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Professional Headshot Special – Only $99

 

In today’s business and social environments; YOUR IMAGE IS EVERYTHING!

Whether you work on nuclear projects, you’re a partner at “Big Law”, commercial real estate, consulting, sales and marketing, publishing, headed to Law or Medical School or relishing your daily work at the local burger joint…we can help you project the best image possible. Your image should send a subtle yet effective message about you and your business. At Creative Concept Studios we’re focused on one goal…producing exceptional headshots and portraits in a studio or at your Colleyville location. Selecting us to produce your headshot is a positive investment in your business image. Whether you’re looking for a business image and/or casual social media portrait, Creative Concept Studios is your answer to professional results you can be proud to display.

Collage 1359126766061 Professional Headshot Special Only $99

When you select Creative Concept Studios you have made a great decision. We do the rest; we make suggestions on what to wear and what style of image is most appropriate for your line of business, we help you feel comfortable in front of the camera, we help you look a bit better that you were hoping for.

Have you been put in charge of finding a photographer for the ENTIRE OFFICE? We offer a discount for groups of 5 or more – our already low $99 head shot special price reduces to $75 per person.

Remember, we don’t have ANY hidden fees. This price includes our preparation, creative, shooting and editing time. It also includes basic retouching (stray hair, brighten eyes and teeth, reduce smile lines, etc.) and an UNLIMITED LICENSE to use the images as you see fit.

Sound good? Then call to schedule your appointment at 817-479-9366 to confirm your shoot date and time.

How’s that for EASY?

You can use this form to schedule your appointment.

If you’re ready to schedule an appointment it’s best to CALL to schedule your session at 817-479-9366 and we’ll work with you to get you scheduled at your earliest convenience.

Deposit may be required to confirm head shot session.

Creative Concept Studios reserves the right to change prices/offers/schedules and policies at their sole discretion.
Payment Policy & Terms and Conditions
 

Young girls and tattoos

2815177513 862da19536 m Young girls and tattoos

I have photographed many young females with massive tattoo displays recently. Most all of them were strikingly colorful; both the young lady and her tattoos. They have held all sorts of jobs, been from various backgrounds and nearly all under 21.

Examples: Nathalie and Emily.

The young never see themselves growing old or their bodies wearing out and loosing its youthful firmness. Although I do not have tattoos, almost got inked one night in Army boot camp back in ’72 though, I can understand one, two or a few tats to mark an occasion, person or event. To have massive, highly visible sleeves at 18 or 19 is not looking beyond the rebellious 2656833871 5e2a6ca098 Young girls and tattoosmoment of youthful freedom.

I did encounter a young woman about 2 years ago, she was in her late twenties, who realized life, to include her body, moves on. She asked if I would photograph her tattoos, after a short discussion we agreed on date, time and place. During the session she explained to me her body was ‘failing her’, her words and she wanted to memorialize them as her body is now and not as her children and grandkids would eventually see them.

I am not against tattoos, I enjoy the photographic challenge of lighting them and posing the model to achieve the best effect. I never mention my thoughts about the years to come and how I have learned life and bodies change. I simply take the photographs for their grandkids.

Incoming search terms:

Nikon D300 & SB-800 Speedlight Flash Diffusion Test

On camera flash photography has always challenged me. I learned photography, in West Germany during the early ‘70s, using natural light only, black and white film and developed my own prints. My first experience, in the early ‘80s, with a flash gun was a reunion of flight school classmates and our families. We paraded the kids through the living room, onesies, twosies, you know the drill, and I took whole family photos too. The garish, over exposed pictures with that damn hard edged shadow (like the top center picture) was embarrassing when the color prints arrived. Who needs a flash? Not a REAL photographer anyway; so, back to natural light for more than 2 decades.

More

Physical fitness shoot

Physical fitness shootDFW MidCities Strobist Meetup Group

We will do a shoot with weights and bodybuilding equipment. The goal is to accentuate the human form with light. We will, in a studio (way too hot to be outside) environment, use our speed lights, continuous lighting and modifiers to produce dramatic portraiture. Some effects may require the addition of studio strobes. We will discuss and demonstrate the best way to mix speedlights and studio strobes.

 

Physical fitness shoot

Physical fitness shoot

Physical fitness shoot

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We will have at least one male and one female model for our subjects, both are P90X instructors and the camera loves them.

Our group models are encouraged to sign up for this shoot.

This is a great way to enhance both model and photographer portfolios.

 

Richland Hills, TX 76118 – USA

Sunday, August 14 at 3:00 PM

Attending: 1

Fee: Price: USD 49.00 per person

Details: http://www.meetup.com/DFW-Strobist-Meetup-Group/events/16220418/

How I use my iPad for photography

Dean Shanson over at the Photopreneur Blog recently sent me a list of questions on how I use the iPad in my photography work. Dean did a good job of highlighting the pros and cons of my answers. See the article: The iPad for Photographers. Not long after he posted the article, I received a couple of emails asking for a detail list of my uses and apps.

What I have and How I use it:

I use the 3G/WIFI 32gb version of the iPad. I currently have 200 songs, 22 videos, 813 photos and 84 applications installed. 15.9gb of 29gb space available.

The iPad has become much more useful than I expected when I purchased it. I use it in several ways:

  • A portfolio of my work to include a running slideshow when that is appropriate.
  • A visual posing example book for clients and models.
  • Property releases.
  • Model releases.
  • Remote camera control.
  • Music at a shoot with small external speakers.
  • Show image collage videos I produce.
  • Educational videos to watch when waiting or traveling.
  • Educational books to read when waiting or traveling.
  • Sunrise/Sunset information and direction when in a new area.
  • Find locations when traveling.
  • Take notes on shoots and locations.
  • Find nearby food, gas or shopping.
  • Give the MUA/Stylist something to play with when I’m shooting.
  • Give me something to do (games, email, surfing, etc) when waiting on the model to finish ‘getting ready’.
  • As a prop within the shoot.
  • Checking the weather.
  • Taking credit card payments.

Apps I use now:

Built-in apps I use aside from browser, email and calendar;

  • Videos
  • Photos (very nice slide show feature too)
  • iPod
  • Notes
  • iBooks

Third party apps:

How I get a model release signed and emailed using the iPad?

I use Easy Release which is great at want it does; the process below is a limitation of the first generation iPad and not Easy Release.

ER20110123 2 00019 231x300 How I use my iPad for photography

Easy release sample

This is a bit cumbersome but here’s how I do it.

  • Take a iPhone picture of model or property.
  • Email it to myself.
  • Give model iPad to fill in their information
  • Get to photo screen
  • Open email on the iPad
  • Save image to photoroll
  • Open Easy Release and select the image

This process works but it ain’t pretty. The new iPad 2 with a built in camera will solve this problem.

iPad for editing – nope.

A complaint I hear often but makes no sense to me.

I have a desktop and a couple of laptops for post processing and other than a quick and dirty crop or adjustment of a photograph I don’t even attempt to do a serious edit with the iPad. If I think I’ll need to do on site editing I bring a laptop.

Advice for other photographers thinking of using the iPad in their photography?

Think it through; how will it assist your photography in a way that makes sense and works for you? Don’t get it just because you can. Technology is not a replacement for basic business or photography skills.

IF you decide to get it spend the extra money for the 3G/WIFI version – WIFI only is useless in the field.

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Incoming search terms:

Things that go Bump during a shoot: A solution for strobists

I have tripped and bumped my way through a lot of shooting locations; the act of repositioning the speedlights on stands with modifiers, while not the biggest challenge of any photo session, was an annoyance I didn’t like. Between the umbrella, open or not, and the open legs of an 8ft light stand I have said ‘Excuse me’; Pardon me’ a hundred times.

Indoors; the knocking around furniture, people and doorways is a headache. Outdoors; moving through people, parked cars, shrubs, trees and rocks presents its own challenges. The act of closing the umbrellas and legs every time I want to reposition the lights is both time consuming and then reversing the process at the new position can a bit unprofessional looking. Sometimes while balancing my camera gear too. I’m not as graceful as I used to be.

I’ve been doing the strobist thing for a couple of years and am always looking for a better more efficient way to get the job done. I was shown a Kwik Stand about a year ago by a studio photographer and liked the idea, but soon found out the Kwik Stand Company had gone out of business. Over the past year two companies have come to market with their versions of the folding leg light stand: Denny EZ Stand and Cheetah Stand. I have tried both and chose the Cheetah Stand for several reasons:

There is no real comparison if you take the time to see the differences. The all metal construction of the Cheetah with its slim solid metal legs and rubber rib-footed feet beats out the thin walled tubular legs of the EZ Stand with its flat smooth plastic ones. The EZ Stand feet appear larger but only one edge actually contacts the floor and it slides easily on smooth shiny floors. Maybe it’s a feature and not a flaw; in any case I didn’t care for it.

The legs of both extend on contact with the ground but the EZ Stand does not compress back to its body as closely the Cheetah. Not a huge deal but depending on the space, think church pews, you’re navigating – it just might. The all metal locking clamps and thumb wings of the Cheetah appear to be better suited to hold up over time with field use.

My copy of the EZ Stand did not smoothly extend or compress, the bottom (largest) pole section was very stiff in fact. It’s supposed to be an air cushion stand, why I’m not sure for such a small stand, which may be the reason for the gummed up feel. Fully extended, the EZ Stand is about an inch taller. The tubes are not internally secured (more on this in a minute). The Cheetah on the other hand is quick and smooth without being a hazard to your equipment with common sense and normal equipment care.

In field use neither stand met all my needs. Because of the inherent design required for this type of stand, the center post must extend down to within an inch or so of the surface. This is only a problem, for me anyway, when shooting on very rough uneven terrain like a rocky ledge 3708200578 f962113392 m Things that go Bump during a shoot: A solution for strobistsnear Lake Grapevine.(Let me add that neither stand was designed nor intended, as far as I know, to be use exactly the way I describe here.) But this is how I found out that the EZ Stand’s main extension tubes are not internally secured.

During a two speedlight shoot, one Cheetah and one EZ stand, I was unable place the opened legs of either stand on the uneven rocky ground. So, in my get the job done mode, I placed (gently wedged/balanced) the stands in-between some rocks. Worked like a charm; got the pictures; time to move on. When I reached out to grab the EZ Stand by the middle tube, balanced upon another rock, to lift it out of the crevice I had half a light stand in my hand. I did not jerk or twist it; it just ‘plop’ came apart. Ten minutes later I moved on with two complete stands. Good news, the tube went back in as easily as it came out.

Now here is a completely mox nix point I noticed, the EZ Stand could be used as a wind chime with all the hollow metal racket it makes when you walk around with it.

So the Cheetah Stand works for me, I now have four of them and they go where I go. Quite, reliable and built to last.

Strobist ballhead and umbrella test

3493512371 076561ff9d m Strobist ballhead and umbrella test

In Joe McNally‘s CLS video it showed him using a ballhead to align the flashhead along the umbrella stem axis. Made sense that it would distribute the light more evenly; so I bought the rig. Here’s the test results – you decide.

As pointed out in the note above, I forgot the diffuser.

Single SB800 set to TTL into Wescott 42″ shoot through umbrella.

The ballhead is the Manfrotto Lite Tite Swivel+Umbrella Adapter 26
The coldshoe is the Stroboframe Shoe-type Flash Mount Cat. No 300-SHO

I consider this as a ‘nice to know’ experiment only. With the inherent spill associated with shoot through umbrellas and with the difusser on the speedlight the coverage appears to be good. One additional advantage I found with the ballhead set is the ability to quickly rotate the flash body to align the IR sensor to face the camera.

I’ll know better after I field test it.

3493654589 a843384855 m Strobist ballhead and umbrella test

3500660886 fd9585bbbc m Strobist ballhead and umbrella test

Sideview

Bokeh: How we love thee

I shot a corporate annual conference dinner the other evening, then posted the images on-line for the attendees to download. We used flash at the start of the event. In an attempt to capture the feel of the evening I switched to my Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 IF-D and shot wide open at f/1.4 in the dimly lit rooms.

I love the lens for it’s sharpness and speed. It works amazingly well with the high ISO capabilities of the D700 which I had set to ISO 1000.

Nearly all of the feedback I have received were on the photographs with the heaviest bohek.

“Bokeh (derived from Japanese, a noun boke 暈け, meaning “blurred or fuzzy”) is a photographic term referring to the appearance of out-of-focus areas in an image produced by a camera lens using a shallow depth of field.”

I like the bokeh too but the comments got me to thinking about why. I will hazard a guess that it most closely mimics the human eye’s ability to sharply focus and isolate upon a single subject within a busy field of view.

Pay attention to your vision the next time your gaze is fixed on just about anything. Notice the ‘bokeh’ effect of the background when concentrating on your morning coffee cup; the sharpness of the person across the room while all else seems to disappear.

Let me know.

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