Hot! Hot! Hot! That’s how I would describe Michigan’s summer weather. My brother and I have been working out in the hot sun building his deck and garage and as the sun beats down I find myself longing for the beaches of Traverse City. I love the atmosphere in Northern Michigan. I have found some beaches that are almost deserted. It feels like my own slice of paradise. After a hot day of working on the deck it would be wonderful to go for a swim in Lake Michigan.
The sandy beaches of Traverse City are a photographer’s dream!
When I recently got the opportunity to visit Traverse City I jumped at the offer. Meg Howard was interested in getting some swimwear shots so my friend Joe and I packed up our gear and headed north. We arrived at the beach on old Mission Peninsula at around 1:30 p.m. for the 2:30 shoot. I was a little nervous of the weather. Meg had called while we were driving up and asked if we were still planning to shoot. The lower half of the State was sunny but Traverse City had an early morning storm. When we arrived at the beach the wind was chilly and threatening. I thought our equipment would end up getting blown into the lake. But then, while we were setting up, the sun came out and the wind died down. It was as if the Grand Traverse Bay was welcoming us for the shoot. The rest of the day was beautiful. The hot Michigan sun finally made its appearance.
Meg arrived a little late but that was okay. We set up our equipment on the beach and suddenly a family showed up with their kids. They took over our little plot of paradise. Joe and I, along with my good friend Terry Clark, decided to move everything down the beach where we could be more private. We didn’t want Meg to become a public spectacle or the shoot to be interrupted by children. There were only a few people on that beach so we found a place where we could stake out a spot of our own.
We packed all the gear and started walking down the beach. We went back and forth until we finally had everything. Meg showed up just as we finished the move. Perfect timing.
Meg is incredibly beautiful as you will see from the photographs. I feel privileged that she chose me as her favorite photographer. We are both hoping that she will be “discovered” and move on in the world of modeling. I think she has a chance.
You can see more of the shoot on my Flickr account
Tags: beach, beauty, bikini, girl in a bikini, grand traverse, hot, Meg Howard, model, modeling, Old Mission penninsula, photo shoot, photos, Traverse City, woman
Welcome to the wonderful world of off-the-cuff creativity. Joe (actionjoephotography) and I met Samantha Harris and Kyle Gask-Wilson for a photo shoot at McCormick park in Williamston, Mi.
I barely remembered this park. My childhood friends and I rode our bikes from Lansing’s South-side to Williamston to attend the jubilee festival once and my family has some history in Williamson. Both of my grandparents on my mother’s side are buried there and my Great Grandfather used to own a candy store in Williamston. I haven’t been there in a while though so my memory of McCormick park was vague.
Joe suggested the park as an excellent place to shoot. Once I got there I was taken aback by the vast expanse of open field. “What do we do in this space?” I wondered as Joe and I walked the park in search of shooting ideas. We noticed a gentle river that flowed around the park with some very nice scenery on the opposite banks. We also crossed the road and looked at the decorative bridge that crossed Putnam Street. “Hmm…This could be interesting,” I thought “but it’s going to be difficult to find enough scenery to keep a shoot going for more than a half hour.” The last shoot I did with Samantha and Kyle was on the top of a parking garage in Lansing in freezing cold weather. That shoot was over pretty quick because of the cold. This was much different and a welcome change.
As I was walking on the bridge to get a feel for the place Joe motioned me over to the edge where he saw a blue racer coiled up on the rocks below. “This is the place,” I thought because Samantha was bringing Sir Hiss, her albino corn snake to the shoot. I figured the blue racer sighting was a sign from above that we were in the right place. I often leave my shooting up to the man (or woman) above and let whatever power there is in the universe flow through and make the shot. I don’t try to force it because I like the shooting to happen naturally. I often find that this leads to a more organic result.
Anyway. Enough talking. Let’s get to the pics. To me, this shoot seems like another movie idea. It’s like one man goes searching for the Garden of Eden where he meets and falls in love with Eve.
Here is Eve played by Samantha Harris and the explorer played by Kyle Gask-Wilson. (The snake is played by
Sir Hiss)
BTW. We spent hours on this shoot and had a blast!
My friend Joe and I met with Ashlyn Malone and her friend Danielle for a fun photo shoot around MSU and East Lansing. We met them downtown and started walking around looking for good locations. Ashlyn had never modeled before so this is her BIG debut. Ashlyn is a student at Michigan State University and a member of Alpha Omicron Pi. It’s rather ironic that she is a member of the Greek community at MSU because she is also a true Greek with Mediterranean heritage.
We also were invited by Rob Diegel to come into his store, Eyes-4U to have Ashlyn model some glasses. Rob was a great guy and we had a lot of fun shooting in his store. We also met the cutest little bulldog named Dorothy Parker. 
Tags: Cooley Gardens, dress, flowers, garden, hair, lansing, make up, Michigan, modeling, models, photographer, photography, workshop
I loved doing the action movie theme with Samantha and her friends so much that I decided to continue with Gabrielle and Robert. This is part two of the saga. We shot in downtown Lansing and had people stopping us to find out what we were up to. One guy said he couldn’t believe he was in Lansing. He said he was coming downtown more often if this was happening there. Perhaps Lansing needs more shoots like this to draw attention downtown.
Gabrielle and Robert did an excellent job of modeling for the theme.
Tags: game, girls, hornets, league, Michigan, Perry, prep sports, softball, sports, williamston, women
Tags: east lansing, gun, Kyle, lansing, Manuel P. Macias, Michigan, modeling, motorcycle shoot, movie, mustang gt, photography, samantha Harris, theme shoot, workshop idea
Tuesday, February 9, 2010 Posted in Fun stuff
I hosted a photography workshop last Saturday at the Presbyterian Church in Traverse City. I was a little nervous because I didn’t know exactly how many people were going to show up or how the workshop was going to run exactly. I started these workshops last summer and the first one only had four models. Since then it has grown. The last workshop I hosted had somewhere around 15. That was a big jump from the original.
This time the workshop was looking like the biggest one yet. I didn’t know if I could handle it. Once people arrived, however, the workshop started really humming with creativity. My main focus was helping photographers figure out how to use their cameras and the various lighting set-ups they brought. It was interesting to see all the different lights that people use for their photography. One local photographer brought a whole studio set-up. He had all the Alien bees and diffusers. I was very impressed with that.
We had a pretty good turnout of models but it wasn’t as many as I expected. We also had Victoria Mather there to do make-up and hair. She calls herself an MUAH (make-up and hair).
Here are some of the reviews I got from a few of the photographers who attended:
Bevin Buchler of Sweet Pea Photography said;
Todd, thank you so much (and others who helped) make the workshop happen. I had SO much fun, and it was amazing to meet so many talented people! I can’t wait for another, and let me know if you ever need help with them!!!
Michael Porter said;
Another great time at the Model Photo Shoot. Thanks Todd L Church for all the time and effort you put into making this informative and fun
Casey Lynn Browning said;
Had a great day today … thank you Todd L Church and all who made it possible … and thank you to everyone who was there who helped me … you guys are amazing!!!
My friend Joe and I set up a website forum for the workshops. It’s at www.modelphotoworkshop.com.
Here are a few of my images from the workshop. I didn’t get the chance to take too many because I was running around helping others. 
Tags: digital camera, model workshop, modeling, modeling training, photography training, photography workshop, todd l chruch, todd l church, todd l church photography, Traverse City, workshop
Yesterday started out sunny. It looked like a perfect day for a shoot. Leslie Sevenski and I had scheduled this a couple weeks ago and we both were eager to get out on the lake in Interlochen to look for a fishing shanty. The idea we had was to use the shanty in the shoot somehow. We really didn’t know what to expect.
The shoot started at 3:00pm. Ten minutes before Leslie arrived the snow began to fall. It came down so hard you couldn’t see across the lake. Leslie, being the adventurous sort, agreed to go on the shoot anyway. We ventured out on the ice but most of the shanties were empty. I think we got some interesting shots regardless of the snow.
Wandering out on the lake proved to be very cold. We decided after a while to move into the Interlochen Center for the Arts to see if we could get some interesting shots there. We were also met by my assistant Jessica Lynn Nichole who came along to help with lighting.
Our first stop was the Interlochen bowl, a nice location for the shoot. Leslie’s red top was an excellent selection for a winter shoot.
After a a while we decided to come in and warm up. I live near the arts camp so we came to my house and set up a backdrop so that we could continue the shoot in comfort. I also had Leslie change and gave her a cowboy hat to try on.
Sometimes the day doesn’t go as planned when shooting on-location but I think we made the best of it.
Tags: beauty, blonde, cowboy hat, interlochen, model, modeling, Northern Michigan, photo shoot, photographer, photography, sexy woman, shanty, Snow, Traverse City
Today I had the opportunity to photograph Katie Millron. She needed some photos to enter the running to be crowned 2010 Queen of the National Cherry Festival. Although the field is very competitive I am sure that our photos are going to help her chances of winning. First prize gets an $8,000 scholarship and a chance to attend the Rose Bowl.
Katie and I met at the Village at Grand Traverse Commons. The weather was unusually warm for this time of year. It seemed like the perfect day for a shoot. We visited several spots both indoors and out and found some great locations to shoot. I am very happy with the result. I hope you are too.
Special thanks to the Village and Grand Traverse Commons and Salone de Capelli for allowing us to use their space.
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