Devinphoto…The Blog

I have been expanding my services.  In addition to family and maternity  photography, I am doing some corporate work.  One client is a hospital.  I am doing executive headshots of some of the doctors.  This image was made in Brooklyn, NY with the Brooklyn Bridge in the background.

I have recently been photographing live music acts at a great spot in Chester, NY named Bodles Opera House.    Here is the response from one of the musicians from a recent show…

hi Devin..great,great work!

There are two shots of me with my bass I’d love to use for my website,(I’d give you credit, a plug..etc,of course)

or just basically because it’s a nice shot of my new bass,which i liked alot.

really cool,man.. will try to mention u to anyone i can,who might need your services, you’re the best i’ve seen,really super work…wow.

thanks again,you are very.very talented..best band shots I’ve seen in a long time..

sincerely,

Kevin Moon

Live Music Photography

Exceptionally romantic at heart, he needed her betrothal to be exquisite.

The Romantic

His version of exquisite was defined by the betrothal itself, not the pomp surrounding it.  She deserved a memory to be cherished for a lifetime.

The scene was set upon a mountaintop.  The ruse elegant and simple.  “Please, meet me and enjoy the sunset together.”

The Scene

The coffee was warm, conversation easy.  The natural back and forth chatting of man and woman.

The romantic  had two tricks with which to surprise her.  One, a joke engagement ring made of fishing line.  The other, his coupe d’grace of exquisite.

He enlisted the services of a photographer to forever preserve the images that were soon to be burned into her memory.  A surprise to last a lifetime.  Hidden out of sight, her betrothal was becoming a keepsake.

The Joke

The photographer recorded the beauty of new love as a silent movie unfolded before him.

The Moment

The Ring

She said yes!

True Love

The Ring!

The Beginning....

Kathy is an interior designer.  She has a new website, and needed photos of herself.  As an artist, she wanted photos that stand out and relect who she is as a person.

She saw my website and felt very connected to what I am doing with my portraiture.  She felt so strongly about it that she travelled two hours each way to come to the studio for her photos.  She brought a friend along for the ride and made a day out of it.  We had a great time!

Here is what she had to say about her photos:

I just love them!! Thank You so much! Now I have a portrait to be proud of.

Here is my personal favorite from the session…

Creative Portraits

Here are some comments from a recent shoot.  We went outside and did some cool shots in the snow.

Pun intended!

Oh my goodness, Devin…I absolutely love these photographs! There have to be at least 10-15 that I love, love, love (which I didn’t think would be possible given how critical I am of myself) and I have no idea how I’m going to narrow it down! I would definitely like to consult with you over the phone after I decide which ones I am most interested in getting. You were right–I feel like these could be in a magazine! (hehe) And I love the emotion that comes across in the pictures. They’re EXACTLY what I was looking and hoping for. THANK YOU!

I’ll be in touch with you within the week to see if we can set up a time to chat a bit.

Gratefully,
Carrie & Brian

Outdoor Maternity Photography

Whenever I get the opportunity to work with other artists, I get excited.  I just worked with a  great group of musicians called Sharp 9.

They needed a band photo for publicity.  I met the leader through a good friend who thought we would work well together.  Boy, was she right!!

I asked the leader to try to describe the feel he wanted with this image.  Here is what he said:   “Emotional, Artistic, seductive undertone, captivating, reconnection with memories, dreams, desires, actualized or not, passionate,confident, assertive, I want to grab people deep in their soul, I want them to surrender to the excitement of their own dreams. maybe people them to reignite them. rekindle their own passion. To engage them in a journey from what was, to what they hoped it would be, to what it still could be.”

I had to do the shoot before a rehearsal in one of the band member’s basement.  Very little space, ELEVEN people, challenging lighting.  I had a vision in my head of what I wanted to do, and….it worked!

Musician Photography

This is what he said after seeing the result:

Devin is the consummate professional. A true artist and visionary, his work speaks for itself. He is more than deserving of my highest praise and gratitude.

I had a nice session today with a couple who are expecting their first baby in about four weeks.  We had a great time.

Beautiful maternity portrait

I sent her a sneak peek of one of her images.  (There are even better shots…I never send the best as sneak peeks LOL).  Here is what she had to say…

Awww, this is literally the only shot I have of my belly!!! My sisters and mom love this shot! And I have to say, there’s not a thing on myself that I don’t like, which is shocking! lol

Thank you, I had so much fun too!! You really helped to make me feel comfortable and at ease.

I look forward to seeing the rest!

Michele is an executive coach and owner of Intuaction Coaching.  She needed photos for her website that help to show her approachability and professionalism.  She later told me that she has done professional modeling, and her shoot with me was her favorite of all her photoshoots.

Executive Portraits

You can view another of her images on her website.

Here is what she has to say about her experience with me:

“Devin is an incredibly creative photograher. I highly recommend him to anyone who is seeking to be photographed in a creative, non-traditional way. He makes you feel relaxed and photogenic. The quality of his work is outstanding!”

Top qualities: Great Results, Expert, Creative

In October, I met a very inspiring individual.

Men's fashion photography

Michael Forde is a designer of custom, made to order men’s suits. Wet met through a common client.

He expressed to me that he was in need of a photographer because the person he had been using moved away.

I thought to myself, What a great opportunity! I have done very little photography with men, so here is a chance to grow, and expand my range.

We have done four shoots together, photographing some of his clients for his portfolio. It looks like we are kindred spirits…we both inspire the other to new levels of creativity and ambition. The images are now with a graphic designer who is putting together a book for us to use as a very elegant portfolio.

Stay tuned - I hope to make it available on the website soon!

Fangs

I told this client that I think this might be my favorite image of the year!  I laugh every time I see it!

The photoshoot was really centered around creating a family portrait.  They had just moved into a new house and wanted a portrait of the family and dog to use on their cards.  After we got that accomplished, we started having fun in the back yard.

The girls each had a set of fangs, but they could only find one.  So we had to improvise.

To me, the feature of this image that makes it great is the younger sister in the background.  Her FIERCE expression makes this image come alive!  It is an example of how I work on the set.  I DIRECT the set, and make it fun!  Without direction, she would not have been snarling.  Without fun, it would have looked staged.  I intentionally put her out of focus to add dimension to the image.

What a great family!!

Heart Shaped Baby

This couple is expecting their second child.

They are doing another two session series with me - a maternity session (now with the older sister included), and a newborn session.

We were chatting after the maternity shoot, and they began telling me about this image from their first series. They have gotten some very interesting reactions when people see it printed and framed….

People are actually asking them where they bought the photo! They think that it is a commercial print that was purchased as decoration. It has happened several times to them. Makes them feel great.

The wife told me that she loves this image because, to her, she sees the baby framed in the shadow of a heart between the parents.

I love hearing the reactions and interpretations of my work from my clients.

Not all high school seniors are satisfied with the “cap & gown” photos they get through the school. Some girls (and boys) want photos that stand out, make a statement, and make them proud.

High school senior portraits, NY, NJ, CT

We have done several shoots together. This shot is particularly beautiful. The image was made on a handball court. Notice the intersecting lines that help to frame her. I had a portable strobe to her right, lighting her face from the side. The shot was taken through a chain link fence, giving the sparkles of light on the left of the frame.

Now THIS is a senior portrait!

I had a good time shooting with Michele and Vincenzo. Something about their narrow stairway caught my eye….

Maternity photography at home

I put them in black outfits. Notice how Vincenzo’s black clothes create a backdrop to accentuate her belly.

The single, overexposed light source coming through the door gives a sense of mystery to me. Where are they? What is on the other side of the door? The smile on his face softens the mystery and makes it a happy portrait of an expecting couple. I felt the scene had a “Fellini” feel to it when I was shooting it (not so much of the surreal, fantasy aspect, but the lighting and location…), but Vincenzo’s smile takes the “darkness” right out of it.

“FIVE GENERATIONS!!!”

Well, you don’t get this opportunity every day!

Family portraits, NY, NJ, CT

The couple used me for a mini series - one maternity and one newborn session. We did the maternity session at the beach over the summer. During that shoot, she mentioned to me that her baby would be the fifth generation of women in her family, and she wanted to incorporate that into the newborn session.

She wanted to do some shots that had an “old world Italian” feel. We used a nice table in the kitchen with all of the women sitting around, fussing over the baby for those shots. (Which came out great )

I wanted to try something else also. I wanted to have the women looking stoic with the new baby standing out on her own. I had the women all wearing black dresses looking serious. Great, Great Grandma is holding the baby. The baby in white, with the big smile makes it work.

For me, this is not one of those extremely “artsy” images that makes everyone ooooh and aaaaah, but it is very special because of the five generations, and the feeling it evokes. When we were shooting this scene, the mother was a bit skepitcal about how it would look, but she loved the result when we got the proofs!

This couple contacted me after they had their baby. We are going to do a series of shoots together over her first year, and this was the first session.

newborn, infant, baby, portraits

We got some great shots during the session. At the very end, we were doing some abstract shots with hands. The baby was getting tired, so I called it a wrap. Then, Mom started going after her feet, having a great time.

So, I turned the camera back on and got this terrific image. I hope she likes it!

This was a really nice session.

When we consulted on the phone prior to the shoot, she told me that she wanted a session with an elegant classy result.

The funny thing about it was how the shoot went. I have some techniques that I use with posing to get the look I am going for, and I could tell that she was not thinking that the way I was getting her to move was consistent with “elegant and classy”. At a couple of points, the expression “hoochie mamma” was used…

HOWEVER, in my opinion, this result is VERY classy, elegant, and beautiful!

I hope she likes it also…..

Maternity portraits