Today Was A Good Day
July 19, 2010 by vard · Leave a Comment
Wanted to get a few shots from today posted before I crashed. Today was one of those days where everything was just clicking. I really had a blast working with Theresa & Arielle, both NOT first-timers. Kat was back rockin makeup and Erin (the intern – I’ll have a post introducing her soon) and Allie helped keep things moving and easy going in the blazing heat and drenching humidity. It’s always nice working with a rad crew! Thank you everyone for helping make images like the ones here.
BIG day tomorrow! 
Rock On!
A Few From The Last Two Days
Had another chance to run down to StudioOz in Philadelphia on Monday for a long day of shooting and catching up. DanO, owner/photographer of StudioOz and I both quit our day jobs (at the same place no less) to do photography full time within 2 weeks of each other back in the fall of 2005. In those 5 years he’s has been an integral part of our lives and our business. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to pay him back for what he’s done for us, but we’ll keep trying.
The first 6 images here are from Monday down at DanO’s – his studio is in a huge complex that makes my brain swim with ideas, often WAY more than I can cram into one or two shoots. The second series of 6 are from yesterday. My hat is off to all of these awesome ladies for putting up with long days and crazy uncomfortable shooting weather. You all rocked out some great images. Thanks for making life fun!
Rock On!
Winter Promo Wrap Up
June 6, 2010 by vard · Leave a Comment
Man, 2010 is racing by! June is here, the summer weather HAS BEEN here for quite a while already and the calendar for the remaining 7 months is filling up fast! It’s all work, technically. I have a pile of things to post in the coming weeks: Shots from next week’s www.300AlmostNakedPeople.com project shoot; more band/musician promo images; there’s probably a wedding or 6 to blog about; and perhaps just a general image wrap up on most of 2009…I realize we’re almost 1/2 way through 2010…better late than never, right.
These images are from our Winter Blues Promo. Had a blast with everyone involved! Thank you to all these great ladies for keeping life lighthearted and fun!
Rock On!
Body Art: Paint & Glitter
April 14, 2010 by vard · Leave a Comment
READ THIS FIRST
A quick thank you to everyone that stopped down for the www.300AlmostNakedPeople.com teaser video we shot last week at A Perfect Blend. Between the test shooting on Wednesday and the real deal on Thursday we got a pile of cool footage. Annie B. rocked the editing and the vid is currently with Andy Z. for audio and sound effects. The plan, right now, is to have it posted Sunday morning for anyone interested in checking it out. We’re getting to work on a 90-120 second promo piece in the next week or so…drop me a line if you’re interested in taking part in that.
I really appreciate everyone that’s been getting involved in this. It’s all about having fun and putting to use the amazing skills and talents of the people I come into contact with every day. It doesn’t take much to make life way more interesting…get up, get out and DO IT!
The images linked here depict artistic representations of nude bodies. If this type of art offends you, please DON’T look. I respect that it might not be for everyone – to each their own, right? Thank you for taking the time to read this!
Every once in a while I get to stop working and try something different. These three shoots definitely fall into that category. I’ve wanted to do some body paint shots for a while now, but the logistics of getting willing participants, at least a partially baked idea and of course an artist all together at the same time makes it a tad challenging. Again, with just about everything I shoot, I learn a TON of stuff when we’re pushing the boundaries a bit. Like, make sure the room is TOO warm…cause people standing around naked will get cold after 3+ hours, pretty much for sure. Ellie and Steph are total champs all the way, and a HUGE thank you goes out to Olivia Jacobs for her rockin paint skills and patience. Working with all 3 of these awesome people was a great experience.
And Kat was back for more makeup fun, this time on the ‘human discoball’ glitter shoot that Courtney and I have been hitting around for a while. We rocked a totally awesome set of images and everyone walked away pretty stoked about this one. And lastly, thank you to Connie and Corry for all their help with Courtney’s shoot – it is mucho appreciated!
…and yes, the studio DOES look like fairy’s exploded here…gotta love me some glitter!
Enjoy!
Alber Herstek Wedding
March 22, 2010 by vard · Leave a Comment
Just taking a quick second to say thanks again to Carla & Billy for having us out last fall to cover their big day. Connie and I had a blast with both of them, their families and their great wedding party. A little different than the normal post, but quite a few of these are Connie’s shots. She doesn’t shoot a lot, but when she can it’s always a treat to see what she does.
This is a wedding party that knows how to ROCK! Sun up to sun down they made sure this was Carla and Billy’s BIG DAY! THIS is the kind of wedding party you want!
Obviously this is from a a bit back. My hat is off to everyone involved for their patience while I got these done the only way I know how. Thank you! Congrats & ROCK ON!
Also, thank you again to everyone that has emailed, txt’d, facebooked and otherwised me about the photography classes. Your responses and enthusiasm have been very inspiring!
Photography Classes @ Studio D
March 16, 2010 by vard · Leave a Comment
OK…here we go! This might be all over the place, but I’ll try to keep it together. And I’ll put this out there right now; this is my first foray into trying to show someone how I shoot, so if it feels like I’m shooting (pun #1) from the hip, I probably am. And, an even more important point – these classes will be based around what I know about image making, which is limited to what I’ve been able to teach myself in the last 6ish years. I’m still teaching myself photography, and I hope these classes can show you how to do that as well.
We’ll lean HEAVILY towards DSLR shooting, particularly in the 1 on 1 sessions. If you’re more comfortable with, or only have, a point-n-shoot, we can definitely discuss that more as well. And, if those last 2 sentences didn’t make any english sense to you, please ask…I’ll be happy to explain.
Small Group Classes:
These classes will be limited to 5 people per class, on a first come, first served basis. To reserve a spot, the course fee will need to be paid in full. If you’re thinking about attending any of these, get a hold of someone at the studio ASAP. We can’t reserve a spot until the fee is paid. And on that note, each class is $75 and will be held at the studio.
The dates are:
- Wednesday April 28th 6-9 – Camera Control – ISO, aperture, shutter speed
- Wednesday May 12th 6-9 – Digital Darkroom – file management, workflow, editing
- Wednesday May 26th 6-9 – Lighting – natural, on-camera, off-camera, mixing
Camera Control
To me, this is where it all starts. If you don’t know what the camera is doing, you’re never going to get any better at making images. ’P’ mode works in very few situations. Actually taking control of the camera is essential to getting YOUR creativity into the image. And seriously, it’s easier than you think. MOST of the ’stuff’ on your camera can be ignored…understanding ISO, aperture and shutter speed, and how each plays into your image will allow you to make better images, more often, in more situations.
Digital Darkroom
This should actually be first, but I realize most people just want to shoot and might not KNOW that they SHOULD care about this part…by the end of Camera Control, I’ll have you convinced at just how important this part is, particularly to digital photographers. Don’t skip this class just because it might sound boring on the surface – I promise it wont be!
Lighting
Oh baby, do I love me some light! I can’t stop looking at, analyzing, playing with or talking about lighting. Ask Connie…it’d be a problem if it wasn’t a passion! :D (ooh…that was good…tweeted!) Understanding lighting and how YOU are in CONTROL of it will make for better images instantly. From simple to complex, we’ll talk about it all. Class note – if I jump around like a monkey trying to make my point on lighting, toss me a banana and wait for me to calm down…I like it THAT much!
I’m going to focus (pun #2) on having fun in these classes – cause seriously, has anyone ever picked up a camera with intent of irritating themselves? It’s about creativity and sharing with the world how you see life happening one frame at a time. I can’t tell you too much about the class setting itself, cause THAT’S one of the surprises for attending. I will say this however; I’m going for MORE than you’re expecting!
Alright…so that brings us to the 1 on 1 classes…a tad less info here as these are going to be specific to each person. But here are the details:
1 on 1 Photo Classes:
- Scheduled almost any time there’s an opening for your schedule and mine
- First class is a 2 hr intro class at $75. The intro class is designed to help me better understand your needs so I can tailor future classes accordingly.
- After the intro class, sessions are $50/hr, booked in 1-3 hour blocks
- You can also schedule a batch of classes for a reduced rate – 6 session hours for $250, scheduled however you’d like.
- Most classes will start in the studio – we’ll decide together where were headed from there if location work is the order of the day
- I have a basic plan for how I’d like these to go, but it’s YOUR PERSONAL class. We’ll work on whatever you’d like.
