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family portraits

Apr 25
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Mother and Daughter Photos in Virginia

By family portraits, Masqueman Photography
I have known Susan and her mom, Becky for a very long time… maybe over 30 years. Susan was my sister’s friend and I tried to keep those 2 out of trouble…let’s just leave it at that.  Here is a photo of me and Susan in the 1980s. I had found a wig and was trying to do my best Bon Jovi impression.
Embarrassing? It was not as bad as my early 90’s mullet.
The current Susan is to shown to the below, and I think she has aged pretty well.
I try to get back to Virginia a couple of times a year, and my mother asked me to take portraits of Susan and Becky when I was there. I was glad to do it so we met at a local park that I had not seen before. I never know what a new location will offer so I got there early to find the best spots available. Luckily, there was a grove of trees and covered picnic tables. It would have to do since the rest was soccer fields. You can kinda see the location behind us. The lovely lady next to me is my own Momma.
These were important photos to take because I knew how terrible a year Becky had endured with a cancer diagnosis and painful treatments. These were to celebrate the relationship that mother and daughter have. Even if they want to strangle each other at times, they still love each other greatly.

Becky is a trooper putting up with the stagnant stuffy Virginia heat for our photo session.
Yes, they ladies wanted to show off their cool sunglasses.
 The sun was certainly bright, but nobody melted.

I hope that these photos will bring them memories of good times.
Oct 25
Love0

Turning Test Shots Into Portraits

By Carol Hughes, family portraits, Kelli McFerrin, Masqueman Photography, portaits, Tyler Loper, Virginia Beach
When I traveled back to Virginia I ended up in a city park to take photos of a childhood friend and her mother, but this blog is not about that photo session. Instead I am writing about the test shots that came before the actual session. I will often show up to a new location in advance and try a few different vistas. lighting scenarios or lenses.
My mother, sister and nephew were with me so I was able to use them as guinea pigs. There are cases where I have had to photograph myself in various spots but that is much more difficult to do with a remote control and tripod. My sister is a few years older than me, but that did not stop her from scampering up a tree. She was pretty high up there. I thought about throwing her a banana. Her son, Tyler soon joined her.
I had several cameras with me and believe or not, my pocket camera had a faster frame-per-second rate so I used it to snap Tyler jumping out of the tree.
I was keen to check my 70-200 lens since I thought that there might be a focusing issue. 
I created tight portraits and checked the eyes to confirm that the lens is tack sharp.

Though reluctant, Tyler did allow me to move him to different settings and snap away.
This kid is getting taller by the minute.

Lastly, my Mom who is more difficult to photograph than Bigfoot, sat still for a 1/2 second… just long enough to steal a single frame. I already know that she will hate it, but I don’t. This is how I think of my Mom… surrounded by light.
Soon the real subjects showed up and the job began, but having help developing my modus operandi was excellent.
Sep 27
Love0

Family and Baby Portrait Session Moved Inside Due to Rain

By Andrew Hughes, child phtotography, family portraits, Jason Caponi, Masqueman Photography, Studio
It’s been another year and it was time to update the Caponi family photos. The kids are growing up fast so it is important to catch them before they become teenagers. Outside was rainy and gross so we moved the photoshoot inside for different styles of portraits.
Little Michael is a beautiful bouncing baby boy. Look at those huge eye and reddish-blonde hair!
Michael’s grandparents are from the Gulf Shores so the shirt is a nod to them. He is already standing, and at the current rate of growth, he will probably be running his first half-marathon next year.

Jason is a wonderful Dad, but you can see that he literally has his hands full.

Just the boys of the family pose for portrait.

Alessandra is such a beautiful little lady. Here are two similar photos. I just changed the background and modified the poses to provide more choices for the parents. 

Look at that smile with all her front teeth which is not always the case with kids her age.

Alessandra had been taking tap lessons so we wanted a photo of her outfit before she outgrows it.

Here she is showing off a very special gift that her Nonna gave her. Nona was her grandmother who absolutely adored her. I have rarely seen such a close connection between 2 people of different generations. You can read more about Nonna here.

I think she is a natural in front of the camera.

Here she is wearing her Sunday dress. I’m just crazy about this little girl.

And here she is monkeying around for the camera.

Baby Michael has so many expressions and most of them hilarious. His smile lights up the room and would melt even the most Scrooge-like grump.

Another portrait of the men of the house. I like to make comparison photos when kids are so small. Here you can see that Michael’s feet are not even as big as one of Dad’s fingers.
A revealing “behind-the-scenes” look shows that the photo shoot was a group effort. Even big sis was helping Michael find his smile. Mom was over my shoulder making all kinds of funny sounds to get the kids’ attention. Considering that shooting indoors was PLAN B, everything worked out fine.
Aug 06
Love0

Welcome to Earth Little Michael

By Andrew Hughes, child phtotography, family portraits, Masqueman Photography, newborns
Just a quick post to welcome Michael to this fine planet of ours. Say hello…
New baby parts below…
He joins his parents Amber and Jason plus sister Alessandra.

Big sis has already broken in her parents so Michael might be able to get away with more as a second child. Or perhaps, they will know how to spot his rascally tricks. Only time will tell.
I love this pose as Mom cradles baby.
Michael calls this “the claw” pose… I think I heard him meow as he did this.
One thing is for sure… he looks like a cool kid. 
Already Michael has made his parents very happy, and all he has done so far is mess up a bunch of diapers. Just wait until he does something really great!
Aug 04
Love0

Photos of My Little Sister and Her Twins

By Andrew Hughes, Atlanta, family portraits, Masqueman Photography
This is a confession… I shot my sister and her two kids with a Canon. Before you call the cops, you should know that nobody got hurt and generally everyone had a good time.

My sis, Gena, had been promising me for years to come and visit me in my new Atlanta home… well, it was new 8 years ago anyway. It seems that she has been busy raising a family so traveling 10 hours by car was not an easy thing to do.
Now that her twin kids are 8 years old, it is much easier to toss them in the car and make the grueling drive.  Our plan was to keep the kids as busy as possible by purchasing an Atlanta City Pass. This allows people to see the top attractions in Atlanta for a highly reduced price.
The first morning, we made monster waffles in honor of Waffle House, which originated in Avondale Estates, Georgia… only 8 miles from my home.
Then it was off to the Fernbank Museum for some natural history and dinosaurs.
They have a great whale museum, which I accidentally found out does not allow photo taking. Oops. The hands-on science section has great things to occupy kids of all ages.
The next day was spent at Stone Mountain, which is not on the City Pass, but well worth the $10 admission to get in. The kids loved hiking around the old mill.
They sat still long enough for me to snap a few family photos. I mean just long enough… some of these poses were mere seconds before they were off and running again.

Notice the hug disguised as the “stay here” clutch.
Twins born 4 minutes apart…

Drawing in the sand like a cave girl.

Look at that fiery red hair!

We watched a Dock Dogs event, which had a bunch of lovable pooches jumping in a long jump pool. 
Then, we explored the top of Stone Mountain by riding the tram. I think we could have really tired them out by making them run up the other side of the mountain, but I am not sure the adults were up to it. They climbed trees to get higher!

Later we watched the laser show with thousands of other people. That lawn can really hold a crowd!
The next day was going to be spent at the Atlanta Aquarium. This place is as large as a shopping mall, and designed as such. I think I felt the dollar bills being sucked out of my sister’s wallet as we exited through the gift shop.
 Yes it is good for business… but it causes a lot of headaches for parents with tired children who do not know what money is. Just saying…  Regardless of that, the venue is top notch with amazing sights and sounds. 

 How many fish are in this place?!

Life takes some strange and wondrous shapes.

This might be the only time little Andy sat down. I took the photo as proof.
I did not know the aquarium had amazing acrobats!
After we had seen all the fish there were to see, we jogged over to the new Coke museum for a quick walkthrough. Two highlights for the kids were taking a photo with the excellent polar bear and a 4-D movie with whiplash moving chairs and spraying water.
It seems that the pinnacle of the whole Atlanta trip for them was all the “FREE” Coke products from around the world in the museum’s sampling room. It is kinda cool to try different flavors that are not available here in the states. My favorite was Inca Cola from Peru that has a unique flavor derived from lemon verbena…an exotic flower.
The kids made friends with Zack the Boston Terrier who seemed to love hanging out with them. Little Andy even broke through to Zoey who is incredibly shy around strangers.
If they did not sleep in the car going back to Virginia, then I am not sure what else we could have stuffed into the 3 day weekend. I was personally bushed for the rest of the week.
Jul 22
Love0

Portraits of a Little Lady

By child phtotography, family portraits, Masqueman Photography, portrait photography
I love watching kids grow up. Just a few months apart makes the changes more discernible. I have been photographing Allessandra since she was born, and she has become quite the little charmer. Here she is pretty in pink.
This black and white photo hints at what she may look like when she gets older which is the perfect combination of Mom and Dad. She was photographed using old fashioned tungsten hot lights… which produces a different look in my opinion. Plus, they can heat a room on a cold day.
It is obvious that she loves her Daddy. I like how their faces are so close here.
She is getting taller than Pops (as long as he is sitting on the ground).
There is no such thing as a subtle smile at 4, as you can see here with Mom and Dad.
It was dreary outside but a little flash trickery made it look like a lovely Spring day with Mom.

I’m sure the neighbors did not mind me using their azaleas as a backdrop.
I noticed on the way back inside that the red door would make a great background for her blue polka dotted dress. A moment later she leaned against the unlatched door and tumbled backwards. She was unhurt, but the look on her face was utter surprise. What a trooper!
Jan 29
Love0

Red Headed Family Portraits at Stone Mountain

By Andrew Hughes, Atlanta, family portraits, Masqueman Photography, portrait photography, Stone Mountain Park
I am just like my mother…. I love red heads (I was even lucky enough to marry one). I am afraid when she sees these photos that she might want to adopt this whole family of four beautiful people with firery locks.

I kinda grew up with Michelle,  the mom of these two who is like a sister to me. 
It is so cool to see her with her own little clones… 

This is big Daddy Josh and Josh Jr.

It seems like Stone Mountain, Georgia in the Fall is a great setting for family portraits.

With my trusty 70-200mm zoom lens, I can get several versions of the same photo 
without even moving. Does that make me lazy or smart? You decide. Here is a wide angle.

Here is a medium angle…

And, finally… a close up. Don’t drop those kids… it’s a long way down.

Danielle is a stunning little girl… and so wonderful to be around.

How about some guy time?

Can you say cute? I love that curly hair.

Danielle reminds me of the young heroine, Merida, from the Pixar movie, Brave.

I actually had them holding hands at one point. Don’t try that with older children
 unless you want to capture frowns.

At this age, I like to stack the family members to show the size differences. 
The way kids grow, they will never be this small again.

Something a little more informal perhaps?

I actually work for Michelle’s father and Josh Jr. has the same glowing blue eyes of his “GranDave”.

The kids just love their Daddy who is a giant of a man compared to them. 
He would literally do anything for his family.

Before the kids, it was just Josh and Michelle… high school sweethearts.

Here is a shot of Mom and the munchkins and …we’re done.

Jan 19
Love0

Family Portraits of Baby Lukas and His Parents

By Andrew Hughes, Atlanta, Fall colors, family portraits, Masqueman Photography, maternity photos, portraits

In 2012, I had the opportunity to photograph my good friends Justinas and Marie before they were going to have a baby. Looking back now, I think Marie was literally gonna pop. That maternity photo gallery can be seen in an earlier post here.

Later in 2013, I contacted them to see if they would return to the same spot where we took the previous pictures for a followup session.

My plan was to take the photos in the same location so when Lukas grew up he could see himself in a unique series of photo shoots…. “in the belly” and “in the world”. I would like to say at this time that I am not responsible if these photos lead to the “where do babies come from?” question.

Young Lukas was not even a year old and already that boy had so much charm and charisma
that he wowed me during the photo shoot. He is incredibly smart and alert for his age. 

He would almost smile on command and respond to all the silly noises I was making.
Getting the attention of a child this young is not always successful.

Lukas is the perfect blend between Mom and Dad.

 The kid was a dream to work with, but that is what one might expect from a
child who has a model-like mother and a photographer for a father?

 In fact, if Lukas picks up at camera he will be the 
third generation of photographer in the Bartkevicius family. 

Dad is a giant so you gotta wonder how tall Lukas will be.

When I was packing up, I showed Lukas my camera. He knowingly
touched the shutter button, and I swear that kid winked at me. This just
proves that my photographic competition just gets younger every year. 
 
Maybe we will keep shooting a new portrait set annually until it is time for me
to hand the camera over to him.

I think this is how Lukas drives his dad around. Just tug the ears to steer in the right direction…

Jan 16
Love0

Family Photos on a Beautiful Fall Day

By Andrew Hughes, Atlanta, family portraits, Masqueman Photography, portrait photography, portraits
Ever since Ken and Anna had their first born daughter, we have been trying to get together for some family portraits. The scheduling was not helped by the fact that they lived in both Canada and the USA at different times… like migrating snow geese.

Now that daughter number two was several months old… this was getting out of control. 

We needed to put a date on the calendar.

On one of the last good fall weekends, we spent some time making portraits. Ellie, who was terrified of me as a younger child came out of her shell and was hilarious.

She would go between super-adorable to silly.

Contrary to what you mom might have told you, your face will not permanently stay that way if you make a funny face.

I love Atlanta in the Fall, even more than the Spring, because it is much more colorful… and no pollen. This would have been a great day for a family picnic.

Just the girls…

Daddy’s girl…
Mom and the new gal, Juniper…

Who wouldn’t want a miniature clone of themselves?

Jan 15
Love0

Blood, Sweat and Tears of Photography

By accident, Fall colors, family portraits, Masqueman Photography, portrait photography, portraits
The old saying about putting blood, sweat, and tears into one’s work actually came true for me during a particularly windy family photo shoot. A powerful gust of wind upended my heavy studio flash and whacked me in the back of the head like Thor’s hammer. The timing was perfect since I was bending over my camera bag changing lenses.

Even though I almost blacked out, we finished the photoshoot. My friend, Ken, had some colorful language to describe the seemingly unstoppable bleeding, but I’ll keep this PG-13. My head ended up looking like a prop form the Walking Dead.

Working alone without an assistant can have its disadvantages such as having no one to hold the stand when the wind really picks up. Even having a bag of weights on the bottom in this case probably would not have changed the outcome. That will teach me to take shortcuts and think that taking one of the legs into the soft ground would be sufficient. This post should be files under “WHAT NOT TO DO”. Lesson learned…

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