I’ve recently had the honor of photographing a large family portrait session.  This assignment comes from one of my Club members, Bob Maher.  When Bob first contacted me, he asked if I was capable of photographing 16 people in my studio. He explained that he wanted his family portrait taken of all his children and their kids too.  Right away I said, “Absolutely, yes!”

I instantly recalled the May 2010 issue of Professional Photographer magazine.  I specifically remember this particular issue because the cover photo was a tri-fold layout of a large family group shot taken by Drake Busath, a professional photographer in Salt Lake City, Utah. This cover image featured 15 people within the group portrait, 2 grandparents, 4 independent families, and 5 grandchildren with 1 more on the way.  This was a challenge that I definitely wanted to tackle.  I’ve done large group shots before, (i.e. Weddings Parties, Corporate Employees, and Cheerleader Squads), but I have never done one this large in my studio.

The magazine article about Drake told of his large family portrait philosophy.  He breaks down the separate families into their individual clusters, photographs them separately, and stitches the separate images together in Photoshop.

Thus, this was my main plan of action.  First, I began photographing each family unit separately.  This way, I was able to control the smaller groups to assure that I got the perfect shot from each family unit.

After each family unit was photographed, the next step was the post-processing.  I have found that working with a High Key White backdrop setting gives me a better results than working with a typical Chroma Key Green or Blue backdrop. This assures that the background will remain consistent and the editing will be very quick.

Thus, this became my final composite image.  The main focus was to keep all the images consistent with composition and camera height. The editing segment was really easy.  All it took was a full understanding of Layer positioning, Layer Mask, and proper cropping.

I have to thank Bob for giving me this opportunity to attempt this project and Drake Busath for sharing his knowledge and techniques.

]]> http://mendior.com/blog/2011/12/27/maher-family-portrait/feed/ 0 http://mendior.com/blog/2011/01/10/family-portraits-ridout-family/ http://mendior.com/blog/2011/01/10/family-portraits-ridout-family/#comments Mon, 10 Jan 2011 04:41:36 +0000 Administrator http://mendior.com/blog/?p=516 Continue reading →]]> I just recently photographed a Family Portrait session for photography club member of mine.

Jeremy is one of my photography club members. He asked me to photograph his Family Portraits as part of one of my Portrait Workshops, especially since they now have a new addition to the family.

His wife, Kimberly, was one of our Maternity Portrait models for a Workshop that I held back in July of last year.

I frequently make these types of arrangements as a benefit to the Club Members and my studio.  I love inviting the Club Members to participate as our model for various type of Workshops and Photo Shoots.

BIG “Thank you’s ” go out to Jeremy, Kimberly, and the Family for participating in this Family Portrait session.

This Family is no stranger to us.  We photographed Ashley’s Senior Portraits a couple of years ago and she has modeled for several of my photography workshops.  Erika has just recently joined the workshop classes as a model.

As anyone can imagine, these two sisters show nothing both sisterly love towards each other…

Most of our Standard Portrait sessions give the Family the opportunity to have 2 or 3 outfit changes within the same session…

…in addition, they will have the opportunity for 2 background or set changes.

As we began to wrap-up, I decided that it was finally time for Mom to have her individual portrait taken.

Melissa’s portrait turned out even better than I had anticipated. Here, she is absolutely radiant.

“Thank you!” to the Pipes Family for giving me the honor to capture these special moments together and another BIG “Thank you” to Melissa for her wonderful daughters and their assistance with our Workshops.

]]> http://mendior.com/blog/2011/01/02/pipes-family-holiday-portraits/feed/ 0 http://mendior.com/blog/2010/04/26/portrait-elvis-lives/ http://mendior.com/blog/2010/04/26/portrait-elvis-lives/#comments Mon, 26 Apr 2010 02:35:46 +0000 Administrator http://mendior.com/blog/?p=127 Continue reading →]]> How Cool is this?!  I recently had the pleasure of photographing a professional Elvis Tribute Artist, Larry “L-vis” Stilwell.

Funny story is that I bumped into Larry while walking out of a donut shop in my neighborhood.

As he walked towards me, I could not help to notice how much he looked like Elvis.

I jokingly told him that he reminded me of “The King”. He laughed and told me to look at the back of his truck.

On the back glass of his SUV was his logo sign “Larry L-vis Stilwell”.  Turned out that he really is a professional full time Elvis Tribute Artist.

So, immediately I offer to take his portraits to help him build his portfolio with some professional images.

Here are some of Larry’s links where you can preview some of his web sites…

Larry L-vis Stilwell:

Web Site -  http://www.larry-lvis.com

Facebook page – http://www.facebook.com/people/Larry-Stilwell/1081207794#!/larry.stilwell?ref=ts

Dena seemed to be a very natural in front of the camera.  I’ll typically make sure to capture a “Full Belly” shot for the Moms. Here Dena has on her “Before Pregnancy” jeans.

Dena had specifically asked to have a particular photo taken of her Mom and herself together.  Apparently, they are were close and this images means a lot to them.

Dena was definitely not shy about this next shot.

After our first round with the black backdrop, I decided to spice up the scene with a new “Flame” red backdrop. Here Dena’s black fur top works very well against the red.

Any pregnant mom can look fashionable.  All it take is a few accessories.  Here Dena’s “Floppy Hat” makes a big statement.

As we wrapped up, I wanted to try out a new shear material that I had just bought.  Here I wanted to wrap her with it and just expose the belly area.

A big “Thank  You” goes out to Dena.

Meli booked the  “Bronze Portfolio” session that allow her to bring 2 outfits and she elected to have her session held on location at the NYLO Hotel.

This venue was such a great location.  It is a very contemporary environment.  It’s perfect for seniors who want that “Edgy” and “High Fashion” look to their images.

The “Bronze Portfolio” package offers a 1 hour session with her 2 outfits.

Meli definitely enjoyed her time at the NYLO Hotel and was very excited to see her images from this event.

Here are their individual portraits…

Michelle

Courtney

Chelsea

Bobbi

Elizabeth

Stephanie

Ashley

Alyssa

Brittany

Kristin

Brittany

Savanna

This was a very tough gig, but hey somebody had to do it!

**This is a link to my web site where you can see more images of the Allen American Ice Angels **

This session took place both in studio and outdoors on location. The first half was in a Studio environment and the second half took place outdoors.

We began moving to a naturally light indoor location using only available lighting.

Next was a series of outdoor lighting and indirect lighting. This is an area under a porch scene.

Finally, we went pool side for the final stage of her FREE Senior Portrait session.

Many “Thank You’s!” go out to Ashley for all of her participation in the past year.

We were able to utilize a local hotel as the scene for our photo shoot.

This session gave me the opportunity to incorporate new techniques and equipment.

What made this session even more special is that Crystal had 2 dresses to wear. Apparently, she has not chosen the which one to keep.

Personally, I can’t decide which dress I like better.

Crystal had a great time and was very appreciative of our March FREE Bridal Portrait offer.

This lovely couple is the first to take advantage of a new program where we offer a FREE Engagement Portrait Session with every Standard Wedding Package.

Their portrait session was held at the historical Cotton Mill in McKinney, Texas.

The Cotton Mill offers both indoor and outdoor scenes, great for portraiture photography.

…especially this particular image, where the couple had specifically requested a location of railroad tracks.

Deanna’s Bridal Session will take place next week and the wedding in May.

**Click here to see more images of their Engagement Session.**