Portrait

Candid Family Beach Portraits Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida

in

Juliana & family on Sunset Beach Treasure Island St. Petersburg - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 power to frame left & SB-600 Speedlight @ 1/4 to frame rightRESERVE CANDID FAMILY BEACH PHOTOGRAPHY IN VIVID COLOR FOR YOUR FAMILY TODAY!

It was very nice to see Juliana and her family again after having first met them last year when I photographed her 7th Birthday Party.  At that time she was missing most of her front teeth, but this year her smile was brighter than ever.  Mother Nature provided yet another stunning Florida sunset of the Gulf of Mexico to be our background for our candid family beach portrait session.

Juliana & a sand dollar - Sunset Beach Florida - Nikon D300 with Nikkor 50mm @ f/2.8 ISO 200 1/1600th natural lightWhen we first arrived at my preferred spot on Sunset Beach, Treasure Island Juliana found half of a sand dollar on the beach.  Soon after she found the other half.  That seemed like good luck to me so I thought the sand dollar halves should be in one of our photos.  When you shoot in good natural light, as you can see, there is not even need for fill flash.

"Avant Garde" Father Daughter Beach Portrait - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 power to frame left & SB-600 Speedlight @ 1/4 to frame rightJuliana and her father had kind of just wandered into these positions between shots.  It caught my eye and I scrambled to get my lights in position to light both Juliana (far in the background) and her father (large in the foreground) before they could move.  In the end I asked Juliana to look at the lens to produce the final image above.

Father & Daughter Candid Family Beach Portrait - Nikon D80 with Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 200 1/320th natural lightI hope these photographs serve to illustrate that not every family beach portrait session attire needs to be white shirts and blue jeans.  I suggested that Juliana and her family wear what clothes they feel they look their best in, although I think Juliana's mom had final word on her wearing that dress since she told me that was not how she dressed every day.

Each with their own style - candid family beach portrait - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 power to frame left & SB-600 Speedlight @ 1/4 to frame rightI always like there to be some clouds in the sky at sunset time as they add interest to the background by reflecting the rays of the setting sun.  I once heard, "a cloudless sky is the enemy of the landscape photographer."  I would not say that for beach portraits, but for sure I prefer clouds over no clouds.

Candid little girl beach portrait - Sunset Beach Florida - Nikon D300 with Nikkor 50mm @ f/2.8 ISO 200 1/1600th natural lightI like to let kids do what they like during a candid portrait session as they are the types of photographs I like to make best myself.  The feeling when shooting is totally different too.  There is a certain tension in a photographer's mind that arises when having to position people for a shot, rather than the photographer moving about the subject freely shooting when instinct says so.

Letting the setting sun dominate this family beach portrait - Nikon D80 with Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/200th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/2 power to frame left & SB-600 Speedlight @ 1/2 to frame rightFor the above type of shot one of course needs to use manual mode to make the exposure do what you want as aperture priority or shutter priority modes would not allow one to get the results as seen.  Radio triggers for one's strobes are necessary too as I was shooting with a long lens not nearly close enough for Nikon's built in Commander Mode triggering method.  

Juliana is a natural model - Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 power to frame left & SB-600 Speedlight @ 1/4 to frame rightJuliana is a natural model.  The above pose was just one of like five she went in and out of in succession.  It was hard to keep up!  Of course when the subject feels comfortable in front of the lens and knows how to best position themselves, then it just makes the photographer's job all that easier allowing for more concentration on the creative part of photography.  Also, you can see that I pretty much settled on f/8 ISO 200 1/100th for my strobist shots during this session.  Once I get the settings I like dialed in, that also frees me to focus on just composition, etc.

Juliana as ballet dancer at twilight - Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/4 ISO 200 1/160th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 power to frame left & SB-600 Speedlight @ 1/4 to frame rightThis was the final shot of the night that required a couple of takes, but Juliana did her part very well!  I forgot to ask if she takes ballet lessons or not.  

The first time I tried this staggered family positioning - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 power to frame left & SB-600 Speedlight @ 1/4 to frame rightDuring this family beach portrait session I tried several new things, which is key to me, as I have done many of these types of shoots and I am always trying to avoid repeating myself looking to add if not entirely new shots at least variations.  This time there were several totally new images, like the above staggered positioning from shore to water.  It helps to have had a three person family.  For sure at least having an odd number makes the composition work better.

The better you know the people you are photographing the easier it is to produce satisfying images.  Therefore, it is not surprising that my second time photographing Juliana and her family was one of my all-time favorite family beach portrait sessions.

   

Social Media Photo Set Portraits at New Dali Museum

in

I met Angela at my new favorite photography spot in all of St. Petersburg -- the new Dali Museum for a Social Media Photo Set portrait session.  This special photo package is for those who like professional images representing themselves on Social Media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin as well as photos cropped to fit perfectly on their iPhone or other digitial device.  For me, I cannot understand why people would want to represent themselves with some crummy camera phone photo they took themselves by holding the phone in front of them.  I offer the Social Media Photo Set to help people look more professional, more attractive and more themselves online.  

We used the great tree behind the Dali Museum that has long ribbons tied with messages for the majority of shots.  The melting time bench is another great prop to use for portraits as well.  I look forward to seeing how Angela uses her photos in Social Media!

 

Florida Family Beach Portraits with Dramatic Skies - South Dakota Family

in

Family Beach Portrait - Sunset Beach on Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 with Tamron 17-50mm @ f/6.3 ISO 400 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/4 power above front & SB-600 @ 1/8 power directly behind family 

A few months ago Melanie contacted me from South Dakota about having family beach portraits here in Florida when her family was to come down on vacation.  I always like to photograph out of state families as they have full appreciation for the beauty of our Gulf beaches.  Locals I guess get used to spectacular sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico.  A large storm was scheduled to roll over central Florida around the time of our scheduled portrait session, but we stayed dry and were treated to dramatic stormy skies for use as backgrounds.

Sunset Family Beach Portrait - St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D80 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens @ f/5.6 ISO 400 1/100th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/4 power to frame left & SB-600 @ 1/4 power to frame rightThe sky kept changing from dark blue (see top image) to fiery yellow (above) to metallic purple (see below).  I had never seen it go through such a range of color before.  Often the intensity of one color will vary, but to get three distinct background colors was unprecedented.  

Family Beach Walking Portrait - Sunset Beach St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 with Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 800 1/250th natural lightOne other good thing about the stormy weather is that it kept almost all the people away from Sunset Beach, so we had no trouble making the above shot of Melanie's family talking a long walk down the shoreline.  I was able to make the shot I wanted to in just one take.

Father tossing children in air - Nikon D300 with Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 640 1/250th natural lightWhat a great feeling to be tossed up into the air, especially when you never know if you will land in the ocean!  Too bad it is not common for someone to be able to toss 185 pounds into the air.  I would like to be able to touch the sky too!

Young boy candid beach portrait - St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 with Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 640 1/250th natural light - sepia landscape filter applied in Silver Efex ProI titled the above photo, "The Fighter."  I would say he is a southpaw by the looks of things.  I am glad I was using my Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D lens from a distance for this shot and was at no risk of that left hook!

Purple Twilight Florida Family Beach Portrait - Treasure Island - Nikon D300 with Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/50th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/4 +2/3 power frame left & SB-600 @ 1/4 power frame rightTheir dad had all sorts of shall I say "unique" expressions to get the children to look at me, such as "Elmo is coming out of the top of his head," and the like.  I had not heard that one before but it worked so that's all that matters.  It was a fun challenge photographing this family of five and I am very pleased with the results the stormy skies provided.

   

Madeira Beach St Petersburg Candid Portrait Family Photography at Sunset

in

Madeira Beach St. Petersburg Florida - Bliss Family watches the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico

Over the winter I made a couple of visits to the section of Madeira Beach across from John's Pass Village.  I noted that it may make a good location for a future family beach portrait session because of its long stretch of empty beach, seawall and most of all the newly completed drawbridge.  Well, now that temps are in the high 70s the beach was no longer deserted and the seawall was covered with anglers.  However, it remained a good location as the drawbridge was mostly free of people.  

Carie recently took a DSLR Photography Lesson and said how she was also interested in family portraits.  I am always very pleased to be able to provide multiple services to the same client.  I met Carie and her family (three kids, one husband) on a warm Saturday evening at the aforementioned Madeira Beach spot.  Carie herself ended up suggesting what turned out to be my favorite shot of the evening (see above).  This is the second family portrait session in a row where this has happened (see first here).

I was very conscious of reflections during this candid family portrait session.In a candid family beach portrait session I take a few photos of the whole family together, stationary first, then set everyone loose to do what they like on the beach.  Carie's daughters took up a fascination with sailing a leaf down a tidal pool.  Decades ago I first learned how to skimboard in such a section of water.  

Nikon D300 Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D @ f/4 ISO 200 1/1600th natural light - Madeira BeachCarie's family were great shoreline walkers maintaining a nice even plane (important for keeping everyone in focus) and perfect spacing between each other.  I told them to walk at a good pace too, as it would make for a more natural positioning and final image.  If one walks slowly, motion gets more deliberate and less pleasing to freeze in a frame.

I wanted a turn myself! -- natural light Madeira Beach 15 minutes before sunsetThere has to be no greater joy for a child than to be tossed up into the air by their father!  Florida's pale blue evening sky always provides a pleasing background for a photo of any subject matter.  

Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/125th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/4th power on light stand to frame rightI always like to get one photo of just the parents, which was a quick operation this time as Carie's son is very active and would not stay long in the care of his two big sisters.  The Gulf of Mexico was its typically calm self that evening.

Up on the drawbridge over John's Pass!Above is the very last shot of the portrait session.  I saved the drawbridge for last, after sunset, thinking the sky will then produce some great color and Mother Nature cooperated with a range of purples to oranges.  

I had a very good time photographing Carie and her family and trying out a new beach location.  Thanks Carie!

Street Portrait Series 03 - Downtown St. Petersburg

in ,

Model: Savannah -- Nikon D300 Nikkor AF-S 105mm VR micro f/2.8G natural lightAfter a long absence, my Street Portrait Series continued this time in downtown St. Petersburg.  I met up with some fellow local photographers, including Michael Thompson of lightenupandshoot.com fame.  I first learned the street portrait approach technique from Michael last year.  I always have a lot of funning doing street portraits so I hope not to take as long for the next entry in the series as I did this time.

Pictured above is Savannah who volunteered to be a model before heading to a concert at Jannus Live.  Savannah said she had never done anything like this before, so to make her feel more relaxed I had her swing around the stop sign post and do a little leg keep to encourage a more natural, and more fun pose.  I think she did a great job!

Model: Clare -- Nikon D300 Nikkor AF-S 105 mm VR micro f/2.8G natural lightClare was the first person photographed that evening and a super good sport as several people gathered around her shooting away.  With more than one lens around, you definitely need to feel comfortable giving the person/model instruction to get a shot you want.  Someone had already asked Clare for an angry look, then I asked her to look at my lens so I did not have to settle for just a profile shot.  She works at Frankie D's Tattoo on 1st Ave North in downtown St. Pete.

Models: Rob & Ashley -- Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens Strobist: SB-800 on light stand to frame leftThere is often a great purple toned twilight sky backlighting the buildings of downtown St. Petersburg, and that evening was no exception.  I asked Rob and Ashley to stand on the corner so I could include as much of that purple twilight sky as possible in the shot.  I chose to shoot off level horizon to avoid some obstructions in the shot.  Even with that, I had to delete a building from the right side of the frame.  

Thanks again to all the volunteer models.  I have already sent them all a copy of the photos I took of them, which is proper street portrait etiquette.  I hope to be back out making street portraits again soon.  If you want to learn more about DSLR Photography and combine that with doing street portraits, I have 1-on-1 photography lessons available!