Archive for Photography
More Fairy Fun
I am having a lot of fun with my fairy photos and my fairytale storybook classics.
Last year was rough for me, emotionally. It’s nice to be bringing some of the magic and wonder back into my world. It’s also nice to remember, and be reminded by those who love and appreciate me, that I have something to offer.
Here is another image of Kyle. I did her senior portraits. You need only look a few blog posts back to see a few of them. I also have used a couple of photos from that session to turn into fairy portraits.
I hope to have a very busy little studio this year. Call me.
Fairytale Fun
I would like to recreate some of the magic of classic fairytales with my photography. I had Ariel in my studio recently posing as Sleeping Beauty. I am waiting on another model this afternoon – who I have to take photos of to collage and layer into the Sleeping Beauty photos, but I wanted to just play with one of the images from Ariel’s session.
I am planning on making prints and posters with the character’s name in beautiful lettering. Postcards, stationary and other items as well. Maybe a book of all of them together. I have often thought of doing my own version of the classic tales and including photos for the illustrations of the story.
Anyway, I did very little to this image – the model is lovely and her dress was well suited to the character. She and her sister designed and made the dress, which is amazing in itself!
I hope to download a number of more elaborate fonts that have a bit more flourish. I don’t always like fancy fonts, but I think some fancy fonts for this is important. Something castle-ee. Something princess-ee.
I have several other characters in mind that I would like to shoot as soon as possible. I’d like to have some of this stuff ready for the fairy festival if I jury in.
Change is Good
I can report to you, my friends, that I am having a happy day. Those were harder to come by during all of my turmoil months back in trying to figure things out, but as with any real change and growth there is some fire, some shaking, some opening of the earth. But at some point, that all settles back down and cools and we are left with a new landscape. It’s different than the old one, but that’s not all bad and even exciting sometimes as you have new places to explore.
I wanted to share with you some of the photos from a recent “Senior Portraits” shoot I did in my little home studio. The model is named Kyle, and she is a senior at McDonough High School. She has long loved old movies, so some of her more personality-driven photos included that theme.
I am working on a page with price schedules for portraits, headshots and fantasy collages, like the one at the bottom, I made from Kyle’s shoot. That page will have all of the pricing and scheduling information on it. I will post a link to it as soon as it’s done. Thanks so much for looking at my photos!
Fantasy Photos and Ethereal Portraits
I am going to be applying for several festivals next year. I’ll let you know which ones I make it in to. For the faerie festivals (Maryland and Pennsylvania) I am working out a way to set up my booth to take photos on-the-spot to then collage as a fantasy portrait. If you always wanted to be a faerie, this is a way to do it and a great way to display your otherkin side.
I also enjoy doing simple portraits that have a bit of a dreamy feel to them. This also lends itself to boudoir photography, which I will also be offering.
I would like to try to get into Unique Boutique. I don’t know if they have room and I’d still have to be juried in and I’d have to decide which medium I want to submit for – 3-d or paintings.
I also may do River Artsfest this year, which is non-juried.
Of course if Artomatic is around I will be doing Body Politics there.
Anyway, I was thinking of offering these both as a service and for some of my photos, offering them as prints and card, etc.
I am working on a webpage devoted to my photography and will list prices and scheduling availability there.
Portraits and Headshots
I have been gearing up with the studio to prepare for all sorts of fun and business. I recently had the pleasure of shooting portraits of my mentor, Tammy Vitale.
She has been a huge encouragement to me. I have found over and over that I really enjoy shooting in the studio and trying to bring out the best in somebody. To capture their essence in a way that they are proud to display. It makes me way down happy when a client is overjoyed at the images.
Studio News
The new fence is in and the gate is up. I know it seems silly but I love my new door. Sometimes it isn’t a matter of a door being fancy, it’s about getting rid of the old ugly door!
Below is the OLD door. Very 1970s in a *bad* way. Installed poorly and a badly added doggy door. The thing was a wreck. I hated the sight of it. It would unsettle my delicate visual sensibilities. But no longer!
Below is the NEW shiney door. I believe it will look smashing with a lovely sign, don’t you? And a new light fixture as well.
These small improvements to my photo studio will make the place much more weatherized and pleasant to look at too.
Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin’
Hello beautiful people. I have been neck-deep in personal emotional trauma for most of this year and am trying hard to step away from that wreckage. I’ve got some real bumps and bruises on my soul, but I’m still kickin’ and I’m here to tell you that I am ready to roll.
Will and I have been working on getting the photo studio in ship-shape. It will yield more shooting space when we are done and better weather-proofing. The studio is a two-car detached garage, so it can get darn hot and cold in there, depending on the time of year. We are working hard to make the space functional and comfortable. After all, we want you goddesses who come by to get your photos done to feel beautiful and decadent – which is difficult to do when your tootsies are freezing.
I am also venturing into the world of headshots and portraits again. I have had a few people approach me about doing senior portraits for their kids, which I love the idea of doing. I am also going to start offering packages for my fantasy portraits as well. Come on, you know you always wanted to be a fairy! And ladies, finally I will be offering boudoir photography. It’s something I have contemplated for a long time and I think I’m ready to throw my hat into that arena. I have had some ladies tell me that they would love to do something like that. Well, I love the idea and I’m pushing ahead with it.
I expect the studio to be fully functioning by January. You can look for updates and package information here. I will let you know how my studio is changing and I will also add some video logs – which I’ve begun doing on my Weighting for You blog.
I’m very excited about all of this, if you can’t tell and I need the positive energy to push me into emotional recovery.
I’m hoping also to add some portrait galleries to this site today so you can see some of the work I’ve already done in that regard. However, you can click on galleries on the menu and see my fairy portraits.
Have a beautiful day.
More Fairy Photo Play
I was tinkering with Photoshop again this week. I am finding that some of the work comes out very much like I managed to catch a photo of a fairy from a dream. Other images come across more like portraits that have been msytical-fairy-ized. I don’t dislike the portrait ones – in fact I rather like them as something that would make a great keepsake. However, my ultimate goal is to have photos that look like I was on safari in a magickal land, thick with a veil of the faerie realm and I happened upon creatures and caught their photos. Or that they even were curious, angry or posed. I will keep working the medium until I get what I want. The image of Jackie reaching up towards the camera is very much along the lines of what I am looking for. I like some of the color combination in my experiments as well. I think the subject will have to direct what I end up with in regards to color.
Here are the two images I worked on this week – click to enlarge.
This is another of Jackie. I think it looks sort of “Stevie Nicks.” I like the muted tones and the mystical quality. It very much has a portrait look, unlike the other image of her reaching up, where she looks very much like a fairy I found.
Again, tinkering with color. Christiana’s hair is really a lovely light brownish/blond color. I layered images of koi and water plants. It still looks a bit like a portrait, but if I do say so, a good one. I think that perhaps more staging with a specific composition in mind might help. I still have many photos of Jackie and Christiana to play with, so I will keep trying out my techniques and hopefully hone the skills I need to get exactly what I am looking for.
Yay, more faeries!
*UPDATE*
Facebook removed my Christiania Fairy. I have considered doing a slightly different version of it – with some flowers or something showing over some of the upper torso. I don’t know. We’ll see.
***
One of my favorite and most adventerous art models, Christiana, is now a fairy too. I have many more photos of her I can’t wait to turn into fairy photos. This particular photo isn’t quite done, but I’m not 100% sure what is left that I want to do to her. I think maybe I’ll do a version where her skin is more translucent and you can see plants through it. Or perhaps add some flowers – or lights – to her hair. I will do it when I know what it is I want to do.
In the meantime, here is today’s creation:
Photographer Under Construction
This is a photo Jade took of us together on our way to the Harry Potter celebration in Silver Spring. That evening didn’t go so well as I mentioned before.
She really inspires my creativity sometimes. I love taking photos of her and her sometimes wacky clothes. I have several photos from Baltimore I like when she was younger.
Sunday I took one of her outside The Palace of Wonders in DC.
I really like the way cities photograph – so full of texture and patina.
I have already declared we’re going back to H Street soon just to have a photo shoot day.
I love taking photos. Also, despite thousands of photos I’ve taken, altered, printed, used for layering and in art projects and despite the fact I have done photography professionally – I still have a lot of classic educational stuff to learn about cameras. So, I’ve made it my mission to learn more of the technical aspects of photography each time I go around shooting.
An admirer from Belgium