Olbrich Botanical Gardens Commons Room
December 30, 2011 by 1 Comment
The following are a few of the pictures taken of a large family gathering at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens in the Commons Room.
I shot several families, including this one.
There was lots of goofing around.
The following lady wanted a picture with just her and her brothers.
There were cute couples there too like this one.
Some pictures were formal.
Some pictures were more crazyish.
I told this couple that they seem very comfortable with each other. She said, “yes, that is because we like each other.”
I love this picture with the barn wood frame and box.
These items were removed from a special blanket and made into a hanging art piece.
Under the card is a copy of a baby book that provides a fasinating story of the early years of the mother whose life was celebrated at this event.
Another generation is born.
Memorial flowers
Contact James Studio if you are having a large family event.
UW Arboretum Family Portrait Session
September 13, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Mallory just had her first birthday, so it was definitely time for some family photos. We decided to do the shoot at the UW Arboretum behind the visitor center. It has many varieties of wild flowers and grasses for background. We went to a nice shady area and took a number of photos.
Mallory is expressing her personality here. She has lots of expression for instances at a time. In this photo she is about to remove the bow from her hair. Maybe she will keep it in for the next shoot.
I love her blue eyes as shown in this picture. Anne and Andy are posed perfectly and perfectly happy (and proud parents) watching Mallory trot around the grassy area of the Arboretum.
Using my studio strobe with the Paul C. Buff Vagabond battery pack I was able to get soft light on Mallory (though she was in a shaded area) while producing large beautiful catchlights in her eyes.
Mallory no longer needs the hand support of her parents and she quickly let everyone know about it. She did not want to be tied down; she wanted to run! But this picture of her parents holding her hands will be framed and made into a classic James Studio portrait.
If you have a family and would like to get some wonderful outdoor pictures at a very reasonable rate. Check out the Portrait Prices page and give me a call at 233-5556.
Candice’s Family Portraits in Madison
May 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Candice graduated from UW Madison Engineering Department. She and her family came to James Studio for family portraits. Her parents and grandparents travelled all the way from Taiwan to be an integral part of Candice’s graduation.
Candice arranged the photo session a week ahead. She came with her mother a few days prior to meet me and see what backgrounds were available. We discussed clothing, sets, backgrounds, and time. She provided a check in order to confirm the shoot. We also discussed shooting at Memorial Union or a park, but the weather was not the best and their time was limited. So the shoot was done in the studio.
The family shoot included three brothers. One of the brothers had a girlfriend who was also a part of the shoot. Everyone had a great time. In addition to the large group portrait, we broke the group down into smaller groups with parents, brothers, grandparents, couples, and individual shots, too.
Since the extended family was together, it was a perfect time to get professional portraits. James Studio is less than a mile from the campus and offers excellent pricing. The shoot was set up for an hour, but everyone was enjoying the time so much it went on for 90 minutes or more at no additional cost to them. I offered Candice $159 for a one-hour session, plus I included two high-definition digital files with permission to print. This is a great deal. If you are looking for professional photography for your family, call Jim at James Studio. You will receive a personally crafted, enjoyable experience with beautiful photographs to enjoy forever.
During the shoot I took about 180 photos. Below is a video I put together using just 22 photos. Enjoy the clip. If you have a high speed connection to the internet be sure to click on the HD icon for a better image of the video.
James Studio Photography
Madison Wisconsin Photography Studio
Candice became a graduate of engineering from UW Madison May 14,2011.
The following is a traditional group portrait. Compare it to the next image.
The following is a composite of three images. This image also had the background modified in Photoshop.
The following is Candice with her three brothers. They made for a nice triangular shape in this shot.
This is a composite of two shots. It was hard to get the hat in the right spot and get good expressions at the same time so I fixed it in post. It became my favorite image of the entire shoot.
Here is Candice with her lovely mother.
Her father is showing some personality in this shot.
Candice’s grandparents do not understand very much English but with lots of hand motions and commotion from the photographer I was able to get some nice expression.
Toward the end I wanted Candice to give me several fashion looks. This was one of them that is fun.
