Category Archives: Portraits

Portraits

Returning to Shutterfest at Union Station in St. Louis, MO

Returning to Shutterfest at Union Station in St. Lou!

shutterfest at Union Station

St. Louis Union Station

Back in April of 2015 I went down to St. Louis, MO for a two-day conference, known as Shutterfest. It’s a photography conference like no other. Sal Cincotta calls it the un-conference. I was absolutely amazed at all of the great content I was able to attend and all of the fantastic people that I met. It literally is a non-stop 24 hour a day learning fest. Last year I wasn’t able to make it down there. 🙁

This year I am heading back. From what I heard and saw from the group, I missed an amazing couple of days last year but this year, come hell or high water, I’m headed down there. I wrote about Shutterfest 2015 in St. Louis and I also wrote about fixing up my old Buick to take the trip and today I just wanted to let everyone know that it was the best conference, of any kind, that I’ve ever attended.

The conference is held at the famous Union Station, not too far from the Arch, the St. Louis Blues and the St. Louis Cardinals home games. When I was down there in 2015, I stayed at the Ballpark Hilton which was about a mile from Union Station. This year I’m staying at the host hotel which means I don’t have to take a shuttle or do any driving unless I want to.

This will also be the first major undertaking I’ve done since I had my stroke back on August 3, 2016. I’ve barely done any shooting since then, mostly practising in my office using my strobes in a simple setting on myself. I haven’t advertised or really pushed to do any paid sessions but it’s time to get back into real life.

I’ve used the last 7 months to strengthen my body and work on self-reliance and self-worth. I am still not back to 100% and I may never return to life as it was before the stroke so I have had to re-evaluate how and what I want to do for the rest of my life. If you want to, you can read about my short life summary in my article HELP ME HELP YOU to learn why I keep doing what it is that I do.

I’m really looking forward to learning new information and new techniques and meeting fellow photographers, models and people that live in St. Louis and the area to gain a better perspective on their views on photography and life in general. I won’t be taking the old Buick though. She died last year. Instead, I’ll be taking my old faithful Ford pickup with 18 years and 384,000 miles of experience. Yes, you read the mileage right. I’ll write more about Shuterfest17 when I get back. Until then, stay warm, stay dry, stay safe.

Engagement photos and portfolios

Caddy Imaging | Engagement photos and portfolios

Engagement photos are an investment, just as much as your wedding pictures. I am looking to expand my portfolio of engagement photos. I feel like I’m going stale so I want to start branching out a little. I would like to build my portfolio with some engagement sessions. I am seeking two good looking couples, or even good friends, to model for an engagement experience.  If you’ve been looking for some new, exciting photos of yourselves or trying to decide on a photographer for your wedding and you’re willing to invest an hour or two, please email me a couple of photos of yourselves and why you would like me to photograph you at Portfolio@CaddyImaging.com.

Caddy Imaging engagement photos

Caddy Imaging Engagement

Here are a few tidbits to think about when choosing a photographer:

  • Have any of the photographers you’ve used in the past been with you throughout the process?
  • Have they been available in near real-time to answer questions?
  • Are they easy to talk to?
  • Do they understand what you are looking for?
  • Are they willing and able to pivot when needed?

The biggest things to remember are to be yourselves. Don’t worry about the guy behind the camera. He may be shy or outgoing. He may sometimes act nervous but just remember that your photographer is simply a person, the same as you.

When it comes to the session itself, try not to go out and party or pull an all-nighter at work the day before. You want to be rested and relaxed.

Empty your pockets:

  • For the guys, put your keys, wallets, cell phones, etc. in a bag and put it under the seat of your car. The last thing you want is to see stuff bulging from your pockets.
  • For the gals, if you have a small clutch purse, use that. You can always throw it in your photographer’s bag. Just remember to get it back before you leave. Bring along a little extra makeup to freshen up a bit with. Bring a hairbrush. You really don’t want to use your photographers’, do you?

Wear what you normally wear:

  • Generally speaking, you want to be yourselves. If you normally wear sweatpants and a t-shirt, I’d say don’t! 🙂 Instead, I’d suggest something classy and casual.
  • For the guys: wear some nice jeans and a nice button down shirt. Don’t wear multi-colored, loud shirts (unless that’s you and you really want some photos of those) but just a clean one-color shirt. Bring a sport jacket if that’s your style. Don’t wear something with a logo on it though.
  • For the gals: nice slacks or a nice skirt and a matching top are perfect. If you want to bring an extra set of clothes to change in to to get some different looks, great!

Don’t change up your hairstyle or get a haircut the day before. Your hair need a few days after being cut to look natural. Don’t change your hair style or hair color either. You really want to look as natural as possible because photos tend to enhance details like hair and colors. Gals, if you wear make-up, and I’d suggest you do, don’t put on heavy layering. It really shows up in the photos. Use a powder base instead of an oil base. It will look more natural. Also, if you normally use cheap make-up, please go purchase some that is a little better quality. Your photos will love you.

Just remember that this is your day, much as your wedding day will be also. You want to have fun and you want to look and feel your best! I want that for you too.

OCF for a selfie.

OCF for a selfie

So, last night I was out doing some shooting and decided that I needed to do a “Selfie.” As you might have guessed, over the years, I’m not really in to taking selfies, especially with my cell phone (this wasn’t with a cell phone btw), but I decided that the moon was too cool looking with the haze from the fires out in the western US making the moon stand out in relief.

Selfie under the moon

Selfie under the moon

This was shot with a single flash, hand-held, no modifier for 8 seconds, 1600 ISO, f16. The flash was set at 1/128 power. Camera is a Nikon D700 with the Nikkor 50mm f1.8 lens.

Martinez family Signature edit

Martinez

Martinez
2014 Copyright Caddy Imaging


A signature edit for the Martinez Family. This was just something I wanted to produce that I’d had in the back of my mind for a while.

Thomas playing the violin

Just a quick post of Thomas playing the violin.

Thomas playing the violin

Thomas playing the violin

After the Joy of Lighting class

Bowens Gemini 400Rx Lighting kit

Bowens Gemini 400Rx Lighting kit

A couple of weeks ago I told you that I was headed to Minneapolis to attend the Joy of Lighting class sponsored by West Photo and held at the Mpls Photo Center. Tony Corbell, who has teamed up with Bowens at teambowens.com, is an amazing instructor. The first day of the class was mostly classroom slides and discussions about different lighting techniques. Tony also went over the Bowens Gemini 400Rx lights that we received and the equipment that came with them. The second day was almost all hands-on, using the lights and their modifiers to practice and getting used to them. Our model, Anna Maher, was wonderful and very patient with us! Below are a couple of images from the practice sessions. We had three lighting scenarios that we practiced on. One setup used a single strobe and a softbox, the second used a single strobe with just the reflector and the third used three strobes, all with reflectors. The two gentlemen were classmates of mine that were gracious enough to let me photograph them.

Bowens Gemini 400Rx Lighting kit at the Joy of Lighting

Anna

Bowens Gemini 400Rx Lighting kit at the Joy of Lighting

Anna

Bowens Gemini 400Rx Lighting kit at the Joy of Lighting

Bowens Gemini 400Rx Lighting kit at the Joy of Lighting

 

The Martinez Family

Last month I had the privilege of photographing the Martinez family. Here are a couple of shots that they loved from the session.

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“The Joy of Lighting” with Tony Corbell Coming to Minneapolis

I coudn’t pass up the opportunity! I’m heading to Minneapolis next month to take a 2-day class from Tony Corbell and Bowens lighting called “The Joy of Lighting”. It’s going to be held at the Mpls Photo Center November 16th and 17th. I’m already getting excited. Can’t wait to meet Mr. Corbell and learn from the best!

I’ll post again after I get back so stay tuned!

Portrait of a Sketched Beauty

A couple of years ago, MG Miller, a local cartoonist, was in Blackduck using his talents. I caught a few images with one little girl as Mr. Miller sketched a portrait for her father.

M. G. Miller hard at work.

M. G. Miller hard at work.

Dad watching how cute his little girl was.

Dad watching how cute his little girl was.

M. G. Miller at work.

M. G. Miller at work.

Jacob

Jacob

Jacob
Copyright © 2014 CADDY .|. IMAGING
Taken with a Nikon D7000 using a Tamron SP 28-75MM F/2.8 Di lens. The exposure was taken at 75mm, f/4.5 for 1/125th of a second at ISO 400. Post capture processing was done in Adobe Lightroom 5.4 and Adobe Photshop CS6.