Portrait

Crown Jaguar F-Type Client Event at Dali Museum St Petersburg Florida Photography

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Guests arrive to pose in front of the new Jaguar F-Type at the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg event photography - Nikon D300 tripod mounted with cable release Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/100th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 both in brolly

The Dali Museum in St. Petersburg was host to an event put on by Crown Jaguar for guests to come and see some of its cars, including the stunning new Jaguar F-Type Coupe (see above).   This was my second time working for Crown, as I photographed the Audi A3 premiere event back in April too.  This time they hired me to photograph all the guests as they arrived in front of a F-Type.  This was my first time doing this kind of arrival portrait photography actually.  The shooting began just before sunset so early arriving guests got a colorful background like in the above portrait.  Soon night came and the background became just a few distant lights.

My setup for making guest arrival portraits a speedlight in each broody and my camera tripod mounted so I got the exact same framing and background for each shot - photo made by iPhone 6

This was my setup for all the portraits.  My camera was on a tripod so every shot was in the same framing.  I advised people to stand in front of the front wheel of the Jaguar F-Type Coupe to further insure similar photo results.  I had two speedlights each in a brolly and kept the one to frame left constant, but as night fell moved the one to frame right to also light the car more.  Unfortunately, the provided lighting for the car was not very bright at all.  I compensated for that by moving one speedlight and tweaking a few camera settings.  I ended up pleased with the results of night portraits using just two speedlights with a large background object (the car).  

Some guests at the Crown Jaguar F-Type Dali Museum event arrived in costume - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 400 1/60th - tripod mounted with cable release - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 both in brolly

Some guests wore costumes as Halloween was just three days away.  It was interesting to look up and see who might appear before my lense each shot.  Many people joked asking if this photo was their opportunity to win the car or something like that.  I only ever replied simply, "umm, no."  

From dusk to night shooting guests arriving in front of the Jaguar F-Type at the Dali Museum St. Petersburg Event Photography - Nikon D300 tripod mounted with cable release Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/30th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 both in brolly

The Jaguar F-Type Coupe received universal praise for its looks by everyone.  As of the time of shooting, Crown Jaguar did have this particular F-Type for sale!  

The Jaguar F-Type coupe made for a stunning backdrop for portraits at the Crown Jaguar Dali Museum in St. Petersburg - event photography - Nikon D300 tripod mounted with cable release Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 320 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 both in brolly

It was a fun and challenging evening of photography, my favorite kind, and I got to stare at a beautiful car the whole time too.  Two Crown Jaguar employees helped make sure each guest would receive their print of the photos I made by writing down the photo number as I shot, thank you ladies!

Bilmar Beach Resort Sunset Portraits Treasure Island Florida with couple from Utah

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Visiting all the way from Utah, Matt & Shanna have fun at Bilmar Beach Resort during our sunset portrait session - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame right front & SB-600 to frame right rearIt would seem the Bilmar Beach Resort is a popular hotel with out of state visitors as the last time I did a sunset beach portraits session there it was with someone visiting from Chicago.  This time, a couple all the way from Utah was staying on Treasure Island and met me for a candid couples beach sunset portait shoot.  There are few things I am lucky with in life, but having good weather at sunset time is one of them.  Just the night before it was raining all evening.  As you can see, no rain in sight thankfully!

Twilight beach portrait at Bilmar Beach Resort Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left front & SB-600 to frame right rearBeing a Tuesday evening in September as well, there were few people on the beach allowing for wide shots like the one above to not require any tricky people removing editing in the background.  The twilight sky was also very beautiful.  We stayed a little extra longer to get the above shot.

Leaning in for a kiss at Bilmar Beach Resort Treasure Island Florida during sunset portraits - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/5 ISO 200 1/200th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame right front & SB-600 to frame left rearIt was a fun session with Shanna and Matt and I am always glad to be able to help people remember their time in Florida through photographs.

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!

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Madeira Beach Florida Sunset Beach Portraits with Paula & Family

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All smiles for this family on Madeira Beach during their sunset portrait session in Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 @ 1/2 powerIt had been awhile since I had a sunset family beach portrait session on Madeira Beach, so it was good to meet Paula and family there recently, although once facing the Gulf of Mexico, pretty much every beach on the Pinellas peninsula looks the same!  The family-in-a-row was a new style photograph for me.  I am always looking for new ways to photograph families on the beach and adding as much variety to a family's set of shots as possible.  I like this in-a-row composition and will definitely be adding it to my already existing set of shots.

Sisters all stacked up on Madeira Beach during a fun family beach portraits session - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 200 1/640th - natural lightAll three sisters stacked themselves up and were bookended by their parents.  I encourage families to physically interact as much as possible to add a natural and fun look to shots.  The more you come into physical contact, the better the results is typically how it goes.  Just standing stiffly side-by-side is something I try to avoid at all costs.

Family togetherness on Madeira Beach in Florida during a sunset portrait session - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 200 1/500th - natural lightI wonder if in 20 years these sisters will remember what they were laughing about in this moment.  I hope they can.  That is the potential power of a still photograph.

A beautiful sunset on Madeira Beach Florida for family portraits - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/200th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 @ 1/2 powerFor me personally (and as a photographer), I prefer there to be some clouds along the horizon and in the sky in general for sunset portraits.

Sisters jumping on Madeira Beach during a family beach sunset portrait session in Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/7.1 ISO 200 1/200th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 @ 1/2 powerI think these three sisters jumped the highest I have ever seen for a jumping photograph of this nature.  Madeira Beach and mother nature provided a very nice backdrop for this family beach sunset portrait session.

Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida Winter Family Beach Portraits

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Watching the sunset on Treasure Island family beach portraits - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/200th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 left & rightVisiting Florida from South Dakota, Sarah and family had to brave an unusually chilly and windy evening on Sunset Beach Treasure Island for our candid family beach portrait session.  At least Mother Nature provided clear skies and a bright sunset for a background.  

Mother & daughter test the waters at Sunset Beach on Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 200 1/400th natural lightEveryone was pretty tough and still put on a smile, except for the youngest who was not impressed at all by the beauty of the beach!  She was crying the whole time, but in mom's arms tried out the water.  When she's older I wonder what she will think of these photos?

Bright sunset on Treasure Island family beach portraits in Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/200th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 left & rightThe family chose color over the usual white and blue jeans.  I think it was a great choice and I will suggest such attire to future clients.  I think colorful clothing pulls the color out of the sky even more.

Not a happy baby at Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida portraits - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 200 1/320th - natural lightOne smile out of two is not bad!  As you can see the wind was blowing pretty strong from the west.  

The kids out of the picture for a little romance time on Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida portraits - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/10 ISO 200 1/160th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 left & rightA little break for romance letting the kids play on the sand behind camera for Sarah and Matt to have the frame to themselves.  

Tampa Portrait Photography Mother & Baby Son in black & white University of Tampa

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Mother holding her young son up in the air at University of Tampa - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 400 1/250thThese are a pair of black & white images from my first ever paid portrait session in Florida.  Somehow I had never written about them before.  These mother and baby son portraits were made on the University of Tampa campus.  I learned a lot from this portrait session, especially to not rely on the Nikon Creative Lighting System's commander mode for triggering speedlights!  I soon switched to using dedicated radio triggers.

Mother holding her baby son - Tampa Portrait Photographer - Nikon D300 Nikkor 105mm VR micro @ f/8 ISO 200 1/125thI chose the above photo out of several others of similar composition because in this one the baby boy is grabbing his mother's necklace producing a natural smile in mom and a natural act that I believe all babies do.