Glamour Photography | South Florida Photographer

I've been wanting to try my hand at "Glamour" photography for some time now. Today's Glamour is more Vogue and Vanity Fair magazine than the local mall Glamour Shots of the late 80's - early 90's. And it's MUCH different than "fashion". It's a style of contemporary portrait photography that emphasizes that EVERY woman - regardless of body type or age - is AB-SO-lutely beautiful.

Australian photographer, Sue Bryce, has been cited as single handedly bringing glamour back to portrait photography. Sue has been sharing & teaching her style of photography recently and I've been mesmerized! My love of telling a story with photos works perfectly with a magazine-style glamour photo session.

I asked for some volunteers for a 2 Day shoot. They eagerly jumped at the opportunity and I'm SO GLAD they did! I'm blown away with the results!!!

The incredibly talented Erin Cogdill did make up & hair styling. And Jackie was invaluable for her styling advice. Our girls weekend resulted in some truly lovely portraits of Jackie and Mandy. I absolutely love the one of Jackie in white with the gorgeous backlight. We even had some extra time the second day and I talked Erin into posing a bit.   :)

Who wouldn't want to spend the day being pampered, sipping some wine and having gorgeous photos taken of themselves??

Enjoy!!

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Happy Friday - Bug's View

Like many states, Florida has started a roadside wildflower program. They are scattered in swales and roadside areas mainly mid-state and further north. For some reason we don't seem to have them down here in South Florida. But, further north these areas are a delightful surprise of color and pattern.

The girls and I have photographed these areas many times. A recent trip north found us stopping for gas and this traffic-free patch of wildflowers was calling to be photographed. And because we weren't in a hurry and didn't have to contend with drive-by traffic, the girls and I took our time. We must have been a sight...the 4 of us, each with camera.

I was working hard to dodge the background of passing cars and the gas station signs. At one point, I lowered my camera to find almost all of that disappeared. The results were this great "bug's eye" view of the flowers and sky.

As we get older (at least for me ;), maneuvering and bending certain ways just isn't as easy as it used to be. Remember, your camera doesn't always have to be held up to your face. And with today's view screens and tilted screens, some of the best shots are those when you pull the camera away.

Enjoy!
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Instagram Love

If you follow me on Instagram you know that I love my camera phone almost as much as I love my DSLR. (Almost.) This past weekend was no exception.

I've found my camera phone to be a fantastic alternative to lugging my big camera around everywhere. Don't get me wrong...I'm often shooting with both when I see something that catches my eye. The wildflowers on the side of the road, the beach and Allie's yard frog all got love from BOTH cameras this time around. Sometimes it's just about capturing the moment.

I love the rough grain and funky filter options that come with Instagram, as well as the supporting 3rd-party filter apps. And I don't even have an iPhone!! I'm working from my Android.

Another plus side to using Instagram is that it really has trained my eye to look for things that I might not have noticed. Colors, shapes, textures...details. I know it's a bit messed up, but as I go through my day, I constantly find myself framing things in nice little Instagram squares. (I know...I know.)

Today I discovered a FAB-ulous internet tool called Instaport. I've been wanting to download and print out a photo collage of all my favorite Instagram pics for the wall in my office. I stumbled on this incredibly easy time saver. (I've been downloading my Instagram pics from FB...painful.)

If you're an Instagrammer...take a look at this. And if you're not Instagramming thinking "WHY do I need to document my food and my feet everywhere?" Reconsider that it could be a window for creativity.

If you're not already following me on Instagram...come on...I don't mind...
http://instagram.com/marylovesphotos

Some cool projects for your Instagram photos check out my Pinterest Photo Display & Crafts board -
Coasters
Wall Art
Magnets
iPhone case
Photo Books/Albums

Enjoy!
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Happy Friday - "Beach-ness"

Calm.
Breeze.
Sand.
Bright.
Soft.
Warm.
Grass.
Salt.
Summer.
Beach.

Seems like we were just talking about Spring and now, with Memorial Day ushering in summer, my thoughts turn to the beach. Next to Target, the beach is my favorite Happy Place. I haven't posted these images on their own and thought it would be a great opening to the weekend.

Enjoy!
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Dance Partners - Tango Photo Session

Our rainy season has hit with some serious frequency. So when Susan asked if I would like to photograph her and her tango dance partner, Konstantin, this week...my brain went to the Weather Channel. (Although....I'd love an opportunity to take crazy beautiful pictures in the rain. Hmmm...)

We got a fantastic break on the radar and I got to photograph two very talented dancers against an "old world" backdrop courtesy of Mizner Park. I loved the beautiful architectural lines combined with their incredibly graceful poses. Can't wait to see them perform!

Enjoy!
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Happy Friday - Pairing Photos

Above and Below.
Blue and White.
Nature and Man Made.

I'm a big fan of diptychs!! About 2 years ago I started putting photos together in pairs. I love how images play off each other. Shape, color, content, light...the pairings are as endless as there are pictures.

These 2 beauties are from my trip to Seattle last month. The massive glass sculpture is from no other the glass master himself, Chihuly. If you haven't seen his work up close, you MUST make a point of doing so. Massive, delicate, colorful, playful and simply...amazing. There is a permanent exhibit right below the Space Needle. Inside galleries as well as an outdoor garden display.

The aerial landscape was taken about 40,000 feet somewhere above Oklahoma or Kansas. I didn't have to roll down the window...it was actually that clean!  (wink!) I don't ever recall seeing such a clear, crisp view of the land and sky from such an altitude. The black of outer space feeling SO close and the beautiful geometric patterning of the Midwest landscape with fresh snow.

My favorite part of this pairing is the similarity of the Chihuly twisted glass and the snaking tendrils of the river on the ground below.

What's your favorite part of the pairing?

Enjoy!
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Happy Friday - Photography "Field Trips"

(Heads up...fun photos & some geeky photography stuff in here!  ;)


Most of you know that in addition to photographing portraits & lifestyle images, I also love to get out there & capture the world around me. A few months ago I started doing weekly "Field Trips" with my dear friend & photographer, Iris. We pick a local place and see where it takes us. We have the best time!!

 

Just a bit of what we've photographed...

• A historic 1938 State Farmer's Market in Pompano, soon to be demolished  :(
• My first beach sunrise in Deerfield
• A Japanese teahouse at Morikami
• A field of vibrant sunflowers in Boynton (on a Closed day...saying "please" gets you far) 
• A historic school house in Fort Lauderdale (again...saying "please")
• And a few weeks ago I shot my first alligator (not literally!). I even managed to get the reflection of me standing on the dock above him!! How cool is that?!

Yesterday we added some FANTASTIC stuff to our list! We went to Sugar Sand Park in Boca Raton. Our goal was the beautiful carousel. But, the unexpected surprises are the best part of our Field Trips.

We wandered into the main building to get permission to photograph the carousel & found to my
pop-culture, geekish delight...an original B9 robot from the TV series "Lost in Space." (You know..."Danger Will Robinson, danger!"  (my Instagram photo) What a fantastic jolt of childhood! If you get the chance, take the kids to the Explorium...they also have an R2D2 and Robbie the Robot from Forbidden Planet.

We made our way to the carousel and photographed almost every angle possible. But, on the way out, next to the 2-story play structure...were about a dozen spider webs dancing above our heads in the early morning sun. Just gorgeous!!

My Sony a77 has this amazing feature called "Peaking Levels". This allows me to clearly see what detail is in focus. I was shown this game-changing focusing featuring when I was in Seattle.
(HUGE "Thank You" to Drew Temple from Sony for showing me this!)

If you've ever tried to nail a spider web and managed to get details...congrats!  I....on the other hand....have struggled with it. Even on manual focus. I don't know if Nikon or Canon has this, but this Sony feature is so freakin' cool.

The incredible detail of these spider webs was captured courtesy of Sony's Peaking Levels feature. Even cropped, I am blown away by the detail!!!!  I included the screen shots of my crops. (You "math guys" can figure out those percentages for me!  ;)

Get out on your own Field Trip this weekend & photograph!

Enjoy!
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I was standing 20+ ft. below this using my 75-300mm/4.5 (zoom was at 150mm). Wind was blowing!!
I cropped about 30% out of the original frame. (See below.)

 

 

 

 

This is a detail of the shot above. This was then cropped a crazy amount again to see this detail. (See the crop below.)

 

 

I might need to bring this one out again around Halloween!

Family Photo Session - "Playing With Sticks"

How lucky am I? I seriously have one of the best jobs around. I get to capture moments in people's lives. This past Sunday I had the opportunity to photograph some moments with an incredibly loving family.

One of my favorite parts of this job is telling "the story". My approach to a family photography session is more lifestyle than straight portraits. You want to give some guidance, but especially with younger children...you need to give them a little more room.

Mom called me early Sunday morning to tell me that her son had tumbled out of bed during the night and got a shiner from a foot stool. I told her as long as he was OK & she was OK with going forward, I was also OK with it. We both said, "It's part of life."

We wandered through this fantastic park out in Parkland. Dad told me about a GeoCache hidden amongst the tree covered trails that they've found. (Note to self...get the GeoCache app.) We stopped here and there...snapping photos, picking up sticks, checking out nature (check out the tini-tiny frogs!), giggled a lot and even had a brief moment of tears.

But, isn't that what it's all about...giggles & tiny frogs?

So, let them play with sticks. (And even mom's camera.) It's all part of those moments.

Enjoy!
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"Beach Boys" | Deerfield Beach Photographer

Now that the ocean has been a bit warmer recently, I've been taking the girls over to the beach later in the afternoon. (Less need for all that sunscreen mess at 5 o'clock.  ;)

This was a particularly gorgeous South Florida day! Bright, warm sun - but the temperature was sitting around a perfect 78 degrees. My brother and his sons decided to join us. A fantastic sand bar & a FEARLESS 3 year old made for some great shots!!

But, my favorite is the one of his older son making this crazy sideways dive into the ocean.

And of course the tuckered 3 year old bundled in a towel...love it!

Enjoy!
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