Mugshots

I started a new series. And it wasn't my idea at all. A model asked if I would shoot mugshots of her and her friends for her birthday. I said that I would since it sounded like great fun. I ordered the display board and tried to find a height chart (which are harder to find then I thought they would be). As it turns out, she never got back to me on doing the shoot, but I decided to start with my series anyway.

I started with myself as a test. I didn't have tape on the wall and I did the height chart in Photoshop. I played around with makeup and some fake blood. I had fun doing mine.

I didn't like doing the lines in Photoshop. It's a pain to do in between hair so I bought many rolls of tape (half of which wouldn't stick to the wall) and finally just cut matte black tape to the widths that I wanted. That's why the tape is all uneven. I don't have a good eye for level (I actually use grids in my camera to help with that!) I have numbers up there, but they aren't graphic enough, so I still do those in Photoshop.

I finally had a model photo shoot and I asked everybody if they would get their mug shots done. They did and I'm so grateful to Robin, Michelle, Greg and Stretch.

Everybody gets to choose their station and saying.  I think the photos are able to say a little a bit about me while saying quite a bit about the subject.

I think this will be a super fun series to do and it takes all of five minutes to get the shot. Plus it gave me something to do during makeup changes. I'm thinking of taping all the pictures on the wall next to the chart. Maybe Rodney (my studio mate) will add some pictures as well. It will make a cool collage of people who come through the studio.

Fuji x100s

I'm thinking about buying a new camera. I'm enamored with the Fuji x100s. What I really want is a super fantastic point and shoot. Which means I want to take high-resolution files in something that weighs as much as 5 tissues. I hate lugging around a DSLR. I love my DSLR, I just hate carrying it out in public. It's heavy and people get all self conscious when you pull it out. Even my cats run for the hills. And on the flip side, I hate my point and shoot. It takes all super sharpened unusable high resolution pictures. I carry it with me everywhere, but I never take it out because I know I'm going to hate the quality of the photos.

I really enjoyed shooting with my phone when I was on Instagram. I shot every single day and I loved it. I always had my phone with me and it was easy to take photos without drawing a lot of attention to myself. Granted the photos were technically bad, but they are some of the most narrative pictures that I have taken. I don't think they are amazingly creative, but they capture the moments really well. If I could capture the moment and have a fantastic, high-resolution photo, I think I would be in heaven.

The x100s isn't cheap. $1299. And it might weigh a little more than 5 tissues (not much more mind you). But I think it will bring back my love for photography and I am seriously missing that right now.

(Plus, look how cute it is. And it has my initial right there on the corner. How can I not get this camera?)

UPDATE: It didn't take me long after writing this to order the camera. I ordered from B&H which is closed until September 29 for a Jewish holiday. Plus the camera is on back order. Ugh. Waiting is making me nuts. I am really craving this camera. I already have pictures lined up to take with it. You'd think I didn't have a bag full of camera equipment right here.

UPDATE: I cancelled my B&H order and ordered from Unique Photo because they had it in stock. It arrives tomorrow, 8/3. I can't wait!

Color Run DC - The Happiest 5K

I went to the Color Run at National Harbor on Sunday. They call it the Happiest 5K and I believe them. Everybody was having a great time. I had fun and I didn't even run the thing.

Here are the pictures from the day. It was a great fall day for being outside. I'm always looking for a good photo opportunity to get me off the couch on the weekend — this one was perfect.

Field of Sunflowers: Kennedy at McKee Beshers

My only shoot in the last five months was in a field of sunflowers. It was a fun shoot even though it was hot and muggy and there was no sun in the sky. While everybody says that overcast is the way to shoot, I disagree. I like the sun and the blue sky and clouds. I can blow out the hard shadows with unnatural light. I'd rather do that, then have to add in sun and sky in post. But you make due with what mother nature gives you when you want to shoot outside.

Here is Kennedy at McKee Beshers in Poolesville, MD. Go there in July and shoot to your hearts content. They don't mind and you'll meet many other photographers there. Be advise to download the map of the fields first. The first year I went there, I completely missed them. I must have walk for an hour in the wrong direction. This field was not the popular field. I went an hour early to walk all the fields and see which one was the best. Since it was the second week of bloom, the flowers were starting to fade. This field was not fading as much; however, it had no parking and was trickier to get to. We trudged through mud, fought off bees, and sweat in very unladylike manners, but it was worth it.