For this shoot I worked with prisms and boldly-colored gelled lights. I love the results, which simultaneously feel vintage and futuristic— psychedelic and cyberpunk. As always, these effects were created in-camera, only using Lightroom to enhance color and contrast.
Read MorePhotographic Interpretations of the Book of Revelation: A Commission by Rock City Church
I was recently commissioned by @rockcitychurch to create a library of images based on the book of Revelation (themes such as confusion, suffering, dying, and persevering). To create these images I employed a range of camera and lighting techniques to capture @repotrash, @priscilladwomoh, @ninjalascriss, and @johnathondarcelle, as well as create some abstract images to represent these themes. Creative direction by @mitchellaadams.
Read MoreImages From My Latest Creative Portrait Workshop
Last week I taught a two-day photography workshop called The Creative Portrait. I taught my students a range of innovative camera and lighting techniques that allow them to capture subjects in creative ways. Here are a few of my favorite images from the weekend.
Read MoreCannabis Campaign Photo Shoot
Tryzdin Grubbs (American Idol contestant) Photo Shoot
Tryzdin Grubbs is an uber-talented, 15-year old singer from Columbus. He also just happened to get accepted onto the latest season of American Idol. Before the episode had even aired, Tryzdin popped by my studio for a photo shoot. This was our third shoot in as many years and this one was the most dynamic yet. We’ve both grown quite a bit in our respective crafts and so it was cool to see what new things we were bringing to the shoot, from a personal and professional standpoint. Here are just a few of the different looks that we knocked out in the brief but efficient, one-hour shoot.
Read MoreFractals: Photographing Time and Space
Though I’ve been exploring long exposures and shutter drag in my portrait photography for years now, I’ve recently began to explore it in a new way. For some time now I’ve implemented intentional movement into my shoots but I was always doing the moving— not my subject. I’d shoot at exposures longer than 1/30th of a second and I’d move my camera around as my subject sat there. I’d mix in a strobe light with a continuous light source so that at least part of the subject was sharp while the rest of the frame fell away to blurred movement. Lately, however, I’ve decided to ditch the strobe and fully embrace the blur…
Read MoreBlue and Gold
My friend Dylan is an amazing designer and illustrator and he recently hit me up to update his head shot. He uses a certain hue of cyan for his branding which he wanted to implement into the shoot. I decided to also use yellow-gold (the complementary color) and work within that palette for the entire session, changing only the angle or hardness of the light sources. Here are just a few ways to use two colors:
Read MoreIt's Always Sunny with Sonny
Last week I shot with Sonny and we did all the things. I started with a single, un-gelled “hard” light and then began ratcheting up the complexity. By using a range of different cucoloris (cookies) I created organic-shaped shadows on her face. By adding a cyan-gelled background light I was able to give the feeling of her being outside on a sunny day. We went on to play a range of different shadow-makers and color which worked perfectly with her long braids and flowing outfits.
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