The Peterson’s – A Wedding
I think that there isn’t anything cooler than following a couple through their engagement and marriage. Chelsea and Alex have been such a wonderful couple to become friends with and experience their love and relationship firsthand. They are fun loving and laid back at the same time and the way they interact with each other is so sweet. You can tell how much they love each other and see their personalities in each picture. I loved this wedding – here is just a small sample of their day.
The Parker’s – A Family
There’s something about the later seasons of the year that makes the family pictures start to roll in. I have known the Parker family for several years now from nannying their cute kids and it was a treat to be able to photograph them for their family pictures. We went to a few different places, trying a nature and landscape feel first and then going to a spot in Draper, Utah to try a more modern and urban feel with a new building there. I tried using a variety of poses and with the four of them, it was a good way to learn what worked and didn’t work well with their photos.
I tried using a wide aperture for the individual portraits (f/2.5) and had to use a smaller aperture for the portraits of the whole family (f/5.6 – f/7.0). I learned that keeping a faster shutter speed would keep my images sharper and how important that is with these cute kids! I loved capturing their cute faces – family photography is so much fun and I loved photographing the Parkers!
Conceptual Fashion Portraits
As a creative and a person, I have always been fascinated and drawn to movies and media from the classic era. Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Vivienne Leigh, Cary Grant – they all inspire me! So of course when it came time to come up with a conceptual fashion portrait, I wanted to do something that had that same feel and idea. I had my wonderful and beautiful childhood friend Brooke come to model for me – her face reminds me of Katherine Hepburn! I chose red theater seats and had her dress in a classy Breakfast at Tiffany’s feel because I wanted to create a theater scene and feel. I had a lot of fun with her and using the Einstein light to create the right feel. I especially loved the way her red lips popped with the red theater seats. This was so fun to do!
Black and White Fashion
One of my biggest inspirations in photography is Richard Avedon. His movement, emotion and expression in the photos he took for many of the famous fashion magazines like Vogue is always beautiful and flawless. Part of what inspires me so much with Avedon’s photos is that they are all simple, yet profound, and I think part of that is because he shoots in mainly black and white. I have always loved a really well done black and white photograph. These fashion portraits of BYU-Idaho students in black and white are just a little bit of what I try to aspire to be like Richard Avedon. While I shot and processed these photos afterwards I have learned a lot about the lighting and how it effects the outcome of the black and whites. I love these fashion black and whites!
Schmidt Family
I am an only daughter – and with four younger brothers, I have always yearned for sisters. This family of all girls – and beautiful ones at that – were such a treat to photograph! It is always fun to mix up pairings and groups for pictures – the Schmidt Family has such a beautiful dynamic that way. I loved being able to get to know just a little bit more about them and start to feel for what it would be like to be in their beautiful family. I really enjoyed working with them!
Pingel Family
Little kids and families are always such a fun time and this family was no exception! I loved these sweet and fun kids with their awesome parents – I may have gotten a little too attached to those cute little girls. The sun was setting and the lighting was just perfect, so with no auxiliary lighting needed, I got some really great photographs of this family. Using a smaller aperture for the group portraits (about a f/5.6 – f/7.0) and a much bigger aperture for the individuals (around an f/2.5), I was able to achieve really fun and good family pictures of the Pingels!
