Cathedral Park in Santa Fe is the background for this political candidate portrait
Santa Fe Political Photography in the park!
This was my second photo shoot with Alexis Johnson, who is running for U.S. Congress for District 3 of Santa Fe, New Mexico. For our first shoot we a little pressed for time, so I was very glad she had more time for this shoot done right in Cathedral Park in the heart of Santa Fe. This extra time allowed me to really find the best backgrounds in the park, which were still important to get right even though as you can see they are out of focus in both shots. The bokeh (out of focus background) quality is still very much dependent on what is being made out of focus. So purposefully choosing where Alexis stood for the above photo with a tree being hit by the sun resulted in that great, bright bokeh behind her.
Professional and polished but also still connected to the outdoors
For this shoot, Alexis wanted a more natural background for both a professional looking portrait, as well as a more casual, outdoors attire portrait. Cathedral Park was very accommodating for being a very good location for both styles of photo. The key again was selecting the background to not include any noticeable buildings, just bushes and trees, and as you see below, you would have a hard time telling this outdoors themed portrait was made in the middle of a city, and not the middle of the woods!
Photographer for both sides of the aisle
Thank you Alexis for continuing to choose me as your photographer during your run for Congress! In my photography career I have photographed a wide range of politicians and candidates from a variety of political affiliations. In my archives, you can see many photos of New Mexico politicians ranging from the Mayor of Albuquerque, to the Governor of New Mexico, plus visiting federal level politicians like the U.S. Surgeon General.
I have had the privilege of being trusted to photograph high level politicians and VIPs and appreciate every opportunity.