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Business Headshot St. Petersburg Studio with digital background - Carol

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Business Headshot made right in my St. Petersburg home studio for a client - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/100th - Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/4 power in 43" brolly to frame right & SB-600 @ 1/8th power with diffuser cap to frame leftCarol visited my home studio this afternoon for a new business headshot.  She was an excellent client and knew how to get into position well.  Before we started shooting I showed her a few different lighting and background options.  Through the process of making the headshot we decided upon a slight shadow and a digital background for the image seen above.  The real background was a light tan wall that I removed and in its place inserted a gray-blue one.  

Making a portrait of any type is a collaboration between photographer and subject, and this time I involved the client in more of the process than I usually do as I was even able to show her on my computer monitor a rough sample of what the headshot would look like on a given background.

I offer business headshots both at your location or in my home studio (as long as you do not mind Kiki).

St. Petersburg Florida Real Estate Photography - Kenwood Neighborhood HDR

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St. Petersburg real estate photography - Kenwood neighborhood - kitchen view - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 9-exposure HDR on Induro CT214 tripod with Nikon MC-30 cable releaseOn assignment for Crown Group Realty this morning to photograph a very nice house in the Kenwood neighborhood that had recently been renovated by the owners themselves.  I am always impressed by people's real world skills like home improvement.  They say kitchens sell homes and this kitchen opened up to the dining room and backyard.  I made a 9-exposore HDR image in order to pull out the details in the kitchen (no window) and in the dining room (windows on either side).

A functional living room in St. Petersburg Kenwood neighborhood - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1.3 secOften when looking at homes, both old and new, it is hard to set them up assuming you want a good viewing angle of your television.  Therefore, I chose to photograph this living room highlighting the great opportunity to setup a home theater due to its layout.  The sofa also faces the front door, which is something else I like in a home.

Well landscaped backyard in Kenwood - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDRThe backyard was also updated, which I thought made for a nice flow from kitchen, to dining room to backyard.  Even though it is very hot in Florida in the summer, it is still nice to have your own outside space to enjoy.

A fenced in front yard in Kenwood - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDRI like a picket fence in a front yard.  I feel it adds a nice framing to a home and if you have a dog it creates another safe outdoor area.  If you wish to buy this home or know someone who might be interested in it, please contact Amy at Crown Group Realty.

Film Noir Model Portfolio Shoot St. Petersburg Florida with Alexandra

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These are actually post office steps! The neon in the background is real, though modified - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/5.6 ISO 400 1/160th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 power in 43" brolly to frame left & Nikon SB-600 Speedlight @ 1/2 power with diffuser cap to frame left

I cannot say I explicitily intended for my model portfolio shoot with Alexandra to turn into a film noir style, but through editing of the images it certainly turned out that way.  We were shooting in the late evening from about 7:45pm to 8:25pm mostly around the Arcade in downtown St. Petersburg.  The Arcade is a great location offering a variety of shot opportunities, especially at that late time of day with all its shadow opportunities.  The above shot was actually the very last shot of the shoot.  The background features the neon sign of a cafe across the street with the contrast selectively turned up so that only what is illuminated by my speedlights and the neon remain visible.

Using long shadows created by a speedlight outside the gates - - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 400 1/160th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/8 power in 43" brolly to frame left & Nikon SB-600 Speedlight @ 1/2 power with diffuser cap to frame leftI chose the Arcade as a shooting location because of the great, very tall, ornate, iron gates.  I knew they would make for a fantastic background and/or prop.  For the above shot I placed a speedlight outside the gates to frame left in the alley to help cast long shadows in the foreground.  I composed so to accentuate them.  Alexandra came up with a great pose taking my one small suggestion to create space between each arm and her body, something I always make sure is set otherwise the model will appear to have a lumpy body or strange attached arm.  Alexandra in fact did a great job overall allowing me to focus on creating mood and atmosphere with my lighting and composition.

The 43" brolly creates soft shadows, I love it - - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 400 1/160th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/8 power in 43" brolly to frame left & Nikon SB-600 Speedlight @ 1/2 power with diffuser cap to frame leftThis shot features the same gates and lighting setup.  Without the speedlight outside the gates providing backlight, the gate on frame right would appear dull and lack the reflective light on it.  Additionally, the same speedlight provides rim light around the model, especially her hair, right arm and right side.  A photographer can do a lot with just two speedlights positioned in key spots.  I could carry all my strobist and photography gear that I used for this shoot myself, following the "lighten up and shoot" philosophy.

A single strobe setup with intentional background shadow - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4.5 ISO 400 1/160th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/8 power in 43" brolly to frame rightThis shot is different than all the others in that it features only one speedlight positioned to create Rembrandt lighting (nose & cheek shadows touch leaving a little light under the eye) on the model.  I wanted to include one soft feeling image in the shoot as most of the others were really strong from a posing and overall feel perspective.  

Thank you again to Alexandra.  You can follow her work on Model Mahem and Facebook.

Tampa Model Portfolio Shoot Train Tracks

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Model Katie posing on train tracks in Tampa - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/2.8 ISO 200 1/2000th 

The above image featuring model Katie is from my archives.  A few years ago I was not posting about all the shooting I was doing since at that time I was only a part-time photographer, not the full-time professional I have been the past two+ years.  This train station is near downtown Tampa and we had to ask if it was ok to go out onto the tracks for a few shots.  I do not even think these particular train tracks were in use anymore, or if they are the platform could use some major rennovations!  

Katie was a great model that day in a wardrobe I thought matched the train track setting perfectly.  It was almost effortless to photograph her as she seemed to instinctively know on her own the best pose.

For this shot I got low just below her eye level and chose to make as shallow of a depth of field shot as the location provided.  It turned out to be my favorite of our model portfolio shoot that day.

Business Headshot in St. Petersburg Florida on Location with Al of Bayprint

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Business headshot done on location in Bayprint - St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/9 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/4 power in 42" brolly to frame left

This morning I had a very fun business headshot shoot with Al of Bayprint.  I have known Al for sometime now first meeting him through the Third Tuesday networking event he hosts every month.  Nowadays I also see him once a month as he hosts a small business roundtable discussion.  As you can see, Al is very generous with his time and is a great networker.  

I went to his print shop in St. Petersburg and used the blank wall right in the breakroom for the background for the above shot.  The goal for that particular shot was to include the Bayprint logo on his shirt in the frame and overall have the headshot not look too corporate, which is why Al is not looking straightahead nor directly into the camera lens.

A fun headshot Al will use on his blog - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/9 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/4 power in 42" brolly to frame left - gray background added digitallyFor the last shot of the headshot session, Al wanted one with his arms crossed kind of looking intimidating to use as a fun image for his blog, etc.  I used the Quick Select tool in Photoshop and then the Refine Edge function to cut Al out of the background you see in the top image and placed him on an empty background.  I then added a new layer under the cut-out image of Al, painted it black, then added a single gradient diagonally to create the new background in the above shot.  This is how I am able to make shots on location right in an office and still offer the client any choice of background.  

Thanks Al and I will see you at future networking events!

Model Portfolio Shoot in Vinoy Park St. Petersburg at Sunset with Shane

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Featuring The Pier in the background of this model portfolio shot - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 @1/2 power with diffuser cap to frame left & SB-600 @ 1/4 power with diffuser cap to frame rightI met Shane through Model Mahem and we soon setup a model portfolio shoot deciding on Vinoy Park in downtown St. Petersburg as the location and I suggested having the main shot idea to feature The Pier in the background, since in its current form it will only be around another two years or so.  That is the photograph featured above with me shooting from flat on my stomach to get the composition I wanted.  In the fading dusk light I thought that black & white suited the image better than the minimal color left in the original.

The setting sun blazes the sky yellow in this model portfolio shot - - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/250th Strobist: SB-600 @1/4 power with diffuser cap to frame left & SB-800 @ 1/4 power with diffuser cap to frame rightScheduling our model portofolio shoot just in time to catch the last bit of the sunset, I was able to make the above shot featuring a vivid yellow sky as the background from our vantage point in Vinoy Park and still include some of the local features in the background to put the photograph in a specific setting context, instead of a generic sunset that could have been anywhere.  Once again I was lying flat on my stomach to make the above shot.

The lights of The Pier provide the bokeh in this night shot - - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 @1/2 power with diffuser cap to frame left & SB-600 @ 1/4 power with diffuser cap to frame rightThis was the final shot I took of the model portfolio session.  I always like to end on an image that I know I will actually use, whenever possible.  In my model portfolio shoots quantity is not the goal, but rather producing a select few images that neither I nor the model already have in their portfolios, unless a model approaches me to recreate one of my shots.  I knew even before scheduling the shoot I wanted to make a shot like this featuring the lights of The Pier as bokeh in the background.

Shane was a great model and expressed the exact right emotions I was looking for in order to make these photographs.  

Business Headshot on white background in Clearwater Florida with Kathy

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Business headshot done on location in Clearwater, Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power in 42" brolly to frame left - white background added digitally in PhotoshopThis afternoon I drove to Clearwater to meet Kathy to make her business headshot.  Earlier in the week we discussed the specifics, like how she needed both a standard vertical headshot and also a full body headshot, both of which needed to be on fully white backgrounds with no shadows.  This is easy enough to do if working in a studio, but I made these shots right in her office.  Therefore, I needed to maximize the amount of blank wall I could get behind her in the space given to make it as easy as possible to add the white background later in post.  For the above standard vertical headshot, it was no problem to do.  

Full body business headshot - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power in 42" brolly to frame right & SB-600 @1/4 power with diffuser cap to frame left - white background added digitallyNow for the above full body shot, adding the white background was much trickier because as of about two-thirds of the way down the skirt the border of the wall started and then the dark blue-gray carpet began.  This made selecting the edge of the subject using the Quick Select tool in Photoshop somewhat in exact, even after refining the edges.  After placing just the subject onto a new layer and painting in a white background, I then took that same 100% white Brush Tool and tediously smoothed the edges especially around the border of the shoes, ankles and lower skirt where the carpet was.  Still, this technique allows me to make on location shots with any background the client requests.

Kathy was a great subject easy to pose and we also had help from her cheerful office mate Rosemary.