Archive for the ‘Guest Blogger’ Category

Guest Blogger :: A Creative Helping Hand…The Power of Collaboration

Posted February 3rd, 2012 in Blog, Guest Blogger | No Comments

Paul Johnson, our guest blogger today, has written some of our most popular guest blogs to date. Our introduction to Paul in his previous post is still very fitting – he’s is not only amazingly talented, but quite honestly one of the best people I know. He is patient, kind, always with a smile and helping hand. I look forward every time we book him for a shoot. With Paul there are no egos, just great collaboration and better-than-expected outcomes.

We can’t sing his praises enough so, without further adieu, take it away Paul…

Having spent the day shooting stock photography yesterday, I have come to realize just how important collaboration can be. It’s one thing to have a good idea, maybe even come up with a plan on how to execute that idea, but you need someone to help hone and develop that idea. Collaboration:

Pancakes:

For those unfamiliar, stock photography is shot for download from a stock site to be used by the buyer for any purpose. That means that I have to come up with an idea for a picture that someone will want to buy… someone I have never met who will use it for an unknown purpose. Yesterday, my idea was to shoot pancakes, as I have had luck with pancakes in the past. Normally when I’m shooting food, I have a food stylist, an assistant and an art director to help craft the images. Each one will bring an idea, a suggestion and their experience to the creative process. They will each see something in the picture that the others do not see and that diversity makes for great work. Shooting my pancakes yesterday, I was on my own and I found it very hard to keep perspective – in shooting the pancakes I was not sure if I liked them and had nobody to ask. Finally I went to find a friend who’s opinion I trust – he said he didn’t like the reflection on the syrup and that the shot looked too static. I made some changes based on his suggestions and I think the image is all the better for it. You be the judge:

Before ::

After ::

Wusthof ::

This is a shot that I did with Amy (love her) for Wusthof. Amy brought me a layout, which is rare these days but so important to the creative process. It gives me the size and shape that the images need to be and also any space to leave blank for copy and logos. Just as importantly, she brought be a sketch and some “go-by” images to give me the look and feel that she wanted for Wusthof. We also worked with Leslie Gavin who always makes the food look amazing. Together we crafted this shot, each making changes along the way, for the cover of Wusthof packaging.

Super Bowl ::

This shot was a little more difficult. The assignment was to shoot food to help City Limits Diner advertise their take-out Super Bowl package. They gave me 5 plates of food, corn bread and a couple of other items to shoot. Luckily, the chef at City Limits is very good at preparing food for photography, paying extra attention to presentation. Without a layout or guidance from an art director, I was left to arrange the food by myself. I started by showing every plate buy quickly realized that it would have much for impact if I featured one dish, I chose the ribs because I loved the architectural presentation, not to mention the appetite appeal:

This week helped me realize that the more eyes on the image, the better the results. Let’s collaborate on something soon, it’s more fun and the final image is always better for it… we can get ribs for lunch.

To see more of Paul’s work visit his website or contact him at paul@pauljohnsonphotography.com

Guest Blogger :: Polish your Professional Image: Jennie’s Top 10 Tips for a Picture-Perfect Head Shot

Posted February 2nd, 2012 in Blog, Guest Blogger | 4 Comments

This morning, I have the great privilege of introducing you to the fabulous, the sweet, the talented Mrs. Jennie Fresa! Jennie is one talented lady. I know first-hand. We have collaborated on many projects to great results. I wouldn’t dream of getting my head shot taken without a once over glamification from Jennie first. And boy, have I challenged her! No matter how dark the circles under my eyes, or crazy my request (see my post on Monday where I asked Jennie to ‘make me look like the lead singer from The Cure!), she is never phased. She has just the right know how and application in her big bag of tricks to always make me look my best – and always with a smile. And did I mention this entrepreneurial superstar also has her very own beauty line so you can bring home all the wonderful products she recommends for you? I’m addicted to her concealer and lipsticks! So without further adieu, I’m pleased to introduce to yet another one of my favorite people this week …. take it away, Jennie!


 

Ladies ::
1.) Invest in a good hair cut and color (if needed). A professional stylist can help you determine a style that works best for you.

 

Source: somedayhopes.blogspot.com via Cecilia on Pinterest

 

2.) When it comes to makeup, less is more for day to day. When in doubt, stick to neutral colors like taupe, brown and charcoal. To avoid looking washed out in photos, you’ll want a little more definition around your eyes, a touch of bronzer, and a pop of color on your lip.

Source: Uploaded by user via Nikki on Pinterest

 

3.) Do not forget to get your brows done. Properly shaped brows make a HUGE difference in your overall look.

Source: nerdygirlmakeup.com via Kelly on Pinterest

 

 

4.) For clothing, avoid wearing white or any bold patterns. {If you’re looking for designer clothing on a budget, check out Coco’s on the Green in Madison}.

Source: 25.media.tumblr.com via Diana on Pinterest

 

 

5.) Keep your accessories simple and your manicure a neutral. I suggest ‘Ballet Slippers’, ‘Sandy Beach, ‘Waltz’ or ‘Mademoiselle’ all by Essie.

 

Gents ::
6.) A hair cut is a must, though I suggest scheduling an appointment about a week before your photo shoot so you don’t look “too done”. Don’t forget to have the barber trim the back of your neck.

{image from http://doublecrossed.ca/}

 

7.) Comb unruly brows up and throw on a little chapstick. And, yes, I do have some male clients come to me for a little brow maintenance.

Source: ramblyblog.com via Khrysthyne on Pinterest

 

 

8.) Invest in a quality neck tie and keep the pattern small or simple.

Source: tumblr.com via Andrew on Pinterest

 

 

Ladies & Gents ::
9.) Brighten those pearly whites with Crest White Strips. You can see a difference in 3 days with some of the newer formulas.


{image from www.terawarner.com/blog}

 

10.) Don’t forget to smile. It’s the first thing people notice and will increase your face value. ;-)

Source: theseventytree.blogspot.com via Jenny on Pinterest

~Amy

Guest Blogger :: Picture This

Posted February 1st, 2012 in Blog, Guest Blogger | 15 Comments

Today’s guest blogger is another amazing photographer, blogger and friend – Anna Sawin. Anna is located here on the Connecticut shoreline and photographs weddings, events and portrait photography throughout New England. You also may recognize her images on the Elements homepage. Currently all of our rotating images were taken by Anna (…and don’t they look great!)  In this post, Anna tells us how images are used as inspiration for her work and in her everyday life. But I’ll let her tell you more about that – take it away Anna…

At story time in my house, before I’ve even creased open the book, my children are jockeying for position around me: “So I can see the pictures, Mom!”

It’s all about the pictures, isn’t it? The lyrical writer can set our imaginations on fire with mental imagery, but we thirst for illustration and the validation of our mind’s images. Isn’t that why we’re all stuck on Pinterest these days, cataloging the beautiful, clever and most exceptional the Internet has to offer? (Message me if you need an invite–and consider yourself warned: it’s addictive!)

Source: etsy.com via Ivy on Pinterest

Photographs can inspire us, enlighten us, delight us and indeed, they can change the course of history. Recall “Migrant Mother,” the most well-known of American documentary photographer Dorothea Lange’s images. Her 1936 photo of impoverished migrant worker Florence Thompson Owen ran in the San Francisco News that year, with an article suggesting that more than 3500 migrant workers were starving in Nipomo, California, because of the failure of that season’s pea crop. The migrant picker camp there received a delivery of 20,000 pounds of food from the federal government within days: all because of a photograph. (The Owen family had purportedly moved on by then.)

National Geographic’s Afghan girl of the mesmerizing blue eyes. Alfred Eisenstaedt’s solider kissing a nurse in Times Square. The tender moment between John F. Kenndey, Jr. and his bride, Carolyn, in the single photo released from their 1996 wedding. You can picture them along with me, can’t you?

{image from http://www.celebritybrideguide.com}

It is this affinity for images, so beautifully fed by the Internet, that inspires the work that we do in the fields of photography and design. Through blogs we communicate to the world beyond our walls with images, telling the stories of other lives, our projects, our families, our favorite hobbies. The team here at Elements knows the power of the visual: consider the gorgeous imagery that comes at you daily on these pages, and the strength of documenting and cataloguing current projects through their “Tack Wall” feature on the blog. Could you imagine any of it without the accompanying visuals? Would you even be here reading if you didn’t already know that Amy and team would be providing you with a visual feast? (True confession: I look forward to the Elements seasonal postcard mailer every time, because the Elements team members are exquisite curators of images–I adore the choices they make, the messages they build, and the feelings those images inspire. If you aren’t on the list, you should be.)

And we write our own stories in these blogs: in what other circumstance would a picture of my two children and their two best buddies be published along with historic, important images like the ones above? But it is these stories that matter, too: after a summer of accompanying my five-year-old out to the raft, he was finally ready to fly on his his own. This photo documents the first time this foursome, friends since infancy, were out on the raft without their grownups, while we watched from the shore on one of the very last days we could wring out of the summer.

{image ©Anna Sawin}

So drink in the stories of the world through images–see the stories told by designers and artists and photographers and bloggers, and consider the stories you can tell each day of your own life.

See more of Anna’s work visit her website or contact her at anna@annasawin.com

Guest Blogger :: There’s Nothing Better Than Discovering What You’re Meant To Do

Posted January 31st, 2012 in Blog, Guest Blogger | 6 Comments

Today’s guest post comes from blogger, friend, and amazing photographer Bruce Plotkin. For those of you who saw our 2011 Elements Holiday Card – Bruce was our fantastic photographer for the day that trekked through the woods with us to capture just the right shot. As you’ll see below – Bruce’s beautiful photography spans from weddings to children, bat mitzvahs to lumbers! But we’ll let Bruce tell you a bit more about that…take it away Bruce!

One of my current favorite quotes was something that famed director Mike Nichols said in a piece for Vanity Fair a few years back. In talking about the making of the movie “The Graduate” he said, “There’s nothing better than discovering, to your own astonishment, what you’re meant to do. It’s like falling in love”. Indeed, this sentiment couldn’t ring more true than for my own life and career.

For forty years my dad was a wedding and portrait photographer in the town I grew up in, Worcester, Mass. Through his own love for photography and his home-based business, from an early age I was immersed in the medium, dabbling in the darkroom, often with my own twins lens reflex around my neck. But the last thing I ever thought I’d do for a living was photograph weddings. Perhaps it was partly not thinking you wanted to do what your dad did, and partly that wedding photography as it existed back in the age of medium format coverage neither seemed glamorous nor creative, and certainly not for me.

After graduating from LA’s Art Center College of Design I headed to New York, where I had the unique opportunity to work as a photographer’s assistant for numerous fashion and advertising photographers, including the soon be renowned Bruce Weber and Albert Watson. Within a few years of arriving in the City, I acquired a studio space, started shooting my own assignments and managed to gain a following and build a career photographing people (lots of kids, actually) for ads, editorial and catalogs.

Now to the crux of my story. Throughout my two decades of working in the commercial world I was periodically asked by friends if I would photograph their weddings, and while I might have initially said yes a bit reluctantly, I quickly discovered that given the freedom to shoot with a 35mm, and with lots of black and white, and allowed to simply capture the day as I saw fit, it was not only exciting, but enabled me to provide my friends with a gift of lasting memories that was way beyond anything that I could have bought them. And when the time came, about a dozen years ago, when my commercial assignments seemed less and less interesting to me (and the commute in from suburbia less appealing), I started more seriously dabbling in photographing weddings. It took me virtually no time to realize that the brides and grooms I was meeting with were indeed looking for that same sort of creative, documentary “personal” style that I’d been using to photograph my friends weddings, this several years before I started even hearing the term “wedding photojournalism”.

The rest is history. My event business took off, and continues to flourish to this day. As digital has evolved and the low light level capabilities of the cameras have gotten better and better, it’s enabled my more candid and “natural” approach to documentary photography to improve exponentially. What’s been most exciting for me has been the ability to develop a relationship-based business, much like my dad always had (even without his having the advantage of blogging and Facebook). A very high percentage of my work comes from referrals from my happy brides and grooms, their family and their friends. I love all the friends that I’ve made and I now routinely have the opportunity to photograph the babies of my brides and grooms, which really gives you that sense of continuity and life’s full circle.

And while the main focus of my career continues to be my event photography, I equally love the diversity of some of the non-wedding related magazine assignments that continue to come my way, from stories about local artists, chefs and teachers, and any all shoots involving kids. What I’ve come to realize after more than three decades of taking pictures professionally is that not only do I love the art and craft of photography and the ability to capture emotion, time and place, but that I love people. I love their stories, I love being part of their lives and recording their history. I truly feel blessed to have been given this talent and this opportunity. Thanks to my dad for showing me the way, even if it took me awhile to get there.

Elements 2011 Holiday Card

{all images ©Bruce Plotkin}


~Allyson

Guest Post :: Inspiration Is All Around Us

Posted January 6th, 2012 in Blog, Guest Blogger, Inspiration | No Comments

Today’s post is brought to you by writer and friend – Betsy Fitzgerald-Campbell. She is the author of October Run, and also works as the vice president of communications for the Alzheimer’s Association, MA/NH Chapter. Betsy shares with us a person that inspires her, but I’ll let her tell you about that…without further adieu, take it away, Betsy!

Feeling stuck? Look around you and inspiration may be closer than you think. As a writer, I’ve never been short on ideas. But inspiration—the energy that kicks everything into gear—most often comes to me when I meet people who are totally immersed in their work. It’s as if they are giving off electric pulses that can be picked up and absorbed.

One of my inspirations of late is an artist named Helen Meyrowitz. Brooklyn born, a New Yorker and now Massachusetts transplant, Helen has been making art for as long as I’ve been alive. She is classically trained with a keen sense of storytelling. Many of her works are series that have come to represent transition periods of her life.

When we met, her husband Sidney was in later stage Alzheimer’s disease. She had completed an intense set of charcoal and graphite drawings that gave voice to her anguish and anger at the loss of her lifetime companion. Using birds of prey as the focus, she pulled together myth and swirling emotion.

Helen lost Sidney. But she did not stop working. After his death, she finished the final pieces of the series that she named Wind Beneath My Wings: Baskin Suite. She then went on to a new series that followed her own transition to life without Sidney. She also created an art therapy class for other caregivers so that they could experience the emotional release that she knew was possible.

Helen has burned a fiery path that lights the way for others. Others provide that same kind of inspiration to us all – whether it’s a truly outside-the-box graphic designer or a musician who brings it home with fabulous sounds. Or the minister preaching the good words or a community organizer who steps up with heart and soul. Look around and take in the energy and inspiration. It’s all around.