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!

Bottle & Bottega Corporate Event

What’s not to enjoy about events where people are getting together and having fun?  I’ve done a few events now for Bottle & Bottega and its always a great time!  Its interesting how there’s consistently trepodation as people enter the room (especially for corporate events since they are sometimes not told what their activity is until they arrive) and fears are quickly alleviated as the activity is explained by Rupa and her team.  

There’s lots of preparation that goes into planning the event.  Here are some shots of the preparation in progress.

The painting instruction begins and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves.

Rupa, the owner of the North Jersey Bottle & Bottega pulls double-duty this time and is teaching in addition to overseeing the event.

There were about 50 people at this event.  Here are a few taken while “working” on their art.

Each of the three tables gathered to present their final masterpiece.  I’m sure they’ll be hung throughout the offices shortly.

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

Special thanks to: 
Tanya @ the Basking Ridge Country Club
Rupa and her team 

5 things clients should expect for a photoshoot

What should you expect from a photo shoot with Darrin?  I'm not a high volume photographer and I want to take my time to get to know you first. I like to understand why you're looking for a photographer and what your vision is for the images.  Here are some things to keep in mind before, during, and after your portrait session:  

Before: How to prepare for your photo shoot

1. Share your ideas.  If you have a vision for the end result, share it with me.  I keep an active Pinterest board of photos to try on my next shoot.  
2. Know what you want, but be open to an interactive conversation with me. 
3. Ask me anything!  I want to ensure you are comfortable with the process from beginning to end.
4. Plan accordingly.  I like to allow about two hours for the shoot.  Give yourself enough time and focus in your schedule to create amazing photos.  This goes for your wardrobe as well.  Dress to flatter, not to distract.  Let's work together on some options. 
5. Read my reviews.  I work hard to deliver an experience that exceeds your expectations.  Find out what previous clients have to say. 

During your session

1. Arrive on time.  This goes for me, too!  
2. Breathe.  It is sometimes nerve-racking to be in front of the camera so remember to take your time and relax. Don't worry, I'll guide you through where to look and how to stand to look your best. 
3. Communicate.  I like to keep things pretty light.  Talk to me if something is on your mind.  I really do want to know.
4. Keep it real.  Bringing positive energy with real expressions will show in the results.
5. Have fun.  Maybe this one should go first. :-)  The more you look like you're enjoying yourself, the better the images will be.

After your photography session

1. Delivery.  I will crop, and make color corrections prior to you seeing them on an online gallery for review.  Not to worry,  I'm great with communication so I'll keep you in the loop during the editing!  Promise.
2. Review.  Once you have the images, pick out your favorites. Additional edits may take place based on the favorites you choose.  Once complete, I'll deliver everything to you digitally. That's it!
3. Referrals.  The greatest compliment you can give is to tell your friends and family about me or to book another shoot.  I've had many repeat clients over the years and a long-standing relationship is my goal. Writing a Review is also appreciated. 

Call or Email me so we can see if we're a match for working together.

Catalog Shoot

Once in a while I come across something new and different.  This was one of those times.  I was commissioned to shoot approximately 150 pieces of clothing for the upcoming summer season (dreaming of summer right about now in January) by using 4 models which gave us a few minutes per outfit based on the time we had to shoot.  Yikes!

What you see above is about 1/3 of the line we shot that day.  Its a little hard to make out but you'll notice there's a small object in the lower left of all the photos.  This is an iPad with a product number on it so when Dave (the manufacturer) needs to take orders from his clients, they know what product they're talking about.  We had so many pieces of clothing to photograph that the MUA (Jennifer) ended up modeling for us as well.  Great shoot!

Credits
MUA: Jennifer Haines
Models: Melanie, Alina, Kiki, Sarah
Clothing Manufacturer: Satguru Enterprises
Photographer: me :-)

Lisa's Portrait Session

Today I am featuring a portrait session I shot with Lisa.  She's a professional violinist and wanted some updated headshots.  My goal for the session was to deliver a variety of looks she could use.

We managed to get both indoor and outdoor photos even with the chilly weather in December.  We started inside and her dog wanted to be a part of the action so, why deny her that opportunity.

Something I find myself doing on most every shoot is moving furniture.  I think I need to add that to the about me page :-)  I’m always striving to put my clients in the best light and without distracting elements in the background.  For the next setup, I wanted to feature Lisa on this old couch that had great curves and shape but didn't want the same backdrop as before. 

By this time in the shoot, the sun had fallen a bit and the golden hour had arrived.  That would be about 3:30 in the afternoon for December in the northeast.  She had a great outdoor space and we captured a few photos while we could both stand to be outside in the cold weather.

Before we closed up shop and moved furniture back in place, I wanted to get some dramatic photos of her playing the violin so….furniture move (again) and changed out the backdrop to black.  I setup one light, just out of frame to her left. I had her play a little something while I took these...

2014 Recap

It was actually a pretty fun exercise to go back and look at the set of things I shot in 2014.  I feel like as each year passes, the set of things I get a chance to be involved in gets more interesting and rich with great relationships and a backstory.  I can’t wait to see what this looks like next year.

Some of my favorites from 2014

Ekaterina Dramatic Headshots

Once in a while I try to shoot something fun, something I find interesting.  I posted on ModelMayhem (popular site for sourcing models, make-up artists [MUA], etc.) for a casting call to do dramatic headshots and was overwhelmed with responses.  I chose Lyndsey, the MUA, almost immediately.  She has great work and awesome review as well.  The model took more thought and one consideration for me was that I don't have nearly as many blonds in my portfolio as I do brunets.  

Ekaterina was ultimately my choice.  I also used a service that I've used in the past which is called Breather.  Its a small, one room place that you can rent by the hour.  It works pretty well for photo sessions.  I should have allowed more time but...I had to work with the time allowed.  I probably had 30 min in total to shoot.   Here are my favorites...

I love doing these kinds of shoots.  Next time, I'll give myself more time to explore!

Michele & John's Wedding

I received a call from Michele a couple weeks back and she knew of me from an event I shot at Bottle & Bottega in the summer.  She and her fiancé were planning a civil ceremony in a town close to where I live.  I was happy accommodate them and be one of the 5 select people at this event.

I stopped by the courthouse the day before and was initially a little concerned.  The parking lot and the courthouse weren’t going to make for very interesting images.  I started to wander around the neighborhood a bit and pretty quickly discovered this really nice park right next door.  Yay!  It had plenty for me to work with and I mapped out a path of things we could walk through in a short period of time.

After our quick shoot in the park, we walked over to the courthouse.  There were two other couples waiting to be married but Michele & John were first.  The judge was pretty funny.  His name was Mr. Fullylove - and he joked about how appropriate his name was for his purpose in the days events.

Ten minutes later, Michele and John were married!  Congratulations to you both! 

Stefania's 40th Birthday

As a referral from someone I used to work with, he connected me with Stefania and after a conversation about what she wanted she hired me for the gig.  It was a special occasion.  A 40th Birthday Party in Williamsburg Brooklyn.  This was held at the Wythe Hotel.  A very hip place in Brooklyn that had a line of people outside to get in - as I left the event at 1:00 AM.  Not something I'm used to these days.

Stefania had the idea of bringing some props to get people in front of a backdrop to have something entertaining for the group.  It did actually did the trick - but not until the end of the night.  The venue had some very attractive food for the guests to enjoy.

All the goods were out for snacking!

Great food and conversation prevailed.

Several people taking part in the props.

Blowing out the candles

Happy Birthday Stefania!

Agile 2014 Event

I've either been attending or covering the Agile Day event for many years at this point.  Its a great crowd and a bit of a reunion since I run into people I've worked with for over 10 years.  For the past several years its been at Pace University. 

Joe Krebs (on the left, above) has been running the show for several years now and has announced that he'll be passing the torch for next year.  It'll be exciting to see how the show evolves in the future.

Large crowd joined in for the keynote speaker.

This year, I managed to grab a few shots of a live-blogger of sorts.  He had some great sketches.

Lots of great speakers and reuniting.

Another sketch and juggling?  Yes, juggling.

The afternoon wrapped up with the Open Space.  Joe kicked off the introduction of the concept which is for the audience to determine what the topics are and the time slot and then if people are interested, there will be a conversation.  You can come and go as you please.  It can make for interesting conversation.

Author Headshots & Video: Heather

In the first of a two-part series for my work with Heather, I'm publishing some bio shots I completed recently for her.  She's wrapping up her first publication about empowering women to be able to make their own choices regarding marriage and children, without blindly following the traditional path.  As of this writing, I don't believe the book has a title yet so once we can link to it on Amazon (or wherever it will be available) I'll add the link here.

On the day we shot these headshots, we did both video and stills.  Heather's sister came along as well to help with Heather's wardrobe changes and to be the supportive sister that I'm sure she is.  

This shoot was the first time I'd ever tried to do both photography and video on the same day.  Since we had already had several conversations about how we wanted the content to feel, it wasn't too hard switching between the material.  Preplanning is huge when it comes to something more than just grabbing some updated portraits!

We chose Dumbo, in Brooklyn, as our shooting location.  It really offers a lot of options for different types of setup's and with the right angling, you can get some pretty different environmental settings within a small area.

At this point, we don't know what the book cover and art for the cover will look like so we kept our options open with the feel of the shoot.

A funny coincidence in the vertical shot of Heather with the Brooklyn Bridge in the background is that since her book is about following a non-traditional path, we stumbled upon several brides while we were shooting.  One of them is very small in the far background of this image.

I would be remiss in not crediting the help I received from Theresa Keil.  She captured these last couple images while I was still setting up.  I look forward to the next set of material we capture for Heather which will be more video content.

Stacy & Jimmy's wedding video (highlights)

Sometimes its not as much about being there as it is experiencing it.  In this case, I wasn't there - I didn't shoot this material.  I've helped a photography friend, Steve Kang, with some video editing of weddings that he has shot and the material is sitting in the queue for someone to piece it together and help tell the story of the day.

This was a fun wedding to walk through and edit.  It took place in Boston (or close to there) and there were lots of patriotic acts that were inspiring to observe. Best of luck to the newlyweds!

Video: Aspen Landscaping Advertisement

Aspen is leader in full-solution commercial landscaping in the NJ/NY area.  They have just added an irrigation division to their business and I was hired to shot an advertisement announcing this new venture.  

I worked with Mark (the project manager) and Angelo (spokesperson) to produce the video.  This was the first time they had ever put together a video like this and it was fun working through the requirements and messaging with them to arrive at this final product.  From what I understand from them, this is also pretty unusual in the landscape business to have a video like this so this should be a nice differentiator for Aspen Landscaping.

Amy's Headshots

I've been using a new service called Thumbtack to obtain business.  So far, so good.  The way it works is that a person in need of a professional service, like photography perhaps, would post a request for...oh, I don't know - headshots let's say.  As a service provider of said headshots, I have the opportunity to bid on the request.  If the requester likes the quote and my profile, they can respond and offer me the gig.  Amy did just that.

Amy's an actor in NYC and her agency wanted some new headshots done for her portfolio.  There were some pretty specific things they were after so we focused on that first and then did some other things to play a bit later in the shoot.

I called on Nicole, a makeup artist I'd worked with in the past.  She's great!  Very reliable, does great work and is always willing to help with more than make-up duty.  

We started with a variety of colors and tops on black since part of the requirement was to get some clean shots of Amy with this variety.  These are some of my favorites.

Whenever I do headshots, I like to get some that probably lean more toward beauty shots vs. a traditional headshot.  Here are a few that I liked of that set.

One of the fist things Amy mentioned to me when I met her in person is that she is challenged with *not* smiling.  I had to stop and think about that for a minute since I would say its much more common for people to struggle with having a nice, natural smile on camera.  Sounded like a challenge to me to come away with at least a few for her that she was a bit more serious.  As you can see from the featured image in the set above, she nailed it.  She even knew of a technique that I believe Peter Hurley invented called the "squinch".  Essentially its 'squinting your eye lids in a way that portrays confidence'.  We had fun playing with the look.

We then moved onto another location.  The set of three above are actually shot in natural light (which I don't tend to do very often).  I've shot in this location before and really like the options it gives you as an artist.

Only a few feet away from the previous set with Amy sitting on the bench, there was a post I had her stand near for a few images with a blazer and a set of glasses.  Again, with the goal of giving the agency some options with making Amy more marketable.

Finally, a few from the same location as the blazer but with just the green top and a bit more casual.  It was a real pleasure working with Amy for the first time.  She is as nice and down-to-earth as she is beautiful.  As the shoot went on, she also provided laughs "on the set".  I'll leave you with a few silly faces that came through in the session that got us all laughing.  

Bottle & Bottega: Team building Event

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’ve recently teamed up with Bottle & Bottega which is a paint and sip studio where you can bring some wine, food, friends and they have artists on hand to help you create your own masterpiece on canvas.

I tagged along to a team building event with Bottle & Bottega for Bayer at the Skytop Lounge in the Poconos.  The plan was for me to shoot video with the goal of capturing the event, featuring the painting and teamwork and ultimately the final mural the group put together.  In addition, I planned to interview as many people as I could get to sit down with me to give a sense of what their experience was like.  It all went even better than expected.

Upon arrival, I noticed one thing that was missing for me: a space to interview others.  I scanned the property and what I ended up with was an outside setup that unless I would have told you it was outside, you wouldn’t have known any different.  It happened to be a pretty hot/humid night so that was a little tough but everyone made it through the interview without a hitch.

After a couple of rounds with Bottle & Bottega, I have a finished product that they love and I’m proud to show.  I look forward to more events with this group! 

Music Licensed through Marmoset: Love and Oceans (Instrumental) by The Dimes

Varley Headshots

Repeat clients are the best!  Steve and Christine wanted some updated headshots for their  professional profiles.  I haven’t seen them much since I shot their wedding back in May.  I arrived at their house and turned their living room into a little studio with backdrop, lights, and all the fixin's.

We started with one light for Steve and that seemed to work pretty well.  This was the first time I was shooting with this black backdrop and I really like how it keeps the focus on the subject.  These are my favorites of Steve.

For Christine, I added a second light, otherwise it was pretty much the same setup.  Steve was behind the scenes keeping Christine smiling.  These are the ones I liked best for Christine.  There’s something about the middle-left image that I really connected with.  There’s a real strength that comes through in the expression.

As I was about to leave I asked if they wanted a few together.  Nice! 

The Three Doctors: Raising Hope & Health

Earlier this year, I was connected with an organization called The Three Doctors Foundation.  They were holding an annual fund raiser with a theme of "Raising Hope & Health".  I was hired to shoot a video that showcased the event and something they could use to promote their organization.

My initial contact was with Windy White and she was very helpful and informative throughout the process.  This was held at the Hyatt Hotel in New Brunswick NJ and featured Pat Battle (NBC News) as the emcee for the event along with Rose Rock (mother of Chris Rock) and Sherri Shepherd as honoree’s that evening.

I approached this project with storytelling in mind.  Using a technique I learned from Stillmotion, I researched the organization and learned as much as I could without having much direct access to the individuals I'd meet that evening.  I derived the following keywords for the event: perseverance, inspirational, community, mentorship, health.

With the keywording done, I began to shape how I would cover the event.  There was a cocktail hour and then presentations.  Fortunately, I was able to interview the three doctors individually along with scholarship winners from various universities.  These proved to be invaluable.  Ultimately, I created two versions of the material.  A short version (see below - https://vimeo.com/102056542) and an extended version (coming soon) showing more of the material from the presentations.

Big thanks to Steve Kang and helping cover this event with me.  

Bottle & Bottega's Berkeley Heights, NJ studio

In preparation for a grand opening of a new location, and in partnership with Bottle & Bottega, I was able to grab some photos of the new studio.  They have a wonderful set of art work on the wall, lots of open space for painting, and plenty of supplies to allow you to get your creative juices flowing.  Overall, its a very inviting space and I'm sure it will be hosting many fabulous painting parties!

I look forward to many future events in this space.  Its in a great location and from what I've heard many parties have already been booked for this space.  To find out more about Bottle & Bottega, visit their site.

America's Night Of Hope Event

Back in January of 2013 I reconnected on a shoot of mine with a high school friend, Eric Forsythe.  I found out during that time that he is a full-time, very accomplished photographer out of Houston, TX. We've been in touch ever since.

A few months ago an opportunity came up for us to work a pretty large event together. Eric is the main photographer for Joel Osteen and they had an event called "America's Night Of Hope" planned for Yankee Stadium on June 6th.  Eric asked me to help shoot it.

A chance to work with a friend and all access to Yankee Stadium!?  That's a "yes"!  I picked up Eric at his hotel in the city and we parked near a train station that would take us right to the stadium.  Once we arrived, we met with the other photographers and marketing folks to go over the game plan for photography coverage during the event.

They ran through a rehearsal which we used to get an idea of placement and timing.  Very helpful.  Shortly after that we grabbed a little food before heading off to capture the main event. I was set to cover the stage from the stands and could roam anywhere to get the best shot.  Eric and one other photographer were on either side of the stage.

Composite of 4 images.  I'm certainly not a Photoshop wizard but this definitely gives the full scope of a sold-out Yankee Stadium.

Nice event!  Joel sold out Yankee Stadium (approximately 50,000 seats) so I'd call it a success even if that were the only measurement.  Looking forward to future work with Eric.

Marianne & Michael's Wedding Video Edit

You never know what a new connection will bring you.  I start with this because this is how I came to edit the video for Michael & Marianne’s wedding video.  I reached out to Steve Kang, a Facebook acquaintance that I knew from some photography groups we’re both a part of.  I asked him to lunch because it seemed like we were bidding on the same types of jobs and I asked him if there’s anything he’d like to collaborate on.  Turns out, he needed some help with an edit on a wedding he shot and had been sitting for a while.  We agreed that I’d do the edit in trade for him helping me with some production work (blog post and details coming soon).

Like so many things, it just wasn’t that simple.  Most would “Yada, yada” over the best part and say, “Everything went great, the edit was easy, and nothing went wrong along the way”.  If you want that version, skip to the last couple sentences.  As you can guess, that wasn’t my experience.  To start, I had already been behind on some other projects so I didn’t even look at this material until a week after I had the files.  Shortly after I started the edit another job came up (which is what Steve helped me with) and now I’m behind by two jobs.  Oh boy.  Its a nice problem to have but I hate the feeling of the ball being in my court and owing someone.  I want it done so I can move onto the next thing.

Meanwhile, I’ve been working on changing my technical workflow in my business. Painful to go through with the promise of better organization in the future.  While I was hard at work on the edit of the wedding, my editing hard drive failed.  Yikes!  Not. Happy.

I look up places locally to recover data and found one not too far from the house.  Fortunately, they were able to recover all the data off the drive.  I, of course, had a back-up of all the data on that drive except for the wedding edit.  I got the data back and now have a back-up of everything and also have a nice video to share of Marianne & Michael’s wedding.  I’ve posted a small portion of the edit here since the full version is about 30 minutes long.  Enjoy!