Category Archives: portrait

A FAKE CONVERSATION WITH MY DERMATOLOGIST

So I had a random dream last night. It included a discussion with my dermatologist about business, and how he got to be so popular. See, it takes forever to get in to see him for an appointment… subconscious being overactive? Anyway, he fake told me that to be as busy as he is, all someone has to do is follow his example: specialize in something people really want, which has built-in longevity and repeat business. Be excellent at your specialty, cultivate the reputation for being THE one to go to for that specialty. Not bad advice for a dream.

The quest to find a niche and a specialty is one of self-discovery, and patient expectation. That’s the polite, artsy way of saying it seems to take forever and I don’t want to wait any longer. Sometimes a step or three back to “see the forest for the trees” is a good thing. Bottom line is, the imaginary discussion taking place during REM sleep has actually provided some humorously perfect direction.

If you need a good dermatologist in the Eugene area, Jay Park is excellent – and he gives good dreamtime counsel, too.

A BEAUTIFUL FAMILY

100 foot oaks, the McKenzie river, flowing fields, people who love each other… beautiful is the best word I could come up with to describe the shoot. Kelly and Brandon have an adorable family, and an even more adorable way with their kids. I appreciate good parenting in a much deeper way ever since I became a parent myself. Calm, patient, loving… it takes work to keep that up in real life, not to mention at a family shoot (note previous family shoot scars in tone of type). But, this was my kind of family shoot; great people, amazing location, the request for fun and not overly pose-y, oh, and she wants all black & white. Yes please, and thank you.

Brandon works for the electrical vendor I contracted with at my previous job, and if you have work to be done, do yourself a favor and call New Way Electric first. There’s a very good reason they were on the short list of my “favorite vendors” for over 10 years.

I hope I never get tired of this job.

Tags: eugene oregon family portraits, Eugene Oregon Portrait Photographer, family portraits, jay eads, lifestyle portraits, marriage, oregon, Oregon Portrait Photographer, walterville oregon

I LOVE PORTRAITS + I LOVE MUSIC

I have never found much interest in landscape photography, it’s all about people, for me. I enjoy the interaction, the give and take of subject and photographer, and most of all, I love seeing and hearing the reaction to the images we come up with.

I’m sitting at home today, a little sick and itching to go outside and shoot… so I thought I would write. I needed to do it anyway, so here I am. The first thing I do when it’s time to get into the mindset is turn on some music. The sound fuels my work, it directs it, it informs it. Often it’s music that inspires me to take a certain photograph in the first place. It’s not uncommon for me to have a particular song in mind when photographing something. I recently discussed this very subject with a musician named Andy Zipf, who finds inspiration for his songs in images from time to time.

The type of music I choose is usually determined by the type of work I have in front of me. For example; weddings usually require some chill music, such as, Over the Rhine, William Fitzsimmons, or Peter Broderick. I need the lovely, the sentimental, the emotional to step into my head and make me think “wedding.” Portraits are different. Some portrait sessions are moody, and fit nicely with the likes of Radiohead, or Sigur Ros. Other sessions are light and fun. I grew up on 80’s and 90’s pop music… so when we’re talking about fun and light music, it’s gotta be Wham!, Milli Vanilli, Michael Jackson, or, if I really need fuel – it’s Color Me Badd. With two “D’s” there, folks. They’re that serious about being bad.

Hip Hop is a great energizer for days when the tasks is large. The Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, Run DMC… all were in my heavy a rotation.

Art inspires me. Music, dance, painting, films. Being a witness to someone else creating is an honor, and it helps to keep me moving towards my goal of documenting life for other people.