Equine Shoot: Comparison 2012 to 2013

Last year, I was asked to take photos for my previous horse trainer's clients. Their goal was to publish an ad in the national magazine, Appaloosa Journal. As a previous client of the trainer, it was great to see everyone and work with her newest clients. Over the course of 6 hours, I shot 8 different girls and their horses in three different outfits. That shoot was the first one of that size for me; and boy was it a challenge! It did not help that the day was gorgeous, blue skies and all; which was great for a Washington day in May, however I had had no experience with such bright light. After struggling with sunshine in the portraits, I made the decision to take all the portraits in one location, which was the barn's gravel driveway that is lined with mixed vegetation. This didn't allow a lot of depth in the photos, which left me unhappy. However, after going through them and some editing, they didn't turn out to bad, and best of all the customers loved them! Oh the woes of being over-analytic of our own work... As an artist, we always see something that others don't in our work.

Here are some of my favorite photos from that first shoot:

For the 2013, I was asked to do the shoot again! Always a very exciting time. The day turned out to be the exact same as last year; bright sunshine, but it was so gorgeous. After having more experience under my belt, and new equipment, I felt this year was a much better success. I was confident during the shoot, and decided to take advantage of the sunshine and use it to my benefit. I believe I succeeded with this. This year I also went for a more portrait-based approach, versus trying to capture proper action shots, which the clients seemed to love. I think it is easy to see how much I have improved over the past year; both sessions were done on a similar day, same time of year, and at the same location. I am very happy with this year's turnout!

 

Interior Photography - Naranjo

Well, where do I start! I am completely new to this whole blog idea, but I think it will be a great way for me to not only share what I have learned, but also use it as an opportunity to think critically about my work.

My first post I would like to address a photo shoot I recently did. The job was for a local artist that wanted pictures to use on her new website, brochures and business cards. This would include both artistic shots of her work, as well as showing off her decorative skills. The first task was to take comparison photos, showing a vacant flat and then taking an exact photo of her own, decorated apartment. This was a challenge for me as the lighting was extremely different; the vacant apartment was on the southeast side of the building  whereas hers was on the northwest, with little to no sunlight coming into the windows.

I then had the challenge of low-light conditions. Because I didn't want to have to carry around a tripod as I moved from spot to spot, I instead used high ISO levels, a 2.8 aperture  1/50 shutter speed and was able to successfully capture the room. I did have to use breathing exercises to keep the camera as still as possible, taking a series of three photos as I exhaled. The second photo of the series came out perfect; this worked quite well, and I was able to get crisp and clear photos of everything!

I had a lot of fun with this shoot. It was challenging, unique and the client said it was exactly what she was looking for and more. Only what every photographer wants to hear!