Wesley Chapel

Ballet Dancer Model Portfolio Shoot Wesley Chapel Florida Photography

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Ballet dancer Katie in her own home studio for this model portfolio shoot in Wesley Chapel Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 each in own 43" brollyKatie is a new friend I have made in my brief time in Wesley Chapel Florida.  For many years she was a professional dancer and on stage around the country.  Now in her Wesley Chapel home she has her own dance studio.  I went over on a Sunday evening to make some ballet dancer model portfolio shots in that studio and found out the real challenge of shooting in a room with a wall of mirrors!  It took me quite a few different setup tries to eliminate or reduce lights and myself ending up in the background of shots.  Katie also had the hard task of repeating physical ballet moves like the one above!

Katie on her ballet bar in her home studio during our model portfolio shoot in Wesley Chapel Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 each in their own 43" brollyIn this shot Katie takes a break from jumps and relaxes with a leg up.  I tried out the bar myself and took two tries before I could swing my leg up on its own (no hand help) even though I am three inches taller than Katie!  Range of motion is something I know I need to keep working on.  

Katie on point during our ballet model portfolio shoot in Wesley Chapel Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 each in their own 43" brollyNot suprisingly, being on tip toes is not the most comfortable thing to do in the world.  I realized quickly that my usual lens I like to use for model shoots, my Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8D was not going to be practical in such a space, and switched to my Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens which was used for all the shots seen here.

Katie showing the flexibility of a ballet dancer during our model portfolio shoot in Wesley Chapel - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 each in their own 43" brolly - background added digitally

Katie also uses her dance studio as a fitness and workout center.  It was not possible to remove all things from the room, and they were too hard to remove digitally on their own, so in the above shot I just cut out Katie herself and put her on that digital background, which is actually a portion of a photograph I made at a car event (see the second photo from the bottom) that had cool red lighting.  

Katie touching the sky during our ballet model portfolio shoot in Wesley Chapel Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 each in their own 43" brollyWe shot for quite sometime and Katie was great about repeating each jump & pose as long as needed to get just the right shot in terms of lighting, limb placement and composition.  I got to learn just how challenging it is to shoot in a hall of mirrors and to be a ballet dancer!

Nikon D5300 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson in Wesley Chapel Florida with Reham

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Reham practices setting the focus and recomposing with her Nikon D5300 in Wesley Chapel Florida during our 1-on-1 photography lessonOn a warm and humid Wesley Chapel Florida evening I met Reham for the second time at Shops at Wiregrass for a 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson.  We first met one week earlier where I taught her my 5-step system for getting a well exposed and sharp shot in any shooting conditions.  Between now and then she practiced in a variety of settings from an outdoor restaurant to a dark bowling alley!  This practice allowed her to come to our second lesson with specific questions and specific photos to ask.  This is exactly the way to make progress in learning how to become a digital photographer, by taking what is learned during the lessons, applying it in the field, then returning with questions before learning another photography skill.  I was pleased with Reham's practice and progress in just one week!

The photography skill we focused on this time, was actually setting the focus and recomposing as I noticed she centered the subject every time in all of her practice shots.  Putting the single focus point on the subject of the photograph, pressing the shutter halfway, and keeping it pressed halfway while slightly recomposing the shot is the technique needed to prevent boring, centered subject photographs.  In particular, when photographing a person, the focus should be set upon the eyes, and then recompose from there, as I did in the portrait of Reham above.  

I will meet Reham two more times next week to get her as ready as possible to make great photographs during her trip to Paris later this month!

Creative Professional Headshot in Wesley Chapel Florida Home Studio with Austin and son

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Creative business headshot made in Wesley Chapel home studio - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/7.1 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 in a snoot to frame rightIt was a bit of a long time in the making setting up this creative headshot shoot with Austin in my home photography study currently in the Wesley Chapel area.  We first discussed it in April.  Often times as a professional photographer persistent following up is required if a client does not have immediate availablity.  

A wardrobe and background change for this creative headshot in Wesley Chapel Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB600 to frame left & rightAustin wanted a more creative look to his headshots, and liked some of the ones I did in the past with just one speedlight creating a lot of deep shadows and a black background.  After a wardrobe change I added a second speedlight and placed each one more on the side of him, rather than front and back.  That created the lighting look in the shot above with the white background.

Austin brought his son with him, so after the headshots I suggested we make a quick father & son portrait in my Wesley Chapel home photography studioHe had brought his son with him, so after Austin's two headshots were finished, I asked if he would like to get a quick portrait with his son while all the lighting was still setup.  His son joined him and I sent the portrait above as a free bonus along with his two headshots.  

The Shops at Wiregrass Wesley Chapel Car Show Event Photography July 2014

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SLS AMG Mercedes at a car show at the Shops at Wiregrass in Wesley Chapel - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDR tripod mounted with cable releaseI was surprised that such a suburban, strip mall kind of place like Wesley Chapel would be the site of something like an outdoor car show.  It seems the Shops at Wiregrass are more than just a place to buy things, but a sort of community event center home to car shows, firework displays and all other manor of outdoor events.  

A good crowd came out to the Shops at Wiregrass to see a car show on a typically hot and humid July in Florida afternoon - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDR tripod mounted with cable releaseIt was unusual though to have a car show only start at 12pm and go to 4pm, the hottest time of the day.  Usually they start at least by 9am, which is important as Florida is not exactly an balmy place in July!  Despite the weather, I made a walk up and down the long rows of cars and stopped to take a few photos.  There were no cars I had not seen before, and the only supercar was the SLS AMG Mercedes in the top photo.  Still, it is always nice to have a local event to attend and be around other car fans.

Candid Kid Children Portraits in St. Petersburg Tampa Wesley Chapel Florida

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40th Birthday Party with football & casino themes in Wesley Chapel Florida

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Eldest friend Terry and his wife and a friend on his 40th birthday party - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 hotshoe mountedThis year I have photographed a 50th birthday party and even a 100th birthday party.  Now a 40th birthday party can be added to the list for 2013.  My oldest friend (since 7th grade) turned 40 in November (thankfully I am almost 9 months younger!) and his wife contacted me about photographing the party which would also be for another one of their friends who was turning 40 as well.  

There was real (with play money) casino action during the 40th birthday party - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/15th zooming in with SB-800 hotshot mountedThey went all out for this party with several professional casino tables!  I guess they really like cards and gambling!  There was only play money used though at the party.  Above you can see the blackjack table, and there were also roulette and poker tables.

Football theme for this 40th birthday party in Wesley Chapel Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 hotshoe mountedThe other theme for this party was football.  One Packers fan and one Bills fan.  As a life long Dolphins fan I restrained from damaging any Bills balloons or decorations.

Green Bay Packers 40th birthday cake in Wesley Chapel Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 hotshoe mountedThere was even a football birthday cake!  I had a piece from the Packers side.  I always say, the best part about photographing events is getting a piece of cake!

A lot of self-portraits taken at this 40th birthday party - Nikon D300 Nikkor 50mm @ f/2 ISO 800 1/60thI was not the only way taking photos at the party as many people would get together with their phones to even take group shots (see above).  I enjoyed the chance to combine business and personal by photographing my oldest friend's birthday party.  Now I wonder about an 80th birthday party??
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