An Editorial Portrait Session in NorCal

Emily is a fierce human being. She is wrapped in a gentle, loving shell but has such a rich, passionate spirit that will knock you off your feet. I love that I was able to capture these two aspects of her during this session!

Natural Light Portrait Session

This shoot killllsss me with all the glorious light!! It actually took place in my home- the front sun room- where I could sit for hours on end, basking in the glorious light. Then we ventured down the road a bit to the Japanese Gardens in Merrifield Park. If you like clean, airy, and creative portraits.. keep scrolling. 

An Editorial Model Session in Indy

I met with my gorgeous model, Claire, at an incredible Airbnb in Indianapolis last week (link here). I had a vision in my mind for a few shots but wanted to just see what happened once we arrived. I have to say, the results are some of my favorites... ever. I thrifted both the red pants and orange top at Goodwill, ya'll. Im starting to collect items for my models that fit with the visions that I have. And if any of you are in need of a place to stay while in Indy, please check this airbnb out. It is the best one I have ever stayed at!

3 Ways to Make Your Images Stand Out

So, its not difficult to see that photography is a business that operates off of 1st impressions. A potential client clicks on your website, Instagram, Facebook, whatever it may be, and you can either pull them in or turn them away in the matter of seconds. The question is, "How do you make sure to pull them in?" Yes its true, everyone has a different taste as far as what they want from a photograph, but if a client clicks on your site for a reason, we want them to stay for a while!

There are a few tips that I learned along the way on how to make your photographs stand out & to make your viewers want to see more.

And what kind of person would I be if I withheld those from you? Not the nicest one.. and I actually am quite nice. So, lets begin!

1) Find your style & stick to it!

       This goes for the aesthetics of your website as well as just the consistency of your work. Put yourself in your clients shoes. If you LOVED one image from an artist because of its crisp, beautiful colors, but then saw other images of theirs that were gritty and dulled down, you would probably be afraid of what photos they would send you, right? There is the overused saying of "consistency is key". But it is so true. Your trademark is your editing style. People will come to you because they love that style! You may not know what style you want that to be from the beginning, in may take some time to discover one that feels like YOU. But once you do, it will be so rewarding, and people will begin to recognize your work just from your edits! Personally, I have adapted my work to have vivid colors and candid captures... Thats just what I LOVE and it helps so much knowing what my style is, coming into a shoot and being able to picture what the final edit is going to look like, even while it is still on my camera.

2) Work that angle, girl! (And guys)

  I challenge you- take one photo at eye level and then take that same photo either 3 feet higher or 3 feet lower.. check out the difference! This technique can change ordinary into "editorial". One of my favorite things to do within my work is to see how much I can manipulate (in a good way) my models body just by using unique angles. Take this image to the left, for example, Imagine if I was standing up normally and captured it.. this photo wouldn't have NEARLY as much "UMPH" to it! Get down REAL low and it suddenly feels like you are about to be stepped on. But even more than that.. it is UNIQUE! It will catch the eyes of your viewers and leave them wanting more. 

3) Shoot through shtuff

Lets be real, you don't even have to shoot THROUGH stuff.. just add in a little 'summin summin" to create an artistic flare to your photo. Try using a prism, a broken piece of glass (be careful), a curtain, or even just a solid object up close to your lens to create a  blur effect or even a rainbow (if you get the reflection right).  In this image to the right I found a piece of a broken bottle on the beach and brought it up close to my lens. Since the glass was curved, it created and awesome, blurred out warped effect! And it was free! (once circumstance where I thanked the person that littered). Don't feel like messing with glass?? Try a leaf, the edge of a building or even your cell phone. honestly, put pretty much anything up close to your lens and it adds in a new dimension. 

Every artist has their own vision, their own perspective, and their own way or portraying a story. Lets stay true to ourselves and let creativity take over. There are so many other ways to create photographs unique to YOU. Lets not get stuck in the rut of re-creating others work when we have so much at our fingertips to allow us to breath new life into the portrait world. I personally love when I capture an image and can say "I have NEVER seen a photo like this before!". Ya dig? Yeah ya do! Use these tricks and find your own, too! 

XxKelsey

Staying on My Toes as a Photographer

One of the best ways for me to feel "special" in the world of photography is when I push myself to continually create. There are SO many crazy talented photographers flooding my news feed and yours too. It could be so easy for me to go into "comparison mode". And sometimes I fall into that trap unwillingly. But every once in a while I get my own "AH-HA" moment and I can truly say "I haven't seen an image like this before". And 90% of the time that I say that, It is because I tried something out of my norm. I love my usual style of editing, and I am a firm believer that consistency is key. But every now and then I actually NEED a creative shoot to fuel me for the rest of my paid endeavors (specifically wedding season). These shoots are ones that I never forget. from these, I almost always produce work that I am stoked out of my mind about and reminded how much I realllllyyyy dig this creative pursuit of photography. 

Well folks, today I want to share one of those shoots with you. In the midst of the wedding season madness, I made it a priority to get out and shoot for funzie. I hit up a willing couple and we headed to Silver Beach in MI! In the following photographs you will see work that may be pretty dang different than what I normally produce. You will see a new technique that I have grown very fond of (even though it is incredibly hard) and you will see some harsh spotlights, and also some images that make you think you are watching an episode of Star Trek... maybe? Anyways, bring on the photos.. and feel free to comment below and tell me what you think or if you have any questions :)