Commercial

Cadillac CTS with Model Tampa Commercial Car Photography Part 2

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Model: Amber Car: Cadillac CTS setup: f/11 ISO 200 1/100th strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power to frame left, SB-600 @ 1/2 power to frame center-right

This second set of photographs featuring model Amber and a Cadillac CTS photographed in front of the Tampa Convention Center feature some of the images chosen by the client (part 1 featured my initial favorites from the shoot).  It is always interesting to me to see which photographs the client chooses as compared to the ones I chose.  This time, only one photograph of the client's ten purchased images overlapped with one of my top three.  We were close on a second, with the client choosing just a slightly different pose than the one I did.  Too bad about that too because I had already done the major edit (removing several background buildings) on the pose I chose!

Model: Amber Car: Cadillac CTS Setup: f/10 ISO 200 1/200th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/4 power to frame left, SB-600 @ 1/4 power to frame center-rightAll that said, the three featured client choices in this post are now also in my favorites as well.  I believe it is really important to get one or more sets of eyes on all the photographs from a shoot in order to really discover all the best ones.  If the client had not chosen these, I may never have bothered to give any of them a full edit and thus they would have never made it onto my site or into my portfolio.  

The idea to have Amber look at her watch as if she were bored or waiting impatiently on someone was my own.  The client had told me at the beginning of the shoot that he wanted an element of the unattainable, of something hard to maintain, hard to keep.  So I thought if you want to have a beautiful woman and a cool car, you better arrive on time, at the very least!

Model: Amber Car: Cadillac CTS Setup: f/11 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power to frame left, SB-600 @ 1/2 power to frame center-rightThis was a great project to work on as the client provided me with a clear vision for the photographs while at the same time letting me put my own creative touch on the setup of the shots.  Plus, add in a model who can pose gracefully on the hood of a car (not easy!).  That equals pretty much the ideal situation.  

Guitarist Promotional Materials & Album Cover Shoot Pass-A-Grille Beach Part 2

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Commercial Photography for guitarist promotion - f/9 ISO 200 1/250th SB-800 to frame right SB-600 to frame left

A grainy, holga, look is what guitarist Nathan (artist name Redd Sun) told me he wanted for the edited versions of the photographs I made for him during our commercial photography shoot on Pass-A-Grille Beach.  I kept that information in mind the whole time I was shooting, despite the setting sun providing a plethora of color in the wide Florida sky that evening.  The grainy look is one of the things that interested me most about this shoot because 99% of the time when shooting on the beach vivid color shots are desired.  I saw this as an opportunity to produce something different, something . . . simpler.

Commercial Photography for guitarist promotion - f/4 ISO 200 1/400th natural lightAfter seeing the results of this shoot, I may do an entire series of black & white beach shots.  The holga effect was applied to the above photograph using the awesome Silver Efex Pro, which if you do not have it and you like black & white, then you need to get Silver Efex Pro immediately!

Commercial Photography for musician promotion - f/4 ISO 200 1/400th natural lightI centered the subject (Nathan) much more than I normally would during this shoot because I knew that type of composition best lent itself to the holga effect with its harsh vertical edge burning.  This is why it is always very important to previsualize a shot, or a whole shoot even, before pressing the shutter.

Guitarist Promotional Materials & Album Cover Shoot Pass-A-Grille Beach Part 1

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Guitarist Musician Promo Shoot - Pass-A-Grille Beach St. Petersburg Florida Commercial Photography

To state it simply, this was one of the best shoots I have ever done, in all aspects.  Nathan (artist name Redd Sun) contacted me about making some photographs for use as his own promotional materials for his music as he liked the style of this vanishing point photograph.  The photographs in this post are obviously not that style, rather these are my own favorites from the shoot.  In post Part 2 I will put the shots Nathan chose edited in the grainy style he requested.  

What made this shoot one of the best, if not the best, for me was how Nathan wanted to be photographed.  He told me at the start that he did not want any poses or anything like that.  Of course I specialize in candid style so this was perfect for me.  He then said just photograph him as he changed his guitar strings and then as he played.  This could not have been more ideal instructions for me.  The bonus was I got to listen to his guitar playing while shooting, which I really believe helped me capture the types of shots he wanted.  Normally I just shoot in silence.  This gives me the idea to bring along a music source of some kind for future shoots.

Guitarist Musician Promo Shoot - natural light portrait on Pass-A-Grille Beach St. Petersburg FloridaI (we) was also lucky in that the Pass-A-Grille Beach was not that crowded, there was a great sunset and the natural light before sunset time was fantastic (see above natural light photograph).  This natural light allowed me to roam freely with my preferred Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D lens on my Nikon D300.

Guitarist profile shot for promotional materials - Pass-A-Grille Beach St. Petersburg Florida commercial photographyOf course I also used my own personally developed two-strobe setup for proper sunset shots.  Even in the above shot, however, the photograph remained a candid as Nathan seemed to not notice me setup my lights around him and just kept on playing.

Guitarist silhouette promotional shot - Pass-A-Grille Beach St. Petersburg Florida commercial photographyEven though we were at basically the same location for the entire one-hour shoot due to the ability to make both natural light and strobist shots, as well as using three different lenses, I was able to provide Nathan with a wide variety of shot styles.  

I really look forward to seeing how Nathan uses the photographs in his promotional materials.  Part 2 of this photo shoot, to come soon.

Cadillac CTS with Model Tampa Commercial Car Photography

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Model: Amber Car: Cadillac CTS setup: f/5.6 ISO 200 1/200th strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power to frame left, SB-600 @ 1/2 power to frame center-right

I returned to the Tampa Convention Center for another commercial car photography shoot, this time though, with the added bonus of having a great model, Amber (her website).  I was really excited about this project when contacted by the client and am very pleased with the resulting photographs.  I have photographed cars before, and models too, but never a car & model together, thus the extra enthusiasm for this particular Tampa shoot.

I used my typical two speedlight strobist setup for all the shots.  I mostly used the setting sun as a third, backlight source (see highlights on Amber's hair).  To setup the shots I first directed the client where and how to park his Cadillac CTS.  Then I showed Amber what type of pose I would like for the shot.  Next I setup my speedlights around her.  After this much setup the shooting part is easy, especially since Amber did her job very well.  All this allowed me to put into a photograph what I first envisioned in my mind.  

Model: Amber Car: Cadillac CTS setup: f/9 ISO 200 1/200th strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power to frame left SB-600 at 1/2 power to frame back-rightI do not normally use my speedlights at 1/2 power, which is a lot, but the sun was really strong so using 1/2 power created the amount of fill light I wanted.  I also purposefully tried to create some lens flare in shots, as seen in the above photo.  I also wanted to make sure to leave some color in the sky and not have it just washed out white.  The Tampa Convention Center can be seen in the background.

Model: Amber Car: Cadillac CTS setup: f/8 ISO 200 1/200th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/4 power to frame left SB-600 @ 1/4 power to frame rightI really like Amber's pose in the above shot.  It was not easy for her to do so either while balancing on the front fender of the Cadillac CTS.  I set my speedlights to only 1/4 power this time because I did not have to over power the sun to light Amber how I wanted to.  Thanks again to the client and Amber for a very smooth, very effortless car & model shoot.  

Patrick's Bayside Grill St. Pete Beach Commercial Restaurant Photography

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Patrick's Bayside Grill of St. Pete Beach owner Patrick Abulone - commercial restaurant photographyI went on assignment this morning for OceanFront Magazine to Patrick's Bayside Grill of St. Pete Beach to photography the eponymous owner and his restaurant.  Having never been to this restaurant I did not know what to expect, but as always I arrive prepared for whatever shooting conditions there might be.  The place was cozy and not yet open for business, so I had just enough room to shoot with my preferred portrait lens, the Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D (above shot).  

Patrick's Bayside Grill interior - 5-bracket HDR - Commercial Restaurant Photography St. PetersburgOne interesting piece decorating Patrick's Bayside Grill can be seen under the left-most TV in the above shot, an eye exam chart.  Patrick told me it was given to the restaurant by a friend of his, a former eye doctor.  I bet it is a great conversation piece and has no doubt resulted in many boastful challenges of eyesight prowess.  

Patrick's Bayside Grill - 5-bracket HDR - Commercial Restaurant Photography St. Petersburg BeachThe parking lot is not large and has some peculiar angles, so if you do not have to drive the Chevy Suburban there I would consider taking a smaller vehicle.  Patrick is also a real estate agent so perhaps I will see him again soon to photograph some of his listings.  

Luxury Real Estate Tampa Bay Apollo Beach Home

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Sweeping view of Tampa Bay facing west - Luxury Florida Real Estate PhotographyI believe the view of Tampa Bay from the Apollo Beach side is best because, for one, it faces west allowing for prime viewing of Florida's amazing sunsets.  Another reason that may only bother me is that there is a large electric plant on the Apollo Beach side.  So if you live on the St. Petersburg side this small spot of smoke stacks jars what is otherwise a flawless view.  It would slowly drive me crazy.  Of course if you live on the Apollo Beach side, then you have to be neighbors with the power plant.  Hmm, which would you choose?  

This luxury home in Apollo Beach had a great "backyard" for entertaining, i.e. no grass, an infinity pool and expansive covered and uncovered seating areas.  Personally, I would take a grassy backyard over pavers and a pool any day because I would want a place to run and play with beloved puppy Kiki.  Plus I am a recluse and never entertain.  However, if you are the opposite of me, as most people are, this type of space would be ideal.

Great Room opening wide to Tampa Bay - Luxury Florida Real Estate Photography

All along the back of the house are a series of sliding glass doors that all open in a cascading fashion into a pocket in the wall creating a completely open feeling to the great room as if Tampa Bay itself flowed to the doorstep.  

Estate-like Apollo Beach Home grand entrance - Luxury Florida Real Estate PhotographyRoyal palm trees do their best to create a curb appeal for the home to try and keep up with the million dollar water views from the back.  I think the front definitely holds its own.

Cushease commercial product photography Clearwater on a boat

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Model: Lindsay; Cushease product shot on location in Clearwater; f/11 ISO 200 1/250th with 42" reflectorA commercial product photography shoot with models for Cushease in Clearwater was my first experience shooting on a boat.  As soon as I came aboard I instantly realized that doing photography on a boat will be an all new challenge, with not the least challenge being not slipping overboard strafing back and forth to the bow.  I also learned that you will definitely need assistants while working on a boat.  I had already confirmed that the models when not in front of the lens would be willing assistants to hold either the 42" reflector or a speedlight.  On dry land you can setup a light stand to hold speedlights and reflectors, on a rocking boat, that is not possible.  

University of Florida Gator embroidered products by Cushease - Clearwater commercial photographyThe client was actually Karin, one of my new, dedicated DSLR Photography Lesson students.  Her company, Cushease, has a large product catalogue featuring weatherproof chairs, cushions and pillows.  The images from this shoot will be used to update her new website, print catalogue and in various advertising mediums.  That is Karin's dog on the Gator pillow above.  He was very well behaved and a willing model.

Cushease weatherproof chairs for boat & outdoor use - Commercial Photography in ClearwaterI made many of the shots from the upper deck of the boat, which required climbing up a very narrow ladder with my Nikon D300 dangling precariously from its strap.  I was pretty nervous at first but by the end of the 2-hour shoot had gotten pretty good sea legs.  I spent a lot of time on boats in my childhood and this commercial shoot started to make me miss the unique feeling one has when spending time on a boat.