Posts tagged studio

Creative Portraits for iBec Creative

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Creative Portraits

 

When your client is a marketing agency, things tend to get interesting.   I’ve had the fortune to work with a bunch of great creative types at agencies small and large, and I find that collaborating with a talented team of creatives leads to great results.

iBec Creative is a Portland-based web design and development agency that I’ve worked with several times over the years on various client projects—always a fun experience. Recently they hired me to produce creative portraits of their own team for use on their newly-redesigned website.

It’s one thing for a creative agency to choose you to photograph for their clients, and another when being hired to photograph the agency itself. Given the many talented photographers iBec has worked with, I was honored to be asked to help.

iBec already knew the look they wanted: contemporary, fun and with a fashion sensibility.  They opted to be photographed on white seamless in the studio.  The lighting was simple, but purposeful: dramatic and directional, casting shadows on the background. Basically, it was like photographing a fashion shoot, but with less fans, stylists and featuring coders and programmers instead of models.

The idea was to photograph real moments, rather than static, overly-posed formal shots. The team did great (even those who probably don’t love having their photos taken). I love the variety of shots we got, and like the way iBec used them on their site: a black and white grid, overlaid with patterns that reference the areas each member specializes in, from web design and development to application prototyping to digital marketing.  The team page reflects the cool people and personalities that make iBec tick.  See more of the images, below.

 

Creative Portraits

 

To see more of my work, including many more creative portraits–please click here to visit my portfolio site, Fitzgerald Photo.  Thank you!

Changing Mood By Photographing Opposites

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mood

Before I owned a studio full of lighting gear and travelled with assistants, I spent years as a photojournalist who owned little more than a Domke F-2 bag with two camera bodies.  When you boil things down, I’m a location photographer who happens to have a studio.

When on location, I often have to travel quickly, adjust on the fly and create visual gold out of thin air.   When it comes to using light, I’ve learned to work fast and to think in opposites.  More on that in a moment.  The advantages of also having a studio means that I can test and experiment with my lighting before going on scene, which is a huge plus.

A recent collaboration with Virginia, a local actress looking for theatrical images, demonstrates the idea of “opposites” well.  The challenge was to create a series of distinct looks in the studio in a relatively short period of time, relying only on lighting and a few key elements. As a mental exercise, I try to challenge myself to create looks that are visual “opposites”–i.e., if I photograph a scene heavily lit, then I’ll try one completely using natural light. If something is very dark toned, I’ll try one scenario that is all light or white tones. It’s a way of expressing something completely different even with the same subject and location.

My favorite image of the day was of Virginia wrapped in a flowing red scarf, blowing in the breeze. In the absence of the background, the red scarf gives life and movement to the image and I love how it turned out. Then there’s the quiet moment of Virginia, looking dark with warm, low-contrast tones. Contrast these with images where she is looks unflinchingly at the frame, a study in bright tones.

One space, a few elements, and deliberate lighting to help convey a different mood. Virginia knocked it out of the park.

 

mood

 

mood

 

 

Blush in motion

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Beth’s always looked great in front of the camera…this week at Fitzgerald Studios, Beth was filmed for a video profile on Blush Imagery by Chris Cavallari, of Filmosity Productions. I’ve known Chris for a couple of years now, and really enjoy his approach and skill. Having had the opportunity to see him work, I like his style, too. Stay tuned for the video results!

Happy Halloween from the worker bees

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No one can deny that we have a fun bunch here at the Fitzgerald studios.   Since Halloween is Sunday, we decided to make Friday a dress-up day.  There’s Lady Gaga (AKA Ayla Kelley), Lucille Ball (Stepheney Collins) and drones no. 5,568 and 17,321 (we’re worker bees…it’s definitely appropriate).   So, enjoy the slideshow…and happy holidays, everyone!

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Holiday Party…Round Two?

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What a blast.  For all who were able to come to our holiday party/open house Thursday, many thanks for sharing our celebration of our first year at 28 Maple Street.  For those who weren’t able to, take heart….there’s always next year!

The corporate HQ of both Blush Imagery and Fitzgerald Photo is still bearing signs, days after the fact, of an off-the-hook party gone horribly, horribly…right.  And even as we’re taking down the candles and mopping up the crumbs we’ve not been able to wipe the grins off our faces.  What a great night.

By the count of our official people counter (Beth) we had over 125 cheery souls here on Thursday night.  The attendees were eclectic–photographers (of course), but also insurance agents, realtors, musicians, caterers, planners, journalists, financial advisors, pr/marketing specialists, programmers, designers…just to name a few.  Special thanks to Kevin Brooks for carrying in Bob Charest‘s music equipment,  to Nancy, Chuck, Dorothy and Sondra of CVC Catering for keeping everyone in (good) spirits and Gail and Shannon at Dodge The Florist in Portland for really creating some magic in our space.  We also appreciate our friends Lori and Joel Harrison, who took special care of Maggie for the night.

We even were featured in photos on page D10 of the Sunday Portland Press Herald (Scene and Heard).Thanks, Greg!  Those photos are below. We’ll post more photos soon.

[svgallery name="party"]

Come join the party!

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After a big move, what do you usually do?  Have an open house, of course.  We moved into this great studio six months ago already (really?) and only now are things getting settling down enough that we can focus on welcoming our friends, colleagues and networking friends.  We’ll have some great food, some drinks, and hopefully we’ll meet some new friends as well.  Please click here for more info or to register…and hope to see you!