HDR Backgrounds in Senior Portraits

While this image looks like it was taken outside, in reality, this image was photographed in-studio on a white background.  It was then dropped onto a HDR background in Photoshop.  HDR, High Dynamic Range, images are photographs that are comprised of several photographs of varying exposure.    Using HDR as one of our methods for producing our senior portraits lets us stand out from the amateurs.  Besides producing images that are different, the other reason we like this is because we can shoot in-studio where the weather is always nice and we don’t need to travel to locations which improves our efficiency.

To view more of our images, you can visit our Senior Portrait website.

New Toy

Today’s awesome photograph comes to us from Rob Medina at Medina Photography.  In the photographer’s own words:

My buddy had just bought his ‘new toy’ and brought it by y house- I could not resist taken a picture of it! I used 2 550EX flashes with pocket wizards to light the subject- taken at night. Manual 1/60th @f8 ISO 100- Flash units set to manual- 1-550 camera right- 5 feet away, 7 feet up pointing down on rider and bike 1/8th power. Second 550ex behind the bike about 3 feet away 1/32 power. Both units were manually zoomed out to 105mm for a smaller beam. www.medinaphotography.com

Beautiful Light

Today’s awesome photograph comes to us from Eric Cotter at Eric J Photography in Orange County. In the photographer’s own words:

I shot this in downtown Long Beach CA. The refreshing thing about this session was that I didn’t do it at the beach.. So many times we here in SO Cal just rush off to the beach because, well IT SELLS!!!.. But we tend to forget the dynamics of shooting in other surroundings. This entire shoot was a breath of fresh air, and gave me a different perspective on engagement sessions. For all of you that have those 1 or 2 killer locations that you frequent, do yourself a favor, shoot somewhere completely opposite next time.. Your creative side will thank you.

Safe With You

Today’s photograph comes from Lee Ziegler Photography.  In the photographer’s own words:

This image is from an engagement session I recently took of Stephanie and Zach. They were an awesome couple to work with. What I was trying to capture here was how they felt when they were in each other’s arms. When I asked them that question, they both replied “safe”. My web address is http://www.leezieglerphotography.com

City Love

Today’s awesome photograph comes to us from Jamie Weiss of Jamie Weiss Photography. In the photographer’s own words:

I love this image I captured during a group shoot in Chattanooga, TN. I really like the chemistry of the couple and the metallic background displaying the fact that we are in Chattanooga. This couple “modeled” for a group of about 15 photographers who were all shooting them at once, so at times it was interesting trying to get in and get the angle that you wanted without getting in someone else’s shot. I had also just purchased a new camera and was experiencing some difficulty getting the settings just the way I wanted and I left the shoot feeling like I didn’t get very good images. But after downloading them and taking a second look, there are several from this shoot that are my all time favorites and this is one of them

Year of the Piglet

Today’s awesome photograph comes to us from Donna Tam of Donna Tam Photography. In the photographer’s own words:

I was at a Chinese New Year celebration when I spotted this sweet baby. She was having such a great time playing with her mom! And just the way she looked made me think, “This little piggy…” Such round cheeks and a wild sprig of hair to top it all off! Watching her have fun was probably the most entertaining thing that whole evening.

My website is: www.donnatam.com

The Real Sopranos

Today’s awesome photograph comes to us from Anthony Dantuono. In the photographer’s own words:

I came upon these gentlemen while on a trip to Sorrento, Italy in 2005. The first photo I snapped was from street level, through a set of gates. After seeing the pic in my viewfinder, I decided to run up the steps for a closer shot. These guys were awesome and I only wish I had the audio clip that went with the photo. Bella, Italia!

Baby Blues

Today’s awesome photograph comes to us from Jennifer Cavagna from Jennifer Images in Milton, Ontario, Canada. In the photographer’s own words:

Beautiful north facing window light and the bluest of eye, made this image one of a kind. This was the baby’s second photoshoot with me, but this time she was crawling. That meant following her around and seeing the world from her perspective. Spilled Cheerios, reaching for letter magnets and exploring the world all around, made capturing the perspective of a ten month old a whole lot of fun. Please enjoy this photo and if you would like to see more please visit my website at www.jenniferimages.ca or my blog at http://jenniferimages.blogspot.com

Creative Minds At Work

This photograph is from me, Jim Cook, a Georgetown Kentucky Wedding Photographer. This photograph of Megan is from one of my Senior Pictures sessions.

I must confess I got quite lucky with this photography. While I planned the jump in front of this banner on a wall, I did not notice till I got home that the shape of her body is a lazy K and it is in front of the K in work. I think that is what makes this photograph so special for me. I think that while luck certainly plays an element in getting awesome photographs, putting myself in a position to capture the “luck” is something I strive to do every time I shoot. The more I learn and shoot — the luckier I am becoming.

Sisters at Sunset

Today’s awesome photograph comes to us from Arkansas photographer, Matt Terry, of Terry’s Photography. In the photographer’s own words:

I took this picture at Lake Monticello in Monticello, AR. This was captured at sunset on Sunday, October 1, 2006. The sky was unbelievable and I used a Canon 20D with a 50mm lens to shoot this scene. There was an off camera Canon 580 flash mounted on a tripod and diffused with an umbrella triggered by the Canon st-e2. You can see more of my work at http://www.terrysphotography.biz.

Blessings

Today’s awesome photograph comes to us from Louisiana photographer Mary Beth Conner.

Blessing of children and a continued love between husband and wife are truly one of God’s greatest gifts. This photo is a portrait of that fact. A family commissioned me to do a photo for their Christmas Cards that year and wanted to do something different. I really had no idea what I was going to do when I set out that day, but as teenagers often are—one of them wasn’t in the mood to be photographed. As it turned out, that in itself was a blessing because I probably wouldn’t have taken the opportunity to do this family portrait just this way. It has turned out to be the favorite of the family and one of mine as well.

I was just getting started with photography during the year and my money for equipment was scarce. This was taken with a Canon EOS Rebel XT with a Sigma 18-200 lens. Settings AV 4.5, ISO 100, no flash. Taken on an overcast day about 4:30pm. There is a another portrait of this family on my website www.marybethconner.com. You will be able to see their faces.

Sara

Today’s awesome photograph comes to us from Bentley Gray of Bentley Gray Photography which is based on Boaz Alabama.

This is from a recent senior shoot with Sara. She’s so much fun…you know she was dying to get in that fountain. Maybe she did, maybe she didn’t…I’ll never tell! This was one of the coolest senior sessions I’ve done in a while. We were at the beach in Seacrest Florida, so we did some beach shots as well as some shots around town. This image was made right outside our condo at The Village of South Walton. Sara has studied dance all her life so she’s a natural poser, plus she’s tall so that always helps. I’ve known her for quite a while and was honored when she asked me to shoot her seniors. You can see more of my senior portraits at my website www.bentleygray.net

Amber

Here is another awesome photograph from United Kingdom photograher Mark Miller of Mark Miller Photography.

In the photographer’s own words: I had a commission to shoot 10 Grandchildren, ranging in age from 22 down to 2. This is Amber the 2 year old. We set up in a field full of dandelions and after taking some group shots, I left the kids to play whilst I wandered round and took some more informal shots. Amber was such a cutie it was pretty much impossible to take a bad picture of her. In fact, I had to keep reminding myself to photograph the other kids as well. And the icing on the cake – we had a half day session, outside, during the British summer and it didn’t rain – AMAZING!!

Wheat Harvest

Today’s awesome photographs comes to us from Giebelstadt Germany photographer Paula Porter, of Porter Photography. While normally, we only publish one photo a day, these three told a nice little story and we decided to mix things up a little bit and display all three today. Be sure to check out some of her recent work on her blog http://porterphotography.blogspot.com/. Enjoy!

In the photographer’s own words:

We live in Germany and wanted to get a picture of the wheat before all the farmers harvest it all. There were storm clouds looming and I loved the look of it. I took a walk with my girls and just started clicking….I did have to bribe this one with gum though! What a person will do to get a good shot!

The Walk

This was taken on the way to the wheat field. I have just recently discovered how to take pictures like this and I absolutely love it.

Little Harvest Goddess

The Aftermath…

We are heading home from the wheat field. This was taken in a harvested wheat field.

Young For A Little While

Today’s awesome photograph comes to us from Bentley Gray of Bentley Gray Photography which is based on Boaz Alabama.

This photo is one of my favorites because it shows the love between a brother and sister. Jackson and Sylvie have so much energy. They love each other so much you wouldn’t think they were siblings! This image captures the way they are, in real life, every day. It’s titled “Young for a little while” because when I look at it I can’t help but think about how fast kids grow up, and I wonder if they will always share the love for one another like they do today.