Photographic Narratives by Luxe Photography

Studio Shots for February

2010-02-26T12:27:00.000-08:00

I don't think mom, dad or grandma were planning on making it into the pictures for Baby Carly's first year shoot the other night. Uh oh!

Studio Shots for February

2010-02-25T11:56:00.000-08:00

Last week I was able to do some fun shots with the help of my boys' pre-school Director and Assistant Director. I've known Ms. Laura, our Director, for almost 5 years now and Ms. Kelly was my oldest son's teacher for a semester. These ladies are awesome and for any of our friends or acquaintances that are looking for a Pre-K school in the St. Charles area, let me know and I can pass along their information.

The best part of this shoot is knowing no matter how much the ladies hated their pictures, I'm still able to showcase them. Why? Because I liked these particular shots so much. And because I don't showcase any bad pictures, I think, for this particular instance, the girls are crazy!

Studio Shots for February

2010-02-24T11:32:00.000-08:00

Studio Hockey Shoot

2010-02-14T11:59:00.000-08:00

I finally convinced my oldest son Wyatt to get into full hockey gear and play in the studio...hockey skates included. Although we don't condone using good skates on studio surfaces, I think I was willing to sacrifice a few things to get some pictures done. Let's just say after the session yesterday, I had to make a special trip to Home Depot to buy a new tile board for the studio. Sharpened skates really do cut through a lot of things!

A few things of note that I had to watch out for, and for what it's worth, made for good practicing for me. Lots and lots of white. Background, the jersey and the hockey tape on the stick. Took a while to figure out the balance of lighting with the main light so not to overexpose too much, but with the limited time I had with a 5 year old on skates, you do what you can.

2 basic setups on this one. For the B&W image, background lights were turned off and everything is lit with just the main key light. I really wish I had more time to shoot a few more this way, and I'd also like to see if I can really throw that background black. I'm not sure I have a big enough space to do so. The second setup had the two Alien Bees B800's firing on the background and a third B800 as the key light.

An interesting tidbit, on the full length shots, the tile board beneath Wyatt is all cut to hell. The exposure of the lights helps knock those out and hide them where you can't really see, but I did have to do some post processing on the bigger gashes. In all honesty, I actually didn't mind the look of the cuts and will keep the original as a keeper cause it also adds a little texture to the image and a reminder of how sharp the skates were.

Alli Shoot II

2010-01-18T21:30:00.000-08:00

Here are a few more shots from the Alli shoot the other day.

I've spent a little extra time on this particular picture, which I think is starting to be my favorite from the session. We were playing with the white background and trying to find out how far we could push the lighting to give us a nice gray background. Due to the limitations of the size of the studio, I'm having a hard time getting a truly black background, but I may just have to spend a few more hours tinkering. My only gripe with the picture is I wish I had used one of the background lights I had turned off, and placed it as a hair light, separating Alli from the background more. But I love the eyes the most and thought this particular shot would do better with a slightly closer crop than what you saw on the post before.

The next shot I'm really happy with because of both her look off camera, and the reflection we were able to maintain on the floor.

Alli Shoot

2010-01-15T21:32:00.000-08:00

We're just about ready to go live with our Luxe Mini Studio, and I had the pleasure of bringing in a friend of mine who helped me with some modeling last year to prepare for the 2009 senior portrait season. There's a few things I still need to tweak out, but for the most part, I was very happy with the end results of our shoot. I'm also working on the complete review of the studio setup which should be posted in the next few weeks, but for now, here are a few samples from today. Thanks Alli!

First Set of Studio Pics

2010-01-12T22:41:00.000-08:00

The Luxe mini studio is almost complete! We had a friend of ours stop by for dinner the other night and to introduce us to the new addition to the family. What was that? Coming over for a nice relaxing get together? I don't think so. I'm going to drag you over to help me test out my new gear! I'm in the process of a full write up when the mini studio and all the gear is complete and fully functional, but for now, I'd like to share a few shots we did.

The most difficult part of it all? Mom is an accomplished graphic designer and photographer. Talk about intimidation...and pressure not to look too foolish behind the camera! My many thanks for putting up with me that night and letting me play.

Working With What You Got: Your Kids

2010-01-05T17:57:00.000-08:00

My poor family. I'm sure I'm not in a unique situation with anyone that likes to take pictures from time to time, that it's hard to find subjects you can practice on. Over and over again. And over again. And some more. Now when you get some new toys in, as I have - some Alien Bees 800 modeling strobes - you want to just play all day.

Problem is, no one wants to play with you.

My family, quite frankly, is so tired of me trying new things out. I remember when I was testing out my new Pocket Wizards last year, I had my wife sit out in the kitchen for an hour. Needless to say, she was not happy afterward. My kids, they'll play, but their attention span is pretty short. I can't properly play with MY toys in say, 5 minutes, which is really all the time I get from them. But I will give credit too, sometimes, when my oldest WANTS to get pictures done. At that point, he'll pose and lay across every bit of furniture or outdoor arrangement like one of those girls in a car magazine. It's quite funny really.

I'm still waiting for my backdrop system to come in, so I'm forced to playing with a bare wall in my lower level at the house. Not ideal, but I'm more concerned with practicing with the strobes than anything else. Today, I convinced my youngest son, Will (3), to come over while he and his brother were taking turns on the Wii. In about 3 minutes time, I was able to grab a few shots.

It sort of sums him up really.

(2) B800 strobes on the background. Key light in soft box using PocketWizard FlexTT5.

Unwrapping Baby for the Holidays

2010-01-02T13:23:00.000-08:00

There was a specific shot that I had in mind during the holiday season that I wanted to capture but I wasn't quite sure how to set up. I wanted a certain look that was stuck in my head, but translating that into reality is always the interesting part. Aside from the basic setup, I also had to keep in mind who I was going to have actually do the shot. I had two particular subjects in mind - two of my favorites - and I'm lucky their parents, who are good friends of ours, are quite understanding when I call and say, "Hey, I've got this idea for a picture...what do you think???"

Actually, I think I started the conversation like, "Now don't freak out, but I want to put your baby in a box and wrap her up like a present being given by your oldest daughter." I don't know. I try to talk real fast and get the whole idea across before they can say no. I think their mom is used to me asking if I can put the baby in certain items I find around their house. You think the large fern pot is too dangerous for a baby?

I actually spent a good hour or so at the local craft store trying to piecemeal the look together. I had a few bags with me when I got to their house and all I can remember saying to them is, "Don't worry...it's gonna look cool...". Maybe that's what I was just saying to myself in my head. We actually started with their own family pictures first and at the end, they let me try my shot.

Mom and I set everything up and got everyone into place. The only problem was, baby girl was just starting to sit on her own, and wasn't able to stay in that position very long. looking back, the box I had for the packaging was probably too thin, so at some point during the shoot, we had dad lay on his belly in the background holding the baby up. I figure we could either hide the arm or photoshop it out.

When all was said and done, my favorite shot was one we shot toward the beginning - without dad's help. I wanted a very clean, homely look...with lots of white tones coming from the windows contrasted with a very over-the-top "unwrapping baby" theme.

It was fun staging this shot and I hope to do more like this for fun in the future. So from Luxe to you, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

Fall Family Shots: Unexpected Shots

2009-12-25T20:35:00.000-08:00

This was another recent family session this Fall where I ended up with a picture I hadn't prepared for or counted on. Both big brother (6) and little sister (4) were doing great for their individual pictures, and when it came time to getting some together, they sort of just broke down and did what young siblings usually do...wrestling and tumbling. We sort of just watched them roll around for a bit when, with just a fraction of a section stop in action, I was able to grab this shot.

One of my favorites all year.

So good, it made it in a frame in my house this past week. But it has nothing to do with them being my niece and nephew...really!

Engagement Session: Sarah and Jake

2009-12-24T20:20:00.000-08:00

Our last and final session of 2009, and what better way to spend it than with Sarah and Jake, who are getting married in the Fall of 2010. Congratulations! Jake was only in town for a few weeks during the holidays, and then was back to work to complete his duties as a private contractor in Iraq. They both wanted to get together before he left to do an engagement session - and as luck would have it, it was one of the coldest days in the area. We'd jump out, shoot for 15-20 minutes, and then hop back into our cars to warm up and spent a good 2 hours finding the shots that we wanted. There was no "impromptu" jumping into the lake this day for pictures, but we did luck out and get a great shot of them walking through about 100 Canadian Geese just as they took flight! Pretty cool.

Luxe in Houston Pt. 1

2009-12-22T20:04:00.000-08:00

For the second year in a row, I was fortunate enough to shoot a few families down in Houston, Texas. It's a great way for me to expand my shooting capabilities in a completely different environment as well as extend the shooting season for me in the winter time as the weather here, in St. Louis, starts playing havoc with outdoor sessions.

I'd like to also give some major thanks to my brother, Michael, who lives down in Houston. If it wasn't for him setting these up, I don't think I'd ever make it happen. Also, for taking one for the team, as he was written up by his supervisor for emailing out to his fellow pharmacists for letting them know I'd be in town. Yikes! Sorry, brother!

This last trip to Houston almost was a disaster, in that we were rained out the first 3 days I was there. It's only a 4 day trip! But finally, we managed to get everyone re-scheduled on that final Sunday and had a great time doing so. Here is one of those sessions here, an absolutely gorgeous family who some of you may recognize one here in the St. Louis area. Post Dispatch family columnist - and missing child expert commonly interviewed on Nancy Grace - Ms. Aisha Sultan. You may also notice the photo seen here is also the one she uses online at STLToday.com and STLMomsandDads.com For all you Luxe parents that are out there in the St. Louis area, take a look at the parent's site that the Post Dispatch has set up. A ton of informative and entertaining tid bits for parents everywhere!

More Fall Family Shots

2009-12-21T19:44:00.000-08:00

November was the busiest month for me with Luxe from the very beginning, and I would like to thank everyone for their support over these last few years. I'm in the middle of finishing up editing the last of the proofs for 2009 and have had a moment to start putting together some collages of some of the family shoots recently. I'll post more as I wrap up things for this year and prepare for an even bigger 2010!

From running 10K to Family Shoot

2009-12-03T08:20:00.000-08:00

About a month ago we did the Eye Run For Haiti event put on by Regional Eye Care here in St. Charles, MO, and had the chance to meet and photograph many runners from around the area. One family gave us a ring after the event and set up for a family shoot a few weeks later. Gorgeous family, and so well put together, that I had to tell mom that I'd have to hire her as my fashion consultant on future shoots! Here are a few from that session:

Losing Your Bag of Camera Goodies

2009-12-02T14:12:00.001-08:00

A couple of months ago, I shot a family down at Tillis Park late into the evening and upon finishing the shoot, I loaded up my car and headed home - not knowing that I only loaded up part of what I arrived with earlier in the day. I had left my entire bag filled with my 2 flashes (430EX, 580EXII), various lenses (including my 70-200L IS) and my pocket wizard setups.

I made it home by dark, which took me about 45 minutes, and ate dinner with the family and played with my boys before their bedtime. I told my wife I was going to start editing pictures instead of watching a movie with her, so I went back out to my car and stood their puzzled, not knowing where my stuff was.

I walked back inside, really not even coming to the realization yet, that I left my bag at the park. "Hey, you see my bag in here?" My wife had no idea if I brought it in or not, but slowly we came to the conclusion of what I had done. Complete and utter despair and dread came over me. "You've got to be kidding me." A few expletives later, I was back in my car doing 90+ on the highway back to Tillis Park.

I rationalized just about everything I could on that drive. It had been a good 2 hours since I left the park, of which the last hour or so was dark. What are the odds that someone would even see my black bag? Oddly enough, that was enough to hold me over during the drive, but I will be honest and say thoughts of the complete demise of my business did creep up.

I pulled up to the front gates of the park, in complete darkness and noticed the park had closed. Lucky for me, only one gate was partially closed. I maneuvered my car through, and proceeded directly to the spot I knew I had left the bag. Problem was, when I got there and put my brights on the area, the bag was gone.

As I called my wife to tell her the bad news, over my shoulder I saw some lights flashing from a car. Park Ranger. He pulled up and asked what I was doing. I told him who I was and what complete idiot I was. I'm sure he thought so too, cause he told me to sit tight and he'd be right back.

When he pulled back up, he got out of his car and asked me several questions about the bag...what was in it...brands...etc...There was a glimmer of hope within me as he asked me those questions. Why would he ask me if he didn't have it? Or, maybe he was asking so he could file a report. AGGH!

Lucky for me, this is a good story. Why? Cause he did have the bag. And it was a great lesson for me not to do something this stupid again. Or, at least until I do it again. Probably inevitable. I thanked the Ranger, over and over again. Ranger David, of the St. Louis Park and Recreation Dept. Needless to say, I set up a family shoot with him as just a small token of my appreciation. I was lucky that day. REAL lucky. It really made me think of the different outcomes that could have happened that day.

So, here are a few pictures from the shoot we did with Ranger David and his family.

I am so truly thankful.

World Bird Sanctuary - Eagles, Hawks, Owls and More!

2009-11-11T20:59:00.000-08:00

This past week I was able to take the boys on a trip to the World Bird Sanctuary, located in Valley Park, Missouri, about 30 minutes from our house. Here's a little snippet from their website:

The World Bird Sanctuary is both a unique St. Louis attraction and entertaining environmental education opportunity. With over 305 acres and over 200 animals in our care, we offer a one-of-a-kind wildlife experience. The World Bird Sanctuary's mission is to preserve the earth's biological diversity and to secure the future of threatened bird species in their natural environments. We work to fulfill that mission through education, captive breeding, field studies and rehabilitation.

Not only do the boys get to see all sorts of cool predatory birds, they get to do so free of charge! There's no cost to go, but they do offer up several shows and exhibits where you can donate to their great cause. Our first time there a few weeks ago was for an open house where we sat for a presentation that included a barn owl flying within inches of the audience...back and forth. But at the time, I didn't bother bringing a camera cause I wanted to enjoy the experience without lugging the monstrosity that is my camera bag. This time, however, I brought my full gear, with by two boys in tow, and we got to see all the birds up close and personal.

The only bad thing about a trip like this is knowing I'll never be able to get shots like this in the wild...without spending thousands of dollars on gigantic lenses and hours sitting patiently in the field.

Here are a few shots:

I believe this is the Black Hawk...

Thought it was funny to see the worlds fastest animal (Peregrin Falcon)...trying to pry the chains off his feet!

One of dozens of Bald Eagles that are too injured to return to the wild. Amazing animals to see so close.

Golden Eagle...

Wyatt and Brooklynn Shoot

2009-11-02T12:45:00.000-08:00

Eye Run for Haiti 5k/10k Pictures

2009-10-31T18:39:00.000-07:00

Link to pictures...

We got up bright and early on what was a cold and brisk October morning here in St. Louis for the Eye Run for Haiti 5k/10k sponsored by Regional Eye Care. I just spoke with Dr. Matt Wickham from Regional, and it sounds like it was a huge success and surpassed the original numbers they were counting on. 350+ runners started and finished the race for a great cause. What was even more special was my wife, Amy, also ran the race. Her first 5k run, although, she's run a couple marathons and a triathlon already.

I had a lot of fun on the shoot, but I wish I had a few more hands helping me out behind the camera. It was just impossible to be everywhere at once. I'd shoot prior to the start of the race, but have to hop in my car with a police escort to make it to the first mile turn for the iconic shot you see here. I've submitted that to Dr. Wickham to see if it could be the "poster" for future races for their branded "Eye Run For..." series.

After taking the hill shot, I had to weave my way through runners (very carefully) and make it back to the finish line to shoot each racer as they crossed the finish line. I had 10-15 minutes to make it back. I think next time, I'll have to do a little more heavy recruiting of my fellow photographers to see if we can station ourselves throughout the course for some cool pics! But despite the rush, I think they turned out pretty cool and showed the atmosphere of race day.

Thanks to all the volunteers and participants. See you at the next "Eye Run For..." race!

Busch Wildlife Waterfall Spillway

2009-10-29T13:10:00.000-07:00

I was on my way home from a meeting with Regional Eye Care, who are hosting the Eye Run For Haiti, 10K walk/run charity this Saturday, when I passed an area off of Hwy 40/61 on the Busch Wildlife Reserve, that was displaying a wonderful waterworks show off the spillway. Normally, it's an empty spillway, with nothing going on, but with the 2+ weeks of rain we've received here in St. Louis, the lake was overflowing! I had my gear with me, and I've never shot anything like it before, so I gave it a shot.

I initially pulled over on the highway, which is pretty dangerous anyway. The spillway and highway was seperated by a pretty large fence, so I couldn't get a clear shot. My only other alternative was to actually drive around and actually enter the park, but I wasn't really sure which lake this was attached to.

20 minutes later, I'd made it to one of two lakes I thought it could be (Busch Wildlife has over 30 lakes...), so I parked my car and hiked around. Did I mention 2+ weeks of rain? At times, I was up to my ankles in mud and overgrown grasses and bushes, but I finally made it to my destination. It was pretty cool. It's not readily accessible, so the fact I was in my own little area all by myself, was pretty special.

I did have to trek down a pretty steep hill of rocks, mud and overgrown brush. I thought to myself I could probably fall and lie there for days without anyone finding me. Maybe I was just telling myself that, to make my adventure a bit more exciting, but to be safe, I left a voicemail with my wife at work, and told her where I was. Funny, she never called me back the rest of the day to see if I was alright. Hmm.

So here are a few shots I was able to get. I wish I was there with someone that has shot something like this before. I'd love to learn how to make these images pop and stand out. Another thing I wished I had was some neutral density filter so I could slow my shutter enough to get a really cool motion blur effect. Unfortunately, I could only shoot about 1/10 of a sec. at around f22, ISO 100. Anything slower and everything was blown out.

If any of my other photog friends know what else I could do here, please let me know.

Eye Run for Haiti 10K This Saturday, Oct. 31

2009-10-29T13:04:00.000-07:00

This weekend, we will be photographing the Eye Run for Haiti 10k walk/run that is raising money for the people of Haiti, one of the poorest areas in the western hemisphere. Our good friends over at Regional Eye Care are hosting the event, so if you want to come out to run/walk (even in your Halloween costume!), please check out their website for sign ups and more information.

Pictures for the even will be ready for viewing later that day, and can be found our our proof site, www.luxephoto.net.

PocketWizard RF Noise Solution for Canon Users

2009-10-27T07:09:00.000-07:00

Good news today as I came across information from several sources as well as on the PocketWizard site, that we now have a workable solution for those of us who use Canon flashes that are having issues with RF noise and their FlexTT5 and MiniTT1. PocketWizard will be releasing a soft shield of sorts, called the AC5, that will effectively muffle the RF noise from Canon flashes and further extend the off camera flash distances we have been complaining about. The best news, though, is that it will be offered to existing PocketWizard customers for free, provided you submit your FlexTT5 serial numbers and do it before January 31, 2010.

Simply go to PocketWizard site, and fill out some information and the new AC5's should be out in the mail in a few weeks. It's first come, first serve, so you might want to get on it quick. Another work around product, the AC7, which is a hard cover attachment, will also be available shortly and for about $30.

Here's a quick video they posted showing what the AC5 can do. I will be testing the new "sock" as soon as I get it and will post it here.

Senior Pics

2009-10-23T19:33:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have been pretty non-stop for pictures. On this last senior shoot I did, we decided on a location to shoot toward the end of the day, but the real gem of a site came as we were on our way to the park. We came across several abandoned barns in the middle of town and a lone rusted out truck that had a for sale sign on it. It definitely called out for us to come say hi! After getting permission from the owner, we shot in the final hour of sunset and this is by far, one of the coolest sessions I've done. I love this truck! If only I had a place to put it...and a few grand to buy it!

Wedding: Andy and Beth

2009-10-06T08:13:00.001-07:00

I just finished the pictures for the last wedding I shot a few weeks ago for Andy and Beth. On top of having a great wedding, Beth and Andy were very open to doing all kinds of different pictures without hesitation - a photographer's dream! It seemed like they were having a blast, even when their own party bus dropped the ball and failed to show. We made the most of it by trekking back on foot to a house where everyone mingled before heading to the reception. Most of our best shots were done on this hike back!

Of course, this wedding has it's own story for me, as this was the first time I completely lost track of one of my lenses during the shoot. We just finished with the ceremony and were outside the church, across the street, where we were taking some shots prior to the party bus NOT showing up. When we made the determination to walk it, we got a few blocks down the road when I noticed my bag feeling really lite. After panicking for a few seconds, I re-traced my steps back to the area in front of the church where my $1500 lens was sitting in the middle of the yard. Lucky, lucky, lucky.

I'd also like to thank Alex Karnafel, from AKPhotography, who was the other photographer at the wedding. At first, an odd situation with two different photographers at one wedding, Alex and I talked beforehand and worked up a plan to shoot Andy and Beth - and everything went great! Alex has been doing a lot of weddings and has some great skills so I was anxious to learn a few things from him. We decided with his experience, we'd have him be the primary shooter, but that we'd both take time to shoot the bride and groom and give them some different looks. Alex handled the ladies, and I shot the Andy and his guys prior to the wedding but we came together the rest of the day to give them a ton of photos to look at.

Wedding: Johnny & Nikki

2009-09-09T07:30:00.001-07:00

Here's another local wedding I shot about a month ago with Johnny and Nikki. I did their daughter's 3 month pictures a few months back and felt pretty good going into this being that it was now my second wedding as the main shooter.

Guess what?!? An outdoor, mid-summer wedding, in St. Louis and the wedding gods looked favorable upon us with yet another 70 degree day! I don't want to push my luck as I have my third wedding coming up this week, but here's hoping the good weather continues.

After the wedding, we had a little over 90 minutes to head to downtown St. Charles for a creative shoot with the wedding party. I had everything sort of planned out beforehand, but I wasn't aware of having this awesome classic car for the day. My plans quickly changed as I had to incorporate this car into our wedding theme. My favorite shot? Following behind the bride and groom on Mexico Rd. on our way downtown, when I caught them sneaking a kiss. As I'm driving, I reached over with my right hand and grabbed my camera as fast as I could...I snapped 4 blurry pics, but did get at least one...and it's one of my all time favorites!

Wedding: Jeremy & Missy

2009-09-08T19:22:00.000-07:00

First of all, congratulations to Jeremy and Missy on their wedding day! Also, this kicks off what is the first of many wedding shoots to come. Technically, this is the first solo wedding shoot I've done. Many thanks to Jeremy and Missy for being so laid back, cool and collected. I'll remember this shoot for so many reasons, but just to name a few:

1) Mid summer in St. Louis is miserable. We lucked out as our wedding was mid 70's and partly cloudy...and at 3pm in the afternoon!

2) Why I really will remember this particular shoot...as I'm shooting the guys on the steps of this beautiful building at Bee Tree Park in South County, St. Louis, I take a step backward and lose my balance...and fall flat on my back. But, with the camera held protectively at a 90 degree angle to the concrete bottom. My rear end and back to the most beating out of this, but I saved the camera.

3) The day after the wedding I was laid up in bed for a week straight, unable to move my back with a pinched nerve. Oh, it was so painful. I was out of commission for almost 3 full weeks. My wife, Amy, says I just need to get into wedding shape :)

So here are some of my favorite shots: