M.e. Photography

Light Fashion and Film Noir

2010-02-10T07:39:00.000-08:00

I had an idea for doing some fashion type shots were instead of makeup creating patters on the model, it was done with light. As usual, my guinea pig for crazy lighting ideas was Michelle. I liked this shot because it came out more film noir looking than I thought it would. I am thinking about creating a more dynamic scene next time that might tell a story using the film noir style.

To create this shot, I used one lumopro lp120 flash with a snoot. I flagged the end to only allow an ellipse of light. The paper I used to flag the snoot also created some fill slightly revealing the details in the face.

This one is more along the lines of my fashion idea. Instead of having a colored scar of makeup down the models face, I used light. This is her angry face. I used the same technique as the above shot for the scar of light, though a tighter flag was used. Then I light from camera left with a bare vivitar 2800-d.

M.e. Photography Wedding Packages

2010-01-25T18:21:00.000-08:00

M.e. Photography has 3 wedding packages available:

The Cinderella Package
-Full event coverage: beginning with getting ready, hair and makeup, the ceremony, formal photos of the wedding party and family (second location available, time and weather permitting), and the reception through the first hour of dancing.
-2 photographers
-Internet proofing and ordering with basic color correction
-$300 deposit fee due 2 month before wedding
-$900 due by day of the wedding
-Package includes complementary 8x8 20 page Photo Book of fully edited images for bride and groom

The Belle Package
-Event coverage: The ceremony, formal photos of the wedding party and family (second location available, time and weather permitting), through first dance of reception.
-2 photographers
-Internet proofing and ordering with basic color correction
-$300 deposit fee due 2 month before wedding
-$700 due by day of the wedding

The Snow White Package
-Event coverage: The ceremony, formal photos of the wedding party and family (second location available, time and weather permitting)
-2 photographers
-Internet proofing and ordering with basic color correction
-$300 deposit fee due 2 month before wedding
-$500 due by day of the wedding

*Formal portrait station available at reception for an additional fee
*comprehensive photo editing on individual photos is available for an additional fee

Elohim Photoshoot

2010-01-25T16:24:00.000-08:00

I really like the look of this first shot. The background was actually some chroma key green screen. It was thick and instead of wrinkling like regular fabrics, it sort of bent into this really organic wavy texture. It looked great in black and white, not quite as nice in bright green.

I threw up a dark brown background for this next shot. Her hair seemed to fade into the background so I set up a light on the left side to light her hair. This separated her from the background enough and added some drama to the shot.

Though I am a big fan of black and white photography, not everyone is. So, here is one in color. Michelle says this one looks waaayyy too much like her senior portraits from back in high school.

This shot was taken before I figured out their lights could be turned down. I had my aperture up to somewhere around f/11, I think. Much higher than I would like. My depth of field got the backgound in focus as well as the subject, which I found unflattering. Once I got the lights turned down, I could use a larger aperture and get the background out of the depth of field. Out of the shots with my aperture cranked up to 11, I prefer the pose in this one.

Chicago's most lovable pet contest

2010-01-19T06:29:00.000-08:00

Michelle and I are entering Buster, her bunny, into a "most lovable pet" contest through wlit.com, the lite, a radio station. Voting should start this afternoon. We came up with this shot as our entry. I hope you will vote for him!

From Strobist

Thanks to all of you who voted for The Buster, but he did not make it to the final round of voting. Sadly, 4 lame looking dogs did; 3 of which almost look like the same shot.

Niamh's Family Portraits

2010-01-03T17:07:00.000-08:00

We braved a layer of ice to drive up to Niamh's new house for some family portraits. It was cold and snowing and raining and maybe some other stuff too. But inside, it was warm and the family was ready for some pictures. We did some fun shots during the session, including a "robot" shot.

All the kids layed on the nice wood floors for this pinwheel shot. I once again, braved the heights of a ladder. With my head between the blades of a ceiling fan, and my hands with camera outstretched, I got the shot.

see the proofs and the final shots here

Niamh Family Pictures

Print Pricing

2009-12-24T12:47:00.000-08:00

Slideshow

2009-12-22T10:52:00.000-08:00

Stephanie and Mark's Wedding

2009-12-22T07:44:00.000-08:00

With a bucket of products strewn about the table, the bride, not yet in the gown, gets her makeup applied. Its wedding time! I teamed up with Sean McCabe over at http://www.seanmccabedesign.com/main.html to shoot this fun couple's wedding. We got there early and had plenty of time to fiddle around with our gear and get some unique and interesting shots.

After the makeup, the bridesmaids help the bride into the dress.

The bride's father looks on at his daughter in the gown.

The father and groom shake hands for a photo outside just before the wedding.

The wedding party after the ceremony.

Dancing at the reception.

See more of the wedding here

Weddings

Kruszka Family Portraits

2009-12-22T07:33:00.000-08:00

We drove up to Wisconsin for some family photos with the Kruszkas. The pictures were a surprise for their mom for Christmas. To get everyone in the shot, we moved outside and I moved onto a wobbly ladder.

Indoors, we set up a nice tan background for more formal shots.

Both brothers and sister together. Mom is sure to like this one.

Ally Senior Portraits

2009-12-22T07:26:00.000-08:00

We met Ally over at her high school to take some scenic senior portraits. We walked all around the school looking for nice locations. This bell behind the school is on top of the hill overlooking the football fields.

There are some really nice gardens in the back as well. We did a few sitting in the garden in a nice dress.

To took the umbrella off one of the flashes and set it up behind her. The light coming from behind better defines the subject and adds a dramatic difference in light ratios. Nothing says school like the brick and windows in the background.

The Kohouts Family Portraits

2009-12-22T07:19:00.000-08:00

The Kohouts had their family pictures taken in their favorite local park. I took them into the woods for the shot above. The light coming through the trees made for a nice background. I had the ambient exposed at about -1.5ev and brought them back up using the strobes and shoot through umbrellas.

Then we moved to a brighter location. The whole family sat on the side of the bridge. Then we took some smaller group shots.

David and Ashley Engagement Portraits

2009-12-21T10:59:00.000-08:00

We met David and Ashley at the Katherine Legge Lodge for a stunning engagement shoot.

One of their favorite photos was both of them upside down, hanging off a couch. We "updated" the photo by having them hang off a stone wall.

See more of Ashley and David's shots here

Random portraits of Michelle

2009-12-21T10:45:00.000-08:00

This is just a set of photos of Michelle.

This was shot with a pretty basic clamshell setup. I had a Vivitar 2800-d on full power about 2 feet in front and 1 foot above her into a white shoot through umbrella. She held some white poster board below as a reflector. For the background, I had a Lumopro lp120 on 1/2 power hitting the white wall behind her.

This shot was taken just after a storm. It was suprisingly cold outside. The sun was getting low and the light was great. The wheat was blowing in the wind pretty strongly. This shot took home first place in the Digital-photography-school.com headshot contest

We took these two photo after walking around the Rockford Japanese garden for the day. I love the matching color of the coat, lips and foliage in the first shot. There was some bright white gravel on the ground below us that acted as a reflector. There were a few other nice shots taken that day.

Ria Senior Portraits

2009-12-21T09:02:00.000-08:00

Ria isn't your typical senior and we didn't want to give her typical senior portraits. We went out to Indiana to an abandoned factory for some unique shots.

The rain came down just as we got there. It really added a nice touch to the background of some of the shots.

After the rain, we went inside for some more formal shots. This was our first attempt into artificial lighting. We used some hot lights clamped to microphone stands.

Matt and Katie

2009-12-21T08:58:00.000-08:00

We took newlyweds Matt and Katie to Cantigny Park for some fun autumn portraits.

We had play in the leaves just a little bit.

Brad and Amanda Family Portraits

2009-12-21T08:52:00.000-08:00

We met Brad, Amanda, Philip and Maddie at a local park for some family pictures. Using all natural light, we captured some pretty special images.

We're happy to report that Brad and Amanda are now engaged.

Tracy and Larry

2009-12-21T08:44:00.000-08:00

We met Tracy and Larry for some fun pictures in a local park. This was one of our first shoots. We used all natural light.

We found a picnic table at the edge of the lake to sit at for a few nice photos.

The shade of this large tree was a nice break from the heat.

After all the work, we decided to have a little fun.

First Post

2009-12-21T07:54:00.001-08:00

This is the first post in M.e. Photography's new blog. We are changing formats to this new, easier to use site. We will be able to update our clients more quickly, get preview images out in a more pleasing format and hopefully gain a few more fans. Watch this site for more updates in the future. We will try to backup our old update posts here as well.