Blog Relocated

Hello, and thank you for coming to visit my blog! I have just moved it over to word press so please click here to check it out.
Be sure to bookmark it and subscribe to my blog to see all the latest from Stephaniellen Photography.

Photo Shop World Orlando 2011-Westcott Shootout Contest

  The last two days I attended the Photo Shop World Expo in Orlando, FL. Photo related vendors of all kind display their products here and there are classes taught by some of the world's best photographers. Westcott, who makes some of the very best lighting in the industry, featured models for attendees to us to photograph under some amazing constant lighting. There is a contest-the best photos taken at this event will be featured in a future catalog. These are the photos I am entering. These models were photographed by at least a few hundred photographers so I will be interested to see how mine measure up against some of theirs!

  I loved shooting models dressed up like this and processing these images was just as fun. The lighting truly was beautiful as you can see. This profile photo really jumped out of me even though her hair stops you from seeing her eye. Somehow that just makes the photo more mysterious. I love this girl's profile. The first photo I processed in full color and in black and white with just the cape in color, both looked good but I decided to post the one with the black and white. 

  There was a backdrop here but I decided to black it out so that all the focus would be on the model. Very intense!

  I wanted this photo to have the look of an old color photo that had faded just a bit. I am pretty pleased with the way it turned out.

  The models are in a constant process of slowly changing their poses so I kept waiting for just the right moment to get an image I would like. There were about 20-40 photographers standing around them at any given moment, most of the time I was able to make my way to the front. 

  This model had an amazing smile ant the 'sky' backdrop was amazing. She really looks like she is outside! She was posing behind a clothes line they had set up. I love the pin up look!

  Finally we have Rapunzel. This girl has absolutely beautiful eyes! These models sat for some pretty long periods of time, they did  a great job!

  I think this is my absolute favorite. I had already taken a ton of photos of this girl then moved on to wander the exhibitions. Just before I left I wandered by again and took just a few more shots, this one being the last. So funny how my last shot is often my favorite!  My thanks to Westcott for the opportunity to photograph these wonderful models!

Stephanie

Ybor Portraits

  Last week I had the chance to photograph this beautiful girl in Ybor City. Most of these photos were taken with the Canon 580 flash shooting through a soft box. This first photo is my absolute favorite. It was in inspired by a video I watched on Kelbytraining.com where Scott Kelby walked around Venice Beach, Ca with celebrity photographer Jeremy Cowart.  He had his model lay down on a strip of metal stretching across the ground and got some really interesting shots. I have photographed people by the railroad tracks in Ybor several times but was looking for something different to do and this idea popped in my head. I really love the combination of the rocks and the wood for a background. it was not easy standing in just the right place to get the best angle here but I am really happy with this shot!

  This one was taken in an ally. I just like the soft nature of it and her natural smile. Sometimes getting models to relax and look natural is half the battle in getting good portraits.

  Here she has a very different look, confident and maybe even fierce? I love trying for a wide variety 'looks' during a single session. Never stops amazing how different people can look from one moment to the next depending on their mood and facial expression.

  I also really like this photo. It is a rooftop photo with the city of Tampa in the background. Her dress and the lighting just screamed "Make me black and White"!  She really is glowing here.

  We were running out of time after it got dark but I wanted to try to take a few shots with my new Gary Fong Powersnoot.  It enables you to create some pretty dramatic lighting. This photo was taken on a street in Ybor, I intentionally made the background totally dark.  I am eager to practice some more with this and a beauty dish I recently purchased.  Tomorrow I am headed over to the Photo Shop World Expo in Orlando where there some of the top photographers in the business will be teaching classes, will blog about my experiences there in a few days!  Stephanie

Clearwater Pet Festival

  Saturday I drove to Clearwater, FL to check out their Pet Festival. This event was not as large as the on I attended a few weeks ago but there were still many amazing dogs there with their people. This first picture was taken at the Siberian Husky Rescue booth.  This sweet one has one blue eye and one brown eye. As usual I wanted to take them all home, these animals radiate nothing but love.

  Entertainment was provided by Twig the Skateboarding Dog. Twig seems to really enjoy this!

  It is amazing what these pets can be trained to do! Also amazing is what they can be trained to wear apparently:

  This was not the only dog I saw wearing goggles. I am guessing they are to protect their eyes from the harsh sun but I am amazed they are okay with wearing them! My family's dog I am sure would have no part of these!

  I just love how the spunky personalities of these dogs show through on these photographs!

  I especially liked this last dog who was having a lot of fun with a tennis ball. He seemed like a super fun one and I really hope someone takes him home soon and plays ball with him all day!

  I am looking for some unique/well behaved dogs to photograph in order to expand my pet portfolio. I enjoy photographing them running and playing as well as 'posing' them and am also looking to use some off camera lighting for some more creative images. Contact me if you or anyone you know have a dog they would like professional photos of-stephaniellen11@gmail.com

Welcome to our World...Ava Brielle!

"A Babe in the House is a Well-spring of pleasure, a Messenger of peace and love, a resting place for innocence on earth, a link between angels and men"  Martin Fraquhur

  Ava Brielle was born on 2-22-11 to her parents, Laura and Charlie which makes her a very lucky baby as they are two of the nicest and kindest people I have ever met!  These photos were taken when she was 2 1/2 weeks old.

  Every photo shoot I do is a learning experience, this one even more so as it is the first time I have photographed a new born baby! I know my passion for photography will never wain as there is an endless amount to learn and I will never get to a point where I can no longer improve on my work. Every subject is a different sort of challenge, be it an adult, a pet, a child, a baby or even a flower.  

  Babies this small cannot yet sit up or express as much emotion as they will in the very near future. Part of my challenge was to capture some photos of Ava with her eyes wide open. The photo leading off this post is actually my favorite. I took many photos of her laying on the pink blanket in order to get this one where she one arm around her bear, one up to her ear like she is on a little cell phone, AND she has her eyes open looking in my direction.  I love the moment where I look at the back of the camera and see that YES I finally got the shot I was looking for!

These are also pretty cute.

  Certain photos seem destined for this sepia old photo look. I love this shot of her yawning with the flower headband being held on to her by her mom.

  Here she is being held up in the air by her father. Love those eyes!

  I call this my modern art shot. What I really like is the reflection in her eye-the trees and me I believe. Would be fun to do a shoot capturing the reflections in peoples eyes sometime!

  We had the idea to try putting her in an Easter basket. Lets just say this was easier said then done she was not happy about it so we did not try for long but this is still pretty cute!

  This is the family dog, Wiggles being held up next to Ava I am sure they will be great friends! Wiggles does not look too thrilled here though I must admit!

. 

  This photo is one of my favorites, taken at the end of the shoot with Ava in her car seat. I do not do this selective color treatment very often but I think it works well here with the little bear's bow tie matching Ava's head band. It is also very cute that the bear appears to be waving :)

  Finally here is their family portrait! Wiggles was very cooperative looking towards the camera every time I said his name. Thank you Laura and Charlie for giving me the honor of photographing little Ava, I look forward to seeing her grow into an amazing little girl!

Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot Center

  Yesterday I visited Disney's Epcot center. I have been there many times but never during their International Flower and Garden Festival. I think from now on this will be THE time I will visit in years to come! I was amazed by the volume and beauty of the flowers and character shaped topiaries on display! I visited this time with my parents, we arrived around 4:30 and the weather was perfect. Epcot is so large and there was so much to see it was dark before we know it. I hope to get there again before the festival ends with my tripod so I can take my time and get some more great photos. Here are more of the character topiaries:

  So beautiful! And there are still more!

  It is hard to comprehend the amount of time and effort put into making these topiaries and gardens possible. As usual Disney has done a fabulous job. Beauty and wonder around every corner.

I LOVE the colors in the background here!

  The above photo was taken in the Canadian section of the park. I would love to live in a stone cottage like this!

  My favorite moment of the evening was finding a few ducks wandering in a large batch of geraniums.

  I can take photos of ducks anytime but not surrounded by flowers like this! It was getting darker at this point so I did not have ideal light on them but I still loved taking these shots. There is so much to see at Epcot, not only the flowers but it is of course an ideal place to people watch. With all the negativity in the media about the current state of the things here and world wide the park was packed, hard to imagine it being more so when things are booming! I love just wandering around observing all the sites and sounds it is always wonderful to be in a place where everyone seems so happy and you are surrounded by beauty! The Epcot Flower and Garden Festival runs through May 15th.