When Nikki came in for headshots wearing this white hooded coat, this image came immediately to mind… and came out exactly as I had pictured it.
Ring Light Beauty
Feb 3
Wow .. Allegra
Jan 27
I’ve been photographing Allegra for about 4 1/2 years now… and I must say, she is growing into quite a lovely young lady. Several years of dance have given her poise… and she’s always had a presence on camera… at 14, I think she’s going places.
And, as a frame of reference… from my first session with her at 10…
Danielle, Surfer Girl
Jan 20
Its not as glamorous as Hawaii, California, or even Florida, but any place you have waves, you have surfers.. and the Texas Gulf Coast is no exception. I was just taking pictures at the beach when Danielle arrived to try some of the waves on a beautiful January day…
Ballet Portrait
Jan 13
Every January, I have a group of ballet dancers that need photos for the upcoming audition circuit… I was captivated by this young lady’s eyes and her long red hair.
Emily – Actor Headshot
Jan 6
One of the things acting career coaches will tell you is to find your type and, when it makes sense, to find someone you look like.. especially a younger version of that person. It helps in finding jobs and agents…
So it was fun right before the holiday when Emily came in for headshots…
So what do you think? Young Selma Hayek? Catherine Zeta Jones? I think she could pass for a younger sister of either…
Best of 2011
Dec 31
In the end, 2011 was a good year for photography.. I finally joined PPA this time last year and the growth that has come along with that decision shows it was a good choice. Along with that, I decided to stretch my wings (no pun intended) a little and use the competition process to improve the way I approach my photography.
All of that leads to my favorite shot from 2011.. and my highest scoring print in competition… Morning Glide
And its not over, yet.. its off to competition at Nationals next summer… along with a few others.. will keep you informed.
And to recap the other 5 from this week:
Happy New Year, everyone… and here’s to a Happy and Creative New Year
Abby was one of the seniors I photographed over the summer and this image has rapidly reached the top of the list when I do any kind of sports photography advertising. From start to finish, I just love how this one turned out.. its tough, but still feminine.. and really shows off what a good sports portrait can be.
This is the only place I’m sharing this image publicly since it is going into the competition circuit next year and I want to reduce the odds of a future judge seeing it.
As people who follow me know, Texas Scaregrounds plays a large role in my life – and not just at Halloween time. We are always thinking and planning and marketing – ready to scare the pants off our customers each year. This one was one of those marketing pieces created this year. A lot of planning and some additional composite work turned out this.. one of my top 3 favorites from the year.
Another sports image – and another composite – stands out on my best of list for this year.. this time a boxer. This image was not originally envisioned as a composite. I shot it so it would look like he was stepping out from the shadows with a dark background and lots of dramatic lighting. At my first competition at the state level in Kerrville, though, it took a lot of convincing by a couple of the judges to persuade the panel to push it into the “merit” category (80 and above out of 100).
After Kerrville, I took some of the suggestions made and added this background to give more of a feel of him stepping out of or into the arena.. ready to go. It scored in the merit category at the district level last fall and will go on to merit at Nationals this year (along with 2 others, one of which is also from 2011 and still to come this week).
Composite work is something I’ve been inspired by this year after seeing a couple of speakers, and this is one of my favorites (there are a couple more that have made my best of list later this week as well). This method allows me to do the photography of the subject whenever I want in the studio and the backgrounds when the conditions are ideal. I can mix them together later and come up with images that sometimes aren’t even possible in reality.
Brad Barton Photography
