My First Portfolio

I recently applied for a part time graphic design position and had to create an effective online portfolio to send to my potential employers. I stumbled across a new feature on DeviantArt's website that allows just that. There's a limit on the amount of images, but you can create multiple photo galleries that display your work in a sophisticated and professional manner. The interface is really easy to use and looks great on many platforms (iPad, Firefox, Chrome, and Safari).
If you'd like to view my portfolio, you can follow this link to check it out.

Family Photos

My family claims they aren't very photogenic. This often poses a problem for me because I love to take pictures, especially of my family. I disagree with their claims though. I think I have a very beautiful family and I really enjoy photographing them more than anything. I was inspired to share my favorite family photos because I think it's some of the better work I've done.

St. Patrick's Day Parade (click fullscreen to view)

Lovable Olive

My dog Olive is the most difficult living being to photograph. I tried every distraction in the book to get her to sit still for just a second, but I ended up having to have my boyfriend hold her to pose. The work of William Wegman is really fantastic when it comes to dogs. I'd really like to learn some of his tips and tricks for getting dogs to be cooperative models. Very few photographers use dogs as subjects and I can see why.
I used my on-camera flash with a lightscoop to get this lighting. The lightscoop is a really nifty tool that diffuses your on camera flash by bouncing it against a reflective service and up on to the ceiling or onto a wall. It's very handy for parties and indoor photos where the light might need a little help.

Arnold Newman

When thinking about environmental portraits and looking for inspiration, I recalled a book a former photography teacher showed me on the work of Arnold Newman. We were discussing portraiture in my first film photography class and my teacher John Barnhardt, a local filmmaker in Charleston, was showing us some of the photographers that inspired him. I instantly loved the work of Newman. His environmental portraits reminded me a lot of the work I was attempting and gave me inspiration to take my portraiture to that level. I really love the photo he took of Otto Frank, Anne Frank's father. With such a difficult subject to photograph, he took a very sensitive and delicate route. I imagine there must have been a significant amount of trust between the photographer and subject to make that photo happen.

Studio Quality Product Photography for $12

I love creative and resourceful solutions to getting the best looking pictures I can. This link that I found on Reddit's photography forums shows how to create a really great looking light box style shot with under $12 of supplies... and using natural light!
Check it out!
Hopefully, I'll be able to try this out when I get a table. I've been interested in trying some lightbox type techniques for a while now. The hardest thing is deciding what to photograph.

Shit Photojournalists Like

"Things White People Like" has once again spun-off a new niche of sarcastic observations with a Tumblr I discovered today. It's called (pardon my French), Shit Photojournalists Like. Some of the things photojournalists like include gaffer's tape and cargo pants.