WPPI 2016 - Las Vegas

As I complete my time at WPPI in Las Vegas (forth year attending), I continue to come back because each year is different. New people, new experiences, new parties (which I usually skip). 

Every year, I organize a shoot to experiment and practice.  This year I worked with a makeup artist I worked with last year, Bri, and asked her to suggest a model instead of me conducting my own search.  Thanks to the crew (see below) that braved a very long walk through the desert, getting rained on briefly and cold weather (for Vegas)...all to get to our beautiful destination in the Red Rock Canyon.   Here are some behind-the-scenes (BTS) followed by the results.

The day before, I attended a completely unplanned shoot that someone else organized. They planned the location, hired the models and I just showed up to shoot. As it turned out, this was a great way for me to meet some new people. Here are a few images from that shoot.  

Now to the classes. I didn't attend as many sessions as I had in years past.  I like that this conference is not all about the presenters, the classes, and the expo.  I attended a great talk with Dane Sanders about building your business from the ground up. He outlined categories to think about when evaluating your business, whether you're just starting out or have been at it for a while.  Since I've left I've started to look more into a book he suggested called Deep Work.  More on this soon.

Expo floor

Next was a talk with Jen Rozenbaum. She's a NY based boudoir photographer.   We have mutual friends through the photography community and I hadn't heard her speak in the past so I'm glad I had the chance to see her this time. She's great and I loved that her personality came through in her talk which makes it so much more fun.  I also attended a social media talk with Susan Stripling that was enlightening. Through her talk I learned that her competition is my favorite NY based wedding photographer, Ryan Brenizer.  Interesting.  She had some good suggestions about what tools to use and why and how to automate a lot of the interactions with social media. 

My last class was a lighting class with Joe McNally. Love him! He's very funny and such a wealth of knowledge. He admitted from the beginning that he had no agenda and was just winging it. He took some questions from the audience and then started to experiment with light and color and explain it as he went along. Here are some images he made during the talk. 

Joe McNally's images playing with color and light

Thanks WPPI.  It's been fun!  Until next year.

Red Rock Canyon crew:
Model: Danae
MUA: Bri
MUA Assistant: Alessa

Fashion Portraits with Melissa

I’ve been wanting a beauty dish for years now and just never invested in one.  For those not into photography, its a very popular light modifier mostly used for headshots that shapes the light very nicely on the subjects face.  Photographer friends kept saying, “just go to Home Depot and make it on your own”.  Nice idea but just not realistic for me for many reasons.  I decided to get one and now I’m kicking myself that I waited this long. I think there’s a lot to learn with how to position the light just right to achieve the desired result but I'm very happy with my first try. 

Armed with this new toy, I posted a quick casting call on Model Mayhem and opted to work with Melissa (featured here) as my model.  She was really fun to work with and had so much personality that comes through the camera.  I also pulled in Lyndsey as the MUA that I’ve worked with in the past on this shoot.  She was great once again in bringing the drama to an already pretty face. 

These last few (above) were actually natural light (e.g., no flash).  Its funny how seldom I shoot without studio light but its fun to experiment with what you get from nice window light.  Until next time.

Family Photos in Berkeley Heights with the Kale's

Rupa has become a good friend and valuable business contact over the past couple years.  She owns Bottle & Bottega in Berkeley Heights, NJ and she recently asked me to snap some photos of her young family.  

I was fortunate enough to have this great location picked out by her.  It has all the qualities that I look for as a photographer: great light (open shade), nice scenery that's not distracting, limited number of people around.  This had all those things.

Given that it was a little chilly outside and we're working with small children, we moved quick and tried to keep things interesting to keep the energy high and positive to get some great smiles like  I got here.

Cute family.  Lots of fun.

Lifestyle stock video shoot

Recently, I helped put together a shoot for Tom, a friend I’ve worked with at Shutterstock, to shoot some lifestyle video to be sold as stock footage.  We started planning this in late summer and settled on a date when we could all get together.  Tom lives in a nice neighborhood in Manhattan so to keep it simple we shot in his apartment and just outside the building near the water.

The model on the shoot was Stephanie Damiano.  I worked with her 2 years ago when she was toward the beginning of her adult modeling career.  Since that time, she’s done very well for herself.  She’s currently in 3 films, had TV appearances and other exciting projects in addition to  being an NYU student.  Samantha Linn was the MUA that had worked with Stephanie in the past and joined us on set.  She was great to work with as well.  

Stephanie texting face-timing on camera

Anyway, onto the shoot.  I brought my Movi to the shoot to have Tom try it out.  We planned for some fairly static shots and some that included movement and the Movi gives you this fantastic, smooth feel to the shot.  While Tom was shooting the scene below, I was able to snap a few stills of Stephanie eating this fruit plate.  She did great in making it look like she was really enjoying it.   I’ll update this post once the final clips are posted for sale.

Stephanie enjoying "the best fruit ever"

Great crew and super fun shoot!

Update: Here's a link to the videos.

2nd Annual Company Party: Stride

Stride just had their 2nd annual company party.  Things are going great for them and they are proud of what they've accomplished in such a short period of time.

Debbie Madden, CEO (left), Company meeting space (right, top), Striders engaged in dialog (right, bottom)

I was brought in to capture the company event, shoot some additional interviews that are a part of a recruiting video we're putting together for them (check some BTS shots already posted).  On the same day, we also grabbed a headshot of their new VP of Client Services and wrangled them into a full group shot so we can see how much they've grown as a company from year to year.

This company meeting didn't feel 'corporate'.  It didn't feel forced.  It felt like they were a team of like-minded people after a goal of being the most sought after Agile consultancy in the world.  Doing it all with a great attitude and a respect for a work/life balance is pretty hard to find.

This event wasn't covered by me alone.  I had some great help:
Theresa Keil: 2nd shooting, video interviews
Jessica Cuevas: Event photography, assistant

Web -> http://DarrinEstepPhotography.com
G+ -> http://plus.google.com/+DarrinEstepPhotography/
Facebook -> https://www.facebook.com/DarrinEstepPhotography
Twitter -> https://twitter.com/destep001 

Real Estate Headshots for Matt

Matt is a friend and a new Real Estate agent.  He needed some headshots for his new role.  He approached me and said he wasn’t thrilled about the prospect of needing to have his picture taken - a common thing I run into - but I promised to keep it as painless as possible.

Since this was a professional headshot for a realty company, it needed to be formal BUT it didn’t need to be a full-length shot. :-)  Here are a couple that we chose from the shoot with Matt.  Best of luck selling all kinds of property!

Web -> http://DarrinEstepPhotography.com
G+ -> http://plus.google.com/+DarrinEstepPhotography/
Facebook -> https://www.facebook.com/DarrinEstepPhotography
Twitter -> https://twitter.com/destep001 

Corporate Headshots: Vidhi from Stride

Stride has a new VP of Client Services.  Her name is Vidhi.  I sat down with her recently to capture her likeness to grace the pages of the Stride website.  Coincidentally, I almost worked with Vidhi a few years back.  I was just leaving a company and she was just coming in.  With Debbie as our mutual connection, we meet again.

My default for a shoot like this is to light it up.  Not this time.  There was some beautiful light  coming from a window camera-left so we went with that.  She has a great smile and we were able  to get some nice images in a very short period of time.

These are a few of my favorites from the session with her.  Vidhi, congratulations on the new role.  You’ve earned it and I’m sure you’ll enjoy working with the Stride family as much as they’ll enjoy you.

Web -> http://DarrinEstepPhotography.com
G+ -> http://plus.google.com/+DarrinEstepPhotography/
Facebook -> https://www.facebook.com/DarrinEstepPhotography
Twitter -> https://twitter.com/destep001 

BTS: Stride Video Shoot

Okay, maybe the behind the scenes (BTS) material should come after the project but I have it now so I'm sharing it.  

Aldric (upper left), Darrin, Theresa, Lucille (lower left), Ian, Mike, Lucille (right)

A couple months ago I was contacted to put together a video that highlights what its like to work at Stride, an agile consultancy based in New York City.  We're shooting this in two parts.  First, we interviewed three employees, plus the Head Of Talent, Lucille to introduce the video for us.

Theresa (left), Darrin/Theresa (middle), Jenna (right)

There were three of us working the shoot this time.  Myself, Theresa, and Jenna.  While Theresa and I were shooting, Jenna grabbed shots of our talent and the crew working the scene.  Great stuff!  Soon we'll be shooting the second part of the video which will include some more interviews and a company meeting.  Stay tuned for updates on the finished video.

Darrin (upper left with Jenna in the lens reflection), Theresa (lower left), Ian & Mike (right)

I was fortunate enough to have some great help on this shoot:
Theresa Keil: 2nd shooting, video interviews
Jenna Fernandez: BTS shots + assistant

Web -> http://DarrinEstepPhotography.com
G+ -> http://plus.google.com/+DarrinEstepPhotography/
Facebook -> https://www.facebook.com/DarrinEstepPhotography
Twitter -> https://twitter.com/destep001 

Central Park Senior Portraits: Ally & Katlynn

A couple months ago, I received an inquiry from Kim, Ally's mom to shoot a senior portrait session for her daughter while they visited NYC from Kentucky.  Ally was bringing a friend so we arranged to shoot with both of them.  Ally & Katlynn will be seniors in high school in the coming year and were taking a summer trip together.  

I scouted out a few locations, hired a trusted MUA (thanks Nicole), set a time to meet at 72nd Street & Central Park West and we're off.   Since Katlynn was ready first, we shot a few images a short walk from where we met.  Here are a few of my favorites... 

Next up was Ally. There are so many great places to shoot in Central Park and one of my favorites is  Bethesda Fountain.  There's an amazing set of stairs and some world famous arches that I really enjoying reinterpreting each time I shoot there.  We happen to find a musician playing which made it even more fun to shoot.

A quick step to the outside the arches and we're in front of the fountain.

A few more with outfit #2...

Switching back to Katlynn, she also had an outfit change and we stumbled upon a "bubble guy" (I'm sure he's got a more official title but I'm not aware of it) so we had a little fun with that.

Of course we had the bubble guy work his magic for both of them...

Finishing with a few more showing some of the cabs passing by.  I enjoyed the time with these girls and hope they had a memorable journey for their trip to NYC this summer.

Commercial Work: Drive-Thru Systems for VGS

I love when new challenges come my way.  A couple months ago, I stopped by the offices of VGS (Visual Graphic Systems) to provide a quote to photograph a set of drive-thru systems.  There were four separate "systems" in place that each have components that can be swapped out for advertising purposes.  VGS has their systems in a warehouse, which is great for shooting indoor however, it presents its own set of challenges with mixed lighting, reflection and framing the objects with enough contrast that they can be cut-out and delivered as a Photoshop layer. 

I was very fortunate to have some help.  Theresa, who has worked with me on many shoots, helped from the planning to the execution and I can't thank her enough.  Also, all the VGS staff was very accommodating when it came to helping with moving items and blocking out light from some windows.

A couple of the systems I'll highlight here are the Dunkin Drive-Thru and a VGS exclusive drive-thru system called "Burger Bar".  They've put a lot of effort into making and building this system that has a lot of great humor.  They note, "Don't touch / 8'6" / The Bun" on the top of the Welcome Bar.  On the menu, one portion reads, "Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner".  This particular system has a digital menu component on the right side that rotates different signage as you wait to place your order. Here's what the whole system looks like. 

Burger Bar Drive-Thru system with digital menu system

Another system we shot was for Dunkin'.  Its amazing how many little things you notice about what's in and around this system when you look at everything blown-up to 500%. 

Dunkin' Donuts Drive-Thru System

Great clients (thanks Anna & Shannon) and fun, challenging work.  I look forward to additional opportunities with VGS.

Stride Corporate Headshots

Something that I think every business strives for is repeat work.  It strengthens the relationship and helps to solidify that you’re a good match with that client.  With Stride, and more specifically Debbie Madden, I’ve been working with her on creative projects for a few years now.  She’s been growing her business and has some new hires that needed headshots so they called me to do the shoot.

Lucille is the Head of Talent at Stride and comes from the General Assembly and Google most recently.  Here are some favorites from our session around the streets of NYC.

Lisa is also new to Stride and is the VP of Engineering.  She’s worked with Debbie prior to Stride at Cyrus and comes from London where she worked for The Guardian.  She told me she had one headshot from that time that worked for all occasions and didn’t fancy being in front of the camera but got comfortable quickly after some initial shots.

I look forward to continued interactions with this great group of people.

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Bottle & Bottega Studio Images

I first shot this space last July, when it opened.  I was asked back to photograph the updates to the space.  Rupa, the owner, has remained very busy since she opened and the evidence is on the walls.  There are so many great pieces in this space that weren’t there before.  It's looking great!

There are two sides to the space.  What’s shown above are both sides of the studio.  There’s plenty of seating to accommodate large parties. More shots of the interior here...

It's not common for me to work in Photoshop however, for this exterior shot, I saw the potential in the original image.  We planned this shoot on a Sunday night as it was the most likely time when we wouldn’t have someone parked in front of the building.  We were both disappointed to see that there was one car was parked in front during the shoot.  I continued to shoot inside but the sun was starting to go down and the lighting was nice outside.  Clock was ticking.  I took some shots with the car in front just in case but fortunately, the owner of the car arrived and left.  I quickly snapped the shot on the left and cleaned it up to become the image on the right.

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Corrie J: Boudoir in Vegas

Continuing with my series of shoots I did while I was in Vegas this year for WPPI, the last one I’m writing about is with Corrie J.  She models full time in Vegas and works various conventions and events, of which there are many in Vegas.  

When I first decided on Corrie, I was a little worried because she’s almost 6’ tall - and I’m not.  I couldn’t bring a ladder all the way to Vegas so I improvised when I needed to be eye level with her (like standing on chairs :-)).  I like the before and after shots so I put this comparison together for that reason.  The one on the left is probably 5 minutes after she walked in the door.

Here, I’ve got some of Bri’s work-in-progress with Corrie along with her kit spread out on the table.

Some beauty/headshots before some other poses...

Some variations in a comfy chair that I really liked the angles on.  Even though I’m featuring the one with her looking at the camera, I really like the shot on the right with her looking down.

Going for something soft and in the moment for these...

Then for something a little more edgy and dynamic for the ones below.

Corrie brought a lot of clothes to the shoot.  Her suitcase was bigger than mine and very pink.  I wish I would have taken a picture of it but I didn’t.  So, I thought it would be fun to show all the things she brought in an interesting way so we put all the clothes on the bed and had her pose as if she’s exhausted from the mere thought of having to pick something to wear.  Fun stuff.

Harley's Photo Session

I’ve had quite a bit to write about from my WPPI experience in Vegas this year.  This post is about Harley which was one of the two scheduled shoots.  All interactions with Harley were upbeat and positive... and when this happens I feel the need to point it out.  It makes the whole experience so much nicer. 

This was my first time working with Harley, and the first of two shoots working with Bri, the make-up artist (MUA).  Whenever possible I like to shoot the prep to show a little of the behind the scenes (BTS).  I selected a few of Bri working on Harley below.  The role of the MUA is so important to the shoot that I’ve keep a separate gallery dedicated to the work they’ve done on my shoots. Thanks to all they do!

One of the talks I attended at WPPI talked about the use of props; specifically how they don’t like to use them.  I personally find them to be kind of fun to incorporate into a shoot if not overdone (which is subjective).  As you can see from these images I’ve used a few props but its all done with a playfulness in mind.  

Another topic that’s often discussed within the photography industry is evoking emotion from the viewer.  I’d rather have you love or hate the images vs. feeling nothing.  Love it or hate it, I’m creating something that I want you react to.  If I've achieved that, I've done my job as a photographer and as an artist. 

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Photographer workshop

A photographer friend of mine, Brian, put together a casual gathering to network and shoot at a place called StudiosLIC in Queens, NY.  I met Brian at one of the first meet-up’s I ever attended in NYC in 2008 when I was first learning about photography and how to use light.  For this shoot he brought a model he had worked with recently and others joined in the fun in front of the lens as the night went on. 

Jessenia is from Florida and new to NYC.  She was very nice to work with, great smile and doesn’t need guidance however, she's also open to feedback if you want her to move or stand in a certain way.

Mike is a guy that works at the studio and somehow ended up in front of the camera.  I snapped a few of him as well.  He didn’t seem to mind giving us his best for a little while in front of the camera.

Overall, this was a nice opportunity to meet some other photographers and get a chance to play in a different space.  Thanks Brian for setting it up!

Unplanned 30 minute photo shoot

I love unexpected surprises.  Three years ago I shot for the first time during WPPI with Meli and again in 2013 in the desert.  Her husband Shayne, was my assistant holding a reflector in the desert with wind blowing and sand kicking up while Meli was doing her best to avoid the glare of the sun and not fall in the cracks of the desert floor.  

I like to balance between working with new and repeat clients for a variety of reasons.  Funny enough, I had actually planned to work with one repeat model from last year and she was a no-show one hour before shoot time - you never know.  Meli noticed, through the power of social media, that I was going to be in town and reached out to me to come by.  After some texting, we worked out a small window of time to swing by.  

I had some other plans on the night we chose so we needed to make it quick.  As soon as she came in the door, I got her in front of the camera and started shooting.  To her credit, we managed to get a variety of images in about 30 minutes (which is super short for me).  Meli is a very experienced model that needs no direction.  She just knows how to emote these great expressions and move each time the flash goes off to vary the look each time.

This one below was my favorite!  This one has been added to my portfolio!

And a few more with the pink fuzzy coat.  Thanks Meli for swinging by.

MUA In Front of the camera

I was recently in Las Vegas for WPPI and had the opportunity to schedule two photo shoots while I was there.  I posted a casting call and Bri responded.  Quickly.  I followed up with some questions and I got a response back - within minutes.  I emphasize this because its RARE!  

Anytime I reach out to work with another professional, I first try to sort out if I like their work and then, can I trust them to be reliable.  She was so fast (and consistent) with her responses to me; her work was awesome - so it was an easy decision to book her time.

I had two shoots scheduled so I hired her for both.  She was also very collaborative during the shoot which I personally welcome on set.  At the end of the second shoot, I asked her to step in front of the camera for a few quick headshots.  Here are my favorites.

A true pleasure working with Briseida, or Bri, as she likes to be called.  For those in Vegas looking for a make-up artist, hire her.

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WPPI Session: Content Marketing for the 2015 Photographer

Jared Bauman, the founder of shootdotedit gave an informative talk at WPPI in Vegas on Marketing for the 2015 photographer.  I wanted to take a deeper dive into this subject and discuss what I took away from the talk.  Two elements that make the current marketplace challenging, according to Jared, are 1) low cost of entry for new photographers and 2) social media (if you don't use it or use it incorrectly).  Social media, especially for today’s small business owner, is key.  It can work wonders if you use it well and it can also be overwhelming to keep up with if you don’t have a system in place.

The talk on content marketing underlined the importance of first knowing your target audience (i.e., your potential client).  Once you know your audience well, including their demographic profile, and why they'd be in need of your services, do the following:

1. Develop a marketing and business process 
2. Develop content that’s relevant and valuable to your client and provide this information in a consistent and timely manner.
3. Attract and acquire. He referenced a book called Launch by Jeff Walker for more information.  I'm anxious to read the book to learn more.
4. Create a persona which is basically the process of defining your target client(s) so much so that you actually give them a name and use that in how you market to them.  This can be a very powerful technique.
5. Determine drivers for profitable customer action.  The example he gave was in the wedding space and how there are various phases of the wedding process (being engaged, then married, moving to a house, kids, etc.). All of these phases have potential marketing and relationship opportunities and they map to different phases of your relationship with them (e.g., when they're engaged it would generally map to them being a potential client, etc.). Making the most of each of these opportunities are critical to success.  One that's often overlooked is after the event occurs.  Following up and nurturing that relationship can turn them into your champions and spawn new business.

Other aspects of the discussion was around blogging, email marketing, Facebook advertising, and tools for automating the whole process.  The tools are a big interest to me.  I’m hyper focused on figuring out tools and processes that will make the process of marketing, advertising, and content delivery easy for me. Well, maybe easier.

I didn't cover all of what Jared spoke about but I appreciate that this session had actionable items and usable information.  Its frustrating when you sit through a session and at the end are left wondering, "now what?" 

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WPPI: 2015 - Third time's a charm

This year was my third year making the trek out to Las Vegas for the WPPI (Wedding Portrait Photography) conference at the MGM Grand.  Its always a great time to get out of the Northeast and go from 20 degrees to 70.

My focus at this years conference was on business, marketing, workflow and posing sessions (similar list to last year).  I spent a little time at the Expo to check out the vendors and also managed to get a couple shoots in.  

From the sessions I attended I realized more so how important it is to know the demographics of my clients.  It allows you to provide a better service since you're able to anticipate needs and build a stronger bond.  An area of interest for my business this year is SEO and getting the most out of client relationships.  

Blogging is still an important way to get the word out about your business.  I like to use it as a way to chronicle my activity and give people a sense of who I am.  A repeated theme from last year was to always look for ways to both attract and repel.  You want strong reactions about your work.  That's what creates future champions for your business.

By attending the sessions, each year I find new contacts and inspiration.  I hope to write a little about each session in future posts but one I wanted to call out now was the key note by Joe McNally.  Wow. I thought I knew most of his work but there was so much I wasn't aware of.  He has been everywhere it seems and shot so many iconic images.  So impressive.

Last, I'm a bit of a tech geek and love to use tools and automation where possible to get the business portion of my job done.  Currently, I'm using tools like Buffer to schedule posts to social media (G+, Facebook, and Twitter).  I also use Dropbox for a variety of client facing and organizational reasons and IFTTT to help with some automation with content.

I'll have more information coming on the shoots I did while in Vegas. Stay tuned...

G+ -> http://plus.google.com/+DarrinEstepPhotography/
Facebook -> https://www.facebook.com/DarrinEstepPhotography
Twitter -> https://twitter.com/destep001 

Book Author's Promotional Video

Over the course of the past several months, Heather has been finishing up her book and getting things in line to announce it to the world that it is complete and ready to be consumed.  When I first started working with Heather, she didn't yet have a book title.  That's all changed.  The title of the book is called, "The Evolution of Her".

During the time we shot profile images for Heather, we also captured some video.  On a separate day, we recorded the audio.  Through the magic of post-processing and some collaboration between myself and Heather, her promotional video for her book is ready!