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Congratulations Graduates!

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I remember it like it was yesterday: May 8th, 2015. James Brown Arena. Packed house and hearing your name called to walk across the stage as a graduate after many sleepless nights and early morning. The day I graduated from Georgia Regents University (Now Augusta University), was a day I won’t ever forget. Graduating college is definitely an exciting time. This year I had the awesome privilege of taking the pictures of two lovely individuals for their graduation portraits: Summyr Sheppard and Na’Jellica Burnett. I am glad I have been able to provide you all memories of your time as a student.

Congratulations to you both and to the Fall Class of 2015. Welcome to Alumni Status.

Go Jags!

Here are just a few of my favorites from the shoot:

Summyr Sheppard

Na’Jellica Burnett

Blog, People, Portfolio

Raji

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When I do a photoshoot there are many shots that get captured, but there’s always a select few that stand out; even if it isn’t at first glance.

This was a shot that I almost got rid of because of the angle I took it, but I used Photoshop to fix it and made a composite from it. Just because something isn’t great out of camera doesn’t make it a great shot.

raji_comp

 

Once I opened this in Photoshop, the logical next step was making a selection of the area that wasn’t a part of the background.I basically made a selection and performed a content aware fill, one of the processes that replace an object and mixes the outside area into the selected area. This was the result.

RajiV-4Next, I got rid of the shadow from the lights and decided to add an effect to play off of the pose that Raji made. I was contemplating colors to use for the effect and a design concept that I learned was to use colors from the subject and I thought that the pink in her shirt really stood out so that was the color I used from my brush effect.

RajiLastly I just did some clean up and some general color correction to the image to get the final product. Overall, it was a great lesson to not get rid of an image out of camera even if it isn’t technically or composition-ally idea. Photoshop can sometime save the day.

It was a joy to shoot Raji and I think the photo is a great reflection of that.

Raji

 

 

 

Blog, Events

My First Color Run

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The Color Run 2014-7

So!… Recently I just volunteered at my first color run…. All I can say is WOW! I don’t see how they do it… Today I witnessed hundreds of people pay money to yell and run miles down the street to have people squirt “tye-dye” color at them.

The Color Run 2014-10

The Organization

Concept aside thougThe Color Run 2014-4h, it was a fluid event and I understand and see how they have so many events around the world. All of the volunteers were assigned to either 1 of the 4 color zones, water detail, or the store. Each of the Color zones had station supplies organized in a packing crate and the volunteers help set up. Basically a few tarps for the color, mustard bottles, about 10 of the 10 ft. promotional flags, archway and a sounds system for music.  Once the last person left the starting line, it was taken down and each zone was disassembled after the last group went through it. When I left my zone and walked to the finished the entire starting area was pretty much non-existent. They definitely have it to a science.

The ExperienceThe Color Run 2014-26

I was blown away at how cheerful and motivated the people were running into the color zones getting color put all over them. I was blown away at some of the costumes and outfits that people enjoyed getting color all over. There was a smile and joy on almost every person. The goal of the run was nothing at all about the run, but getting color squirted at you. I recall in my zone particularly a point to where we were backed up and instead of running right through to finish the race, they basically lined up to make sure they got color on them. Organized chaos were the words that came to mind at that particular moment.The Color Run 2014-20

The Finale

The Color Run 2014-30

Upon finishing the race there were about 4-5 arches with confetti and cheers that accompanied you when you entered it. I am sure that was a moment that you felt accomplished and to top it off, right by the finish line was a stage and open field that turned into a Color Throw Concert. Hundred of people jumping up and down to music with a entertainer counting down and when he gets down to “1”…

Well you know from there…

The Color Run 2014-36

Blog

Motivation Is The Key (Weekly Highlight)

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Here’s the Highlight of my Week – “Motivation Is The Key”

Highlight of My Week-2

The highlight of my week was in Ordnance Land. Dodgeball in the Rain. The Battalion that I am currently attached to was hosting a Dodgeball tournament for their soldiers and as the tournament was about to start it started to rain. That made the soldiers even more motivated. Have you ever challenged someone to play a sport in the rain and be happy about it? The Challenged was well received and the soldiers placed the mission to win FIRST. Accomplishing that mission and the happiness they exhibited in the process was a moment that motivated me.

Highlight of My Week-3

This was just my first week here… Who knows what other magic I will see…

Blog, People, Portfolio

There’s Two of ‘Em (Mother’s Day Post)

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Recently I had the pleasure of taking pictures of Twins.

Justina, who happens to be my BEST friend, just graduated and commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army, wanted to take photos for her mother for Mother’s Day so I scheduled a photo shoot. Justina’s sister Christina is also in the Army as well, which is why they both wanted to wear their Army Combat Uniform.

Tillman Twins-10

Taking photos of twins is that much more challenging than taking photos of a couple or even a family because it’s TWO similar personalities that have different ideas. Like tug-of-rope.

Overall I still had a blast taking these photos and in the essence of Mother’s day I would like to wish all the Mother’s out there a Happy Mother’s Day. Because none of us would be here without you all.

Blog, Places

Masters 2014 Experience

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Masters 2014-1
The Master’s 2014!

First off, congratulations goes to Bubba Watson on his victorious win during this Masters. In other news though 2014  marked my 3rd year of working the Masters and I had a blast as usual. The organization and the people who put this on and even the people who come to just watch really make this tournament the best on the planet. The hospitality there is simply unmatched and the food is great as well.

I promised some pictures and here they are along with a short caption about how that picture represented The Masters:

Masters 2014-9

Guiding Posts

All along the course are these signs which point to the “Big” important places that anyone would need to know and all the places that you want to see. They are an awesome guide.

Masters 2014-3

Great Maintenance 

The course always blows me away with how beautiful it is. The maintenance and upkeep that Augusta National Golf Course does is very in-depth and a heightened attention to detail. To support that claim will bring me to introduce the next photo.

Masters 2014-5

The “Bee Line”

I call it the “Bee Line” they are a series of large tractors that mow the course daily after use at the Masters. I call it the “Bee Line” because they sound like bees and surprisingly low in sound even though they are huge. Another reason I call them the “Bee Line” is because they travel in a single file line until they get on the green or on an area they need to cut. Once they hit an area that needs to be cut they turn into this angular wave and cut the grass. It is a very impressive sight to see even though they are just cutting the grass.

Masters 2014-6

Concessions

One of the places that has the highest satisfactions for YEARS on end at The Master’s is Concessions. People are time after time surprised at the quality of food and affordable the prices are. There are not usually any ridiculous wait times and everyone is polite and hospitable. This is a place that you will visit many times. My favorite item is the Georgia Peach Ice Cream Sandwich. Other classic favorites year after year are the Pimento Cheese and the Egg Salad.

Masters 2014-10

Seating

After you grab all the great items from concessions there are stands spread throughout the course to be able to sit and watch at certain spots along the course to enjoy all the players as they come through. You always though have an option to purchase lawn chairs and sit throughout the course, which is what a good number of people do.

One place that is a favorite is Amen’s Corner:

Masters 2014-11

Amen’s Corner is a popular place to be. It is the most southern corner of the course with a small body of water that segregate it from the rest of the course.

Masters 2014-4

Gary Player

One of the things I got to see that was different this year was Phil Mickelson, Gary Player, and Arnold Palmer in Amen’s Corner reminiscing about past Master’s and Memories of the course. This took place during the last practice round before the Tournament actually started. Here’s one of the shots of Gary player I managed to quickly get as he sped away on his Golf Cart…

I always enjoy going to the Masters and playing an integral part in the  entire Master’s  experience and I look forward to being apart of that experience Next Year, as long as they will have me.

Blog, Design

Campaigning for SGA

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     I recently started to run for President of my Undergraduate Student Government Association and a part of running for President is Elections. With there being elections, it prompted me to make a campaign flyer. Which led me to realize that when I put up the flyers I will want to push out the information as well:
SGA President Flyer_Facebook - Google+ - Twitter
     I started to make the flyer in Photoshop and then someone mentioned if it is using text and plan to be printed it’s best to use Illustrator. So I started standard flyer on Art-board 1 and created it in its entirety until it was complete… Next I created a second board with a 1X1 ratio which is primarily for Instagram. Lastly I created a third art-board with a 9×6 ratio for the other social media sites like Facebook, twitter, and Google+
Here’s a template available for download for all three art-boards that you can get for free. I figured since I made the flyer I might as well put it out there for others to get some use out of it.
Template Campaign Images
Here’s the Download Link and Illustrator File:
Blog, Events, Portfolio

Natalie Stovall and the Drive

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Concert Photography… That is a tricky one as always… You have to deal not only with the low light and not using a flash, but on top of that you have these crazy colors going on at the same time… A few days ago I covered an event on Georgia Regents University called Jaguar Jam, which was an event focused around GRU Athletics and Homecoming. It was located at Christenberry Fieldhouse. Natalie Stovall was the entertainment for the night and she sang many songs that night that were incredible.

Natalie Stovall and the Drive-4

Natalie definitely was a great singer and I really enjoyed how she kept the crowd’s energy up as well.

Since I had to shoot without a flash I had to push that ISO and utilize some noise reduction in post. I shot it with my go to lens, a 70 – 200mm f/2.8, since there was a stage and I didn’t want to go through the process of getting all the way to the front in other people’s way.

 

Natalie Stovall and the Drive-3

For me with concert photography it is very difficult to get consecutive good shots because you usually will get one of two things: An Actions shot of them singing or A flattering picture of them dancing or singing. There are many things that hinders that shot from their microphone placement and other like interesting variables that have them covering their face or instrument.

Natalie Stovall and the Drive-2I ended up with only half the photos I shot. I definitely like some of the photo results I got and overall satisfied with my performance at the event.

I will definitely be doing concert photography more often. (if I can) Definitely a challenge.

 

Blog, People

Preparation is Key – A Family Photoshoot

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Just a few weeks ago I did my first family photoshoot. It went great and smooth due to great preparation on my part and the family as well. There was a location that was put out there. The Old Enterprise Mill. A definitely great location, when the weather is right. The other location we used was the train tracks downtown.

Beasley Family-25

With getting ready for a photoshoot it goes without saying that you should adequately prepare for the shoot, if that is by getting posing ideas from other magazines or even Pinterest. Pinterest, believe it or not has a lot to offer in that area. There are loads of images that can get you inspired and you can simple pin them to a board to save them for later.

Having the family dress the part can make or break your shot as well. Their poses and inspiration can come easy, but the poses, location, and inspiration can just as easily break your photo. If everyone is wearing different colors and patterns it will not compliment each other. No matter how beautiful your location is, if everyone doesn’t compliment each other it is a BUST! You can help yourself and the family prepare by letting them know that.

Beasley Family-10

The other way you can easily prepare is by clearing out your memory cards, charging cameras and flashes that you plan to use. Doing this mitigates possible issues that you may run into. The last thing that I usually do to prepare for a shoot is to go and “recon” the area where pictures will be taken to get an idea of the land to see where a nice photo could be done and how the light looks there in advance of the photoshoot. You should do it a day in advance, but if that is not an option, then you should go an hour or two before the client is due to arrive. I personally take pictures of the area because you can take that back with you and show future clients the area to suggest it for future shoots if they don’t have their own location in mind.

Here are some before shots of some of the spots that I scoped out and the after photo:

Blog, People, Portfolio, Uncategorized

“Solitude” – A Fashion Photoshoot

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Fashion! Shooting fashion requires a different spin on photography strategy than an average portrait, because with fashion the MAIN subject is the outfit. While your model and the pose is important, it is more important how they both compliment the outfit. Something that you should keep in mind is to make sure you have plenty of light for the outfit. using a simple lit background allows there to be no distraction or another item to compete with the outfit. A neat thing I personally like to add is a reflection at the bottom to create separation.

This photoshoot was based on a piece by Tuttie Lu, a fashion designer in Augusta, GA. The piece is called: The “Crush” Dress. It is a Jersey Dress with lace sleeves and gold zipper detailing that allows it to be dressed up or down. The model was Na’Jelica Burnett. If you would like to get in contact with either the model or the designer let me know.

I used a simple white background and a 3 Point Lighting system: 2 12×24 inch soft boxes to give it the blown out white background and to provide separation. I used a 48″ Octobox with a Honeycomb Grid to focus the light on the subject. I also used white glossy panels on the floor to provide the reflection and I shot it tethered to view the results as they came in through the camera.

Here are some shots from the shoot: