Mother/Daughter Photos

Recently I was hired to shoot some photos of a mother & daughter.  It's something that so far I've not had the opportunity to do...and after this session its something I would definitely do again.  

Mom (Katrina) and I had many conversations about the type of look we were going for and we agreed the images would be more on the serious side however, we wanted to have some fun as well.  As you can see, we did both.

Gabby (the daughter) wasn't super comfortable in the clothes that mom brought but she went with it.  We made sure to allow for some time for her to stretch her wings a bit.

We ended the day with a few of Katrina.  Fun session with the two girls.  We have more scheduled for later in the year.  Can't wait.

Model Headshots for Melissa

Last year, I shot for the first time working with Melissa and we hit it off.  She’s so great to work with and this session was just as awesome.  We proved again that spending some time before the shoot going over various looks via Pinterest and choosing outfits and accessories is a valuable activity. 

I snapped a couple shots of Amanda & Melissa before we started shooting.  She has so much hair that it turned out to be a bit of a blessing and a curse.  Styling all that hair takes time!

Prep for hair and make-up

Images that resonate with me have a simple composition and draw your eye directly to the subject.  I have a pretty simple lighting set up here that helps achieve the look I'm after.

Simple lighting and non-distracting background keeps your eye on Melissa

Alternate looks but still keeping it simple

Finally got to use my fan! - Thanks Amanda for standing in to help.

Hands up!

Hair everywhere. One of my favorites of the day was this composure where Melissa created her own frame.

The location I used was a little different than what I've used in the past.  I used a service called Breather where you can rent a small (and I mean Manhattan small) room by the hour.  Its a great business idea and someone else suggested this as an option so I thought I’d give it a shot.  Once we navigated our way to the room, I noticed this set of stairs and made that a second shooting location.  This turned out to be a bonus of shooting on the weekend since nobody was traveling up and down the stairs.

Stairs and railing helped to create some interest in the composure

And a few more back in the room to finish off the shoot.  A big thanks to Melissa for coming out to NYC from Boston and for Amanda for showing us her talents on hair and make-up.  I'm looking forward to the next shoot!

Relaxing on the couch

100 People

I received an inquiry several months back that read something like, "Hey, we're having a family gathering in the summer and we'd like you to photograph the full set of people".  Sounds innocent enough until you discover that the invite list is just over 100.   

Might be old hat for some but I looked at this as a challenge since up to that point, the largest group I've shot was about 25 people.  I reached out to the internet for suggestions and there were some good ones.  'Bring a bull-horn and a step ladder' was a funny one that I remember.  Turns out I didn't need the bull-horn but I definitely knew I would need the ladder.

I showed up a little early to scope out the situation and this venue had a wedding going on outside (the preferred location) and the family's event was inside.  I had about 30 minutes to determine a location, set up lights, grab some test shots and get it done. 

Here's the result.  A few head-swaps later, I did manage to get everyone in.  Phew. 

100+ People from the Takacs Family