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Monthly Archives: August 2017

03 Aug 2017
Riverfest Vikings

BRANDING

Branding an event is as important as branding your business.  What’s it all about?  How do you get people to attend?  By having fun.

Every year, Frenchtown NJ, a Delaware River town and my home base, has an end of summer event call Riverfest.  It is fun but was never especially distinctive.  Two years ago some guys started dressing up like Vikings and created an event within the event called the Paper Boat Races.  Kids make paper boats, drift them down the river and see which one wins.  Simple and fun.  The Vikings moderate it and all the spectators can see the race from the bridge.

Just by being fun, goofy and original, the Riverfest Vikings became a favorite part of the day for everyone.  I am a big supporter of Frenchtown and thought it would be great to use the love of the Riverfest Vikings to brand the festival, so I got them together for a photoshoot.  First some high school-style headshots in the studio then a group shot by the river.  We used a green screen so we can clip and insert backgrounds later.

Once we got the shot down by the river it seemed like a great time to up the ante and spontaneously do a video.  So I sent them into the river, gave them their lines and let them work their magic. It’s a short clip and the guys are hilarious.  I think we’ve successfully branded the spirit of Riverfest.

 …

02 Aug 2017
Author Headshot

Window Light for Headshots

I love light.  Soft light, natural light, bright light, dim light, light bulb light, strobe light, lightning bug light, moon light, moon shine, light beer, lightning light, and on and on ….  It’s either because I’m a photographer or I’m a photographer because I love light.

Window light is one of my favorite types of light and a great simple option for anyone who needs to create a headshot of someone, whether it’s an employee, a personal relationship or a selfie.  Just put them (or yourself) by a window and take a picture.  You will get a great shot.

Windows offer two basic alternatives, side lighting or full lighting.  The photo taken above is for an upcoming book cover and shows full lighting.  Gail simply faced the window, gave me a beautiful smile and we got a wonderful headshot.  The two photos below are examples of side lighting.  Side lighting can be a little tricky due to deep dark shadows on the side opposite the window.  (This can be lessened by holding up a big piece of white foam core or something similar to provide fill light.) Side lighting is a little more dramatic and more contrasty than full lighting (it also shows wrinkles better)

DAWN, IT SPECIALIST KATHY, GRAPHIC ARTIST

The best part of using window light is it does not need any special equipment.  Just you, your camera and your happy subject. Experiment.…

01 Aug 2017
Group Photography

Cool Group Shots

Shooting groups is an art in itself.  Imagine corralling 5, 10, 20 or more people, balancing the arrangement, getting the light just right and having everyone look like they are happy.  Ya gotta love it.

It’s also fun to try to tweak things a little and reach for a more relaxed shot.  The team at Princeton Wealth Advisors, Raymond James were wonderfully accommodating and patient as we work on shots for its national magazine.  After a bunch of great traditional group photos we loosened up a bit to create a more relaxed shot with a little attitude as shown above.

Corporate loved the more traditional look which was recently published.  Works for me!  Great team.

RAYMOND JAMES TEAM