Thursday, March 1, 2012

The Mother Load 2-25-12

Howdy All!

I was contacted about a month ago by a SUPER-talented friend and past client of mine, Deanna of The Amazing Meyer Family with the opportunity to work together again, this time for an environmental/concept portrait session.

Deanna is a mother, a housewife and last but not least an ARTIST. When she contacted me she told me she was looking for a portrait to accompany her work in an upcoming show. She expressed that she didn't want a run of the mill portrait but rather a portrait that told her story of how hectic her daily routine can be juggling motherhood and working from home. We talked a bit and shot around some ideas and I was rather excited to work with her on this project! This wasn't a timed shoot, I wasn't going for as many pictures as I could... this was to be an image that told a story. Her story.

I packed up the car with everything photography I own and when I arrived at Deanna and Chris's lovely home I laid it all out on a table to be at my disposable. We moved her kitchen table and analyzed the space in which we would be shooting in. I took a good bit of time thinking about lighting, setting up and testing my light. To setup took almost an hour and in that time our precious other half of the portrait session, "Smalls", decided she could use a nap. I had the idea beforehand to take head shots and fun portraits of just Deanna, so we utilized "Smalls" nap time to do so.

When she awoke and got a snack in her belly she was ready to go! Deanna was very comfortable in front of the camera and acted as though it was just another day in the kitchen with her sketchbook in one hand and "Smalls" in the other. She even drew a sweet little sketch while being photographed!

This was one of my favorite shoots to date... the Meyer's are an incredible family and the kind of people everyone wants to know. Thanks for a great day of shooting and a very nice dinner, hope to see you soon!

Be sure to check out Deanna's work and children's book, "Buffalo on the Ridge" that she wrote and illustrated at Verso Graphics. She also has a new blog she's calling The Mother Load (which incorporates some pics from this shoot) where she shares her views, art and a look into her daily life.

On with some pics...


A box of her books that didn't quite pass the quality standards were tossed into the mix. 
I think they were a handy addition in telling her story.
















As mentioned above I brought everything photography that I own. Recently I started shooting film so I decided to bring my film camera and perhaps fire off a few shots... the 2 panels below were shot on film.





~Stay Classy Mother Artists

7 comments:

  1. Tom, these are absolutely beautiful! I found myself smiling when looking at them. I think you captured what the mother was going for perfectly. And the film comparison is great, I especially like the black and white. Excellent work, buddy!

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    1. Thank you kindly Teresa, appreciate it. Was a super FUN shoot.

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  2. Yes, he did! I'm the mom/artist pictured above. Tom's work is quality, his working demeanor is professional and his personality fun and bright. I have a feeling it won't be the last time we work together. It's going to be so hard to pick just one of these. I'm sure the people attending the exhibition this will hang at will love it. They tell my story perfectly and will look fantastic next to framed original art from the book. Thanks.
    Stay classy photographers.

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    1. Deanna, you and Kathryn were an absolute pleasure to work with! I'm glad that we could work together to make your vision come to life. Thank you again for the opportunity.

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  3. I love the 3rd picture down and the 6th picture down (the group of them). You did great on this shoot. As much as I love film, hands down, your digital look better. BUT..you have one of the best Nikon camera's, if you know how to use it (which you do), it would be hard not to love anything that thing takes a picture of! I wonder if I'll be feeling the same way with my boudoir sessions when using film and digital. hmm. Anyhoo, great work Thomas!

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  4. Thanks Melissa! I do agree with you but like film for the nostalgic value. I plan to use it here and there and this was a good opportunity to do so. I think if you shoot both, you'll prefer the film for certain shots. Vice Versa. Word.

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  5. For what it's worth - and I'm no photographer, I like the digital shots, but there's a warmth to the film that can't be recreated elsewhere. It's like listening to Tom Waits on an mp3 vs vinyl. Sometimes you just need it.

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