Well here are a few things I learned. It might require a few shots of whiskey before and during the shoot to relax. That is ok.  It takes some explicit direction to look natural. Ironically. It takes complete trust in your photographer to be comfortable. Complete. But be careful, if you’re so comfortable that you’re able to pretend your photographer is not there, you will inevitably be caught making a face that you don’t want to be caught making. Heh.

So here are some more photos from last month’s bday shoot. This is a corollary too to my Things I Like post on cemeteries. I love colonial cemeteries so much that I based my first outfit around it. We started in the heart of Boston at Granary Burial Ground, final resting place of Paul Revere and other revolutionaries. I found this sweater jacket with a Minuteman-looking capelet. I wanted one more accessory to seal the deal, but a horse was harder to come by.

The best part about being friends with a photographer is that they’re willing to give you their RAW files! Actually I might have demanded it, heh heh.
So these photos are all taken by Lisa Rigby, and post-processed by me!

By the way, I just want to mention that in the above photos, while I am trying to channel an Asian Paul Revere in Anthropologie look, Dan is actually representing the home country by wearing all-Taiwanese garb – from his necklace to shirt to jacket all the way to his shoes. And you can count the scarf too, which was knit by his little Taiwanese wife. :)

{ Now insert a quick stop here at Beantown Pub for an outfit change and a shot of whiskey }

Boston Public Garden

It was interesting to see too the photos I were drawn to as a client rather than a photographer. I know that when I go through photos I take for others – and photos taken by other photographers! – I can’t help but gravitate to non-subject elements first, such as how the sun hits, how the trees frame, how the bokeh of lights blur in the background. I’m looking at the parts rather than the whole sum. As a customer though, I’m obviously looking more at…myself! The Other Stuff that I get hung up on as a photographer aren’t quite as important. Or maybe they are, but more as subconscious enhancements rather than the focal point. It’s more important if we’re smiling or looking happy. This is what I must remember!

Below are some outtakes. We ended the shoot with drinks at Bouchee on Newbury St, and our server really screwed it up. He poured Dan’s sidecar into my martini glass that already had olives in it, poured my vodka martini in Lisa’s espresso martini glass that already had chocolate-covered espresso beans in it, so I was fishing out olives from Dan’s drink and espresso beans from mine. And making a lot of faces.

I will end by saying how much fun it was to be photographed. It’s a nice side effect of being comfortable in front of the camera, which itself is a nice side effect of knowing that you’re in the hands of a photographer you really like. :) Oh and thanks and lots of xoxoxo’s to Dan too for bringing his A-game and playing along. I know some of this frou frou stuff (”What do you mean I have to wear different outfits?!”) must be hard for the mens sometimes!

Bunny and Veebs rang in the new year with a little change of sleeping venue. I moved their cat bed from the office upstairs and placed it on top of the radiator cover in the living room. An extra cozy room with a view! Dan joked that by morning we would have a savory cat pie all cooked up. It started snowing and I caught Veebs taking a break from his pre-nap bath to admire the falling flakes (and then later that night, the New Year Eve’s fireworks. Although he wasn’t really too thrilled with that). Later Dan and I ventured outdoors for a little winter walk and mini photo shoot. Eee! I love shooting in the snow! So crisp, clean and bright. Boston looked like a large-scale gingerbread town dusted in confectioner’s sugar and white frosting. I feel like this is really the first time I’m understanding my camera well enough to appreciate the beautiful lighting given off by the snow.

I’m looking forward to more snowy shoots in 2010!

OK! So the premise might be a little cheesy! She’s holding travel books and chewing thoughtfully on pens, looking off into the distance…not exactly artfully or subtly done! But behind the scenes this was a really enlightening and fun exercise for the both of us. It took awhile for the shoot to get to “fun” because even though it was her idea, Meg was a NERVOUS WRECK the moment I pulled out the camera.  Finding nice spots with good lighting and/or backdrops, fiddling with the camera controls, pressing the shutter were the least of my worries. The subject NOT BREATHING out of nervousness was the biggest.

It is a very symbiotic relationship, this whole subject and photographer thing. I really need to work on ways to make people subjects comfortable. It really isn’t easy being in front of a camera when you’re trying to pretend that you’re not.

So here are some shots. We met at the Boston Public Garden after work and posed at the Swan Boat docks.

What IS she thinking about? France? Spain? The Grand Canyon?

Then we headed to the Boston Common.

Since it might not be clear to the recipient where we are, we took some shots in next to a t-shirt cart. But look, she still has her Italy books! Our “Meg Dreaming of Italy Whilst in Boston” theme remains intact!!

Some shots near Frog Pond in the Common. I was ALL OVER the fading sunlight. Mmm yummy yummy delicious sunlight.

But I showed Meg the photos, and she said, “My head is glowing” in such a way that indicated she did not like that her head was glowing. I was like, WHAT?! That is on PURPOSE. It is sun flare! How can you not like sun flare? Do you know how proficient one has to be in order to shoot sun flare?

So lesson learned is that thoughts like the last one I had isn’t something the subject will give two craps about, if it makes their hair look like “straw.” Or their nose look “honking.” Or their forehead look “in need of Botox.” Or their hips look “terrible.” Hey. I just remembered why I enjoy shooting animals so much! Heh.

But OK, no more back-lit shots. We moved to the bench on the other side, so that Meg was facing the sun. I normally don’t like shooting from this vantage point because everything is just too evenly warm and golden. But the sun was really fading by then, lessening the degree of golden-ness, and I post-processed the image to black and white which I thought looked really great.

I think she looks posed but relaxed and natural.

This is the shot she chose to give her friend. I thought she looked great in all the shots, but this was my fave.

Now that I’ve posted photos I guess it’s only fair now to post some photos of myself that Meg took. I look extremely silly in these. And stoned in one. It really is difficult being in front of the camera, especially without direction!

Makes me appreciate even more just how much a photographer needs to do in order to get great pictures – and lot of it has nothing to do with a camera.

VanBuren, the fat orange cat himself, will draw the an entry from the raffle bowl tomorrow and the winner of a photo session with Fat Orange Cat Studio will be announced on Thursday!

In the meantime, here are some scenes from Sunday. See the full gallery of dogs here.

I have so much to talk about, including some of the products displayed on the counter. I don’t think I’ve ever described them much on this blog. So in addition to the usual framed and matted 8×10s and 5×7s, I displayed 11×14 examples of Mounted Prints – prints adhered to thick fiber board and ready to hang – and cool mini accordions. The Mounted Prints I have been offering for some time now, and am pleased that clients have been going for them. If you’ve ever been to the South End Buttery, all the large prints you see there are Mounted Prints. I’ll be showing more examples of those and some other products in an up-coming post. It’s been on my to-do list for some time!

And as an aside for fellow camera-lovers out there, will someone tell me how I ever manged to shoot for so long without a full frame digital camera?! I’ve been using the Nikon D700 exclusively since I got it just several days ago — for this event, for a dog client shoot and a human being shoot (gah!). The 50mm has not come off the camera and I am flabbergobstunned by the vibrance and sharpness of the images. And I like the way it CLICKS when I press the shutter. Such a satisfying, crisp little click.

See below Before & Afters. I shot in JPEG and Vibrance mode, manual settings and manual WB. The images on the left are SOOC. The photos of the right have had blacks and fill light increased a TEENY TINY bit. The second B&A had a little bit of color correction as well to remove the greenish tinge. Overall, in the right light or no, shots have been afreakinmazing straight out of the camera.

Nuts, right?! Can’t wait to share more!

I signed for package, ripped it open, put in a freshly charged battery, attached my 50mm f/1.4 lens, applied the menu settings to my usual liking. Love how the controls are pretty much the same as the D300! No need to flip through manuals. Not that I did that anyway with the D300 when I first got it, heh. With that done, all that was left was to snatch myself a Bunny Rabbikins to be my first subject.

50mm, f/1.4, 1/250 sec, ISO 3200

Oops. Forgot to turn off the AF assist light. It made Bunny all squinty, and you can see it reflecting off his left eye. Dan says he looks like he just crash landed on this planet, and I caught him as he’s crawling out of his smoldering space craft. Ha ha!

50mm, f/1.4, 1/250 sec, ISO 3200

I’ve had the 50mm for 3 years now, the first lens I ever purchased, and on a full-frame camera it’s like I bought whole new lens! For free! I’ve always felt it was a little too long for indoor shots, but on the D700 I was able to get these shots of Bunny comfortably. No having to crush myself against a wall.

After a couple indoor shots with Bunny, I went up on the roof deck to do some dusky city shots. As luck would have it, our neighbor’s cat Bella emerged from her rooftop hatch just as I was ready to shoot. She comes and goes as she pleases, and glimpses of her are few and far between. She usually scurries off when she sees me. If I could chase her and make her be my friend, believe me I would. But I’m too scared I’d like, plummet to my death in the process. Luckily today, she decided to grace me with her fluffy presence for longer than usual, and sat close enough for me to get some really pretty photos of her enjoying the sights and sounds of Boston at dusk. I feel really lucky to have gotten these!

Also taken at f/1.4, 1/250 sec, ISO 3200. Noise? What noise?
PS I kind of wish we could let our boys hang outdoors like this. But they don’t have Bella’s rooftop smarts.

I’m so looking forward to shooting with the D300+17-55mm and D700+50mm at a wedding in October! Hopefully I won’t be telling myself afterwards that I need another lens. The credit card needs a major breather.  I do think I can make these pairings work, so woot woot! I’m a full-framed gal!