Senior Pics Should be FUN!!!!!!

This week I shot Meggie's senior pics. We had a blast. Meggie is a great young lady, I have been knowing her for years. I know she is going to be very successful. Now on to the technical stuff. When I shoot at sundown, which I love to do, I adjust my camera for the ambient look I want, then I bring my flash power up to properly expose my subject, which in this case is Meggie. Hey Meggie, was that a run-on sentence? Anyway, that's how you get a shot like this. It wasn't as dark as it looks, I underexposed the background a little bit. I think it looks more dramatic.

Goose Bumps!!!

Monday afternoon I photographed Amanda. She needed a few shots for her agency and I was free that afternoon. Little did we know we were gonna be dealing with an Artic Blast. We had high winds and low temps. It was howling, two sandbags did not keep the lightstand down. Luckily my daughter Haleigh was there and held the stand for me. Amanda is so naturally beautiful and easy to photograph. She is enthusiastic and very fun. I loved every minute of it. And talk about a trooper, I had a coat on and was still a little chilly, she never complained. I did see her shivering a little bit though. I hope we can shoot together again in the near future.

Great Afternoon with Becca!

Sunday afternoon, I shot some senior portraits with Becca. She went to school with my daughters and I have known her for a few years. The weather was not ideal. The wind was whipping her hair into her eyes, making her eyes water. Trying to stick an umbrella on top of a lightstand was totally out. I couldn't carry enough sandbags to hold that baby down. It was natural lighting all the way. She hung in there like a trooper and we captured some nice images. I love doing senior pics. I really enjoy talking to the students about their plans and seeing the excitement in there faces. They are about to start a new adventure, to places unknown. I remember those same feelings........it wasn't that long ago.

Beautiful Day with a Gorgeous Model!

Today I had a shoot for Blue Threads Clothing. You may recognise the model I photographed today, she is in the header of my blog. Her name is Melinda Mann, and I think she is gonna be a big name in this industry. She is a pleasure to work with and she is just gorgeous. This was the third time that we have worked together and we are becoming quite a team. I just hope she remembers me when she's famous. If you haven't seen Blue Threads Clothing, check them out here. http://www.bluethreads.com/ I think you will be impressed.

Baby Steps

I ventured out of my comfort zone a little a couple of days ago. I shot a baby. I had only done this once before and really didn't know what to expect. My kids were really good when they were little, but I've seen other kids that seem to scream from sunup to sundown. Maylin did great, especially with 4 wardrobe changes, flashes going off, and a strange man looking at her through a camera for an hour. One piece of advice on baby photography, practice drool removal in photoshop, then it's a piece of cake.

Today's shoot with Devin and Macy

Today I photographed two wonderful young ladies just beginning their modeling careers. Our location was a cow pasture that was full of cow patties. We had to watch every step we took. I love this location because there are no distractions, there is plenty of shade, and it is mere feet from my house.
The top shot was taken using natural light. The shade from the Live Oaks provides some wonderful soft light. You just have to be careful that you don't get any little sunburst coming through the leaves and landing on your models face.


The shot to the left was taken using two flashes, one to light the models front, and since Macy has dark hair, one as a rim light to the right side of her. Her pose is showing attitude and I love it.

The shot at the bottom was taken at the edge of the pond the cows use as drinking water. Devin is lit from camera left and I used a 2/3 CTO gel on a hair light camera right. The pond made a great backdrop and really makes her blond hair stand out.

Both of these girls are just beautiful and were a real pleasure to work with. The rest of their pics will be on my facebook page as I process them. Look me up on facebook.

Cliff Hodges

What do I look for in a Portrait

There are several things I want to capture when I shoot a portrait. First, I want to have an interesting background. I hate the canvas backgrounds that you see in everybody's family pic they have hanging in their hallway. Nothing about it is interesting at all. Sometimes it looks like a dirty sheet from some seedy motel. The second thing I think about is, where is the sun? If I can, I like to position my model so I get backlighting in her hair and maybe a rimlight around her body. This adds a 3 dimensional look to your photo by providing separation from your background. Next I want to evenly light her with a flash. I want to make it look like I didn't really use a flash at all. I do want to see the catchlight in her eye from the flash. The eyes are very important to me. I will focus on her eye that is nearest to me. Last but not least, I like to have something in the foreground if at all possible. You really can't do this often with a headshot, but if you are doing 1/2, 3/4, or a full body shot, this should be easier. Oh, I almost forgot, it really helps if you have a stunning model like my friend Emily. She makes it easy to take some good pics. There you have it. Not that difficult if you just plan a tiny bit and use what's around you.