I've been experimenting with putting together wall groupings.  I've been photographing in "series'" lately, and this is a great way to feature more than one image.  The overall size of the framed piece would be about 40 inches.  In the end,  I want to offer a variety of products to my clients, and this is just one more thing I can do to separate myself from the many people out there with a "good camera."  :)

Bambi Cantrell

There is a lot one can learn from the movies.   I had the luxury of a light schedule this weekend, and thus got to watch a few movies I’d been wanting to see.   One of the movies I saw, while heavy, (“Brothers”),  got me to thinking about the way the movie was captured,  the lighting,  the composition,  the mood,  (Maybe it was because the movie was so heavy and hard to watch.)  It made me think of the many common concepts between professional cinematography and photography.   In both,  lighting is critical in creating the mood, and drawing the viewer to an emotional point.  The composition creates interest and draws the viewer to the powerful points.  In both, it takes skill to create a story powerful enough to make one cry, feel, and be moved so much by a story of strangers. 

What did I learn?  I learned that the color tone of a story makes one feel either sunny or sad, that blue hues give a feeling of being lost, lonely, and that of solitude.   Cropping in the camera,  with the power point being in either the right third or left one creates imagery that captures our attention, and that shallow depth of field draws the interest to the subject.     Funny thing… I learned that I could get the same education watching  Auston Powers in “Goldmember”  without all of the sadness.   OK.. one more thing I learned from “Goldmember”  that I gotta get me a pair of gold platform boots! 

Bambi Cantrell

I have been photographing weddings for over 25 years now and if there's one thing I know - the key to a beautiful image and the key to a sellable image is one in the same - flattery. You have to know how to position your subject so the highlights and the shadows hit them in the right places. You have to understand the anatomy and shape of your client, to showcase their best features and hide the flaws. For a woman, whether it's bridal or boudoir - your aim should remain the same. Flatter her figure.

Over the last few years, I have started photographing more and more boudoir sessions which in reality, are not much different from my bridal sessions. A bride is merely a woman in a white dress and if you're posing them correctly in your bridal images, you can take that same mentality to work a boudoir session.  

In early January I held my 'Cantrell Couture Weddings' workshop in my studio here in Benicia and I had the opporutunity to photograph a beautiful woman by the name of Patty Herrera. Soon after the workshop ended, Patty booked me to photograph her wedding, engagement session and a boudoir package for her soon to be husband.

We had the boudoir session a couple days ago and I am so excited about these images. I have posted a couple of them here for you along with a couple from the wedding workshop to demonstrate that no matter what the occasion is, my aim is to flatter my client. As you can see from these sample images, whether it's boudoir or bridal, the poses are almost identical.

 By the way,  I will be teaching a two day Boudoir/ Fine Art Nude course with award winning photographer Scott Bourne, on June 12-13th in my amazing Benicia Studio.  For details go to:  http://www.aperturenatureworkshops.com/pics/boudoirworkshop.jpg

I've had a wonderful week of photographing babies and children, and my favorite type of session to do, is in the clients home. The secret to success?  Keep it simple.  Simple props, simple lighting (the kind that arrives naturally) and a great deal of patience.  You need more than a good camera to capture great images, and it is no accident.  Beautiful images come from understanding proper use of depth of field, the direction of light and manipulating it to your advantage.  In addition to the above, timing is everything.  Knowing when to press the shutter is critical in capturing the decisive moment. 

In the series of images above, I used just the existing light in the bathroom, and had my associate photographer, Michael Van Auken, hold a reflector just out of camera view to bounce the light back into Chelsea's face.  Notice that I am about 45 degrees to the right of the direction of light. That direction gives me definition, and dimensionality.  My fstop was 2.8@60th second and lense choice was the 70-200 2.8 L Canon lense.   One more thing,  On two of the images, I've left the tungston light setting on.  I enjoy the warmth.

Last week I had the opportunity of photographing the children of two of my favorite friends, Kostas and Kristy Mallios of Seattle.   I've been photographing these two girls since pretty much the day they were born.  It has been my experience that images captured in the privacy of the family home lends itself to a wonderful "homey" feel, with relaxed children, and images that are a bit more "real."  I used simple tools for capture:  The Canon EOS Mark IV,  the 135 2.0 lense,  the 70-200 2.8 and a few with the 28-70 2.8 lense.   My apperature is always around 2.8 or less depending upon the amount of information I wish to have in focus.  My first priority is to find the light, and then photograph with that light source in mind.  All of these images were shot using either window light or existing room lights.  The key to success:  Be aware of your surroundings, the direction of light, and let the kids dictate the flow.

Bambi Cantrell

Every once in a while a photo session comes along that just makes me giggle, this was one.. I started by taking a tour of the family home and settled upon Katie's bedroom for our session. I used window light as the main light, and posed my subject with the main light in mind.  From there, I started by telling her to jump on the bed for me.  This is always a great ice breaker,  (something mom wouldn't like teehee)  and as a result, got my subject to relax and "give it up for me and give real smiles."  At the end of the day, perfection is not only about great exposures, the correct fstop and such, but about expression.

Bambi Cantrell

I recently had the honor of teaching a one day workshop for the Detroit Professional Photographers Association.  During the program I had the honor of photographing a lovely young woman and here are a few images from that session.  I've done minor retouching eg, color correction, skin softening and removing blemishes.

Posing the female form starts with the feet and legs, and even though the feet are not in full view, their position is still important.  Notice how the left leg is crossed over the right.  This forces the right hip out, giving shape to the waist.  In addition, position the arms away from the body to show the waistline.  All  of this is done with the light source in mind, and the face is then turned back towards the light.  Illumination is provided by a large window on the left and a reflector just out of camera view on the right. 

I recently had the honor of photographing Elisa Fisher and her two beautiful daughters in my Benicia studio.  These are the two giggly little girls I mentioned in my earlier blog post.  By keeping the lighting simple, using just a blank wall next to the large windows,  the magic skills of my business partner Michael Van Auken I was able to make some very sweet images.  My thought process is simple as well.  Keep it simple and focus on the eyes, expression and nuances of each child.  As you can tell,  these two girls had very distinct personalities.  I found by allowing them the chance to shhhhh..  scream in the studio.. yes scream,  I could not only initiate some great smiles, but also capture some very fun expressions as well.   I believe it is important to move quickly, and not “work a location to death.”   After just a few minutes we moved into the halls of the studio and then I put the 70-200 lenses on and had the kids just tear off running down the hall with the dog.  This experience does two things.  First it gets the pent up energy out for a moment, and second, it makes the kids really enjoy the experience.  (not to mention that I get great stuff while they are doing it)  It has been my experience in front and behind the camera,  that if your subject enjoys the session they will give it up as it were, and give me precious smiles and more.  In working the file of the girls and the dog running down the hall, I used a bit of diffused glow, followed by high pass at about 50%

To make them pop away from the background.  Afterwards, I used one of my own textures to give the photo a bit of old world charm.  A word of caution,  use filters, and textures very selectively and don’t overdo it.  It is very easy to go from 0-60 on the “cheesy” meter by overdoing the Photoshop.

Thanks Elisa and Lauren and Madison!