Halloween Portrait 2022

14 years. Hard to believe it's been that long. It's getting harder to find the time. I have the ideas, but to get everyone together in one weekend is getting tougher. Last year it was last minute, and this year was the same. I still have not done the one I wanted to for the 13th Anniversary, not sure when I’ll be able to get that done. We almost didn’t do this year, because it just seems like the list of things to do gets longer and longer. I can thank Suzannah again for encouraging me to do the things I enjoy doing, not just the things that need to be done. Always find balance. Might learn that eventually.

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Tyler as a Goblin - Suzannah as a Banshee - Eric as a Gargoyle

This year’s theme?….Well, since I decided last minute..it was, ‘What can I do with what I have left from previous years.’ Sounds exciting, huh?

I went through the boxes of stuff we have stored away.. the old costumes, the makeup and the props. I looked up Halloween myths and monsters and picked three we haven’t done yet. I chose a Goblin, a Banshee and a Gargoyle. The only group photo is the one above. These three really didn’t go together, but it’s nice to mix things up every now and then.

Up first, The Goblin.

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Tyler as a Goblin.

If you have followed over the years, you might find Tyler’s outfit familiar. It was from the Skeleton Theme photo in 2014. It was really big back then and now fits him perfectly (glad I got the large size). The makeup was from the zombie set of airbrush paint for the zombie shoot. His hair was left over crepe hair from when we were werewolves. I had to buy the ears and nose. I was going to try and make them, but, I ran out of time.

2014 Tyler as a Skeleton warrior

Up next, Suzannah’s portrayal of a banshee. An Irish folklore of a female spirit who heralds the death of a family member, usually by screaming, wailing, and shrieking. It was perfect for her - Let’s see if she reads this. ; )

I had to get a new wig, but the makeup was from the skeleton shoot, and the sheets were leftover from The Mummy shoot, ripped in the same style as Tyler’s mummy was. The shirt she is wearing is the one I wore as Fred from the Scooby Doo shoot.

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Suzannah as a banshee

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Tyler used a leaf blower to blow the ripped sheets and Sue’s hair. The leaf blower was a little strong and took some practice getting the right distance and strength. It did make for some funny outtakes. I had to composite many of the best parts of each photo for the final look.

Leaf blower was a little much.

Finally Eric as the gargoyle. mainly makeup from the zombie shoot. I bought the horns and balding cap (never used one before, I think next time I can get it a little neater). Also really hard to do your own makeup and get it everywhere it should be.

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Eric as a gargoyle

Before Photoshop.

The video below is a short time-lapse of the makeup process.

Hope you enjoy! We’ll be back next year.

Maybe.

Andrew & Jasmine Part Two - The Prom

Well, it seems only fitting that I finished last year with Andrew and Jasmine for their senior photos, and started this year with their prom photos.

I met Andrew and Jasmine at City Club Marietta well before the limo showed up to take them away to downtown Atlanta for the Hillgrove High School Prom. 

Jasmine Staircase Marietta

It has been great working with both of them. They are very photogenic. We had about an hour and a half to walk around and take photos. Although I never grabbed a shot of the crowd, it was the happening place for prom photos, because soon there was close to 100 people at the hotel taking photos.

Andrew and Jasmine City Club Marietta

To make matters worse, there was a wedding going on right next to us in the back of the hotel. That left us limited space to grab photos (considering they kicked us out when we tried to take photos inside) The ones of Jasmine on the staircase above were taken when we entered a back door with the caters and ran to the staircase to get the photo. Anything to get the shot!

I had walked the hotel early and find some spots for photos. We were able to grab some in the front, before the whole herd come over and filled this field. Always come with a plan.

Thanks to Andrew, Jasmine, and their parents for a wonderful afternoon!

Black Light Halloween Photos

      It's that time again. Each year we create our Halloween photo project. This year's theme was "Blacklight". Yes, just like the posters us old people had on the walls when we were young. This was the same premise, but not with ink, we used UV Makeup to make these portraits come to life. 

Black Light Halloween Fairy 

      The process started with me, painting each of us with regular black makeup (skin has a glow under UV light, so I had to cover most of it up). Then I layered a combination of different makeup colors, based on the design I had drawn up earlier.

Black Light Halloween Scarecrow

I tried to come up with a different color pattern for the three of us, to make us as unique as possible. Each person took about 2 1/2 hours to apply the makeup and only about 30 minutes to shoot the photos. There is very little post processing in Adobe Lightroom. I didn't need to use Photoshop at all. 

Black light Halloween Clown

      We are all illuminated by a custom made ring light equipped with (8) 25 Watt Fluorescent Blacklights (pictures included of the rig below). This provided enough light to capture the photos at a decent camera setting for detail.

      I wanted to make a video this time because I didn't think people would think it was real (i.e. photoshopped) unless they saw it for themselves.

I hope you enjoy this year's photos. If you have any questions, please leave them below. FYI, I'm already working on next year.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Black light Halloween Fairy

Black Light Halloween Scarecrow

Black Light Halloween Clown

Breanna Senior Photos

It was my pleasure to photography Breanna this past weekend for her senior pictures. This was her first photo shoot and she did a fantastic job. 

We started at her home in the late afternoon and later moved on to Sope Creek to pose by the old paper mill just outside of Atlanta. The weather was beautiful but hot.  It was a pretty good hike to get to the location, but it was worth it. The mills were very cool. We thought we might be in trouble when a group of high school kids were having a water gun and water balloon fight in the ruins, but they were cool and stayed well away from us while we were shooting.

Our last stop was Marietta Square and the sun was setting fast. When we arrived, I had forgotten how busy the square gets on the weekend. Lucky for us the "good light" was available away from the crowds and we got some great shots before the end of the day.

It was an adventurous shoot and Breanna and her mom enjoyed it, at least I think they did.