Family Portraits

Sunday Sessions: Booking from mid August through the New Year

Family, Family Portraits, Promotional, Uncategorized

August is already here and the kids will soon be headed back to school. So what better a time than now to start booking a family session close to home and far from the trappings of the local mall and all the blood, sweat and tears that seem to go along with every trip to the local photo studio retailer.

Your session begins the day you book it. As we begin to discuss who’s involved and the kind of environment you are your loved ones are best suited for. As someone familiar working with both children and adults, I’ve come to realize that we all have both our times of the day and our windows of opportunity to get things done. I’ll work around your schedule to make your time with me fun and as free from meltdowns as possible. Whether you prefer a laid back, post brunch session at my loft studio. Or a fun meet up in the park at dusk. I’ll be ready to capture the moment while giving you something to cherish for years to come. No coupons, unwanted packages or hard sell. Just the images you want. Fast turnaround and the personal service you’ve been missing all along.

Sessions are by appointment only. So book ahead. I’m located in Jersey City, but will consider traveling to Hoboken for Park sessions. I book one session per Sunday. So my session with you will be exclusive to that day. Your image files will be delivered to you by the following Friday.

Studio Session: $150.

Park Session: $100.

Contact me here or send an email to damionphoto@gmail.com

She’s Not Heavy. She’s My Mother.

Family, Family Portraits, Portraiture, Portraiture in natural light, Uncategorized

Mom — 50 Years Later. Just as beautiful. If not more.

It’s been close to a week since my Mom’s first visit to our new home here in Jersey City. During her week here, I made it a priority to capture some intimate images of her stay. Being that we’ve lived so far from one another for over twenty years now. I don’t get to see her nearly as much as I’d like to. While her stay had it’s share of ups and downs. It reminded me of how much I love, respect and appreciate how much she’s shaped the person I am today. By far my favorite moments of her visit was seeing her interaction and the positive foot print she left on everyone she met. Her smile, positive outlook and ability to make complete strangers feel like family are inspiring. Looking back at her visit, I realized that the thing I enjoyed the most was hearing her speak in Spanish s0 often with anyone and everyone she new spoke the language. For me personally, it’s always been one of the many traits that made her so beautiful. Till this day, I still remember the first words she taught me as a baby “Dame Un Beso.” (Give me a kiss.) All these years later, I still tell people about my first words and about what an amazing woman my Mother has always been. Despite all our differences and endless similarities. We still love one another to the fullest. Thanks Mom.

New Additions to Damion Photo

Advertising, Damion Photo, Event Photography, Family, Family Portraits, Finding your Zen, Location Shooting

Last night I added a KIDS section to Damion Photo which includes studio and location shots taken at local parks and beaches. Working with children and families has been one of the most rewarding parts of my photography life. Something I hope to dive head first back into in the coming months. I’m currently booking Spring sessions which include visiting clients homes where kids seem most comfortable. I also plan to continue taking advantage of Hoboken’s Parks and beautiful Hudson River view. There will be many updates and additions in the coming days, weeks and months. Come visit and watch for the coming updates. Yours Truly, The Photo Geek

http://damionphoto.wix.com/jamesdamionphoto#!kids

Family

Family, Family Portraits

She could clean the dirt off a stripper.

"It's raining out there." "You know, it's raining in the back too."

Over the holidays we traveled down to Florida to celebrate Christmas with my Mom, Step Dad George and Grandmother. It’s not often I get to see them together. With George getting older and my Grandmother living over in New Mexico. It’s hard to even remember when I last saw them all in the same room together.

While George and my Grandmother have slowed over the years my Mother still had an energy and youthful exuberance that baffles me. Though I miss her a lot the distance will never change how much I love her.

I have a ton of respect for my Step Father. He came into our lives at a pivotal time and always provided us with the strength, love and stability you could ask for. He’s tough, stubborn and can be a pain in the ass at times but I wouldn’t change that for the world.

Jessica and Judy

Beauty, Canon lenses and equipment, Family Portraits, Portraiture, Studio Lighting

Every now and then a model or client asks if it’s okay to bring a friend or chaperone along for safety purposes. It’s something I wasn’t always comfortable with but understand and allow with one condition “They know their place and stay out of the way.” Their safety and sense of security is paramount. Most of the people I work with are complete strangers and with all the craziness that goes on in this world, who wouldn’t want a security blanket? On this occasion Jess told me she would be bringing her Mother Judy along. Her description was quote “She’s sarcastic, cynical and jaded, but tons of fun.” My reply “Awesome, I think I like her already. Though she did possess all of those characteristics. She turned out to be a complete sweetheart. Often reminding me of a cross between my own Mother and my Aunt Ruth. She sat and chatted while eating her sandwich but not once did she interfere or get in the way. As Jess and I finished I coaxed Judy out from behind the camera and got this shot. It was a pleasure meeting and working with them both.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Family Portraits, Portraiture, Portraiture in natural light, Soft Lighting

I don’t get to see my family very often. Holidays and Birthdays for the most part. Being that my parents divorced when I was six, I’ve gained an extended family of step and half brothers and sisters. Though we’re all very different I love them with all my heart and look forward to the time we get to spend together. Here’s a few pictures I took with the new Canon 7 D.

My Brother Matt. The most chill person you'll ever meet.

A Visit from Stuyvesant.

Canon lenses and equipment, Family Portraits, Humor, Music, Portraiture, Studio Lighting, Stuyvesant

Last night I had the guys from Stuyvesant over for some Band shots. Brian told me they wanted an “Unforgiving Look” while Ralph pointed to Television’s “Marquee Moon” album. I personally looked for inspiration from some of my favorite SST and Dischord Records. In less than an hour we knocked out what they were looking for. I offered them more time and ideas but they were very happy with what they got and were gone before knew I it. Brian, Ralph, Sean and Pete were very easy going and fun to work with.

Lukie-Luke

Family Portraits

Visited my friend Julie yesterday in Brooklyn and got to meet her son Luke for the first time. I snapped this shot as we were preparing to head over to Bedouin Tent on Atlantic Ave. The food was so good there that by the end of the meal I was wishing I was hungry again. Luke isn’t even a year old and he’s already working on a mustache. He’s a pretty serious kid with an amazing disposition. His turn-ons include Toy Story, Snow Peas, naps and strolling around the neighborhood. Turn-offs are very few but include pants and being put behind bars for extended periods of time. I know it’s late but “welcome to the world kid.”.

Family Portraits, Portraiture

There was a time when photographing children and families was all I ever did. It was a fun, fast paced and rewarding time of my life. I would often come home wtih countless stories of the cute kids, the personalities, the tantrums and of course the often difficult parents. Since 2006 my work has focused mainly on portraiture, modeling and music journalism. But from time to time I get a call from someone looking for baby or family portraits to which I am more than happy to oblige.

On this occasion I got a reference from a good friend. The woman who contacted me said that she had seen the pictures I had taken of her and loved them. We began emailing back and fourth and eventually came up with a concept, day and time. The day of the shoot it was hot. Like 90+ degrees hot. Along the way they got lost and arrived a good forty minutes late. Throughout the shoot the mother was sweating and seemed to be in an irritable rush. The Father was agreeable, nice and smiled throughout. The baby, adorable and fascinated with everyone around him. Not yet able to walk on his own he used his hands and feet to move with the precision of Spiderman. We shot the first part of the session in the park before going back to the studio. The baby smiled all the while. The Mother seemed beaten by the extreme heat and I felt a strange sense of being rushed.

Before you knew it we were done taking the studio shots and it was time to view the images and burn the disk. Again she seemed unhappy and rushed. She saw the first few shots and rushed out the door without seeing the entire set or getting her disc. I thought she was unhappy with the experience and the over all results. It turns out she was just fixated on getting back to the car and getting out of the parking garage before the hour was up and she had to pay the extra money. Later that night I emailed the pictures and mailed the disc out the next day. Later that week I got the check and a thank you note in the mail saying “Thank you so much. We loved every single picture.” I was both happy and relieved that I had done a good job. The real bonus was when I say the tip which was 50% of the actual charge. Talk about “customer service”.

It brought me back to the days when I worked for Sears Portrait and Marc Gerard. Not a day would go by without a parent or parents saying “My God, I don’t know how do you do this every day. The kids must drive you crazy.” to which I’d always reply. “It’s never the kids. They’re always a breeze. If there’s ever someone that causes me stress. It’s without a doubt the parents. They’re the ones who always bring the drama.” to which they would always laugh.