DKE Photography

Steve

dkephoto — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 07:29:16 +0000

Recently, Steve asked me to take a few headshots for an acting gig he was going out for. So I grabbed my trusty Canon 30D, the ever-nifty 50 (Canon 50mm f/1.8 II) and my LumoPro LP160 flashes and headed for the mean streets of Smyrna, GA for a semi-impromptu photo session. FYI, if you don’t think Smyrna is gangster, try getting over to make a left turn on South Cobb Drive during morning rush hour. You’ll find out the hard way that soccer moms don’t mind giving you a finger or two. They’ll bless your poor lil’ heart after the fact; after all, they’re Southerners and it’s only polite to bless someone after cussing them out. But I digress. You aren’t reading this site for insight on Southern culture, so I’ll move on.

Actor headshots are relatively easy to shoot from a technical standpoint. You don’t need a huge studio with a light for every limb and strand of hair in order to get a great shot; in fact, the shots were taken in Steve’s basement using a couple of off-camera flashes and a voice-activated reflector (Robyn, my unofficial assistant). Lighting is pretty basic, a key light, add a reflector or second light for fill, then another light to light the background and add some separation. If you really want to get fancy, you can use a third light to light the hair, but you can get away without using it if the hair and background contrast greatly. So while it’s simple, the challenge is have your subject speak with his/her eyes and smile, project warmth, set a mood, etc. In other words, the actor has to appear convincing to the person viewing the comp card/portfolio. He/she has to appear friendly as to convey a feeling being easy to do business with. The actor must be natural and relaxed so the people can see the true person and not the projected person. And in the session, I feel we nailed it.

Scott Kelby’s 4th Annual Worldwide Photo Walk

dkephoto — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:46:23 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, I participated in a what has become an annual event, Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photo Walk. Scott is one of the leading authorities in the photography field and is a master of Photoshop techniques emulated by thousands of grunts like me. About four years ago, Scott thought it would be a great idea to create an event that brought photographers of skill levels and genres together for one purpose: photograph your world as you see it and fellowship with like-minded people.

One of the coolest things about the photowalk is that I have met quite a number of people who share my passion. Some are working pros, others are weekend warriors. What unites us is our love of capturing images. This year, my goal wasn’t to win a prize but to just go out and have fun. I definitely achieved both. Plus, I learned a few tips/tricks that I will implement in my ever evolving shooting style.

I posted a few of my favorite pics from the walk for your viewing pleasure below.

My first stop was inside a local institution, Criminal Records.

After I left Criminal Records, I walked towards the heart of Little Five Points and ran into a local street performer named Evangelist. I’m not sure of his message, but whatever it is, I’m sure he’s preaching its gospel.

Later in the photo walk, I met another photographer who wasn’t a part of the walk. She graciously asked me to take a photo of her taking a photo of me. I was more than happy to oblige.

Even though I’m Boston born & bred, I have a lot of love for ATL.

Jen Capone

dkephoto — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:05:23 +0000

Have you ever had one of those moments when you took stock of your life and realized it was time to upgrade? Well that happened to me a few weeks ago and I must say it was long overdue. I looked at my portfolio and confronted an ugly truth: my images are stale and uninteresting. Well, people say nice things about my images, but they aren’t exactly blowing up my phone/text/email/facebook/Google +/Twitter/etc with offers to pay me to shoot them. Now given that I started a business, I should do everything possible to generate revenue (funny, our government doesn’t see it the same way, but that’s another story). And in order to generate more revenue, then I absolutely must present better images on the web. After all, image is everything. I also realized that I have to diversify my portfolio to attract more diverse clients.

With that in mind, I set up a shoot with Jen. Nothing beats shooting someone you’re comfortable with, and Jen was no exception. We were so engrossed in conversation that I had to remember to take pics. I think the rapport is reflected in the images you’ll see below.

I decided to use window lighting because it’s natural and compliments most subjects. Plus it’s not hard to set up and it’s free. LOL. Jen pulled this out of her wardrobe and I knew she had to wear it for a few shots.

Of course, no photographer would shoot a sexy model without a lingerie shot or two (or nine). I wasn’t crazy about the bed or the entire room set up for that matter, but she made it work.

I like the color version of this shot, but there’s something about black & white that makes an image timeless.