Flight Attendant Foodie ~ A Creative, Fun Shoot

Meet Flight Attendant Foodie.  This client came to me for creative photographs for her new blog, Flight Attendant Foodie.  It wasn’t a typical head shot/visual branding shoot as she didn’t want her beautiful face in the images.  She, as is suggested by the title of her blog, is a flight attendant working for a large commercial airline.  Her blog cannot be affiliated with the airline in any way thus the reason for not wanting her face prominent in the photographs.

When working with people, I love to capture their essence and soul.   When doing so, this usually means photographing their faces and especially their eyes.  As that wasn’t an option, I had to get creative.  My goal was to create a feeling of someone who loves to travel, embraces new experiences, and day dreams about where to go next.  I had some props that were reflective of travel and the client brought a couple of props and some wardrobe changes.  We had a lot of fun with different poses, lighting, and using the props.  We began on a simple white paper backdrop using strobes (one with an umbrella, one with a diffuser, one with a honey comb attachment) and then moved to the “purple couch” and used natural light.   She is now using the photographs on her blog as well as her social media sites; Instagram and Facebook.

I always find it exciting exciting when clients call because they understand that good photographs help substantiate their websites/blogs.  It really is true that a picture is worth 1000 words.

Below are a few reasons companies, no matter the size,  should have pictures of their team(s) and professional photography on their websites:
1. Photographs of people who run a business encourage credibility.
2. Photographs of people who run a business give recognition to the human side of a business ~ the company becomes more real to the customer.
3. Quality photography of  products and services ~ even candids of employees conducting the offered services ~ demonstrates to customers that the company cares about quality, customer service, and satisfaction.
It is important to put a face to a brand for all of the above reasons.

At Robyn Graham Photography we work with you to grow your brand through custom, professional photography. The first quarter is a perfect time of year to think about sprucing up your website to help meet your yearly goals. To schedule a consultation or session call today.

Enjoy the photographs from the shoot with Flight Attendant Foodie! And, please share the post with anyone you know who might be re-evaluating their business website.

Flight Attendant Foodie

“When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.”

~ Jimi Hendrix

Black and White Thursday

Please visit Monochromia to see my Black and White Thursday image.  I think you’ll enjoy it, especially if you appreciate a shallow depth of field.  Be sure to let me know your thoughts and I promise to get a new blog post up here soon…I’ve been busy editing family portrait sessions and time has been limited – a good thing…really!

Black and White Thursday…..

You know that means!  Please find my post on Monochromia today!

The Joys of a Windows and Manual Exposure

Shot take while metering on the inside of the window.

Shot taken while metering on the outside of the window.

When I shoot and I know I may not be back to visit the subject any time soon I’ll take multiple shots.  The various shots will include different manual exposures, different focal points, and different angles.  I don’t bracket, I change my settings to achieve different effects.

For the images above I metered on the different light sources to achieve a totally different effect.  One has more contrast, the other is high key.  The top image shows only the interior of the window of the New York City Public Library while the second shows more of what is going on outside in the streets of NYC.

Which do you prefer?

 

Wander

ss 0.8  f 22 ISO 160 – long exposure to capture motion

When I first began posting on my photography blog almost five years ago someone wrote to me and said “just make sure you keep it fun so you don’t get burnt out or lose the joy”. Such wise words. As I moved from being strictly a fine art photographer and taking on portraiture clients, headshot clients and visual branding clients life began to have overwhelming moments. Not only because of the photography, but because life is so busy with three kids, a dog, a husband who travels and just in general. At times I get a little lost, and feel I’m in the dark. In addition I sometimes feel my creativity is hiding amongst the chaos and I am grasping for an anchor to ground me in my work again. During these times I question if my work is fresh and stimulating, I struggle with implementing my project ideas and prioritizing, and just feel overwhelmed. These are times of self-doubt and questioning and I have to work hard to convince myself that my work is my art and if I like it, I should present it, not hide it ~ that someone will like it. I tend to look to closely at, and analyze too much, the number of social media likes instead of finding peace in the fact that I was moved by my creation and my clients like what I create for them. 
The above image summarizes, in part, how I feel about my photography. The ~ Color ~ edit correlates to feeling overjoyed and in awe at how I see the world and capture life one image at a time.  The ~Black and White ~ edit of this image is posted on Monochromia and represents when the phantom of failure strikes and I am intimidated and unsure of the direction I am or should be going, wandering aimlessly. All of these feelings occurring while the world is aflame with passion and excitement around me.

Which image speaks more to you and your life right now, at this moment ~ The color edit or the black and white edit?  Do you wander?

I can’t wait to read your thoughts.

Gate of…

“Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness, of hatred, of jealousy, and, most easily of all, the gate of fear.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

A shot from the New York City Public Library ~ I loved how the light streamed in over the rustic gate and left it’s mark on the swirled marble.

Settings: SS 1/60 f5.6 ISO 2500

Equipment: Nikon D800 with a 50mm prime lens

A Corner in the New York City Public Library

Yesterday I had the great pleasure to wander around New York City with some amazing people: Leanne Cole, Stacy Fisher,  Robert Marsala, and Nicci Carrera.  One of our stops was the New York Public Library – wow!  If you have never been inside you need to add it to your bucket list.  The architecture is inspiring and the people watching…entertaining.   And if you are a lover of books…you’ll feel right at home.

SS 1/60 F 4.5 ISO 2500

Edits: Slight Curves Adjustment in Photoshop CC

 

Lemons and Limes Oh My!

There is a group on Instagram that has daily theme inspirations: @9Vaga_dailytheme9. This week color was the theme with each day being a different color.  Wednesday was yellow and Thursday was green.   The images above are a few that I posted on my Instagram page: @robyngrahamphotography.  I hope you enjoy the images. I had fun playing with light and shadow.

And, if you are on Instagram, please follow me…I post images almost every day…Much more frequently than I get to blog!