Tuesday, March 31, 2009

A DIY Spot Grid


Here is one for the DIY types. It's a quickand cheap spot grid. Take the jump over to the good people at the Strobist for instructions http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/10/free-and-so-easy-diy-grid-spots-for.html

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Product Shot For Revelation Cards


Did some product shots for Revelation cards. We did a complete series of "propped" shots for their line of gargoyle greeting cards. The owner asked for shots of the cards together with "props" to give a feel for how the cards could be used. Not your typical "product" shot with neutral lighting on flat white background.
In the end the owner and I decided to keep the shots on a white background, but unlike the hero shots already in use, a textured background. You can check out Revelation cards website www.revelationcards.com.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Class of 2010 Senior Ambassador Program


C2 Photography is starting the selection process for Senior Ambassadors for the class of 2010. We will be selecting a maximum of three students for each of the following schools: North Eugene, South Eugene, Sheldon, Willamette, and Churchill
Qualifications to be a Senior Ambassador:
1. A full time student in high school, graduating in 2010
2. Extremely active with activities at school.
3. Extremely social and outgoing personality.
4. Confident person who is willing to share information about things they are excited about.
5. Permission from parent(s) to participate.
6. Willing to meet with us periodically throughout the year, at convenient times for all those involved, of course.
Our ambassadors will receive a 2-3 hour photo session at multiple locations of their choice. In addition they will receive the following:
1. 1 12x18 print
2. 5 8x10 or 8x12 prints
3. 10 5x7 prints
4. 16 wallets
5. 15 images resized for FaceBook & MySpace
6. Dvd slide show with music built from session images
7. Master image disk with personal use copyright release of completed images
8. Online gallery to share with friends and family
9. Online version of dvd slideshow to share with friends and family
10. Discount promotional cards to give away
The ambassador’s will only pay $300 for the entire package (that’s a $295 discount) In addition each ambassador will receive $25 cash for every referral that books a session with us.
The senior will receive an additional one hour fall session to refresh their images. Interested students should contact us to complete an application. chris@c2-photo.com 541-915-3410

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Save The Pets Fund Raiser


Help support a great local non-profit. This is pretty easy, simply click on the flyer to bring it to full size, print it out, and take it to Papa's Pizza tonight! 1/2 of the dollars you spend on food go directly to the Save The Pets group. This flyer is only valid at the Coburg road location.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Leason Learned


I got this GREAT shot of Malia right before the Railroad Police showed up. Yep, they have their very own armed police force. Needless to say, this was the last shot we got on the tracks.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Boys: Getting The Most Out Of Your Senior Portraits


Colors:
Solid colors photograph best. Solid white or light pastels for a high key portrait and solid black for a black on black look great. Earth tones are perfect for outdoor portraits. Avoid large prints, stripes, plaids and patterns as they distract from your face. Shirts with logo’s or text are also distracting. Bring a variety of colors too.

Outfits:
Bring a selection of formal and casual outfits for a variety of looks. Keep in mind that we will be doing some full-length shots, so consider shoes and socks when putting your outfits together. Remember that some outfits that look cool today are going to look dated tomorrow, so bring some classic styles as well as trendy ones. Bring a few that your mom likes as well as your favorite outfit.

You can bring as many outfits as you want and we will suggest the ones which will photograph the best. Please group the outfits you are going to wear together on hangers. Make sure they are properly pressed as wrinkled garments do not photograph well and are not retouchable. Outfits shoved into a bag generally do not come out looking as good.

Sports uniforms and letterman’s jackets are also great choices to highlight your activities. Be sure to bring along any props that go with your outfit.
Remember to bring black or dark tshirts to wear under dark shirts, white or light to wear under light shirts.

Hair:
Avoid a new cut, style or color right before your portrait. Make sure to have a clean shave before you arrive. Stubble is very difficult to retouch and does not look as good as a clean shave.
Props:
You can bring whatever props you would like to include in your portraits. These include things like a car or motorcycle, sports equipment, instruments, skis, trophies, or theatrical costumes. You can also bring a friend along to include in several shots. Pets are welcome too, so long as they are housetrained if they are going to be in the studio. Having another person along to care for the pet when they are not in pictures is an absolute must. Bringing a carrier for small pets is recommended
.
Bringing Your Ideas:
If you have seen poses or shots that you really like, bring them along. These can be shots that you have seen of other seniors that you know, on websites, or even in magazines. You can always email ahead of time any websites that contain poses or looks that you like and we will work to recreate the look for you.
Retouching:
Normal retouching is included with all your finished portraits so don’t worry if you have a breakout before your session. Most tattoos can be removed from your pictures. Please tell us if you want your tattoos retouched or not. Sunburn and tan lines do not look good in portraits and are extremely difficult to retouch. Just be careful of your sun exposure and tanning in the weeks before your portrait.

Arriving for your portrait:
Our studio works by appointment only. We allow up to 2 hours for your senior portrait so you have our entire attention for you scheduled time. Please plan to arrive no more than 10 minutes early for your portrait. A very early arrival may overlap with a previous client leaving or we may be returning from a location shoot and not at the studio to receive you. A late arrival will shorten your shoot and you may not get as many outfits or clothing changes as usual. Keep in mind that while you can do as many outfit changes as you wish, taking a long time to change clothing and/or hairstyles will cut down on your shooting time.

Viewing and ordering your portraits:
Your portraits will be ready for viewing in 2-3 weeks, or sooner if we are close to your yearbook deadline. We post your portraits to our online gallery. You can review them and place your order online or directly with the studio depending on the package you choose. High quality digital files are also available, as are DVD slide shows

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Team Photos and Team Building





Photography can also serve as a team building exercise for the athletes involved. This shot was done at a team "photo night". The girls got together as a "team" and after a team dinner had a slew of photos taken. They got flat silly! Making jokes and dogging whatever girl was in front of the camera. They had a blast teasing each other and at points seeing who could strike the best "America's Next Top Model" pose.

As a team your imagination is the limit when designing something like this. Likewise it could also be done as a destination type shoot as well. A road trip to some dramatic backdrop (Silver Falls, University of Oregon Campus, Skinners Butte, the Oregon Coast, etc.). They key is to keep it a team experience (just the team & the photographer).

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Personal Touch To Sports Photos



We produced a series of magazine covers for this girls soccer team. There are some other studios that have templates for covers similar to this one. We like to take it a step further. The typical cover template just changes the name of the athlete and has pretty generic text in the body of the image. When I designed these covers, I asked the parents to give us three of four short blurbs about each of the girls. The result, is while the covers are all similar, they each speak to the individuality of each athlete. Again, just that little something extra that transforms it from a novelty, to a treasured keepsake.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Team Sports Photography
























With spring soccer fast approaching I thought I put up an example of an individual player portrait we did for a girls soccer team in the fall. I really have never been a big fan of the chain studio team pictures. I have bad memories of the annual cattle call, production line photography I was subjected to in my youth. Not to mention the totally generic look of the pictures. We spent a little extra time with this team and created images the kids actually liked, and enjoyed posing for. With a 15 girl roster, the cost for a team session including 8x10 prints and MySpace and FaceBook ready jpeg files would be $20 per player. That is actually less than the comparable league photo package would be.