Philly SmugMug Meetup: Using Ambient Light for Portraits

Oh my gosh.  I haven't blogged in forever!  I'm going to get back into it now, my apologies!

Last Saturday, one of my photo groups, Philly SmugMug, had a meetup in the Art Museum area and we focused on ambient light.  It was a cloudy day which to many photographers is a dream come true hahahaha!  I think it's great as well, but depending on the location, it can get a bit drab.  That coupled with a security guard telling us to clear the Waterworks area pushed us to venture out and see what else we could find.  There were 5 mini groups and I was the leader of one of them, yay for Group 3!!

We had this brilliant idea for Ahmad to stand on a narrow ledge on this gym building...

 ... But we couldn't get him to turn around HAHAHAHAH!  And then someone from inside the gym told him to get down b/c everyone inside could see him LOL!!!!  That was fun!!

Personally, I was looking for directional light and that was definitely a challenge with a gray sky and tons of soft flat light everywhere.  But as we walked toward Boat House Row, we found some overhangs which gave me the shadows and depth I was looking for.

Worked a bit on framing!

 

 Best friends!!

Boat House Row was so colorful!  Glad we took a walk!!

Do you remember JP from when he graduated and I took his pics? Well, he's back HAHAHA!!  Holler ladies!! LOL!

So yeah, this was a lot of fun and I'm thankful to all my friends for helping me out by modeling or being photo assistants!!  It really helps so much as I continue to hone my craft!!  And a big thanks to my fellow photogs in Philly SmugMug group, it's always fun!!  

I really enjoy doing what I do!

Goats Can Climb onto Fences :) - Shooting for Fun!

Just a quick break before I continue some album designing..

Yesterday my soulfriend, Grace, and I went around the area exploring new places for me to use for portraits.  Here are some images I took.. for fun :)

It's nice to shoot for fun sometimes, you get to take a fresh look at things without any pressure hehe!
 :)

I found an awesome place, I can't wait to take my next engaged couple there.. Come on couples, book me so we can go!! It's MAGICAL!  (Sorry, didn't put any pics up of it, just some inside one of the buildings HAHAHAHA)

Shot through a chain link fence :)

This particular goat knew how to stand up on a fence to get him some grub!

Yay for Farmer's Markets!

My beautiful soulfriend :)

Details...

 Reflections!

Grace - My Soulfriend!

So, I got to shoot my best friend the other day, with a camera.  We went to the Philadelphia Coal Piers with the South Jersey Photography Group which was great!

I love my soulfriend, Grace!!  Here's one of my favorites!!

Photog talk:
Natural light was coming in from camera left, but b/c I did not shoot from the same direction of the light, I used the light to make my subject more dimensional, so you see shadows on my beautiful friend's face which helps give the image more depth... :)

Proposal: Grace & Abe

So last Friday I got to be a part of a very special moment in two people's lives!  I was asked by Abe to capture his proposal to his girlfriend, Grace!  I really love these moments, and am so thankful I got to be a part of it!

Congratulations, Grace & Abe!!  You are truly a Godsend to each other and I wish you guys the best as you prepare to spend your lives together :)  Here's a few pics from this moment:

I just wanted to share a funny series with you.  This is Grace telling Ate Maila about her engagement (which just happened 5 minutes before this).  Love her face!!

My "Soulfriend" - Grace!

So, yesterday, I had the opportunity to photograph my soulfriend, Grace!  What is a soulfriend exactly?  Well, it's basically like a soulmate, except, they are not of the gender which you wish to marry LOL.  She cooked me an omelet a few years back and I asked her to marry me because it was so good.  I think that's where the term 'soulfriend' originated from because, while I knew I could not marry her, if she were of the opposite sex, I would have done so at that exact moment in time.  Her omelet was THAT good.  So while husband Fred is my soulMATE, Grace is my soulFRIEND hahahaha!

Grace has always been there for me through the years and I'm very thankful for that.  We've been through a lot together, both good times and bad times, but were able to take comfort in knowing that we had each other's backs.  Every time I hang out with her, it's never lacking in laughter and silliness.

You are a beautiful person, inside and out. And your omelets are incomparable. Seriously, try her egg and cheese omelet!

Here's to you Grace - my SOULfriend!