Work It Baby, Work It!

Posing to me is as much the art of photography as is editing. They all work together and without precision and detail to each area, the image doesn’t come together. When I went into business I began to pay special attention to this area because suddenly I was no longer photographing just people I selected but a wide range of people – many with body or facial attributes that required different posing techniques than I was familiar with. And posing men, women, children, high school seniors, elderly people, models, etc., all require different techniques and skills.

There are some simple techniques though that everyone can follow and like everything in photography, you can then take these and build upon them and make them your own. To keep this article relatively short, I’m just going to mention some techniques I use for photographing women.

1. This is simple technique that I find esthetically flattering – I always note what side someone’s hair is parted on and will typically pose them with their parted side faced away from the camera. I like hair to frame the face – depending on their hair length and style, I typically find this the most flattering.

2. Stand on a stool or have your subject on the ground and photograph them angled down. This narrows the image and provides a slimmer view. However, be aware of women with thin or long faces – this will elongate those features even more. This image is an example of both steps 1 and 2.


3. Use strong directional lighting to slim. If you’re working with studio lights this is easier to achieve but if you’re working with natural light there are a lot of ways to do this too. Strong natural sunlight can be used to highlight only the features you want to showcase while letting the rest fall into dark shadow. The image below shows how late afternoon sunlight can be used to do this – I didn’t use any reflectors for this image and let the shadows go dark. This is a very dramatic example – typically, I’d use a reflector to cast some light back into the shadowed areas.

4. Angle your subject 45 degrees away from the camera and have them bring their chin back toward the shoulder that is closest to the camera and slightly angled down. This is a simple technique that works especially well for headshots and close ups.


5. Have your subject bend and pull the arm that is closest to the camera slightly away from their body. This breaks up the “mass” of their body. Have them place their other arm along side the part of their body that is faced away from the camera and let it ‘disappear.’

6.No slouching! I always tell my subjects to give me a ‘tall spine’ – that just reminds them to stand up straight!

These are good tips for us to remember when we’re in front of the camera too! My pet peeves in pictures of myself are slouching and lifting my chin too high which widens my face. See? We all need reminders! Even things that seem inherent are often forgotten when a lens is facing you! Gently coax your subjects with the above tips and reinforce how great they look and you’ll be amazed how small details can make a big difference!

- Laura

Ps:please vote for my little studio to be #1 in Sacramento HERE!

Interview with Rockstar Photography Team Anthony and Adelynne

One week ago we spotted this incredible young, hot and hip team of Anthony and Adelynne. We really thought you would LOVE to hear more about them. This is the original story on the Traina Photography Blog. Check it out first, then check out our follow up interview:

Without further adieu, meet Anthony and Adelynne:

Pixel Chicks: Hi guys, thanks for accepting this interview with Pixel Chicks. You’ve developed a following with photographers who are looking to you as the face of our evolving industry. We wanted to take this opportunity to get to know you, and answer some questions your followers have. First how old are you, and how long have you been shooting weddings?

Anthony: I’m nine and a half, and Ady (Adelynn) is six, but me mum & dad have been doing this since I was four. I mean when you think about it, I've been part of this industry since before I could properly dress myself. That's the brilliant thing really... this is about art defining you, you defining art... there's really no limit as to the potential we have for self discovery, while at the same time showing your clients who they really are to each other.

Adelynn: We haven't shot any weddings yet.

Pixel Chicks: Are you both from Oklahoma City, because Anthony your accent…

Anthony: (interrupting) Right, so the thing is, I've been watching a lot of Jerry Ghionis lately, and I'm quite taken by him. I can't say his style is exactly where I want to be in say five to ten years, but right now I'm just doing my thing love.

Pixel Chicks: OK, so what exactly made you choose the wedding industry? Why not pets, or kids, or flowers?

Anthony: ...I think really, when you asking yourself what’s this thing all about… my life, my passions yea? It just clicked. I love me two pups, but you gotta remember I'm from the old school. Have you ever tried shooting a pug in your kitchen with a kit lens? There's no future in that. Kids are lovely, mum works with kids, but I find them impossible. They don't listen to instruction, they have no vision... they really don’t respect you as an artist. When I was younger I used to take pics of babies, but they go poop or wee on literally everything. Flowers? C'mon, next question.

Adelynn: I’m not really into photography, more in capitalizing on selling myself to other people, which in this industry works for both my clients & my competition. Win win.

Pixel Chicks: Have you ever heard of film?

Anthony: (laughter) Yea, I get that a lot. The truth is I think it's brilliant really. Five years ago people would look at me and say "is that a digital"? Now people say "where's your LCD", or "Holga, that's so cool"! Those are the people who get it.

Adelynn: Isn’t that what people used to watch before YouTube?

Pixel Chicks: What is the one piece of equipment you can't live without?

Anthony: You know, I don't think it’s so much the equipment. You give some new kid a fresh 5D MK2 with a 50 1.2 or 135 f2 and what are they going to do with it? Tools for the artist I say. I guess I would have to say I'm a painter of light, driven from my soul. Does that make sense?

Pixel Chicks: Absolutely, I think we all…

Anthony: (interrupting) I mean I have no idea what brush Van Gogh used to paint Starry Night, but I don't think that's the question we ask ourselves when we see it yea? When people see my work I don't want them to say was that Nikon or Canon? Hasselblad or Leica? Film or Digital? I want them to say "that was captured with brilliance"! But yea, the D70 is killing me, & I'm hoping my parents upgrade soon so I can snag one of their D300's.

Adelynn: I've noticed there's been no answer in my search for a camera bag that is beautiful & stylish in design, yet built for today’s photographer with a six year old frame. There's a market for that, and I'm excited to announce I’m scheduled to launch a new bag that is more expressive than it is functional.

Pixel Chicks: How would you describe your success with the $99 special you offered?

Anthony: You know, I think we learned a lot from that whole experience. We researched the whole Groupon thing, but I didn't want to get stuck selling 200+ weddings at 99 quid. That's just insane. We just wanted to get out there and shake things up a bit, and make a name for ourselves in our market. I think at this point we've really started to settle into things, and looked more towards the bigger picture like WPPI, mentoring & what not.

Adelynn: We haven’t booked any yet.

Anthony: (responding to Adelynn) Wait, it’s not fair to just put it out there like that. To start the entire model was all off. You can't do the kind of work we do & give it away at $99. We were priced way to low, and I really think we had to take a step back & ask ourselves "how do we do this, and remain true to ourselves". Ultimately we got a lot of people buzzing about us, but when it came down to it we really couldn't find anyone who was willing to pick us up & have us back in bed by 9:00. We've run our pricing by some people on photography forums, and I think we'll really start seeing more success starting at $4,500 instead of $99.

Adelynn: When I showed him what I cost he realized he had to raise some prices.

Pixel Chicks: So if I understand what you're saying, you haven't shot any weddings yet, you didn't book any weddings at $99 but think you will have success at $4,500, and you're looking at mentoring in your future.

Anthony: Absolutely.

Adelynn: No question.

Pixel Chicks: What do you say to brides when they tell you they love your work but you are just too expensive?

Anthony: You know, this hasn't come up in any of our client meetings, but I'm certainly anticipating it as we begin to have client meetings.

Adelynn: I truly believe if you want to make a name for yourself you have to price yourself in a way that is going to demand attention. If I have a bride say "$4,500 for 4 hours of photography with no disc, and no prints... that's crazy"... I know I have them.

Anthony: Brides usually don't realize how much photos are worth, and when you can chat it up a bit with them as to why you command such high prices I think they begin to realize "Hey, this is what I've always wanted and I never even saw it. Thank you for showing me all this Anthony, you are a true artist".

Adelynn: (rolls eyes)

Pixel Chicks: How do you handle it when the bride asks why the guests' snapshots are better than yours?

Anthony: Is a guest going to tell you "I got a blink in that shot, can we redo"? No. Is a guest going to say "I need to get a shot of your rings dangling from a chandelier, or a shot the whole bridal party jumping"? No. You know why? Professionalism. Anyone can snap good photo, but does a guest know how to handle a Vicar who won't allow photography during the service? Or how bout requests to remove all the color from an image except for the flowers?

Adelynn: Vicar?

Anthony: I’ve read about them on the forums… I feel I’m ready to handle the situation.

Pixel Chicks: Adelynn, what drew you to this brother & sister team?

Adelynn: I wanted to watch WALL-E, and I couldn't reach the DVD player. Anthony said he would put the DVD in if I helped him… he still hasn't put the DVD in.

Pixel Chicks: Final thoughts, what are your goals, and what would you like to accomplish with your photography?

Anthony: I have some large goals, actually. I’m trying to become the youngest photographer to have a print featured at WPPI. I would like to break out some new styles I’ve been researching, some things that will hopefully have a huge influence on the wedding photography landscape. I’m hoping to revolutionize this amazing form of art & expression the same way the people before me have shaped it. It will help tremendously once I am able to book some clients to make this happen.

Adelynn: Honestly, I'm trying to keep this simple. My model is to go to the west coast blogs, copy the trendy shots, and sell it to my local market. It looks fresh & original, and brides think you're the greatest. That gives me more time to live a fabulous life so people will want to hire me. My goal is to get 1,000 followers on my Traina_Rockstar twitter account this month.

Anthony: Mom let you on twitter?

Discount from our friend the Crochet Nanny!

Hey all... our friend Ellen, otherwise known as the Crochet Nanny, has asked me to let our readers know that she is offering 10% off anything in her Etsy Store just for mentioning The Pixel Chicks! How awesome is that?

Go check her out now and mention the Pixel Chicks to get your 10% off!

Portsmouth photo meet up {Littleton NH photographer, Marshfield MA photographer}

Alli G and I (Megan) met up this past Wednesday and Thursday in Portsmouth NH. If you are familiar with NE at all, NH has a very small section of border in the Coast and one of the main area is the city of Portsmouth. It is rich in culture, charm and history. It is an old whaling port, many of the buildings are still there. The town has a beautiful square with great Art Galleries, eateries and shops, even a Repertoire theater.

We arrived on a crumby, rainy, over cast day. We spent the day having lunch, shopping, talking and then went back to go over our work flows, compared notes and gave each other some tips. I have found in the past that it really is important to have a friend/s that you can meet and share like this with. That is one of the reasons why the Pixel Chicks is such an important group to me ;) I always learn an extra tip or two and it also saves my husband from having to listen to me trying to fiddle with things on Photoshop or the camera. Having a colleague to hang out and do this stuff is not only FUN but also productive. The premise of this meet up was to help our work flow productivity, admittedly we were having too much fun to really sit down and go through all of what we wanted. (another trip in the future but this time with our kids?)

One of Alli’s friends used to work in Portsmouth and she recommended a fantastic restaurant, the Dolphin Striker. We both loved what we ordered, had to take our desserts home and waddled our way back to the hotel. :) and go figure we forgot our desserts in the fridge when we checked out now all I want is Baklava, the dessert I forgot…. ;) Alli had some crazy delicious looking cheesecake, sadly forgotten. ;) Thank goodness!

Thursday, Alli and I spent the morning discussing light and angles for faces and poses. We ventured back into the town and looked for some fun easy locations that offered a lot of what we talked about and also it gave us a chance to fiddle with settings on the cameras. One of the things that I came away with was do not be afraid of your settings, and let the numbers always rule you. Watch your histograms too!

Anyone fortunate enough to have Alli as their photographer and friend knows what I am talking about when I say how giving Alli is. She is generous with her art and her eye. She captures life as it is happening in a beautiful artful way. Besides being what we chicks call our resident word smith, Alli is easy going, insightful and REAL. We laughed a lot on our mini trip! (Did I mention we had a magic mirror in our room, we both wanted to take it home with us, LOL)

Have a wonderful Weekend everyone!
Here are some shots of Alli during our time yesterday.
f3.5 iso 200 1/1250 (yes the wall was so wonky with the exposure) 50mm 1.4 lens

iso 200 f3.5 ss 1/500

iso 200 1/250 f3.5 50mm

Creative Process Feature 3........ Cindy

Hi... I am Cindy Harter :) I really really LOVE to shoot relationships !! Shooting weddings seem to really suit my personality. I enjoy all the stories going on during the day and capturing the love ! I enjoy the pressure and challenge of getting so many important shots in a short period of time in unpredictable circumstances. I love looking for good light and just having to make something work it is soooo exciting !!!! This couple was sooooo awesome in that they agreed to have a private meeting before the wedding that I photographed so that we would have time during the most amazing light to capture some yummy, romantic, dreaming couple shots. Their meeting was so sweet I was teary :) We had so much fun !!! If you would like to see more from their wedding visit here.

BEFORE: This is what the image looked like straight from the camera

After I played....
Location : Barnsley Gardens

This is inside the ruins. Barnsley Gardens is probably my most favorite place on the planet. It is peaceful, quiet and so romantic. If you haven't been ..... GO !

Camera and Lens : This was shot with my Canon 5D Mark ii and I used my Canon 24-70 2.8L lens . Iso 100 SS 1/125 F 5.6 Focal length 24.0mm

Lighting : This was natural light and my Maggie was holding a reflector to the right of the couple to give more light on their faces.

Creative process : This image was captured during their private meeting before the wedding to allow for more time for couple pictures :) The energy was amazing and they were so excited about seeing each other. I decided on this spot for the meeting because of the arches and the shadow and light. This was taken about an hour and a half before sunset and it was a perfectly clear beautiful blue sky day :) I had the bride wait for her groom and their interaction began in that spot and i moved around getting them from different angles. I really like this composition because I was on the ground trying to stay incognito and they are placed between the door and arches.

Post Process : This image was shot jpeg. I decided to show the SOOC image as well as the edited version. I first ran Kevin Kubota's Vol 1 action Edge burner and then sharpened a bit. I then ran Kevin Kubota's Lord of the Rings everyday to give it a dreamy glow. I bumped up the curves and contrast a bit and there you have it :)

So happy you all are here to visit us !!!!! THIS is a dream job and this group is sooooo AWESOME ... I LOVE MY CHICKS !!!

And the winner is....

Renee Bynum!!! Using Random.org to generate a number for us it selected #18. Renee was the lucky 18th person to leave a comment on the giveaway post!

Renee please contact us at pixelchicksphotography@hotmail.com with your address so we can send you your prize!

Huge thanks to everyone who participated with their comments, and everyone who became a fan on facebook! We really appreciate the incredible amount of support we have received in our first official week! We will have another giveaway, and other exciting stuff coming very soon so keep checking back!

Our First Giveaway!!!

We're kicking off our "new" and definitely much improved blog with some giveaways! That's right... we have bunches of freebies coming so keep checking back. This first one is awesome... a matching hat and bowl-style cocoon made with love by a very good friend, Ellen Tietke, also known as The Crochet Nanny! (*Please keep in mind that the cocoon is a photo prop only*)

What do you need to do for a chance to win? Just leave us some love (comments) here on the blog, and "fan" us on Facebook! Everyone who does will be entered to win the set and the winner will be drawn totally at random next week. Please be sure to leave your full name with your comment so we can identify you! Results will be announced here on the blog next week so be sure to check back!

First... a little interview with "The Crochet Nanny"...

Q. When did you first pick up a crochet needle?

Probably about 35 years ago, as a new bride! My husband's grandmother crocheted all the time and tried many many times to teach me. I was all thumbs, I just couldn't get it, but she was very patient and finally it all came together! I always made the ripple afghan, but after my grandson was born seven years ago, I taught myself to read patterns and attempted little hats, and sweaters, and it just grew.

Q. What do you love most about what you do?

I love learning to make something new and giving things I have made to people as gifts! I love when people like what I make.

Q. We love your biz name! Where did the name "Crochet Nanny" come from?

Well, actually, when my grandson Damien started talking he would identify his grandfathers by what they did! He calls one grandfather Red PopPop because he wore a red shirt for work all the time and called my husband Garage PopPop because he was always in the garage smoking! My grandsons call me Nanny, and in my family grandmothers were always known as Nanny, with an adjective! So we had Fat Nanny, Old Nanny, etc., so I thought Crochet Nanny fits me and thought it would be a cool name for my shop. (And I thought I better grab it before I became Fat Nanny or Old Nanny II!)

Q. Vanilla or Chocolate?

Vanilla

Q. What is your secret indulgence?

Obviously yarn, I cant get enough of it, I have bins and bins and still keep stopping in at AC Moore and Michaels to buy more. Its an obsession.

Q. Favorite movie?

I love movies, it is great to sit on the couch, crochet and watch a movie! One of my favorite pastimes and very relaxing! I think one of my favorites was Between Heaven and Earth with Tommy Lee Jones, Amadeus I loved, but it changes often. Anything that is a good dramatic hearwrenching tale with a moral to it, and anything on Masterpiece Theatre!

Q. What do you do when you're not crocheting?

Cruising the computer, Facebook, blogging, playing games, Bejeweled Blitz, Hidden Object games. This week I'm hooked on Mahjong, and most often I am looking for new crochet patterns or ideas for crocheting. I have a whole box of patterns I have printed off the internet!

Q. If you could go anywhere in the world for a month long vacation ( money is no object here) where would you go and who would you want with you?

I always dreamed of going to Ireland, but lately I have been thinking of seeing the western United States, Grand Canyon, all that kind of stuff and I would love to take my whole family, children, spouses and grandchildren. However, since one son in law is from Romania and one from Portugal, I would also like to visit those countries as well with the whole crew of course! I think I need more than a month!

Q. What is the best advice you've ever been given?

I remember my mother always saying "a day doesnt a week make" and "this too shall pass" - which didnt make sense until lately. My three favorites that I really try to live by are Kill Em with Kindness (from my Uncle Ed O'Brien) and Live in the Moment (which is a variation of something my father used to say all the time), and happiness is a choice I make everyday (I made that one up, I think!) Something I read on a day by day calendar once that I repeat often to others is "the door to happiness opens out"!

Q. What do you most want people to know about you and your products?

Hmmmm... I think that people should know that I put a lot of love into everything I stitch, I think of the person who will be wearing or using it and try to put good thoughts and karma into them. I have a lot of respect for my husbands grandmother and my own aunts who were avid crocheters and feel honored to have many of the things they made. I hope that people will appreciate the time and skill it takes and that perhaps they will be encouraged to learn a craft that they can enjoy and create heirlooms for their own families.

We truly, truly want to thank Ellen for her joining with us for this "grand opening" of sorts. Ellen has lovingly made and donated several more items for future giveaways here on the blog as well. Be sure to check out all the wonderful goodies in Ellen's Etsy store or her 1000 Markets shop! Tell her the Pixel Chick's sent ya!!!

Now get busy - drop those comments and become a Facebook Fan!