Victoria visited the JCP Home Studio for a Covid-19 safeheadshot photoshoot. As business in Albuquerque opens back up, here at Jason Collin Photography, our goal is to provide safe headshot sessions for clients with the same great results as before the pandemic. Victoria’s photoshoot was the fourth one we have had here at the JCP Home Studio since business has started to resume. This will just be the first of several photoshoots with Victoria as well, as she was a good variety of photos to use going forward in 2020 starting with a headshot. We will have shoots out on location for making photos with a unique background, like this. Also, like many of my clients, Victoria said having her photo taken was worse than going to the dentist, but, by the end of the photoshoot, I got her to at least admit the dentist is in fact worse! I have worked with many clients who are less than thrilled to be in front of the camera, but always end up surprising them with how good they look in the final photos! And a big thank you to Miriam of More Than Organized for referring Victoria to me.
Drone photography delivers the Albuquerque image wow factor
Needing a signature look of Albuquerque for their client, WSI Web Enhancers asked me what I think that would be. They sent me a few samples from other cities, and most of those included water. Well, the only water around Albuquerque is the Rio Grande River, so I knew I needed to incorporate that in the 360 panorama drone photo I was to make for them. That same evening there was a spectacular sunset in the making, so I took my drone to an area near the river and put it into position to capture the Rio and the Albuquerque city skyline plus the Sandia Mountains as the background. You can see the results for yourself above. Both WSI and their client were very, very happy with the final 360 drone product!
Almost exactly two years later, I returned to Quarai Mission Ruins for a second visit (see first visit photos), this time as part of a drive with the BMW Car Club of America, New Mexico Chapter. I actually did not know for sure we would be stopping at these ruins, so it was a nice surprise for me to see them again. A lot has changed in two years, as I did not have the car i drove their in then, and I was still shooting with a DSLR camera, not the most advanced Sony mirrorless camera there is. One thing that did not change, though, was Quarai itself. Still not a single cloud in the sky there to enhance my photos, so I used the sun to create lens flares to add drama to the tall stone walls of the mission. Have you been to Quarai? Let me know in the comments below.
Professional headshots for every team member as needed
Earlier this year I went to the accounting firm of Loftis & Lovato Group to make headshots of the entire team. Well, since then they have added a new team member. For her headshot she came here to the JCP Home Studio, as I make the same high quality headshots in studio or at clients’ locations. Thank you to Alex of L&L for continuing to choose me as your accounting firm’s headshot photographer. And thank you Andrea for being a natural in front of the camera, it only took 3 shots to get her headshot!
New Mexico is a desert state, but mostly high desert, not like the sandy dunes most thought of when picturing a desert. Mescalero Sands North Dune, however, outside of Roswell, New Mexico, is a more traditional sand dune desert, surrounded by an ocean of hearty desert flora. As you can see from the many tire tracks in the photos below, these sand dunes are an all terrain vehicle playground. Even for a person on foot, this desert is a special place to explore and experience. I sent the drone up for a 360 panorama photo as well as video and aerial photos, and had my Sony a7R IV with me for still photos as my shoes filled with sand making my way over the dunes.
Using shallow depth of field and setting your focus point
Since I started Jason Collin Photography back in 2009, I have taught hundreds of people of all levels 1-on-1 photography lessons. In the course of that teaching I repeated some favorite photography advice. Here is one of them:
“Show me something I cannot see by just standing there.”
Another one is:
“A photographer can make something out of nothing.”
In the example photos in this blog post I had my Sigma 50mm f/1.4 ART lens on my Sony a7 III full frame mirrorless camera. This lens is my favorite lens for making something out of nothing because the large f/1.4 aperture means I can easily create very shallow DoF (depth of field). Making a photo with a very shallow DoF is one of the easiest ways to make something out of nothing.
Back out on another commercial drone photography shoot for WSP in Albuquerque, New Mexico, this time getting aerial drone photos of all four pedestrian bridges that cross Tramway Blvd at the foot of the Sandia Mountains. This is the second time (see Rio Bravo Blvd Bridge) I have photographed bridges to help WSP get contracts. I have also made headshots of their entire team too! Here at Jason Collin Photography, we really, really appreciate our repeat clients. There is not better compliment than for a client to choose us again!
