Posts Tagged ‘portrait’

September 11 – Thankful

Self Portrait

It is September 11 – another year older, another year in photography, and thankful for both.  Since 2001, this has been a day of reflection for our country. Overall it has subdued all of my birthdays since, but it has been a blessing. Looking back at the past year, I am amazed at the changes. Being a photographer, I use my Lightroom catalog as the journal to review my life over 12 months. I credit my re-commitment to blogging as the biggest change. Photography continues to be the biggest part of my life professionally and personally – the blog driving me to produce even better photos every time I pick up the camera. There are so many things to try and having a forum to discuss and show results really pushes me to get out there, find subjects, and get results.

September Self Portrait
September Self Portrait

Thankful

I am thankful most for my wife – supporting my photography with her energy and ideas. She has helped to make TimeLine Media what it is now with her work at ballroom dance events, both at events and after sorting through thousands of photos by dancer. She has helped with many ideas for blogging topics – making photo walks with me and helping to find spots that would be interesting for photos. I am not sure I would have been able to sustain the blog or the company without her help, and I try hard not to let her efforts go to waste! We have come so far and have done amazing things since starting – we are definitely excited for the future.

In a sunflower field
In a sunflower field

In going through the photos, I am also so thankful for the other photographers in the area that have helped me along the way. Some have shown me how to edit photos, how to shoot weddings, how to assist – the list goes on and on. It has been more collaborative than I would have thought for such a competitive field. Thanks to all the photographers that have shot for us, or with us at events! We really could not have done it without you. You have always put your best efforts to get amazing photos, and it is helps to lower our stress levels when there are people we can trust helping us.

September Birthday Wishes

My mother called me – she wished me “Happy Birthday” and said she was thankful to have made it to see me at 37. My whole family has given me lots to photograph over the year – lots of family get togethers has provided some of my favorite photographs – the ones you would save in a tornado – kind of photos. It is a privilege to be a photographer, and hopefully better images are around the corner!

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

Youth Football Portraits

©TimeLIne Media - football player portrait

Recently, I had someone that was on my email list request that I make some portraits for her brother that plays youth football. It would be perfect for my project for making more sports portraits. I have plenty of action shots from players during games, or dancers during competition, but I want to expand my portfolio of setup portraits where I control more of the lighting, posing, and composition. It is no surprise that trying to get a clean image while the game is going on is difficult.

Football Field Set

Most sports photographers resort to heavy cropping to eliminate distracting backgrounds or other elements that take away from their main subject. When I photograph ballroom dancers, I use additional flashes in order to make the colors better, and to make the settings on my camera little less extreme, but the lighting has to cover a large area. It is not setup specifically for one spot, or subject, so it is much more flat overall. With “D”, the football player, we had an open, empty football field to use. It was a very bright, sunny afternoon, so I had to use an ND filter to knock down some of the light going into the camera to keep a shallower depth of field. Adding some flash to fill in helped to bring him out from the darker background making him stand out.

©TimeLIne Media - football player portrait
©TimeLIne Media – football player portrait

With all the light out there, it would seem to be easy to make this portrait, but bright sun makes for dark shadows. In order to bring some detail back into his face from under his helmet, I needed a flash to fill that in. A flash in a medium-size softbox placed just off camera left brought in enough light to fill in his face, and highlight more of the top of his uniform.

Background Setting

©TimeLIne Media - football player portrait
©TimeLIne Media – football player portrait

We did a few other poses, but this was another keeper for me. The afternoon sun was to camera left, so I used the flash through a softbox on the right to fill in his left side which was much darker. Had the aperture stopped down more than usual for a portrait since I wanted to keep their home field sign in focus. I am always looking for more portrait subjects, and like having the element of sports for props and settings so contact me if you would like to have some made!

©TimeLIne Media - football player portrait
©TimeLIne Media – football player portrait

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

Body Fit DC

©TimeLine Media - Orlando of Body Fit DC

Body Fit DC is the creation of Orlando, a certified personal fitness trainer. He is committed to encouraging others to make fitness a part of their life. Especially as we get older, it is important to make exercise a regular part of our routine. It helps to avoid health problems associated with lowered mobility and gained weight. If you have one conversation with Orlando, you can feel the drive he has to help people. He has an especially positive message to help the people he trains, and he will be supportive of your fitness goals.

Washington, DC

©TimeLine Media - Orlando of Body Fit DC
©TimeLine Media – Orlando of Body Fit DC

In my own push to expand my athletic portraiture portfolio, I took some photos of Orlando. At this time we met at the beautiful Meridian Hill Park in the heart of Washington, DC. Following our trip to Jones Point where the first boundary for DC was placed, Meridian Hill is on a line directly north of that point. The original marker on this hill was made directly from the White House which was made from Jones Point – clearly where the name “Meridian Hill” originated.

The park has a large flat field at the top and descends with cascading fountains in the center. On either side of the large fountain are steps and stairs of differing lengths which gives runners a changing elevation to challenge them on their runs. At this time, this is a great spot for getting outside to do some exercise – Orlando picked a perfect spot. At the bottom of the fountain, he stood on the last ledge which made for a nice background for him to show off his boot camp venue. Visit his web page and contact him to get more information on his on-going programs.

©TimeLine Media - Orlando of Body Fit DC
©TimeLine Media – Orlando of Body Fit DC

Just a reminder there is a contest going on from this post. The prize is a $50 coupon from the proofing website to the best guess as to how the below photo was made. If you have any other need for environmental portraits, or updated headshots, please contact me! My email address is: rassi @ timelinedc.com

©TimeLine Media - DC South Boundary Stone
©TimeLine Media – DC South Boundary Stone

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

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