I’ve come to love doing these types of commercial portraits. By doing a composite such as my portrait of Stephanie in the Paramount Theatre below, I can create an environmental portrait that allows a great deal of artistic license in my treatment of the ‘environment’. Meanwhile, since the talent is actually photographed against plain background in a studio environment, it requires a great deal less time commitment on the talent than actually shooting in the chosen environment. It’s a win win.
Mr. John Taylor (his family calls him ‘Pops’) has spent his life working a ranch that his grandfather settled in the late 1800′s. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the opportunity to photograph him on his land. (I actually photographed him at a hotel.) So I placed him on a ranch I had previously shot. This technique also works great when photographing corporate clients. It takes far less time (and money) than taking the client out to a remote location.
Thank you Mr. Taylor. It was a pleasure.
United Airlines had one of the truly great ad slogans of all time. After all, most people over 20 can complete the sentence; “Fly the friendly skies of …”.
I believe it struck a chord with the American psyche because almost above all else, humans want to connect. People want a pleasant ‘friendly’ experience regardless of their endeavor, but especially when they travel. The bottom line is happy employees, make friendly employees & friendly employees make customers want to return.
This is Andy. He is a Service Director and spends most of his days on the ramp gently loading thousands of pounds of luggage on to aircraft destined for far away locations. And although he works very hard, he is virtually always smiling. Just what you would expect from ‘The Friendly Skies’ of United.
I was walking down Congress Avenue in Austin Texas during SXSW and an Austin band; “The Jazz Pharaohs” were playing in front of The Elephant Room so I thought I’d stop and take a few photos. Great music and nice people.
You can see my other SXSW photos here.
With his grey trimmed eyebrows and ears Luke appears quite grandpa like. And in fact, had it not been for a minor operation he had performed many years ago, I’m sure he would have had been a proud papa and grandpa.
Luke seemed to enjoy his portrait session. Perhaps he is smiling because of the short respite from his normal job of guarding the yard from invading squirrels and birds, perhaps because of the treats and opportunity to sit on the couch, or more likely, because more than anything else, he wishes to please.
You can see some of my other pet photography here.
Roxy sat for her portrait this afternoon. She did a great job. All she asked in compensation was to receive a few pieces of cat food as treats. There is something really special about cat food. Especially if you are a dog.
Here is an extra bonus photo from Roxy’s portrait session.
This photo sorta goes with my last post (Sir Jack;Old English Bulldog). Amos was sitting in the window the entire time Jack was having his portrait done watching the whole process. I’m not sure if Amos was Jealous (I doubt it since cats always know they are really in charge) or simply waiting for his close up.
Jack is an Old English Bulldog that was in need of a formal portrait. Due to his very busy social schedule I only had a short period between state functions to shoot his photograph. Despite his rather professional demeanor I found him exceptionally charming and quite warm. (I probably shouldn’t spoil his “tough guy” image but he was quite friendly & greeted me immediately with repeated wet slobbery kisses.)
This award winning print (1st place in a photo competition at the local Professional Photographers Association guild.) is from a session I did awhile ago of a couple of adorable cousins. Obviously much of the award credit goes to the handsome dude model! I love photographing families and babies. Although I am really known for my commercial fine art prints, there is nothing quite like creating custom artwork for families that they can enjoy for generations.
This is a composite from a couple of Senior photos I did for Olivia. Olivia is on a five year program at A&M to get her Masters Degree in Accounting. The first four years she was in the Corps of Cadets and her one and only wardrobe selection was her Corps uniform. Since you may only be in the Corps for four years she is back to wearing ‘regular’ clothes around campus while finishing up her Masters. I wonder if it was easier before she had to decide what shoes to wear?… You will have to agree it doesn’t matter; Senior boots or high heels, she is beautiful.
On a side note, after working on blending the two photographs it occurred to me that this composite feels a little strange to me because Olivia does indeed have a twin sister. I’m used to seeing the two of them together rather than just seeing Olivia times two.
