The RIGHT stuff…

Recently I have been researching and trying to find ways to tap into my right hemisphere brain, the reason for this is because I would like to explore more creativity inside of me as a photographer pursing a photographic career. I have been working in retail for almost two years now and I am very anxious to start working in the photography field. I am trying to find people that need an assistance or help in any photographic aspect and hopefully from there begin my blooming career as a photographer. In the process of exploring more of my own creativity I have found that drawing, researching the right side, and listening to different music has made me truly appreciate my right hemisphere. I have begun to explore more of the book: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Dr. Betty Edwards and my previous instructor Chuck sent me a video of a brain scientist that tells about her experience of going through a stroke… VERY INTERESTING… check it out: What A Stroke Feels Like. Using whichever side of my brain I choose for whatever reason, I am inspired to pursue my photography career and life itself in more ways than I have before.

Baby Gavin

Kathy Vanover, a elementary school teacher in Asheboro, NC wanted me to photograph her beautiful 3 month old baby boy. She has called him “Bean” ever since he was as small as one in her stomach. She is such a wonderful and happy lady and her little baby Gavin is sweet as well I spent the afternoon with her and adorable Gavin and here are a few of my favorite shots from the afternoon.

Dillard’s Family

So I had a shoot at work and there wasn’t many customers that showed up for the shoot so I photographed some of the coolest people I work with. This is the collage my manager asked for:

Shao Shao Portfolio Card

I have been trying to come up with a really neat looking business card but I have been struggling with what image to use on it and what kind of design the card should have. I haven’t prepared a logo for my photography yet but I have the name “Illuminations Photography” as my company name. Since I don’t have a logo yet and a particular font that I like to use… I decided to come up with a very simple business card with a creative twist. I am making a fold-able business card that will stand vertically with my images on the front and my contact information on the back. The added bonus will be the inside… it will have lines for people to write memos or any extra information needed. A multifunctional business card! Here’s what it will look like:

High Key Haley 2

See previous blog post: High Key Haley, this is the second high key image with her… with just a little more flare.

Grrrrr….

This particular shoot I wanted to get a nice 20’s style fashion look. I used my cousin Stephanie Williams as a model because she is trying to pursue a career in modeling. I had her make up done by a wonderful lady behind the Clinique counter at Dillard’s THANKS LISA RUSH! I was really happy with the way the shoot came out and I liked the looks Stephanie gave me.

Portfolio Peek

Portfolio is at the end of this month and I have been needing to do a blog post but I have edited many images since my last blog post, so I decided to post a few images I have finished for portfolio. The images below are NOT all the images I will use in my portfolio but just a sneek peek into what is to come.

Beth Arnold

Bradley Pippins

Haley Hyde

Ashley Blaylock

Chris Turner

David Choe Art Inspiration

WuZhen, China

Jose Y Yubi

I wanted to photograph my friends Jose and Yubi because they are such a cute couple and they know how to dance! I wanted to get some good action shots of them dancing and some still shots of them together. The dancing was fun to watch and by the time they were done I thought of some poses that would look good with them. They were so cute in all of their matching outfits and the black and white attire was my favorite. They were very fun to hang out with and I enjoyed photographing them!

ARMANI CODE

For portfolio I wanted to include some product photography in my book. I really enjoy doing product photography, I think sometimes it can be a challenge to light certain things but I welcome the challenge because I feel I will learn more from it and I love learning how light works. I also enjoy shooting product photography because most of the times you can take you time with it and figure out what you want to do, how you want to change the composition and so on. What I like to look for in product photography is a nice clean sleek look, so I try to make my images be that way. The Armani Code product shots I thought about how to advertise in a different way, I studied the way the product looked and tried to find something that would complement it. For the mens I wanted a tie and cuff links, for the womens I had some nice jewelry to match the design of the bottle.

 

 

Armani Code Women and Men

 

Shot with Mamiya 645AF and 120mm macro lens, on a Leaf Aptus 17 medium format digital back.

Neon Brights

While thinking of some ideas to shoot for portfolio, I was looking through a magazine and saw a cool image advertising bright nail polish colors. I decided to shoot an image similar, but with more flare. I thought it would be cool to have someone with a tattoo in the picture with their hands on their hips showing the color from the tattoo and the bright color from the nail polish. I then did an abstract shot of the fingernail polish colors themselves and put this together:

Shot with Nikon D700 (full frame) using 24-85 optional macro lens.