Necessary Roughness

#55 Eli Hill, 4th year Senior starter for Renton High School.

I love me some football.  So doing a portrait session with high school Senior Eli Hill who plays football for Renton Senior High School was an absolute blast.

However the shoot didn't quite start out as planned.  A key part of doing on location portrait sessions is location scouting. This particular shoot was to take place at a location that should have been open. I checked the schedule early that week to make sure that no games were scheduled.  As I am heading to the location I get a text from Eli's mother Irene telling me there is a soccer game happening.

CRAP! Now what? I need to find a new location asap and at the same time not upset the client.  At the time I happened to be dropping my wife off to a class she was teaching and she suggested a location that was really close to where I was dropping her off.  

I notified Irene that I was going to swing by this other location real quick to see if it was free. I pull into the parking lot (fingers crossed) pulled up to the fence and looked out into the field, it was empty. I only saw one person walking around the track.  I immediately sent a text to Irene, and asked if we could meet at this new location (only about 10 minutes away).

I am sitting in my car with the engine running stressing and waiting for the response, after a couple minutes I get a text saying "We will meet you there".  I let out a huge sigh of relief, turned off the engine and start hustling to get down to the field and get set up before the client gets there.

As I am setting up I see Eli, Irene and Gil (Eli's dad) heading down the hill to meet me. I am still pulling out my gear and trying to set up my lights.  Normally I am at location no less than 30 minutes prior, checking the backgrounds, angles and getting my basic camera settings set up before the client arrives.

So now the pressure was a bit higher than normal, since I didn't have much time before they arrived. As they got closer I noticed Eli was not in full gear yet, so as he began to put on his shoulder pads, cleats and jersey, I quickly to advantage and used that time to finish setting up.

Luckily we both got done about the same time, so I approached Eli and began talking to him about what he could expect from the shoot and let him know if he had any thoughts or ideas for shots he should feel free to speak up.  

This kid was almost like working with a professional model. Normally there is a lot of direction needed for posing but with Eli it was a breeze. I threw out a couple of basics to turn this way, lower your chin, face the light and that's about it, we were off to the races.  

Eli having some fun posing as Hulk Hogan a.k.a. The Hulkster

Each time we set up for a new pose or change positions, I have to double check the background for anything distracting.  

I wanted to get as much as I could right as they say "in camera" so that I  don't have to do a  ton of removing items in Photoshop. This saves so much time when it comes to editing/post processing.

Gil having a little fun and getting in some poses.

One of the things I always do during my shoots is to keep things light. I crack jokes, poke fun at myself and try to get the kids to cut loose a bit. It's even better when the parents get involved.  In this case, Eli's dad was getting into it and practicing his own football poses.

This really helps them relax so they don't look so stiff and it lets out their true personality.  When you let them goof off and play you end up with some really fun shots.

We pretty much had the field to ourselves the first hour of the shoot but then an entire team of soccer players showed up and took over the place.

They were running all over the place, with no concern about getting in our way running in front and behind my shots.  They even pulled back the soccer goal we had moved out of the way to get some nice shots with the goal posts in the background. Complete disregard for our space. 

After stopping down the aperture and increasing power to my speedlight I achieved the dramatic sky I was going for.

Finally I decided to ask one of the players walking to the field if they were using the whole field to play, he replied  yes, but not until 7 pm. This gave us just over 30 minutes to get all of the shot list done.  I gathered up the gear and moved to the other side of the field.

Senior Eli Hill #55 Outside Linebacker, Renton Senior High School

Now the pressure was on. Sunset wasn't for about 45 minutes, so I would have to use some creativity to get that dramatic sunset look we all love for football portraits. I switched to the wide angle lens, raised my F-stop, cranked up the power on my flash, got low and grabbed as many poses as possible in the short amount of time we had left. As you can see I got what I was after.

All in all, the session went very smooth and the shots came out amazing.  It's always nice to work with someone that needs minimal direction, and handles himself as a true professional.  

If Eli is the same way on and off the field as he was during our shoot, he has a really bright future ahead of him. I look forward to watching this young man move on in life and see what he has to offer the world.

Gone in 30 minutes - Quick speed light portraits

So I had the niece and nephew over last night and thought to myself "Hey maybe I should round up the kids and make some portraits".  So I grabbed my gear and began setting things up.  Softbox "check", Speedlight "check", 70-200 "check", location "DAMN". My condo is not very big at all and not laid out very photographer friendly, so I had to be a bit creative. I found a small corner in the back master bathroom area just in front of a door that leads to the balcony.  I quickly setup the light and snapped a few picks. The lighting was kinda working but the background was not.  I could see the door handle and also some robes we had hanging on the door.  Okay so now what? Do I take everything down? (pain in the A**), or do I get even more creative?  More creative of course, sometimes laziness forces us to be more creative. So I scrounged through the linen closet for something to hang up to cover the door and everything hanging on the door. Just my luck I came across an old shower curtain.  It had some pretty neutral colors but with the bokeh I felt it would look pretty nice. So I hung it up grabbed one of my test subjects and fired off a few shots. Bam!! I liked what I was seeing. Okay now comes the really tough part, how to get the kids to stop playing long enough to make some portraits. Bribe them of course..haha. I ended up with about 30 minutes of actual cooperation time. For the minimal set up and time it ended up being quite the nice session and some really nice pictures. Sometimes you have to make due with what time and space you are given and make the best of it.

The Most Insane New Selfie Stick! Get Epic Photos

So this selfie stick craze has gotten a bit out of hand.  We are seeing them everywhere. It is getting so bad that they are being banned from public places, like restaurants, concerts, game stadiums and even amusement parks. On top of that they are extremely deadly.  People are actually dying taking selfies, with and without a selfie stick. Selfie deaths have actually outnumbered shark attack deaths.

Selfies have always been a thing, going as far back as self-portrait paintings, with or without second ear. Eventually leading into photographs, remember taking your first selfie with a Polaroid?  I sure do. But when did the world become so obsessed with taking selfies? I mean people take them everywhere, in the strangest places, like the bathroom, bedroom, and while out with family eating dinner. There is no place that is protected from the "Selfers", yeah I made that word up just now.

So I guess it was just a matter of time that new techniques and gadgets came along to help out with that oh so important shot of you in the bathroom of Macy's. That's what makes this latest gadget dubbed the HSS so amazing.  

You are probably saying to yourself "what could be more amazing than the selfie stick spoon" even more amazing than the Belfie Stick (look it up).  Well sit back hold on to your chair because this will absolutely blow your mind. If you aren't sitting down and holding on to something, I am not responsible for any injuries incurred while reading this and walking.  

Also, if you have any hard or heavy objects in your hand please put it down; I do not want to hear about any heads injuries because you will slap your head after hearing about this crazy new Selfie stick.  So what is it you ask?  

Well first let’s talk about how this idea even came to be. I was sitting at my computer one day and kept reading all these articles about people being hurt and dying from taking selfies, selfie sticks being banned, Russia launching a selfie guide and thought there has to be a better and safer way.  

I racked my brain for hours, days, weeks (okay maybe not weeks) and then like being hit by a 1984 Toyota, it came to me, "oh what a feeling".  I came up with the concept for the HSS, also known as the Hired Selfie Stick or Human selfie stick. I kinda borrowed from the idea of when people in the distant past would actually hire what they called "photographers" to take pictures of them.  

I know right! What the hell were people thinking, they must have been nuts to hire someone to take high quality professional photographs. It's such an insane concept, that's exactly why designed the HSS, you have to be a little bit crazy to be innovative.

I mean think of the guy in the meeting who had to explain launching unhappy birds into bricks with pigs on them. Right! Now you are with me aren't you? I have 100% faith that this will spread like wild fire. Once people see how amazing their selfies look using the HSS they will never turn back! This is such an amazing product that I am not even trademarking or copyrighting this.

 I want to share it with the world. It is pretty easy to get yours, just go to your search engine of choice and search for your local HSS, the best way to do this is to type in your city+photographer in the field . Even better would be your city+Portrait+photographer.

I have already worked with all the top search engines to make the HSS available in your market. Just be aware that there are many different levels of the HSS, so please do your proper research and make sure you find the HSS that is best for you.  

Please remember only YOU can prevent selfie deaths.

Anastasija Fruehling, the Youngest Female Yoga Teacher in the United States

Finally the world gets to meet Anastasija.  I had the distinct pleasure of working with her for the promotional photoshoot we did.  When you meet her, at the time she was 11 you you can see the determination and strength in her eyes, but still has fun and the energy of a kid.  I am so glad that everyone will not have a chance to know a bit more about this amazing young lady.  

The post below is from prunderground.com
www.prunderground.com/anastasija-fruehling-the-youngest-female-yoga-teacher-in-the-united-states/0058587/

Anastasija Fruehling became the youngest female yoga instructor in the United States at 11 years old. She persevered and worked very hard to realize her dream.

It is amazing to learn that the youngest certified female yoga instructor in the US is only 12 years old.  But this young lady has not achieved it merely by impulse, for she has taken time, effort and perseverance to make it to the top and for her skills to be finally recognized.

Anastasija Fruehling may be a kid, but she became a certified yoga instructor while she was still 11 years old last summer, which is in its own right an amazing feat for a child this young. Her passion for yoga started from the free Sunday yoga classes in Ivivva at the local mall.

Seeing the benefits of yoga as well as how enjoyable it is, she became inspired. This was then fueled by another inspiration, Jaysea DeVoe, the previous youngest female yoga instructor. This young yogini’s teacher’s dedication and passion for yoga became even stronger with all the stories of how Jaysea DeVoe came up.

The newest female yoga instructor, Anastasija, made her way into what she is today through hard work and commitment to her craft. For that, she gave up her entire summer vacation in order to attend a yoga teacher training for 12 hours every day, including homework. She was taught by Danielle Zissou and did the training at Fruition Yoga.

This young yoga teacher did encounter some struggles before she became as she is now. Before she was accepted to Fruition Yoga, she has been denied at all other local training programs because of her age and most them believed her dream of teaching yoga is impossible for a girl of her age.

Evidently, something like that cannot stop her, as she persevered to become certified and was registered with the Yoga Alliance as a yoga teacher for completing the training program of 200 hours and then passed the exam before her 12th birthday even came. Ever since she passed the exam, she has been teaching yoga specializing with kids at Danielle’s yoga studio, and Lululemon as well as Ivivva on Sundays.

For the whole week, this young yoga teacher is very much dedicated to yoga as well as Rhythmic Gymnastics as she spend over 25 hours each week practicing. As a result, she placed 2nd in the Regionals and 1st in State. She considers herself to be very innovative when it comes to yoga. This innovation is seen through her fun, hybrid-Hatha program that comes with an energetic twist to grab children’s attention, which is liked by adults as well.

Right now, she is working on setting up her own regular program in a local studio which is going to be the first For Kids by Kids yoga program. She posts actively on her own business website Mulberry Yoga. Recently, she is also in talks with one of the major yoga clothing manufacturers to produce her own line of kids clothing for yoga.

you can also see an article at Bostom.com here
http://finance.boston.com/boston/news/read/29981843/anastasija_fruehlin