Tag: Monochrome

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.

Iya Turns Up the Heat.

Pin Up

After playing matchmaker for weeks. The dye was set and I had Iya and Steph scheduled to shoot a new project together. As of late I’ve been getting a lot of requests for boudoir, fetish and sessions that sit firmly on  the kinkier side of the fence. Often being asked to play matchmaker. It’s not easy playing matchmaker and it’s something I’m definitely not used to. But like most things, I’ve learned by doing. I had worked with both Iya and Steph in the past. Both unique and beautiful in so many ways. Together, the possibilities were endless. Everything was set. The day, time, clothing, props. Everything was ready. Then the morning of the shoot came and at the very last minute Steph tells me she can’t make it. Her son had gotten sick the night before and took a turn for the worse that morning. I totally understood. Shit happens and when it happens, you deal with it. I notified Iya and prepared to face the day. Almost instantly Iya got back to me. “My emotions are in this shoot.” I still want to do this. Even if it’s solo” My senses and excitement came rushing back and I met up with Iya.                                                                                    During During the original two sessions with Iya, communication was minimal. The first time we met it was all business. “Devay”, translated from Russian is “Let’s Go”. The second time she kept calling her boyfriend in Russian to assure him he was safe. In the back of my head I heard her say. “I’m here now. I’ll leave the door open so you can kill him.” But this time it was different. She was radiant, beautiful and in even better shape than before. (If that was even possible.) We were talking like old friends and laughing. Iya was teaching me Russian and being downright chatty. Though we missed Steph dearly, we had a great time and got a tremendous amount of work done in minimal time.                                                                                                       We plan to reconvene in a few weeks. I’m sure that by then we’ll have even more ideas. As i began to go through our session I couldn’t get over how many amazing images we created. Narrowing it down to the best of the best, to the one’s I loved and then finally down to my absolute favorites was quite a task. Here are just a few.


Natalia; Estonia’s Loss is Hoboken’s Gain.

Beauty, Canon lenses and equipment, Portraiture, Studio Lighting

The three hours Natalia and I spent shooting were so much fun. Though we had met on my doorstep for the first time five minutes prior. The chemistry and trust was almost instant. Most of  our favorite shots were very natural and instinctive. I coaxed a few screams out of her that might have scared the neighbors a bit but the rest was me following her slight movements. I honestly believe that everyone is beautiful in their own unique and special way. (Yeah, sounds corny.) Natalia’s stood out. Her beauty, grace and strength are not easy to come by. A native of Estonia in Eastern Europe. She’s been living in and loving Hoboken since coming to the U.S.. I hope our creative paths cross again soon. Enjoy.

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.

Mike and Jackie.
She's a total sweetheart.
My Brother Matt. The most chill person you'll ever meet.
Brother Mike
My Father and Matt.

Girl From Ukraine

Beauty, Canon lenses and equipment, Editorial, Portraiture, Studio Lighting
Many is the time that the best pictures came at the very end of the session. You’ve executed your game plan and you’ve got everything thing you need. Suddenly one of you says “Hey, what do you think of…? or “Can we try?” Such was the case with Rocksolana.                  Our shoot was brief but gave us a number of different looks and moods. Hers was my last session of the day. I was exhausted but she brought enough energy for both of us. Roks was really hyper during the shoot. Rarely did she sit still long enough for me to compose.                       At one point I jokingly asked if she was on something. It was all emotion and energy. She kept asking about props and items I didn’t have like the kind of cigarette filters you see in those film noir pictures from back in the day. She loved my hats but seemed flustered when they didn’t fit. None of this was the least bit annoying. She was entertaining to say the least. We were blasting everything from AC/DC to Blondie to the Rolling Stones and getting along like old friends.     I had my share of  technical problems along the way too. My shutter wasn’t cooperating and the battery on my receiver went dead on me.    Regardless, we got some great stuff in a short time. As she was packing up I noticed her pair of doc martens in the corner. “Lana, wait a minute. Don’t change that dress.” I gave her my idea and though she questioned the contrast she put them on. As she was lacing her docs up I stopped her.    “Wait, leave them untied.” Within a matter of minutes we got these shots. I don’t have a habit of posting a lot of shots from one session but these just work in telling the story.     Roksolana is gorgeous. Her dark flowing hair and long legs. A smile that conveys a sense of innocence and wonder. Her eyes are big and wide open to the new experience of living in New York.

Me, I Love B&W.

Beauty, Portraiture, Studio Lighting

I just love shooting B&W. I love the mood and the contrast. I’ve been getting a lot of headshot work lately which calls for color. I find myself switching to monochrome in between shots. Later, when I show them the results. They often agree that the monochromes are the best shots and portray them in the best light.