June 2009

Gabby’s Bat Mitzvah

This was a first for me…not that I haven’t attended Bar or Bat Mitzvahs before, but this was my first time attending as a photographer. This was a two day shoot. Friday we would meet up to get some outdoor family shots along with the Bat Mitzvah service and then the party on Sunday. When I first met Gabby she seemed just a bit nervous and shy, but seeing as how she’d been preparing for this day for quite some time, it was quite understandable. And now the pressure was on. I had one hour to get all of my outdoor shots before we headed off to the service, so I had to work quickly. Before the shoot I decided to go with a more casual attire of cargo shorts and a t-shirt, which ended up being the right choice instead of slacks and a dress shirt since after getting down low on the ground I came up nice and muddy. “Shabbat shalom everyone, don’t mind me, I decided to take my mud bath in my clothes today!”

On Sunday I found out that, yes, I can keep up with a bunch of preteens on the dance floor! 🙂 Overall it was a great and challenging experience and a lot of fun as well. There were some technical issues to battle such as two different light sources. The natural light through the ceiling and the incandescent bulbs which conflict with each other in the cameras white balance settings. But aside from that all else went very smoothly. Congrats to Gabby, Stan, Liliya, and the rest of the family!

Want to see more? Do ya? Huh? Do ya? Well then you can see all of Gabby’s images here!
http://public.fotki.com/biggy/gabbys-bat-mitzvah/

Savannah Georgia Part 2

Day 1 was a busy day. Well perhaps not as busy as it was a late night. We were up and in class at 7am the next day. Top this off with having to edit photos at 2am so they are ready to be presented the next day and that leaves you a wee bit tired. So the next day we worked with gear that helps you change the available light and best make use of it. Reflectors, diffusers, bounce cards, etc…anything that helped modify the natural available light. We had a brief classroom session and headed out for the day to do some test shots.

Reflector

Sun Bounce

Diffuser

After a brief morning walk, we were off to our first modeling assignment with Aaron. The shoot was at the Telfair Museum of Art. A very interesting building with lot’s of lines, white, and open space. My partner for the shoot was Steve and we had about 30 minutes to get some initial shots with Aaron. A quick handshake with Aaron and the first words out of my mouth were “Can you please lay down on the lobby floor right here, I have some shots in mind.” He didn’t seem to mind at all and we were off and running!

Aaron 1

Aaron 2

Aaron 3

Aaron 4

Aaron 5

Working in the museum was a very unique experience. Once we wrapped up, we snagged a quick lunch and continued shooting outdoors. While waiting for the other photographers as they worked with Aaron, that didn’t stop me from working with other people we saw walking through the park.

Treena

Aaron 6

Treena 2

Gekko

So now we’ve had a full day of shooting, it’s nearing dinner time and we head back to the classroom for a debriefing. I figure it’s time to relax, find a nice spot for dinner, and simply carry the camera for any opportunity shots that might come up. Not so fast…there’s another assignment. We are handed a piece of paper with a scavenger hunt assignment to complete on that way to dinner. We need to capture roughly 30 different types of shots of people, in approximately 1 hour as we walk to dinner. No pressure at all. We had to have the persons permission to take the shot, which meant that we had to approach them…no candid distance shots. Some of the things we had to find included…

Red, Green, Blue
Red Green Blue

How many fingers?
HowManyFingers

Pick a number
PickANumber

A sad situation
SadSituation

Baby needs new shoes
Baby needs shoes

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