The Official Blog of dreadpiraterose

Portrait Project – Week 52: Victoria

dreadpiraterose — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 02:20:46 +0000

Well folks, this is the grand finale of my 2012 Portrait Project. I know it is technically a week late, but I hope you’ll agree with me that it was worth it. This shoot is something I’ve been working on since the fall. After a chance meeting with a lovely lady dressed like Effie Trinket at a Halloween party, I knew I had my perfect model. There was no question that I’d be using Elizabeth Terenchin for creating and applying the make-up, especially after the amazing ‘wizard’ she had done for another photo in this series. Unfortunately the weather conspired against us back in December, and today was the only time when all three of us were free.

Special thanks to Victoria, my model; Elizabeth my make-up artist; and Kevin, my amazing fiancé and best photography assistant ever.

This project has been an incredible adventure and learning experience. To everyone who volunteered to be in it, I cannot thank you enough. I couldn’t have made this happen without so many people being willing to jump in front of the camera, several times with little notice. I do have plans for a new and even bigger project for later in 2013. For now, please enjoy week 52′s photo… Victoria the Snow Queen.

Portrait Project – Week 51: Violet

dreadpiraterose — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 04:25:12 +0000

Every time I look at this photo, I erupt into a fit of giggles. Sometimes to the point of tears. I think it is, officially, one of the cutest kid photos I’ve ever taken. This is Violet, and she is too adorable for words. I took photos of her when she was just an itty bitty baby, and I can’t believe how big she is already. I happened to get this shot while doing a session for the whole family this past weekend. As I was editing their session, I kept clicking back to this photo and giggling some more. I really hope you all enjoy this one as much as I do. Seriously, how can anyone look at this photo and not start grinning?

Quick note: The posting of the final photo in the project is going to be slightly delayed. Horrible weather forced me to cancel the shoot at the last minute, and the only day where everyone is free again is January 5th, so we’ll try it again then. Thanks for your patience.

Portrait Project – Week 50: Ethan

dreadpiraterose — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 18:10:57 +0000

I had the pleasure of photographing Ethan and Jessica’s wedding at The Old Mill in Rose Valley recently. One of my favorite shots from the entire wedding is this one, where Ethan sees Jessica coming down the aisle. Moments like these are why I love to photograph weddings.

Congrats to Ethan and Jessica! (And you can see more previews from their wedding on Facebook.)

Portrait Project – Week 49: Marina

dreadpiraterose — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 16:27:09 +0000

You know it’s going to be a fun photoshoot when your model shows up with several hat boxes and a suitcase full of costumes and props. Such was the case with Marina. Since it was a wee bit chilly outside, we opted to do the shoot indoors and create a little studio inside my apartment. I’m really happy with the results. I think Marina looks positively stunning and alluring, and I’m so glad she volunteered for the Portrait Project.

Enjoy!

Portrait Project – Week 48: Triell Freschi

dreadpiraterose — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 21:47:43 +0000

Philadelphia has a surprisingly tight knit ‘geek’ community. After attending a few events here and there, you start to notice familiar faces. One familiar face to many in the area is Triell Freschi, especially if you’re into steampunk or Gothic Lolita fashion. I met and photographed Triell at a Dorian’s Parlor event a while ago, and she’s been following my Portrait Project almost since the beginning. It was clearly only a matter of time before we officially collaborated.

Triell has one of Yaya Han’s awesome My Little Pony sets, and we thought it be fun to do a photoshoot featuring it.

As usual, I’ll be posting more photos from the set to the pix|elation photography Facebook page soon. Enjoy!

Portrait Project – Week 47: Ivan

dreadpiraterose — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 02:24:04 +0000

This resulting photos from this week’s shoot are beyond all my expectations, and I need to thank some people for helping me make it happen. First, I had so many people volunteer to assist with costumes and props, like my dear friend Shang Whaley (thanks for the cloak!). Then, the talented Elizabeth Terenchin agreed to do the make-up. On top of that, I was able to get Ivan Vila to model. And the best boyfriend in the world, my darling Kevin, said he’d help with all the set up and lighting. Together, we made something really cool, if I do say so myself.

Choosing just one photo from a shoot where I took nearly 600 shots was almost impossible. Even Ivan, Elizabeth, and myself couldn’t all agree on one favorite. Needless to say, I’ll be posting several more here and on Facebook eventually. I ended up picking one that I felt showed off Ivan’s talent, Elizabeth’s make-up, and the dynamic lighting set up. For this shot, I had a flash over Ivan’s shoulder (my left), a red-gelled light under the crystal ball, and a reflector (my right).

Hope you like it!

Portrait Project – Week 46: Amy

dreadpiraterose — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 03:51:17 +0000

When I met Amy earlier this year, I knew I had to include her in my portrait project. She’s too adorable for words, and has such a sweet and fun personality. This weekend we made it happen (and I must thank Amy’s three brothers for their assistance in helping me get the location, setting up the lights, moving the furniture, and making Amy laugh).

In terms of the post-processing, I’m really trying to push myself to do treatments that I don’t normally use for traditional portraits or wedding work. This project is about me pushing my boundaries, trying something new, and working outside my comfort zone. I think you can see that last week with Jill’s photo, and here with Amy’s. Hope you all like it!

Portrait Project – Week 45: Jill

dreadpiraterose — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 04:31:33 +0000

As I near the final stretch of my 52 week Portrait Project, I’ve decided to try and get a bit more dramatic, ambitious, and thematic. I really want this to end with a bang, and to deliver something new and great each of these final weeks.

This week’s photo was shot inside the stairwell of where I live. I was on the bottom landing, my model (the lovely Jill) was on the middle landing facing me, and my ever-ready assistant Kevin was holding on the light above and to her left from the highest landing.

What I’ve hopefully achieved here is something that feels like a snapshot of some vampire tale. I look at Jill’s lovely vampire face in such pain, her arms up to shield her from the harsh ‘sunlight’ turned upon her – and to me I can almost feel that burning sensation.

I hope you all like it! Thanks to Jill for providing such great inspiration and costume pieces, and to Kevin for his dutiful assistance as always!

Portrait Project – Week 44: Alyson

dreadpiraterose — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 03:42:30 +0000

I am lucky to know so many amazing people who are willing to go in front of my camera on relatively short notice. This week was super busy, and so my Portrait Project planning and shooting time was minimal. Fortunately, Alyson was more than willing to come out to West Philly and be my model for the week. Alyson is a great singer and actress, and nailed this shot right away. It was exactly what I had envision for this.

Only eight more portraits left in the project now. It’s hard to believe I’ve been working on this since January, and that it is almost coming to a close. People like Alyson keep me inspired and motivated.

Portrait Project – Week 43: Miss Tina Montgomery

dreadpiraterose — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 01:35:27 +0000

Ever since I came to Philly, I have wanted to attend Henri David’s Halloween Ball. I was told it was THE Halloween party with the best costumes. It took until 2012, but I finally made it happen, and it did not disappoint. I went to have fun, and wasn’t attending as a ‘photographer’ really, so I didn’t bring out all the gear and run around chasing after people in costume for photos (not too much anyway, and certainly not to the extent of the other photogs there).

My favorite photo of the night ended up being taken in the third row back from the stage, of Miss Tina Montgomery’s amazing performance. The Cowardly Lion and Dorothy were in front of me, partially blocking my view, and you can see some kind of vampire and even a guy with bunny ears on the other side of the stage. It’s not the best photo I’ve ever taken, but I think all the elements in the photo provide some fun context.

I’ll be posting a select few other photos from the night on the pix|elation photography Facebook page, including one of a woman rocking a great Pinterest Halloween costume, and an Effie Trinket from The Hunger Games. Enjoy!