Cassal di Caelkriss

Last week, I had the opportunity to do a shoot with Erica. We were scheduled to be in the studio at 2pm, but along the way we ran into some snags that put us almost an hour off schedule. Fortunately, we still had enough time in the studio and we head out to downtown Elmhurst to do some outdoor shots.

I was really happy with some of the results. The rough start had me a bit off beat in the beginning, but after things got moving along, I think we clicked into a good rhythm. Once we hit downtown and found some spots, things really fell into place. The sun was providing some great golden back lighting, and I used my Fong diffuser on my Speedlight for flash fill.  For anyone looking to do flash photography, I’d highly recommend investing in a Gary Fong Lightsphere.  It doesn’t look the most dignified, but after you see the results, you really won’t care what it looks like.

Erica was really great to work with.  She was very easygoing, and we had a really fun and relaxed session.  Here are a few picks from the shoot.

January 12, 2010

This wedding was special, and very unique on so many different levels. The fact that the bride was the second of twins was only the beginning of it.

The planner, Theresa, sent my brother a Facebook message asking if I’d be available to shoot a wedding the following week.  On a Tuesday.  While not completely unheard of, Tuesday weddings are not very common.  Since the day was open, I gave her a call to let her know I’d sit down and meet with her.

We met on the Thursday before the wedding at a Caribou Coffee, and she told me about the whole scheme.  And a scheme it was.  In fact, this was a “surprise” wedding for the bride.  Well, the bride knew she was getting married, but she didn’t know that it wasn’t going to be in the circuit court like she thought.

Theresa was literally planning this entire event in a single week.  She booked a private dining room at a Holiday Inn where the ceremony and reception would take place, she made the catering arrangements, found an officiant on Rent-a-Rev (who had apparently officiated the bride’s twin sister’s wedding), invited all of the guests to the location, and decorated a cake for the bride.

The result was one extremely surprised and happy bride, and a one-of-a-kind wedding opportunity.

Shooting in the small space had it’s challenges, and lighting was extremely scarce.  But, overall, we were all happy with the results of the photography, and Michelle had a real wedding at a real location, officiated by a real reverend, with a real reception and a real cake, and it was all captured by a real photographer.

Just last week, I did a shoot with a friend of mine at Elmhurst College.  He’s a regular performer at Six Flags in Illinois, and travels around doing workshops with showchoir groups.  He’s a huge talent, an amazing dancer and singer, and I was really privileged to be able to shoot his headshots.

Working with Erik in the studio was a really treat.  We did a session with several clothing changes in the studio, then went out to downtown Elmhurst to find an ally.  At one point in the studio, I had some music playing off of my iPod, and Erik asked if he could put some of his stuff on.  That was a great idea.  Once he put his music on, he really got into the groove of things, and we produced some really fun shots.

Elmhurst is a surprisingly photogenic town.  Besides what you see in plain sight (the trees, the beautiful homes, the great downtown lights), there are a lot of hidden features that are just waiting to be photographed.  Having gone to college there, I was familiar with some of these little crannies that were tucked away, and I’ve been itching to get out there with a model and a camera.

For Erik, we found a great ally between several buildings featuring several stairways and brick walls.  It was the perfect spot.  It was late afternoon/early evening in autumn, and the sky was giving some great natural even light.  We turned out some shots that we’re really happy with.

I hope to be able to get out there again soon, and get some more shots.  Here’s a few from the shoot.