I’ve been all around town to do these photos. I did a family photo session this past weekend at Cypress Grove Park. Before that, I had a couples portrait session in Winter Garden along the West Orange Trail.

I also did several portrait sessions this year at Walt Disney World. I had two different family portrait sessions at Disney’s Boardwalk resort. I also did a portrait session at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The Osborne Spectacle of Lights made for an amazing backdrop for some great images!

I also had a home portrait session with my two dogs. Every year, our Christmas cards feature them, and it’s an annual challenge to top the previous year’s card. (I’ll be posting those pictures later).

I’ve attached a collage of some of my recent photos. I hope you enjoy them!

The previous post showed the start of our portrait session. Molli and Logan recreated a photography session from the 1940s, complete with bright colors, red lips and perfect hair.

We stayed at Rollins College in Winter Park for the second portion of the session. Molli let her hair down, and they both changed in to clothes a lot more common for a portrait session of a couple today.

We revisited a lot of the same locations around Knowles Chapel in Winter Park. We also headed to the old oak tree outside of Rollins Hall. I can’t imagine how old (or heavy) this tree is with two steel beams holding up its’ biggest branches.

We concluded our portrait session the following morning at Cocoa Beach. We met at the Cocoa Beach pier just after sunrise for a swimsuit portrait session. This is also around the same time that Cocoa Beach experienced a huge influx of jellyfish along the coastline. So, needless to say, the photo session was a bit of a challenge, especially because the coast guard was recommending against going in to the water. That still didn’t prevent us from an hour long shoot along the shoreline.

It ended up being like three different photo sessions over two days. We all had a great time during the photo session and Molli and Logan ended up with hundreds of pictures out of it.

Please let me know if you’d be interested in doing a premiere engagement photography session. I have a lot more great ideas and I’m open to yours as well!

You can also see the first half of this portrait session by clicking here: Molli and Logan – A Couples Portrait Session – Winter Park – Part 1

I recently did a premiere couples portrait session with Molli and Logan. The couple met several years ago at the Ohio State University, where they were both attended, and have subsequently graduated from. Molli is currently a graduate student at University of Central Florida in Orlando. While Logan moved out west after graduating from Ohio State.

We chose to do the first part of the portrait session at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. Rollins College is the oldest university in Florida, founded in 1885. After checking out the grounds of the university, I know that the portrait session had to take advantage of the amazing architecture at the school.

The couple looked AMAZING in the 1940s style outfits that they wore. Molli, in her red dress, looked as if she had just popped out of a 1943 Coca Cola advertisement. Logan was a natural in front of the camera. The chemistry between these two was fantastic.

We took a lot of the photos around the grounds of the gorgeous Knowles Memorial Chapel. Built in 1932, Knowles Chapel is a beautiful piece of architecture and the grounds around the outsider were gorgeous. I have since put Knowles Chapel on my wish list for wedding ceremony locations that I want to shoot at.

There were so many great pictures over the course of their photo session that I’m going to be breaking up the pictures into three parts. I decided to play around these first photos as well, making them look a little more faded, giving them a classic feel.

I hope that you enjoy these images!

You can also see the second half of this portrait session by clicking here: Molli and Logan – A Couples Portrait Session – Winter Park – Part 2

This was my first time doing a high school senior photoshoot and it turned out to be a lot of fun! In a lot of ways, photographing a male senior is a lot like capturing photos of a groom…. Make them look cool and confident at the same time.

I chose to do the photoshoot at Troy’s school. Gateway High School in Kissimmee, Florida, offered a lot of possibilities for great photo backdrops. I visited the school beforehand to scope out the scenery and familiarize myself with the perspective photo locations. Visiting a location beforehand is very important, even if I’ve taken photos there in the past, and it is something I do before every wedding.

I also thought back to my senior pictures. All I remember from back then was you’d go to a photo studio in front of a brown or grey backdrop. The photographer would then instruct you to contort your neck in a way that you didn’t think was possible. Thankfully, photography has changed a lot over the past few years.

Troy was great to work with and I captured a lot of images in a short amount of time. By taking the photos at at his school, a place where Troy felt comfortable, it added to the look I was trying to achieve.

His mom was very happy with the pictures and even commented that the photos made him look like an ad out of GQ magazine!

I’d definitely be up for doing senior portraits again! It was a fantastic way to hone my craft and I can’t wait to use some of these techniques in my wedding work!

Liana Lehman Hall, a wedding and portrait photographer, out of Atlanta, Georgia was the host for the event. After a brief presentation, Liana introduced each of the many fantastic presenters.

Doug Gordon, a wedding photographer from New York, was the first speaker. Impressively, he was able to get the crowd of over 200 up on their feet dancing to Y-M-C-A at 8:30 in the morning. His presentation was half motivational / half posing, and jam packed with great humor and energy. There were two model participants who were on hand as Doug worked through his posing work-flow.

Following Doug was Bruce Dorn, a Canon explorer of light (essentially a legend in the industry as selected by Canon). His presentation was on HD Video Capture using the DSLR camera. Even though I have the capabilities of shooting video, it’s something I have only dabbled with. He showed some fabulous examples of how he has embraced the video capabilities of today’s cameras to create amazing portrait sessions, particularly with high school seniors.

One thing WPPI was great at, was feeding us. Between each break there was another assortment of food. And, lunch was no exception. Personally, my favorites were the soft pretzels they had. Those went quick!

After lunch, Amber Holritz, a lifestyle baby photographer from Chattanooga, Tennessee did a presentation on the philosophy and practice of lifestyle baby photography. She told many fantastic stories from over her years, and explained lifestyle photography in more detail. I think in the coming years, lifestyle photography as it applied to children will grow tremendously, similar to how photojournalism changed wedding photography. Although a picture of a baby in a funny hat next to some fake props in a studio are very “cute”. These pictures can become very generic and don’t reflect who we are. Almost all of her photographs are taken at the baby’s home, in areas where the family gathers.

Following Amber was Garrett Nudd, a wedding and portrait photographer based out of Chattanooga. Garrett started out as an Orlando wedding photographer, and still has some roots to the city. His presentation was more on the business side of wedding and portrait photography with many inspirational messages mixed in. We were also fortunate that he brought with him Rebecca Grinnals, founder of Disney’s Fairy Tale weddings, and founder and owner of Engaging Concepts, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in the wedding industry. Some of her clients include Disney, Sandals, Harley-Davidson, Graceland, and the Kessler Collection. She spoke about the state of the wedding industry and particularly how it pertains to wedding photographers. She discussed a lot of statistics. But, one that stood out to me was, that on average, 43 different businesses are involved in every wedding (bakeries, florists, caterers, planners, etc.). And who says that planning a wedding isn’t stressful?

The final presenter of the day was Bambi Cantrell. She is a wedding and portrait photographer from San Francisco. She is one of the top 10 wedding photographers in the world, and has been for some time. She’s known for creating the most beautiful portraits of brides. Having the opportunity to see her present was the highlight of the day. Even though her presentation was on boudoir photography, many of the posing and lighting techniques translate directly to wedding photography. My only complaint about the day was that Bambi’s presentation started 50 minutes late, and thus, she was rushed for time, and wasn’t able to do her full presentation.

I’ve attached a collage of some of my quick takes from the day (Top Left: Bruce Dorn; Bottom Left: Bambi Cantrell; Center: Doug Gordon; Top Right: Garrett Nudd; Bottom Right: Rebecca Grinnals)

I have been approved as a participant photographer of Operation: Love Reunited! This fantastic non-profit organization consisting of professional photographers offers our military service men and women FREE special photo sessions with their families. These sessions intend to serve as great remembrances while our military are deployed overseas.

If you or your loved one is about to be deployed or will be returning soon, as an OpLove photographer, I would like to offer to you a family photography session along with an album of prints and CD of images from that day.

It is my honor to offer this service free of charge to those that fight every day to give me my freedom.

If you are interested in a portrait session, please contact me or visit Operation Love ReUnited for more information.

I attended the Lightroom for Wedding Photographers class first thing in the morning and it was definitely time well spent.  It was taught by David Ziser, who also taught the Wedding Photography Workshop on Tuesday.  Not only did he demonstrate some special techniques, he also shared insight into his processes and workflow.

Seeing the Light

The second session of the day was hosted by Jack Reznicki, a commercial photographer out of New York. He spent a great deal of time going through images he has taken explaining how light can affect your images.

Exploring Elements of Digital Photographic Portraits

Helene Glassman taught a class on the basics of digital photographic portraits.  Having done this for some time, I did find that this class was a bit too basic for my taste.  But, it would be great for a beginner.  It covered basic posing techniques using in-class demonstrations.  She also grabbed volunteers from the crowd to assemble for an impromptu group shoot.

Life on Location: Survival Tips for Photographers

This class, hosted by Joe McNally was very similar to his books, Hot Shoe Diaries and From the Moment it Clicks.  Joe would show a photo and then tell how the picture was taken. We heard stories of Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson’s dad standing in a corn field in case she fell from the balance beam held 9 feet in the air.  Stories of travelling to Canada to take pictures of Phan Thi Kim Phuc, with her son, 30 years after the Vietnam Napalm picture made headlines.  If a picture is worth a thousand words, these were just some of those words.  A very great story time with someone who has seen the world.

Bringing Out the Big Guns

This session showed what power a collection of high-end studio strobes can provide. There was a martial artist present who served as a model.  And the instructor, Joe McNally, was able to freeze him in mid air, perfectly lit by the collection of Elinchrom strobes.  If nothing else, it was great seeing just how fast Joe could be on his feet and how close he worked with his assistant in getting everything put together for the ultimate shot.

Stuff You Need to Know to Be a Photographer

With a class title like this, I had to at least check it out.  Not knowing what this class was all about, I just sat back and observed.  I was completely blown away.  Zack Arias spent an hour going through the basics of what is required to be a photographer.  Photography isn’t about F-Stops and what lenses to buy.  It’s about connecting with the moment… Knowing your gear so well, that it’s not part of your thought process when you go to capture that moment.  Photography isn’t about glitzy sales pitches, GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome), high SEO, or marketing.  It’s about people.  It’s about life.

By far, this was the best class I attended, and if you ever get a chance to see Zack in action, do it.

The Art of Digital Photography

By the time the final presentation of the day started, my mind was full of the great knowledge I had learned, inspired by the presentation I had just attended, and drained from such a long day.

On stage were seven fantastic artists.  I call them artists, because they weren’t all conventional photographers.  They each took turn showing off their work.  Each photographer / graphic artist was unique, but what they all had in common is that they are all the pinnacle of their craft.

Below is an image of Wildlife and Nature Photographer, Moose Peterson and Street Photographer, Jay Maisel, during the presentation.

Below is an image of Joe McNally, seated with Julianne Kost, Jim DiVitale, and Moose Peterson.  He is illuminated only by the glow of his artwork off of his monitor.  And the smile on his face shows how proud he is of the images that he is showing.

Jacksonville Beach