Jumping at several small opportunities may get us there more quickly than waiting for one big one to come along.  ~Hugh Allen

Meg Howard and I were planning to shoot together for several weeks but for one reason or another we weren’t able to put it together. Well, this past Tuesday things seemed to fall in line nicely. My friend Brian Harwood had taken delivery of his new Alienbees and Terry Clark had mentioned over the weekend that he had set up his pole barn as a small photo studio. As luck would have it Meg and I finally found a day that we could shoot. That day was Tuesday.

I called Brian and Terry and set up the shoot. It took us a while to get everything set the way we wanted it but once the lighting was in place everything else just seemed to flow.

Meg is a gorgeous model. She was the perfect person to photograph.

Meg brought along her old prom dress. I’m glad she did.

Terry’s wife, Jodie brought out a fan so we could get the blowing hair effect. Notice how the background is a different color from the photograph on top. It’s actually the same backdrop. The only difference is that I moved Meg out a little and increased my shutter speed. We also wanted dramatic light so I put various grids on the light to give it more of a spotlight effect as you can see in the next photograph.

Notice the difference in the light produced by the honeycomb grid as opposed to the soft-box.

This Sunday I am hosting another model photography workshop at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. I also do private shoots with models to help them build a portfolio. Feel free to contact me for rates.

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

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.