Outtakess, Big Surf, Wind, Emotional Country Club Weddings, Artificial Grass, and a Guy Playing Taps at a Light House
I knew that this week would be anther laundry list of my assignments-style newsletter so I thought it would be funny to just write it all in the title, rendering whatever I wrote here useless.
I had a lot of assignments this week. Two engagement shoots at The Nubble Light House, an engagement shoot at both and apple orchard and at a beach, a real estate shoot, and a wedding at a country club. Everything was pretty smooth and easy. Notable things about the shoots are that the wind this year has been WILD. The view from Sohier Park, main viewpoint of the world famous Nubble Lighthouse was very dramatic. Also wedding Lilly and I shot was mellow, and located at a country club. Usually country club weddings are a little bit boring and stuffy but this was great. The couple had such a great story and there were so many big, emotional moments. Obviously I'm not going to share any of these moments. I WILL share a black and white edit of a portrait I took of the groom. He had a great face.
My goal every week in this newsletter is to share non-work stuff like side-quests when I'm traveling or little extra curricular projects. When I'm busy I end up just posting things from my assignments. I guess it would make sense to post "outtakes" - at least photos I take for assignments that I like but wouldn't deliver to clients. What I like and what clients like is often different. I'm always surprised when I see what photos my wedding couples share on social media. It's never what I would have chosen. Then there are obvious examples of shots that don't fit the assignment but still look cool. Professional head shot clients just want a head shot but shots where the lighting misfires or if they burst out laughing in an unprofessional looking way. Those are still good photos, they just don't serve the purpose they want.
The real estate assignment was for a newly built (or still being built) house in a new development. The house has been sold so these photos were for the building company's website. Normally there is are rules of ethics (probably actual laws too) about accurately depicting a property if it is being listed for sale or rent. This house has already been sold so I felt fine doing (fairly extensive) editing to cover or fix things that weren't photo-ready. One of the big things was that there was so grass. They just sprayed the bluish-green grass spray down. I had to Photoshop some stock photo grass onto the lawn. I'll post my practice run for artificial grasswork below. See that grass? FAKE.
Another complication I encountered this week was attempting to capture some good foliage shots now that the leaves are turning but every time I found a colorful tree the view was ruined by power lines.
Is the hurricane in Florida giving us big waves? I don't know how any of that stuff works.
More black and white edits of dudes.
I shot a lot in York, Maine this week and every night there was an amazing sunset. This couple was so nervous but I told them to chill out and let the sunset do all the work.
And lastly I wanted to share a funny experience at The Nubble. You probably saw the first photo of the guy with the bugle. I was in the middle of an and engagement shoot and all of a sudden I hear someone playing "Taps." I pause the shoot and walk over to the sound and I see this old guy honking away. I quietly asked my couple if they would mind if we took a break and I got a couple of shots of the guy. He finished the song and SHOUTED out "GOD BLESS AMERICA!" He turned around and said to no one in particular "That song is called 'Taps' and they play it at the end of every day on army bases. It's just a thing we do," and then he walked off. As he was walking away I noticed that the moon was coming out. It was pretty heavy.
This week I have an engagement session at Diana's Baths in New Hampshire, a wedding in Acadia (my only trip up there this year), a wedding in Dayton, Maine, and another engagement session, location tbd.