Michele & James

A few weeks back, I was asked by a co-worker, Michele, to photograph her and her son for the main purpose of getting some images to use for holiday cards.  Actually, she's not really a co-worker, she's more of a friend that I met on my first day at a new company.  A couple weeks later I found out that she is friendly with an ex office-mate I had when I started at my previous company just over 10 years ago.  Small world.

Anyway, so last weekend, I made the journey up to where I now work because Michele lives about two minutes from the office in a great spot that has a lot of great light streaming through the windows and a nice backyard space as well.  I arrived around 10:00 and I was greated by Michele and her son, James.  He held his coloring book up to hide his face to block the direct face to face; for now.  He was a little shy, but not for long.  I showed him pictures of my daughter on my phone and before long he seemed open to having me around for a bit.

We started with the two of them coloring and quickly moved over to where he had a train set and some other toys.  We all headed outside briefly (since it was about 40 degrees) to kick the ball around then back in for a cookie reward for James.  That kept him going for a bit longer and getting a few more images with the two of them together.  It was a really nice shoot for everyone.  A few of my favorites are below. 

Shirley & Chris' Engagement Party

Ahhh, to be young and in love!  

A week ago Saturday, I was invited to attend and capture the memories from the engagement party for Shirley & Chris (check out the details from the engagement shoot).  As I mentioned in a previous post, I met Shirley and Chris through Suman (someone I used to work with).  Referrals are the best!

The party was set for 9pm – 2am in NYC.  I arrived at the parking garage and the guy says to me, “Hey, I just need to let you know that the elevator for the cars hasn’t been that reliable but ‘if you’ll take care of us’, we can park your car on the main level and it won’t be a problem to get the car out”. So typical NYC.  Uh – what do I say to that?  I’m pretty sure I’m being scammed but there are cars behind me at this point so I gave the guy $10 and he seemed happy enough with that.  They parked it on the main level and I left feeling somewhat confident that I could get my car out when I needed. :-)

I walked across a few blocks to get to the party and as I enter I see that the space is pretty nice, open, and ….wait, do I see a white seamless (something like this, minus the dude in the middle of the picture) area in the back!?  Oh, that could be fun!  I said hello to Shirley & Chris, then proceeded to scope out the place for some ideas and setup for the night.  

I’ve photographed parties before so I had some idea what to expect however, each situation is different so I was ready for anything.  As it turned out, people were seeking me out for pictures.  Everyone was very friendly and as the night wore on, and people were drinking, they were more and more animated and willing to pose in groups that were sometimes quite large.  The white seamless area was a hit.  For a good 45 minutes, one group after another made it over to make their mark. Some of my favorites are below.

For more images, check out what’s posted on Facebook and if you’re in one of these photos, be sure to tag yourself and anyone else you know.  Congratulations Shirley & Chris!  You had a lot of love in the room that night.  Oh, one more thing...a quick video for a fun way to experience the evening in about 4 minutes.

Shirley & Chris' Engagement Party from Darrin Estep on Vimeo.

 

 

Photo Plus Expo

Each year, there's a very large photography convention at the Javits Center in NYC called Photo Plus Expo (or #PPE10 in the Twitter world). This year was particularly exciting because 3 photographers I follow on a regular basis were going to be speaking. Yay! How awesome is that!? I signed up as soon as I heard about it.

One of the photographers was Chase Jarvis. He was scheduled to give the keynote. He's a commercial shooter out of Seattle and someone I'd consider to be a visionary and a bit of a rebel. He's purposely gone against the grain of old school thinking. He actively shares what was once considered to be trade secrets.  The week before the conference, he announced on Twitter that he was planning to have meet-up early in the week of the conference to get to know each other and for him to talk about his latest book/project called "Seattle 100". It was held at the Ace Hotel in NYC. It was one of those strange moments for me because I was able to meet and speak with a few guys that work for Chase that I've seen many times in videos. Super nice guys.

Slide from keynote

At the time I signed up for the event, I made sure I had the day off work so I could spend the day soaking in all that PPE had to offer. I took the train in from NJ and went to the first session which was with Joe McNally. Brilliant photog and has many credits to his name. This guy has shot everything and said to the crowd that he already had >150,000 miles on just Delta airlines so far this year.

Because of the way the schedule ran, I had to leave a few minutes early (sorry Joe) to get a good spot for the keynote with Chase. I was in the second or third row and quickly noticed that I was sitting behind Jasmine Star (CA wedding photographer I was scheduled to see at 3:45 that afternoon). It was again one of those moments like when you spot a celebrity where you feel like you know them but you also know that don't know you. Anyway, the keynote starts and in true fashion for Chase, he broadcast the entire keynote live and has a recording of it posted on his blog. For me, it was very inspirational.

During the next couple hours, I made it onto the expo floor to check out the gear and all the vendors vying for your attention. I had something to eat and walked back for Jasmine's talk. I was again toward the front and this wasn't a full session but it wasn't empty either. She's great. Such a full personality and so California. She reminds me of what I consider to be home since I'm a west coast boy growing up in California and Arizona. Her speaking engagements have been getting bigger and bigger and she s definitely getting recognized for her great accomplishments lately. She has a pretty consistent message which is Keep it real.   There's plenty more to her message but that sums it up. The more you put yourself out there and keep it real, the more you will attract people that like you and repel those that don't.

Caroline and Grace Baptism

On a beautiful fall day in NJ, I was asked to capture a special moment for Lisa & John when their twin daughters were baptized.  This is a cherished event regardless of the circumstances however, these girls were delivered early so the fact that they’re here and healthy compounds the joy the family feels.

It was held at a small, local church that they’ve just started to attend.  The ceremony was in the late morning.  I arrived a little early to check out potential spots for family shots since I wasn’t sure what we’d see inside. There were a couple locations I liked but most of them were covered with mud since it had just rained the day before.  So – that’s out.  Hoping there would be something inside to work with.

Once Lisa & John’s family arrived, we all proceeded into the church to meet the priest that was about to conduct the ceremony. We got started and he noted, “I haven’t done one of these before”.  Hmm.  Uh, isn’t that either supposed to be a joke someone tells because they’re nervous or just generally something you don’t admit right before you start?  Just sayin’.

We headed outside (found a different spot) in front of the church for some family shots.  Everybody was into it except for Jack (the older brother).  He’s a super cute little boy but just wasn’t feeling the fact that he had to have some pictures taken.  No worries.  We got some other nice ones of him and his new baby sisters a couple months back.  One of Lisa and one of the girls (can't tell which one from this angle :-)

 

Shirley & Chris Engagement Session

I met Shirley and Chris in mid September at a relatively new place on the Upper East Side called the Shake Shack.  One of their favorite places in the neighborhood, I later found out.  I was in the city for another event so I wasn’t able to meet with them until after 9pm.  I parked the car near the restaurant and as I rolled up on the location, I see people lined up to just outside the door.  I raised my eyebrow and thought, well – this is NYC but it’s almost 9:30 on a Wednesday night!?  I called Shirley to let her know I arrived and ordered some food from this popular place.
 
A few minutes later, they arrived and we started chatting.  We were referred from a mutual friend so the first thing we talked about was how we all love Suman + Rishi (our mutual friends).  They shared with me that they met at NYU through mutual friends and later started dating and it was love at first sight (actually, I just made that up). They're both involved in finance for work and have been in NYC for many years.  Much of their time was spent in and around NYU but they now call the Upper East Side home.
 
We talked about the feel they wanted from the images and the types of places they wanted to shoot in.  Once we had some logistics sorted out and some possible dates, we parted ways and waited for the engagement shoot day to come.  A couple weeks prior I checked the forecast and it didn’t look good.  Fortunately, the forecast was wrong and we had a really nice day for the locations they picked to focus on: Central Park, Washington Square Park/NYU area, then over to the Brooklyn Bridge for some sunset time shots.
 
I was fortunate enough to have an assistant work with me (Avi) that I’ve worked with in the past.  This proves to be invaluable for so many reasons.  From carrying the load of equipment I bring to helping with reflectors, lights, etc. I couldn’t do it without him.  Thanks Avi!

Something I took note of pretty quickly was once a new direction was decided, how quickly Shirley & Chris moved.  I mean literally moved.  “Okay, we're done with this location.  Let's look for the next place to shoot."  Then, BAM.  They collect themselves and they're off.  What I learned from watching them is that they are driven, focused, and most of all in sync with each other.  They seemed to have a great connection and I hope this comes through in the images we captured.
 
I really enjoyed the day and look forward to the next time we get to work together.  Some favorites below - along with a video slideshow...

On a park bench in Central ParkWe found a way to make it look like there weren't 100 people around us in this moment.Shirley asked if we could just pop over here quick for a picture. Turned out to be one of my favorites.A nice moment on the Brooklyn BridgeA fun shot in the subway to finish the day

But wait, there's more!  To see more of what we captured during our shoot, check out the slideshow below...

Shirley & Chris Engagement Slideshow from Darrin Estep on Vimeo.

 

Rent vs. Buy

It’s a question many of us struggle with from time to time. For me, this was an easy one. I have an engagement shoot coming up this weekend with Shirley & Chris which I’m very much looking forward to. I’ve spent some time thinking through the various locations we’ll hit in NYC and the types of shots I want to get throughout the day. During my pondering, and I decided earlier in the week that I wanted to try out a lens that I would love to own but can’t – really – buy – right – now. It’s, only $2,000 but somehow I don’t have it in my camera bag. So, for now, I’ll rent the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S, and just dream of owning it one day. I can’t wait to see what this baby can do for the type of shots I wouldn’t be able to get with my current set of lenses I would depend on. Stay tuned for samples..

Update: I wrote the first part of this just before I went to the store to rent the lens.  When I got there, they suggested I consider the 17-55mm f/2.8.  I was not disappointed.  Here's what it looked like on the camera. 

 

Looks pretty mean! :-)

Twins!

It was back in July that I shot with a family in the neighborhood.  A family that went through a lot bringing these cute little girls into the world.  But, that was then and this is now.  They're here and they were ready for some pictures.

I came over on a bright, sunny day (actually, its been a couple months - I don't remember what the weather was) and got started.  We took about an hour and shot with Caroline and Grace then with their big brother, Jack.  Then a few with the whole family.  A few of my favorites are below.

 j

Since its been so long since I did this shoot, I was fortunate enough to shoot with the Mundy family again.  More on that in another post.

Anna & Jackie

A good photographer friend of mine, Lou, let me know of a concept shoot he was putting together in the city.  "Let's shoot in the city with some high fashion models and make the best pictures ever!", said with his french accent.  How can you turn that down?

On a Monday night a few weeks ago I make the trek into NYC to a studio I had been to one time before.  Beautiful space - especially for the price.  By the time I got there, lights were already setup and Lou had done some test shots with one of the models.  Hair and makeup were almost done with the second model and we were ready to shoot.  

We took turns with the model and various setup's.  This time we had professional hair and makeup which makes such a huge difference.  Below are a few of my favorites.   Check out the Gallary page for more of my work.

Suman & Rishi's Wedding, part 1

Back in the fall of 2009, I asked a good friend that was getting married if they would be open to me shooting their engagement pictures.  She (Suman) checked with her husband to be and he was interested so we picked a date and found a really nice place in Central Park to shoot.  It was a really nice day to shoot because the weather was cool but not cold and the colors of the fall were in full bloom.  I've posted a few of the images from the engagement session here but for more of them, check out the set on flickr.

So onto the video.  The wedding itself was 3 days long with multiple events.  The first was the Mehndi ceremony on Wednesday afternoon.  During this session, I shot both stills and video.  It was a great way to kick things off.  Next was Sangeet at the groom's parents house.  So many colors and creativity from the children to the grandparents.  Everyone got involved in the singing, dancing, and just general celebrating of life.  Last was the day of the wedding.  In the morning, we started with a Chuda and Haldi ceremony.  Then comes a break and final preparation for the wedding and reception.  Actually, its probably best if I stop describing it with words and show you the images.

The video linked here are bits from all of the events described above that took place over the 3 days.  I was inspired quite some time ago by what a company in Canada is doing with wedding video.  They're called StillMotion (choose Cinema to see the movies) and they have some really amazing videos.  They suck you in immediately and feel like a movie trailer!  That's what I was going for here in the wedding highlights but keep in mind this is my first attempt :-)

 

Suman & Rishi's wedding highlights from Darrin Estep on Vimeo.

There's so much more to talk about with this wedding (which is why I named this part 1).  Stay tuned for more behind the scenes in putting this together and a shout out to all the great people I had the pleasure of meeting and working with. 

Shooting with Matt

As I was putting this site together it became apparent that I only had females in my portfolio and no men.  So, I reached out using ModelMayhem and found Matt as a potential subject.  We exchanged a couple emails and settled on a date.  Matt is an aspiring actor and does modeling on the side.  He has plans to move to L.A. so I'm happy we were able to shoot when we did.

Not having a studio meant that we were going to shoot outside.  Not a problem as long as you're dressed properly.  It was about 35 degrees and had lots of snow on the ground.  I had a couple concepts in mind but decided to do some scouting with a neighbor ahead of time to make sure I could envision the result.  Its a good thing we did that because I scrapped several of my original ideas for what you see below.

Matt was a great sport and a big thanks to my neighbor, Geoff for navigating and helping with whatever came up on the shoot.  I've posted a few of my favorites. 

We mixed it up a little with poses but I like how this one came out with the sun setting in the background.

This one felt very GQ or Abercrombie to me.

Believe it or not, we shot this outside with Geoff holding a black fabric behind Matt for a studio feel with speedlights going through an umbrella for some nice, soft light.

Here are a couple more that aren't posted in the Portrait section of the site.

 

 

Looking forward to the next session!

For more of my work, please see my Facebook or Flickr pages.