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Thoughts | Fashion Shoot

Thoughts | © Jay Moore Photography

When I photograph people, I’m always trying to capture the true personality and of that particular individual. I use a variety of techniques to capture these types of images and in the image above, I made the model think I wasn’t ready yet and I told her to relax for a moment. And as I pretended to mess around with my camera and lighting, her mind wandered and I was able to snap off a few frames of her deep in thought.

Even though it’s important to have your model positioned properly, I think it’s just as important to capture their energy.

February 22, 2012 | Categories: Fashion, Photo Of The Day | Leave A Comment »

Whitney + Jimi | Real Wedding | Quiet Waters Park

Whitney and Jimi had a wonderful wedding on a beautiful autumn day in the heart of Annapolis at Quiet Waters Park. They both were in the moment and enjoyed every aspect of their special day. And their family and friends were great in helping them celebrate as the group rocked and rolled on the dance floor throughout their reception.

Click on the image below to see some highlights from their wedding day …

February 21, 2012 | Categories: Weddings | Leave A Comment »

The Glance | Fashion Photo Shoot

The Glance | © Jay Moore Photography

I recently photographed a few local models at the Graffiti Warehouse in Baltimore city. I loved the grittiness of several areas within the warehouse, so I utalized some of the graffiti artwork within the background to give the scene some depth. In post production, I desaturated the colors of the graffiti and the couch so it didn’t distract from the main subject, the model.

The loved the look on the models face when she glanced off to camera right. It’s almost as if she checking something out behind me, which peeks viewers curiosity when viewing the image.

Check back again soon to see additional images from the session …

February 20, 2012 | Categories: Fashion, Photo Of The Day | Leave A Comment »

Calla Lily 5156

Calla Lily 5156 | © Jay Moore Photography

I always enjoy coming back to different series of images from time to time, as it’s sort of like visiting old friends. This particular series is an exercise in highlights and shadows and how they effect textures and shapes, thus creating emotion within the final image.

Light and how it falls on a subject is one of the elements of why I love photography and although I have a great understanding of this element, I feel it’s a lifetime journey to fully master. I always continue to remind myself that not all light is created equal and depending on where you place it in relation with your subject will determine the final outcome of your scene. So, in any one particular scene you have thousands of ways to light and photograph your subject. Finding that perfect combo is always my goal.

With the image above, I wanted to create a dramatic look that helps focus the viewer to the beautiful curves and texture of the calla lily.

February 17, 2012 | Categories: Photo Of The Day, Still Life | Leave A Comment »

Whitney + Jimi | Sneak Peek | Special Moment

Whitney + Jimi | Sneak Peek | © Jay Moore Photography

Whitney and Jimi were in great spirits throughout their entire wedding day, including during their reception when they hit the dance floor many times to boogie with their family and friends.

It’s always fun capturing the bride and groom dancing on their special day, as there tends to be lots of smiles, laughter and special moments. And I think the phrase “A picture is worth a thousand words” fits perfectly with the image above.

Check back next week to see the highlight slideshow from their wedding day …

February 16, 2012 | Categories: Photo Of The Day, Weddings | Leave A Comment »

Snow Covered Trees

Snow Covered Trees | © Jay Moore Photography

Snow covered evergreen trees are always a beautiful sight. The packed snow clinging to the needles creates a look that almost seems human manufactured, as if it was carefully painted on by a company that sells Christmas trees.

What was great about the moments from the image above was the fact that the clouds opened up for a brief moment to show an amazing blue sky. Since the clouds were moving extremely fast, I quickly found a towering tree to place it against the blue and captured a few frames. Before I could reposition my camera for another scene, the opening was gone and sky once again was behind the bank of clouds.

February 15, 2012 | Categories: Landscape Photography, Photo Of The Day | Leave A Comment »

Whitney + Jimi | Sneak Peek

Whitney + Jimi | Sneak Peek | © Jay Moore Photography

Whitney and Jimi had a picture perfect wedding day with the trees in full autumn color and a brilliant blue sky. I used both of those colorful elements when photographing their first glance and captured several fun images of the wedding couple, including the image above.

When photographing a first glance, its vital to capture both the candid moments of when they first see each other, but also the time just after when their excitement level is still extremely high. In the image above, I positioned them slightly and then asked them to look toward the camera for a brief moment and was able to snap off a few images of the happy couple.

Check back again soon to see additional highlight images from their wedding day …

February 14, 2012 | Categories: Photo Of The Day, Weddings | Leave A Comment »

Sunset in Patterson Park

Winter sunsets can make for interesting colors, even if there are no clouds in the sky. On a recent photo outing to capture the full moon rising over the pagoda (see post below or CLICK ON THIS LINK to see image), I captured a few images of the lit Baltimore icon with some beautiful colors in the background.

The image is bracketed and converted into a photorealistic HDR image. I brought the shadows up only slightly so the viewer could see what was in the foreground. I kept the image contrasty and dramatic, similar to what the scene looked like when I photographed it.

February 13, 2012 | Categories: Cityscape Photography, Photo Of The Day | 1 Comment »

Full Moon and Pagoda

Photographing a full moon at night is not an easy task, since photographing the moon is essentially photographing the sun (I think my wife just smiled because I say that quote often). The full moon’s albedo (percentage of light reflecting the sun) is roughly 7%, which is an extremely bright light source when photographing at night.

Even though it can be a wonderful light source when photographing a night time landscape (CLICK on link, Yosemite Falls under Moonlight, to see an example) the moon can create havoc with your camera’s sensor if you’re trying to include it within your scene.

Below are a few things that will help you include the moon within a night time scene without over exposing it:

Select the longest lens you have. A longer lens (above I used a 200mm) helps compress the scene, giving the moon a larger portion of the entire image versus using a wide angle lens and the moon being just a spot in the sky
Bracket the scene with several images to ensure the moon doesn’t turn out as an overexposed white spot within your final image. And not just your normal 2 stops below the ‘average’ exposure for an HDR image. You’ll need to bracket many stops below to ensure you maintain detail in the moon. In the image above, the moon above is roughly 7 stops below the ‘average’ exposure of the scene
First, focus and photograph the moon with the settings that expose the moon appropriately. Then refocus on your main subject and photograph the scene like a normal HDR image (-2,-1,0,+1,+2)
Blend the images using an HDR software (I tend to develop for a photorealistic HDR image) and then make any necessary adjustments using layers within Photoshop

February 10, 2012 | Categories: Cityscape Photography, How To, Photo Of The Day | 2 Comments »

Whitney + Jimi | Sneak Peek | Walk In The Woods

Whitney and Jimi got married on a beautiful, crisp afternoon at Quiet Waters State Park in Annapolis. They decided to do a ‘first glance’ in the park so they could utilize all the vibrant colors of autumn.

After securing several great images of the wedding couple near the water I wanted to get a few of them walking through the treelined path. I had them stop about half-way to interact with each other. And when Whitney glanced back during a small kiss on the check from Jimi, I snapped off a few frames and was able to capture a moment of time that they’ll be able to cherish for a lifetime.

Check back next week to see additional highlight images from their wedding day …

February 9, 2012 | Categories: Photo Of The Day, Weddings | Leave A Comment »

Baltimore Photographer | Jay Moore