a few weeks back i went up to kansas city to spend some time with my friends the antisdels. the antisdels are the owners of senior portrait artists (spa), which is by far the most amazing group of senior portrait photographers in the world. these are the people who set the standards for senior portrait photography - the trends, the fashions, the photography, the desire, the latest and greatest, and the most important of all - the experience. they are pretty amazing. :-) and i happen to love them tremendously too!!
i spend several weeks over the course of a year at educational venues keeping up on the latest and greatest, getting inspired, learning new techniques, and even speaking. my 2 favorite events are always hanging out with the jed & vicki, and spending time with the antisdels. nothing inspires me more.
this trip was for an intimate gathering of photographers for a 'family circle' of sharing. we did a lot of talking about marketing (i spoke to the group about our fashion show, which we had just finished before we left), photography, lighting, inspiration, and passion (my favorite). we also spent a lot of time talking about fun stuff too (looking for a career change matthew singer?? tee hee hee!). and eating. my favorite event of all (LOL!).
a little bit of zoolander mixed in with austin powers. can't beat that for great photography. todd van fleet (left) and lee larson are definitely workin' on bringing sexy back. or maybe (as i recommended to my friend christian sangree) they should just keep it locked up where it is. seems to be safer there.
on the last day kia and sana brought in a couple of models to photograph. this is always my favorite part - getting to see different ways of lighting, playing with the feel of the image, and working with playful personalities. amazing!!
this guy looked awesome in everything we put him in, including this michael jackson jacket straight from 1981. we couldn't find a white glove to go with it (trust me, i looked), but as it seems members only is making a comeback, you might get used to seeing the look when you're out and about. but if shoulder pads come back into style i'm going to have to take a stand...
in GENERAL, i'm not a big fan of black and white - color is what inspires me. however, every now and then an image speaks to you that absolutely MUST be black and white - whether high contrast, soft, or even hand colored. this image that kia setup was stronger WITHOUT color. the high contrast of the light on their faces gave this image the mood that it begged for.
they had the boy scooting around on the buddy, and picking up the girl - it was a HOOT!!! but as we were watching from afar we noticed his turning radius confidence was smaller than the available turning AREA, so micala sent sari (above) out for the rescue. hee hee. i'm sure he would have been fine, but the image of him tossing the girl onto her bum might not have been as humorous to her, so sari jumped in to save the day. YAY SARI!!!
kia looking fab as always. :-) love love love love kia. :-)
after the 'pickup' (which consisted of a honk and a finger wiggle), they were off to ride into the sunset (or the ditch if we hadn't intervened (see paragraph above)). ahhhhh, young love (or young models whom you script for love). :-) i really like the feel of this image.
and last but not least - OUR NEWEST ADDITION TO THE FAMILY!!!!! meet my cousin michele (mcintosh), who will be joining us at 3 girls as our newest member of the team - YAY MICHELE!!!! she and her husband dustin (and their 3 GIRLS!!!! WOOT!!!) are moving down to oklahoma from ohio. i am sooooooooo crazy excited to have them here!! michele is also a professional photographer, and has an extreme passion for babies and children. she will be joining us in studio this week (some of you have already talked with her by phone!), and will be up to speed by, oh, wednesday at the latest! truly, she is amazing in all aspects and brings SO much to our world. I LOVE YOU 'CHELE!!!
til next time my fabulous peeps!
peace and popsicles -
jen :-)
