I’ve known Kyle for a long time now, and when I think about it, it’s been damn near 10 years. Kyle is a writer, dealing primarily in horror-themed short stories. On his Instagram, you can see a lot of his work, all typed up on a vintage typewriter. I asked if he could bring one along with him to the session, and it was really cool to see. I appreciate the analog way of doing things, and it was an interesting experience to push down a key, see the arm extend, and leave its mark on the page. I wanted to keep an overall moody tone to the photoset, as he primarily writes about the spookier side of things. I’m really happy with how the set came out, thanks Kyle!

Bring in the blue backdrop. I picked this up the day before the shoot and it. is. intense. I really like how it brings a much more lively feel to the photos. The setup was relatively the same as I’ve been doing with an octabox and softbox behind. I really need to try out some new lighting. Happy with the final results and it’s always great to hang out with friends, especially Eric and Korey.

 

 

 

 

Next up in the portrait project is my good pal Chris. This guy has a seriously expressive face, which was a blast to take photos of. The cross lighting from this session came out great, and I’m happy with the results.

I met Sam in second grade (that’s nearly 20 years ago). He was one of my first friends after moving schools. I haven’t seen him in probably 7 years or so and it was great to reconnect with him. Sam is an incredibly talented musician, and has always been that way. For his portrait session he played me a few of his original songs. He told me he wasn’t totally comfortable in front of the camera, but he would feel better doing something he knew could keep his mind off the lens and flashes. I’m really happy with how the session came out. This being the second shoot, there seemed to be an emerging theme. Juba’s passion is wrestling, Sam’s is music. I haven’t asked anyone to bring anything specific prop-wise, but it’s pretty cool that both sessions so far have brought out their individual interests.

I had the pleasure of shooting one of my good friends, Juba, this past weekend. He needed some photos for his wrestling promo posters. The photos are most likely going to have him cut out and composited with other wrestlers on event fliers and promotional material, so I opted for a grey background. The grey was easily removed in post-processing and the images look great when layered over something. This shoot was done with my Nikon Df, 50mm and 85mm lenses, and a single SB900 Speedlite in an octabox. Enjoy!