Long before this shoot came to pass, I knew I was looking for something different. I’d been itching to find a location in the same way that Mark finds a picture before capturing it; I wanted to locate the pictures before I was at the location.

Really, it started out wanting a tunnel along the Atlanta Beltline. Then it turned into a 2-day hunt for this one tunnel. I’d seen pictures online, sent some emails to the photographers who’d taken them, and after a call to Jenny at Our Green Atlanta and some help from Mike and Google Streetview, I had a better idea of where we needed to go and could meet up.

I have to admit, from the street, it wasn’t the most impressive location. But once we steeply climbed down a drainage ditch, we were there. And guess what else was? 1,000,000,000,000 mosquitos (or more, it was hard to count). Panic set in, and the fear that the shoot I’d frantically, excitedly scoped out would fail due to the ridiculous infestation – sucked. Thankfully, my assistant, Mike (ha!) cross-crountried to Kroger and back to save the day, and more important, the shoot!

We began at 6:30, but more realistically, 7 p.m. right before sunset and took pictures outside the tunnel to capture some kudzu-filled tunnel shots. I loved how the tunnel archways framed Mihia and Earl, and this wonderful couple’s fierce appeal in every shot.

The inspiration for this came from LeahAndMark.com’s recent wedding pic, although not the beautiful Boston skyline, I really love how Mihia framed Earl in this picture. Even the new editing tools I learned at this week’s Photo Editing Class (which was so helpful, and I’m so glad I got to go to!) with LeahAndMark.com, really enhanced this photo’s natural appeal to look at Earl.

Like I said, I had Mark on this shoot, and with his help and instruction, I can tell how much having him one-on-one has been the most helpful part of this internship, and something I’ll continue to take full-advantage of the remaining 2 months. It really allowed me to ask, and watch how he does what he does, everyday – take amazing pictures.

But no worries, he really pushed me to set up this shoot and lead it. While I was initially extremely intimidated and humbled, it’s made me better, moved me leaps and bounds ahead of where I was a month ago, and caused me to think through what I’m doing, which afterall, isn’t that the goal of all of this?

This was the last shot of the night, right after Mike took down the flash behind them. Mmmm, a tasty, dramatic picture. Such a beautiful love to capture; love you two.

Like I already mentioned, Mark really pushed me in a lot of ways during this shoot, and I’m glad he did. He pushed me closer, pushed me to move quicker, to think quicker, to ask Mike for help quicker, etc. Take advantage of him if you can now, and if you hope to intern with him in two months, then start busting your butt now. If you hate your day job (while being excellent at it), enough to get uncomfortable, lose some sleep, miss some friends, etc., and you love and more important, need, a creative outlet, then in the words of Mark. “Go.”

Last weekend, my husband and I got to go back to our beautiful hometown, Clearwater, Florida. We had a fabulous time visiting family and friends, and spent lots, lots, and lots of time with my younger sister, McKenzie.

She’s quite the character, and I wanted to capture her and her wonderful personality (not to mention, get some experience photographing children) while I was down there.

Our first stop was heading to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. There we saw many marine animals that they help to rehabilitate and release back into the wild. It’s an amazing place, and the nostalgia of being there was surreal and sweet when I remembered going there at the same age as Kenzie. They even have a celebrity there, Winter, a dolphin that lost its tale fin and has learned to swim with a prosthetic replacement. She’s even going to be in a movie =scheduled to debut in 2011!

Unless you’re already from here, you must admit, you’re kinda jealous.  It’s soooo beautiful and there’s nothing like walking barefoot in the sand!

Now, the next series of pictures is a testimony to why I think photographing weddings is much easier than photographing children.  Since McKenzie decided that she didn’t really feel like taking these pictures, it made this shoot much more difficult.  Mike, my husband, tried really, really hard to help me still get some really cute shots of her and I really appreciated all he did just to make her smile.

Here’s the initial talk…

…. which didn’t work. And then the piggy-back ride to make her laugh and smile.

(Followed by a brief intermission of me waiting painfully for Mike to get me tweezers from the car, and then pathetically removing a sand spur I got stuck in my foot. I know this sounds pitiful, but it really, really hurt!)

To end our exhausting day and experience, we headed to the Gulf (thankfully, oil free) and played some more (that is, before the “I-want-to-go-to-the-slide-tantrum” took place).  Next time, we’re definitely getting a nap in before our shoot! ;)

First off, I had no idea (eh, kinda an idea) of how much I didn’t know about lighting and some of my camera’s settings, capabilities, gear, etc. Ya, it was bad, and so going in, and coming out, I really, really, really appreciated that LeahandMark.com was willing to teach us so much about lighting.

Like I’ve stated previously, I’m kinda in this bad love-hate relationship with lighting. I tend to overpose my pictures (and well, as you’ll see) I haven’t gotten much better. I’m in this ongoing battle of too little vs. too much, how did my photos turn yellow (or blue)?, natural light vs. flash, and so on and so forth.

One way that Leah helped me see the battle of attacking (unwanted) shadows was by thinking of it like a video game where you aim light to shoot out the shadow. Funny enough, it actually made a lot of sense.

Too bad, I really struggled with implementing her guidance. Mark had asked me to try and make the white wall behind my model black without taking the light off of her. I got discouraged quick and didn’t curb my bad attitude well. After taking the time to think more about what I was actually doing, I took theses shots. It’s so easy to take shots rather than to take the time to compose and think through the picture first.

Fortunately, I knew the two models that I got to photograph, Lindsey (above) and Kelsey (below). Kelsey is one of my wonderful co-workers and makes my day job much more fun. Lindsey, her BFF, came along since I really wanted to take pictures of them together before Lindsey heads back to school in Arkansas.

While the pictures weren’t all I’d initially hoped for, and I didn’t always think things through (i.e., “Ashley! Your flash (light) is completely backwards! – Mark Tioxon lol.), I really appreciated getting to learn a lot more about lighting and using my new wide-angle lens during this shoot. Thank you Kelsey and Lindsey for modeling, your help, patience, and willingness to work with me and the other interns!

My husband and I went to support our friend, David, and help a ministry that is his life’s passion, here are some of the photographs from that event -

Mike and Stephen had fun flipping sponges like pizza pies. And (Mike) Sabot, getting in soap fights with some of the kids (see child victim above).

They sold food, drinks, and some pretty jewelry too. I bought the blue necklace. It was handmade by a woman in Uganda out of paper, pretty cool, huh?

To learn more about Hands of Love, or learn how to help the Youth Ablaze Conference, feel free to contact me or David Geigerman at dgeigerman@gmail.com.

My first post of this two part series was of Princess Amanda, and really focused on not just capturing a model, but the model within the space.  For this post, I want to focus more on the positioning I tried out with our wonderful model, Arya and the different emotions I wanted to capture through various angles and positioning.

When I first began this shoot, I really struggled to determine what I wanted to capture and the emotions I was looking to evoke out of my model and future viewers.  There were plenty of individuals and other distractions behind us that I knew I’d need to edit out of my photographs, and at first, I really didn’t see the shots I wanted to capture with Arya.

The couch body was initially positioned facing me.  Many of the shots taken prior to our time together were of Arya lying down on the couch so I started by positioning her (after making sure the couch wouldn’t flip over, ha) on top of the couch’s back instead. It wasn’t love at first sight, so I decided to turn the couch 180 degrees to have one of its arms facing me.

My imagery went from Arya’s feet posed daintily in a ballerina-like manner to a much more provocative pose. I felt that the lighting called for a more dramatic positioning, and I went with it.  I made sure that her body language was confident by asking her to lean in on the arm of her body she felt most comfortable leaning in with while attempting to keep her feminine beauty in tact.

Then, I had Arya lean and rest her hand down her right leg. The mood of these images (from left to right) changed from more depressed to hopeful just by the simple tilting of her head from down to further up. Side note: Although, it’s completely made up (or is it?), I really appreciate Mark’s statistic that 94% of shots would be better just by improving composition. I think it’s important to keep that in mind, and realize that your clients/models care less about what you’re telling them to do (and actually look to you to pose them) than the quality of the product(s) you give them. (Jumps off Soap Box).

The other topic I really enjoyed from this week’s edition of LeahAndMark.com’s newsletter, was taking the risk of cutting off heads and capturing hands. I liked it so much that I almost (and probably will use it in the future) named this post “Off with her Head”. I really wanted her hands to tell a story and show the image’s emotion, and I’m glad I took the risk of photographing headless Arya.

Then, the idea hit me, “why not flip her hair?” and I tried several times before getting the timing correct on capturing Arya mid-flip. What happened though, allowed me to get the before and after (which I assembled together here) to create the full effect of what I was going for. Ironically, I ended up falling in love with the imagery of Arya’s back and positioning created before she flipped her hair, and decided to leave the scene in behind her (see, I told you there was a lot going on back there). I think it added to that image’s dramatic perspective, and has allowed me to realize that as a photographer I don’t want to just capture reality, but (sometimes) create it.

Here is the first of two posts from yesterday’s shooting spree:

One thing that Mark has challenged us to do is capture space in our photographs. Most photographers don’t and instead zoom in to capture the individual rather than the individual within the space. Therefore, I tried my best to capture not only Princess Amanda, but her kingdom as well [or at least the white sheet and worn walls behind her].

These shots were placed together to show how a photograph’s composition comes down to a lot more than just the pose and space, namely the angle from which the shot is taken. An individual and the message you want that individual to bring, can be quite different depending on the angle from which the photograph is captured.

This is an aspect [one that I’d like to gain a greater eye for] that LeahAndMark.com incorporates into many of their photographs, and the result is often an otherwise unseen perspective because sometimes the shot you need to capture is above you, below you, or even from the floor [I have some rug burns to prove it].

Lastly, one of my favorite aspects of posing models is getting them excited about not just the position I’m trying to contort them into, but mainly, the emotion behind that pose. It’s not everyday we get to feel or dress up like a fairy princess, but I really appreciate Amanda’s response to embracing that side of herself [or at the very least, her model self]. To me these shots just scream the dream that “one day my prince will come.” But he was already there, supporting her the whole time.

My original inspiration for this picture was Noah and Ally from The Notebook, when they laid down in the middle of the road on their first date (I love this movie), and then I had them try out some other poses too.

Then, we discovered a back alley to take some more pictures. Being that they’re family, I felt comfortable posing them, and am glad I did. Afterall, what’s family for?

I had fun trying out some different editing styles too. I haven’t landed on the exact “look” that I want my photography to have, and am hoping to have one solidified by the end of this internship. Let me know what you think; I really do appreciate (constructive) feedback. (See the picture at the top of this post for the other style I tried out).

We all met in historic Roswell at LeahAndMark’s studio space, Renew Social Ventures (Renew SV).  Instantly, I fell in love with the building’s weathered brick interior and its uncovered frames. Not to mention, being mesmerized by the smell, warmth, and history of a building that’s not been developed, but designed.

I really enjoyed how open the space was, and that its emptiness allowed us to have so much freedom and the set-up space for 4 different model stations.  The first model I got to photograph was John, the only male model of the night. I really appreciated his patience (thanks John!) in taking some shots.  To a fault, I mainly focused on arranging the lighting and wish I’d composed my shots differently. For a first try, however, I was impressed with myself.

Now, at first, I didn’t realize how much easier photographing a female model is than a male model. I can’t tell if it was my gender bias, or the fact that Chrissy was an absolute natural in front of the camera, but seriously, I love these pictures.  Everyone, meet America’s Next Top Model…

Of the night, this picture was my favorite. I love that you can see the shadows outline her facial features and expression. I’m the queen of overexposure, and was happy that I found a way to use light without diminishing the quality of an image.

In summary, I’m so honored to be a part of this amazing group of interns.  What we accomplished last night was nothing short of amazing, and I loved getting to dive right in and make the most of my first opportunity with LeahAndMark.

(This blog was my 2nd application’s submission to LeahAndMark’s 3-month-long internship.) 

This picture was taken the day after the first wedding I ever photographed.  I was so tired, and my body ached way more than I thought it would [I'm only 22!].  Needless to say, I didn’t wake up that day feeling like taking these maternity pictures, but I did.  I was nervous, and wondered how I’d find photographs in a home I’d never been in with people I’d never met.  I’d planned some cliche’ shots for safety, but didn’t end up using them. I’d already determined I’d rather be a “bad photographer” learning how to get better than be known for my belly-heart maternity pictures. 

When I got there, Liz welcomed me inside and showed me around their lovely home. I immediately fell in love with the natural light pouring in from the dining room’s windows. That’s where our shoot began, and that’s where I took this picture. It was the perfect setting to capture the simple, glowing beauty of pregnant Liz and the peace and joy of welcoming her and Rob’s first son. I was pleased with how the light dispersed from her belly, onto her face, and the rest of her body. The lighting created the ambience I was looking for, and this snapshot evoked the feeling of warmth and welcome for ______ ______ (the name’s secret till he’s born) I wanted. 

My first maternity shoot was a great experience, and I only wish that my photography expectations for myself going in were higher . I was really proud of this shot, and others I took, but know there’s countless others I failed to capture and even more ways I could improve capturing them.  Over the next 3 months, I hope to grow more as a photographer and learn how to find those better shots, angles, etc. with this internship.

(This blog was my 1st application’s submission to LeahAndMark’s 3-month-long internship.) 

I love the Brown family – with four kids, there’s always something going on! Their high energy and love for life is contagious, and I was so thankful for their willingness to help me with my first ‘people’ shoot.

I was welcomed before I even got to the front door. All the kids ran outside to greet me. Immediately, I realized they already had the perfect place in mind – a creek behind the nearby church. They couldn’t wait to go; this was one of their favorite places to discover.

This is exactly where I wanted to capture them. Right in their element.

I parked the van, and Jaden led the crew down the trail. This was going to be an adventure. An adventure that I couldn’t wait to experience with them and preserve in my photographs.

With stick in hand, Levi hiked along the bank. Jaden reminded me the best part was still ahead. And Destiny tried to keep up as I followed behind to catch it all.

This photo captured that moment. Being a kid out in the woods. Unsure and uncaring of what may lie ahead. Enjoying the sunshine, and the shade of the trees. Concerned only with the moment at hand and excited for the next. Playful, innocent, and young.

Perfect.