Athens ArtsFest This Weekend!

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It may be Wednesday, but it’s never too early to ask – what do you have on tap for the weekend? I’m looking forward to the Athens ArtsFest in Athens, PA! There will be over 175 booths, featuring artisans who work with clay, fabric, metal – well, pretty much everything! The Camera’s Eye won’t have a booth there this year, but check out our inspired setup from 2011:

My trustworthy assistant Patrick hangs wall art in the "living room"

My trustworthy assistant Patrick hangs wall art in the “living room”

Straight chillin'

Straight chillin’

A couch – why not? The motto we used “Are Your Walls Naked?” is still one that we work to at The Camera’s Eye. It also marks the point where I shifted my focus from simply creating prints to creating full-on wall art.

Naked wall? How embarrassing!

Naked wall? How embarrassing!

Right at home!

Right at home!

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Check out the festival this weekend, May 3rd-4th. Who knows what you’ll find to adorn your home!

Springtime Smiles at The Camera’s Eye

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Sit and smile – it’s that easy, right? Not always! I had a recent spring-themed session with this little doll:

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Now, would you believe me if I told you that at first she was completely against having her photo taken? That she wouldn’t let go of her stuffed friend? Exhibit A:

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But with a little coaxing, I got to watch both her and her smile bloom.

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What you can’t see in the photo? The pile of stuffed animals that are around her feet. I keep them handy for just these kinds of situations. Once she had her support system in place, she added her own little stuffed friend to the rest.

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I have so, so, so much fun with shoots like this at The Camera’s Eye. And what’s funny is that there are parents out there who dread shoots like this! Not because of the outcome, of course, but because they’re afraid that their kid won’t behave “properly” or won’t let go of that favorite stuffed toy long enough to sit for a photo. Guess what? Sitting still is NOT required to get some memorable shots of your little one. Maybe your kid is too shy to even look at the camera or keeps hamming it up for the lens. That perfect smile can come out in a lot of ways, and I don’t have any rules about how to make that happen. The way that I see it, we’re too quick to call things “misbehaving,” when really kids are just “behaving” – behaving like themselves. And the point of any good portrait is to capture the subject just as he or she is, right?

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Think about this the next time you’re setting up a family photo or thinking about taking your little ones in to get some portraits done. If you work patiently with whatever the hang-ups are, you can get some honest, beautiful photos of your kids. In my opinion, that’s the best kind of photo to have – a snapshot of that moment in time when they were completely free, goofy, whimsical, whatever. Best of all, they can remind us of when we knew how to act the same way.

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Photos from “Minis for Abbi”

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When I’m not in the studio, I’m out shooting, and I recently had the chance to participate in Minis for Abbi, a community fundraising event in Wyalusing, PA. Abbi is the daughter of a long-time client, and this event was put together to raise money for her battle with mitochondrial disease. With three photographers and tons of community members donating time and money, the event showed us all how Wyalusing is really an extended family in the form of a town.

Besides raising over $9,000 for a wonderful cause, this event resulted in some fantastic photos. Lifestyle portraiture, focusing on the authentic moment, is what I love to do and is the foundation of my photography business. In case there was any question about it, my studio in downtown Owego even features “lifestyle” as the largest word in a 40-by-60-foot display. As you can see from the shots, this type of photography shows the subjects as they really are, whatever that means for that particular day and moment.

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I took these images in a series of super short sessions, which is not the norm for me. However, I was amazed to see that I ended up with the same type of images as when I spend extensive, quality time with each of my clients. Guess that means that no matter where you put me, or what limitations I’m under, this is just how I shoot!

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Gotta love this “Baby for Sale” shot! The younger sister was having a hard time sitting still, so I grabbed a spare piece of cardboard lying around, some ribbon and a marker, and went to work. “Is she making you a little crazy?” I asked the older girl as I handed over the sign. She was too shy to admit it to me, but the answer was probably yes, and she did love holding that sign. Look closely and you can see it in the smile she’s trying to hide.

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This little princess could not let go of Minnie, and she never stopped smiling.

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I could have tried to get this ball of energy to sit in his dad’s lap – but why not capture an impromptu hide and seek session instead?

This story goes on and on. Probably my favorite session of the day, and a fitting one for this event in particular, was the little boy in the Iron Man shirt who is most definitely a superhero in training. I asked him for his favorite super hero moves and he was happy to bust them out! On a day filled with community support, it was a nice reminder of the hidden superpowers we can sometimes uncover.

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