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portraits

Feb 22
Love0

Happy Birthday to My Second Dad

By male portrait, Masqueman Photography, portrait photography, portraits
We may get to pick our spouses in life, but we don’t always get to pick the family attached to them. I hit the in-law jackpot by marrying into a very nice family. In particular, I not only gained a father-in-law, I gained a friend in Ronald Heady.
To me, he exemplifies the best that a man can aspire to be. I have never met a more intelligent or analytical mind in my life. I am sure that if scientists performed intelligence tests on him, their machines would have to be recalibrated. My relationship with him allows me to share my interests from photography, guns, gadgets, watches, robotics and science… not your typical “how’s the weather” banter.
A few years ago, he allowed me to take some portraits of him. He had just given me two special gifts for my camera collection that reaches back as far as the 1930s. One was a Minolta camera that he personally used. 
The other was a Yashica twin-lens reflex camera that his father, Ray Heady, used as a newspaper reporter for the Kansas City Star newspaper beginning in 1943. I was over the moon to get these treasures and they are displayed in a place of prominence in my collection.

Here he is with his favorite gal, Sue. Happy Birthday, Ron! We love ya!

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…

Jan 12
Love0

Portraits of an Atlanta Astrologer

By Andrew Hughes, Atlanta, head shots, headshot portraits, Masqueman Photography, portraits
Some people that I meet leave a great impression. This was the case with Maureen
who contacted me to have portraits made. 
I knew right away that I liked her kind disposition and easy going personality.
Hopefully, that comes through in the photos.
Her plan was to use the photos for her astrology business, social media,
and maybe even for some online dating. 
We spent our time trying different settings, backgrounds and arrangements. I try to give clients the variety they want, and as a photographer, this allows me to experiment with different techniques along the way. The next photo was made with a special doughnut-shaped ringflash which makes interesting catch lights.
The amethyst ring was a personal gift from her mother that was important to Maureen so we
included it. The matching background color ties it all together.
A scarf can be used in so many ways in a photoshoot. No woman should be without one.
My prediction came true… working with Maureen was a pleasure.
Jan 11
Love0

Family Portraits of the Distant Cousin of Al Capone

By Fall colors, family portraits, Masqueman Photography, portraits
 

What does a photographer do when the rumored distant relative of Al Capone asks you to take photos of his family? You say yes sir… especially when he brings his beautiful pregnant wife, Amber, and adorable daughter, Allessandra.
We had been planning a family session for a while. Spring turned into summer and then summer into fall. If we waited much longer, it was going to get cold and ugly outside.
We met in my favorite local photo spot and proceeded to try and tire Alessandra out. This was difficult to do since she was literally running circles around us. Ah… youth… can you bottle that energy?

It’s important to capture special moments with children when they are young because you’ll never get this close to them when they become teenagers.

There is no question who Allessandra looks like.
Backlit fall trees provided a spectacular background.
I love to mix natural and manmade things in my scenes with walls helping to bring some structure to the composition.
Alessandra found a wondrous treasure and wanted to show it to everyone.
A belly contest ended the day. Jason was trying extra hard to stick his gut out since he is a skinny guy. I guess he should have had a bigger lunch.
May 05
Love0

Habitat for Humanity Group Photo

By corporate photography, Graphic Works, group photography, Masqueman Photography, portraits

Last week I made a deceptively simple group photo for an Atlanta insurance company who had participated in Habitat for Humanity. I think 80% of the company helped build a house. Impressive. The day before the portrait, my boss took an iphone snapshot of the location. I could tell it was going to be relatively dak because we were shooting on the shadow side of the building.

I know it sounds ludicrous to say that shooting outside at 11 am will be dark, but everything is relative. Because I was shooting rows at least 5 people deep, I needed to have the subjects in the front row and back row equally in sharp focus.

Celebrating their accomplishment

This meant that I would need to use a small aperture for maximum depth of field. Small apertures need long exposures to gather light which would not work with a group of blinking people. The other option was to add light to the scene.

I set up a single flash 10 feet to the right of the camera’s position and aimed it towards the crowd. The resulting image has the appearance of sunlight… if one is not a forensic specialist who can trace the origin of the light source. Without the flash, the photo would have lacked contrast, sharpness and definition. I used a slow enough shutter speed to let the flash and ambient light mix.

Apr 12
Love0

Headshot Portrait For an Atlanta Business Man

By Andrew Hughes, Atlanta, headshot portraits, Masqueman Photography, portraits
One of my favorite kinds of photography is the corporate headshot. There are many bad mugshots used on company web sites and literature, that I am happy to try to replace them. In today’s global market, there may be work associates and clients that never meet face to face. The headshot is often the only impression that each person has of the other.

I was contacted by Daraka who had just moved to Atlanta and needed a headshot for his company’s web site. He agreed to come to the studio and we proceeded to make several styles of headshot. I like to give clients a variety of lighting styles and or clothing options.

I can use very traditional backgrounds and lighting techniques for a conservative, timeless look. Or I can use edgy lighting and compositions to give the portrait a modern look… in this case my subject preferred no smiling.

Many times, a client will use one style for business and the other for social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, match.com, Linked-In or their email avatar.

Dec 22
Love0

Photoshop Aging Tricks for Portraits

By photoshop tricks, portraits

It is not often that my clients ask that I make them look old in a portrait. In fact, I often get the opposite request to make them look thinner, younger and more like Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie.

To illustrate a concept about the aging process during a PowerPoint presentation, the presenter planned to show a photo of what he looks like today and then magically, he would change before the audience’s eyes. This was done by slowly morphing one photo into the other. The effect was 25 years of age added in 5 seconds… similar to the effects that many adults feel around screaming children (ha ha).

I did not have very long to produce the “aged” photo so I had to work quick and dirty in photoshop. I thought of all the old people that I have ever met and how time changed their faces. In Bill’s case, I made him bald, gave him age spots, sagged some skin, deepened the sockets of his eyes and gave him long fluffy eyebrows. I had to show restraint because I wanted to keep my client’s portrait looking professional… just more advanced in age as a stylish gent.

They liked the first aged portrait so much that they asked me to make a second one. In this case I enlarged the nose and ears which actually keep growing our entire lives. I had a lot of fun with this project because it was so opposite of any retouching request that I have ever gotten. See if you can count the differences before and after.

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