Show and tell at … Showtel 2009 at the Hotel Biba in West Palm Beach

What a blast!

We were hired by local artist Laura Mae Atria to take photographs of her art in a hotel room.  At first we thought “Photograph her art in a hotel room? … What’s up with that?” but it was weird enough that we just had to accept.

When we got there we were blown away.  Every one of the carefully selected artists was given a room at the full-of-character Biba Hotel in West Palm Beach, that they could do anything they wanted with.  Laura created a room called 12,458 cents which used an enormity of pennies in all sorts of cool ways to symbolize the decline of the penny and the fall of capitalism.  Here’s a close-up of the amazing comforter made out of pennies and metal rings (can you immagine the time it took!?)

Showtel2009 - Penny Comforter

Here’s one of our favorite shots from thedavidKspace “i love you; me either…” room:

Showtel2009 - I Love You me either

See the rest of the photos from this and other rooms here.

All Photos taken at Hotel Biba in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Spider-Man is a reality – South Florida Children Photographer

Updated on 10/17 with significantly larger image and behind the scenes images.

MostlyReal are our top signature product for children photography.  To be blunt they are expensive as heck, compared to a regular portrait, but those who have seen the results in the flesh agree that the money they invested in this lifetime keepsake is more than worth it (and you can rest assured there’s a lot of time poured into these labours of love).

Itsy Bitsy devil is one of the MostlyReal portraits we feature in our portfolio, it never ceases to get compliments.  Of course only the 20×30 print does it any justice.

Today I finished the latest MostlyReal portrait where I painstakingly turned one innocent little 2 year old into Spider-Man, in a New-York setting.

This was a great project which nearly resulted in my getting murdered by Luca’s mom.  In order to get him to match up perspective-wise with my vision of what the final MostlyReal would look like, we had to shoot him, on location in downtown Hollywood using the stage they have set up there as his standing spot, with an umbrella in front of him and a snooted strobe behind him.  Well… the platform looks low enough when you see it from afar… but by the time you plop a 2 year old there you realize he’s well over 6 feet off the ground.  Oh, did I mention there’s no form of railing or anything like that?

spiderman

Photos taken at ArtsPark in Hollywood, Florida

And now for some behind the scenes…

No, you’re not Superman Luca… no flying off the ledge!  … note the snooted speedlight behind him meant to backlight the right side of his hair

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Here’s one that shows the lighting setup:  Large umbrella very close to him used as a shoot-through, and the snooted speedlight you saw above to accent his hair.  No, he wasn’t supposed to touch the umbrella of course… had to rescue the umbrella while making sure I could still catch him if he decided to go for the 6′ jump.  Ah the excitement!

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Here’s proof that photography does not in fact capture reality as we often seem to think.  Indeed look at him:  the pure definition of innocence… ah if you only knew the truth of what went on during the shoot!  He is adorabe though, I have to give him that!

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The image selected for the MostlyReal Portrait

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Below is the image half-way through post-production, the building in the background is missing, the ledge hasn’t been cooled yet to match the ambiance, gloves haven’t been fitted, the outfit’s colors haven’t been boldened and a few other atmospherics are missing.

spiderman-Edit

And once again, the final image, mainly for comparison with the image above.

spiderman

Ahyde and Denis – Fort Lauderdale Wedding Photographer – Work in Progress

We’re still working on the photos from Ahyde and Denis’ Fort Lauderdale Beach Wedding.

We just finished going through the ceremony and just had to post this one shot of the bride:

Ahyde Wedding Portrait

Photo taken on the beach in front of the Yankee Clipper on Fort Lauderdale Beach.

Butterfly in the sun – why you should take a break from “the rules” sometime

The first time I held a camera up to my face and attempted to shoot a picture of older family members I was immediatelly admonished “Stop!  Don’t shoot into the sun!” and then I was carefully turned around so that the sun was now shining into my subjects’ faces (causing all sorts of squinting and harsh shadows I’m sure… but I digress)

I remember the event as if it were yesterday.  It was one of a thousands of little moments we go through in life where a “rule” is tacked on to our body of knowledge.  We tack it on and move on without giving it too much thought.

Butterfly

Who knows how many other butterflies in the evening sun I’ve missed in my shooting career just because I chose to follow that one silly silly “rule” 🙂

The adorable little Butterfly was shot at Veterans Park in Hollywood Florida

Third Pregnancy and looking THIS good? South Florida Maternity Photographer

When someone asks me to do a portrait session for them, I tend to assume that everything they tell me about themselves is true.  Unfortunatelly this particular pregnant mom challenges my ability to believe her.

Lisette Pregnant

Can you really have two little wild ones running around the house all day, a third one on the way, and still look THIS GOOD?!

Lisette Pregnant on the Hammock

Usually I like to take most pregnant portraits (with the exception of the less-clothed ones of course) outdoors … in this case I couldn’t pass up the fantastic contrast of Lisette’s white dress against the chocolate couch.

Finally here is the supposed proof that she has at least another child:

Lisette Pregnant with Francesca