I met Sarah & Aaron at a wedding show and they said a few things that piqued my interest. First, they said ‘mountains’. Then they said ‘hang-gliding’. Like, they were planning to get married, and the next morning they were going to jump off of that mountain together. Whoa. So, yeah – I wanted in. This is their engagement session in downtown Raleigh.
Corey is a super easy going guy. I worked with him for his yearbook portrait at his school, but he and his family wanted something more. Something that had a little more personality. They knew they wanted a whole album full of fun photos of him, and you can’t get that from a yearbook mini session. So – we met up downtown and spent some time checking out all the ally-ways and little tucked out of the way spots. I found something new this time I hadn’t seen before and it was PERFECT for a senior. See if you can figure out what it was 🙂
This is a family that I photographed five years ago – the girls were really small then, 5 & 3 I think. We had gone to a garden and the images were sweet, and pretty. Now though, they’ve moved to a neighborhood near downtown, their girls are 10 & 8 and they wanted something to reflect this new phase of their lives. Something a little ‘edgier’ with a little more attitude. So – downtown we went! I love that there is such a variety of backdrops downtown – brick, corrugated metal, iron railings, painted walls, cool architecture and fun allyways – TONS of spots in a short walking area. When working downtown, I almost always finish up at the new Raleigh Union Train Station. I know. A train station – but Seriously – they have this amazing plaza out front with the best textures and the LIGHT in the late afternoon is just so so pretty. So when you are ready to have a little attitude (and who’s not, this year – I mean really) – let me know and we’ll go rock out downtown.
So, for those of you who are not photographers (anyone?) There are two pretty distinct ‘camps’ in photography as far as lighting goes. There are the ‘natural / available light’ shooters, people who rely on what nature provides – the sun namely, and then those who use that at times, but can ALSO create their own light should mother nature not be feeling cooperative.  Before I go any further, I need to point out that neither side is “wrong” and neither side is “better” – it’s just different ways of approaching and solving the same problem – how to light the subject.  Photography after all, is the study of LIGHT.
Up until recently, I was pretty firmly in the ‘natural (or available) light’ camp for all my portraits, (weddings don’t count here, you pretty much always need to create some form of light at a reception).  Then I realized that there were things I just couldn’t do without adding my own light; placing it where it needed to be and controlling its quality and intensity.  So this year, I’ve been working really hard to hone my skills in intentionally lighting my work, not just doing the best with what I’ve been given.
The cool thing about lighting, is that it can be whatever I decide it needs to be for the particular subject. Hip & Edgy for a senior shoot? Yep.  Soft and subtle for a bridal? Yep, it can be that too.  Some of my favorite lit looks are where you can’t even tell it IS lit…. but I promise you they are shots you would NEVER get without adding your own light. never.
Last week, I attended East Coast School – our Professional Photographers of North Carolina week-long intensive workshop.  This year, they had the amazing TriCoast Photography, one of the industry leaders in location lighting, teaching – and I signed up FAST!.   The class was amazing – like seriously amazing. The TriCoast guys are incredible photographers and teachers and I learned a TON of new stuff to bring to my work.     Enjoy!
