.  These advertising or an editorial shoots have a mystique because they are considered “real photography”.  We get an expense account and spend the night in a fancy hotel.  The truth is that the best advice I can give these “newbies” is to dust off that light meter and buy a copy of “Light Science and Magic”.  So much of the industry is focused on toys that the real skills and knowledge of light are often overlooked.  This assignment was a perfect example of how understanding light was the key to the success of the job.  Not only is a imperative to do your best to “get it right in camera”, understanding these concepts can make all the difference in creating that perfect ad, or more importantly, an extraordinary bridal portrait.

On a topical note, I just finished watching Lance Armstoring’s Oprah interview.  This reminded me how impressed I was with George’s passion and dedication to his sport.  In addition, from all accounts, George’s respect within the community of cycling and his decision to “come clean” was a major factor in Lance’s long suspected admission.  As a major factor in Lance’s seven tour victories, this commendable decision will surely benefit the health of younger riders with dreams of duplicating Lance’s now tainted accomplishments.  I understand the issues within the sport and the drama surrounding the deception and fall of another beloved athlete, but racing up and down the sides of mountains for thirty days in a row is still a remarkable endeavor!

Lastly, in order to address some of the talk about my photography, I feel it necessary to go on record and state that none of the images contained in my galleries were captured while under the influence of performance enhancing substances except caffeine, Red Bull and Advil?

 

 

Charleston Portrait Photographer, Charleston Wedding Photographer, Reese Allen Photography

 

 

 

Charleston Portrait Photographer, Charleston Wedding Photographer, Reese Allen Photography

We had a chance to meet The Arnold’s on their recent trip to Isle of Palms for their annual event and capture some unique Charleston family portraits.  They spend every Thanksgiving here and have a running contest similar to the Iron Chef; which, I was told by the guys that they always win?

We had a lot of fun creating something unique family photography for them-especially after I found out the search words for finding a local photographer were: “quirky portrait photographer”!  I am not sure if it is a good thing, but they liked our style and we had a blast with the final concept.  It also makes me think of adding other keywords or even doing an AdWords campaign with the terms: crazy, nuts, eclectic, etc.?

We are looking forward to having them back in Mount Pleasant for next years family portraits, but this time I think we’ll have to stay for dinner!

Charleston Wedding Photographer, Charleston Portrait Photographer, 2008 Election, Chicago, Grant Park 2008 Election

Charleston Wedding Photographer, Charleston Portrait Photographer, 2008 Election, Chicago, Grant Park 2008 Election

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 2008 I was fortunate to land an assignment in Chicago shooting a Kimpton Hotel the same week as the election.  I knew months in advance that I was going to have an opportunity to capture unique moments in history-regardless of who won.

As the hotel began filling up with bloggers, writers and news photographers, I tried to call in some favors with friends who shoot for the NY Daily News, Getty Images, etc. to get press credentials to the northern part of Grant Park.  After much effort, I resigned myself to the realty that there would be no ticket to the main event for a wedding photographer!  So I moved to plan B knowing I would be hanging out with all the “commoners” who would be crowded into the other side.

In my fifteen years doing photography, my mantra has been that if someone is standing next to you with a camera shooting the same thing, you’re probably not in the right place.  With this in mind, I was considering setting up a studio lighting station and doing some full length, perfectly lit portraits-but there was no power and schlepping a generator downtown wasn’t feasible.  I decided to go as light as possible. I also had no idea whether I would be able to get into the park looking too professional and without a press pass.

Earlier in the day, I took a taxi to Obama’s precinct in an effort to get something different.  I ended up talking with a polling station worker who captured Obama on her cell phone walking into the voting booth-I guess this is a bit different type of cell phone photography-picture of an actual cell phone?  I kept looking for images throughout Chicago, but everything seem too contrived; usually between moments, I can shoot details or a fun portrait of the ring bearer in order to tell a story of the day.  Some of the daytime portraits were part of the atmosphere in and around the city.

Following much deliberation, I headed out with one small camera bag, my new Nikon D-700 and a handfull of memory cards in order to capture history.  Once inside the park, it was a surreal environment.  Perhaps I looked the part, maybe it was the grey hair or my confident stride, but I gained access inside the roped areas and roamed wherever I wanted to capture these images.

As the night moved on, I studied almost everyone in order to be prepare for the moment the winner was announced.  All the years spent photographing weddings, ceremonies, environmental portraits and composing architecture went into capturing these historic photographs; most of which I have never shown to anyone until now.

Once I returned to the hotel, the atmosphere was energized with those who spend their lives creating news.  All the photographers with credentials informed me they were so far away from the President giving his speech, unable to move from the bleachers and only able to get images on their 400mm zoom lenses-which still weren’t that effective.  Turns out that being denied credentials was one of the best things that could’ve happened!

Some of the additional images included in this gallery have been made within the last four years.  However “mushy” this may sound, although this glimpse of epic moments in history are compelling, I believe the portraits and weddings stories I have captured over the last four years are more meaningful in telling the story of America-one family at a time.  I love what I do!