Friday, December 18, 2009

My First Pin-Up... Amber


So, I've been waiting a long time to put these pics up on my blog because they were to be a surprise gift for Amber's BF, and now that she has given them to him, I can finally share them with everyone! Amber is a stylist at Attitude's Salon in Mt. Zion, and we got to use the inside of the salon for the shoot. That place is made for pin-ups! Look at the color on the walls!

On another note, if you're looking for a new stylist, maybe a pedicure/manicure, massage, whatever, call these girls! I've gotten to know Amber, Jamie, Kat, Noelle (whose wedding I might be shooting in July! Woot!) pretty well, and of course my sister Leslie works there as well. Those aren't the only gals that work there (I got to meet one other girl a few days ago, Brandi, that I might get to do family pics for! Sorry if I spelled your name wrong! =P) just the ones I get to talk to the most. Anyways, give them a call. They are awesome! =)

One Love,
Joshua






Saturday, November 7, 2009

All Hail....Hailey.


Ok. So sometimes you have a shoot that just blows you away. I'm not saying my other shoots this year weren't completely awesome, because I didn't have any bad shoots all year, but, sometimes one just stands out from the rest. What all has to fall in to place to have a shoot like this? Well...

  • Good weather. A nice overcast day is perfect. Bright sun is actually bad for photography.
  • A senior who takes pride in his/her appearance.
  • A senior with a good fashion sense.
  • A senior who is completely comfortable in front of a camera. Now, I have tricks to relax subjects, BUT, if they are naturally comfortable, that's 20 minutes more of good shooting.
  • A senior with many facial expressions. A good smile AND a good serious face. A smirk. A laugh.
  • No equipment failure. We're dealing with electronics here. From wireless flash triggers, to portable battery packs. Now, I can shoot with just the camera and nothing else, but having access to these extras without problems allows me to be more creative.
  • Good locations. Something original, shot in a creative way. After all, this IS art.
  • A photographer that is on his/her A-Game. Yes, I'm being completely honest here. I'm not perfect. There are days when I just don't feel like I'm getting things done to the best of my ability. I hope that doesn't lessen the possibility of a future shoot with you, because all photographers have their "off day"... I'm just willing to admit it.
If all of these things fall in to place, amazing things happen. So, meet Hailey...









Hails, it was both an honor and a pleasure. I hope we get to work together again in the future.

One Love.

Joshua

You Guessed It...More Seniors!


It seems that every time I promise to update the blog more, I get bombarded with shoots! Now, I'm not complaining at all, but for those who don't know me, I work a full time job Mon-Fri, so between the "real" job, shooting, editing, and keeping up on the business end of starting a new business, the blog tends to get pushed to the bottom of the list. Now, there is a quick remedy to this situation. If all of you, whether you're a past client or someone who stumbled upon my blog on accident, spread the word of J. Bradley Crisman Photography, eventually I'll be able to quit the "real" job and focus on you! I know, I know. Shameless self promotion. Hey, what else is the internet for? =P

Moving on!

Bring on the seniors!


This is Andee. Her shoot was a blast! We went to all original places that she picked out herself, which was awesome. I love getting the opportunity to shoot at places I've never even been to.


Brian's shoot was also pretty original. We got to shoot at one of his friends' home which had an awesome barn with a loft that was practically made for photo shoots.


Say hello to Holly. Besides having some of the most fabulous outifts I've shot this year, she had a positive, anything goes attitude that really allowed me to get some beautiful images.


This is Jonah (awesome name btw). He just happens to also be the son of my boss at the "real" job, so I figure I better say a bunch of nice things about him. *grin* Seriously though, Jonah was a cool cat. As you can tell from this one picture, he's a gear head. We got to do some shots with dad's Corvette which is something I don't get to do very often. Well, never actually. I can't afford one of those things... =P


What's up, Kyle. Yet another great guy shoot of the year. Kyle was pretty relaxed in front of the camera, which always helps things go smooth. Besides, with my wife there messing with him the whole time, he couldn't help but give us real smiles, which mom loved. =P I guess this wasn't the best picture to show you after talking about his smile, but it was one of my favorite shots of the day!


Lexi! If there ever was a girl that is a perfect example of how you can be young and still be mature and have a great head on your shoulders, this is her. I get to shoot a lot of seniors, and it's girls like Lexi that make me feel privileged to capture a huge moment in their life for them to remember as they grow older.


Meet Mitchell. We traveled to Vandalia for Mitchell's shoot (we're based in Decatur for those who don't know), and it was well worth it. Original locations, and another great guy senior to work with. Hey Mithcell.... squirrel! *grin*


This is Steph. Steph, her mom, and one of her friends came from Iowa to have her pics done. Ya, that's right. They came from out of state to be shot by me! I know, I know...I'm awesome. Actually, they have family here, so while visiting we did Steph's portfolio. Still though, how awesome is that? My work is going to be floating around a high school in another state! And Steph's pics won't look like anyone else's at her school! I had another mother contact me from Iowa after I finished up Steph's proofs, unfortunately she didn't realize I was so far away so it didn't work out. But man, word of mouth travels so quick! Steph didn't even have her prints yet! Great gal, great shoot.


This is Zach. Zach had a short session just to add some variety to his portfolio he already had done somewhere else. I'm glad he did too, because the shots with his dog and his football pics were some of the best I've shot this year.


This is Tiger Woods. Wait, no. Tiger's shoot is next month. This is Aaron. I shot Aaron and his friend Josh (next post) at the same time. They are from Bethany, and I was more than happy to travel there to shoot. I have to find ways to get my name in to some new schools! I love my Maroa-Forsyth crew (after all, that's where I started this journey), and my Argenta-Oreana crew, but I have to break in to some new places too! Well, not literally "break in", I mean, well...nevermind. You know what I mean. Aaron had a great idea for one of his pics. Since we had access to the inside of the school, we did some shots in front of his actual locker in the Senior hall. Now, I know some photographers like to stick kids in front of a locker as a prop, but this was his locker that he actually uses. How awesome is that?!


This is Josh. After a slight rain delay at the beginning of the shoot, we ended up having a great day to shoot. The rain gave us some nice clouds to work with once we got done shooting at the school.

I'm starting to realize how many guys I shot this year. Last year it was probably 4 girls to every guy, but this year I think it's been pretty even. Hopefully this means the guys are seeing something in my work that makes them want to have their picture taken, and not just that mom is making them. *grin*


Well, hello Melissa. As you can see, a natural in front of the camera. If I remember correctly, it was smoking hot that day, and the beginning of the shoot was out in the open with no shade. It was ironic that we were shooting right next to their beautiful swimming pool. I think if I would've fell in, I wouldn't have been totally upset. Of course, my camera equipment doesn't take well to water, so it was probably best that I just stayed on dry land and sweat it out.


Jesse's shoot was so laid back and one of the easiest shoots I've done all year. It didn't hurt that I had already met Jesse through his girlfriend (Sammy, the first senior I ever shot), and through another creative shoot he helped me with. This guy is crazy talented. The first time I ever heard him sing was at a graduation party for some seniors I shot last year. I thought it was a recorded album that was just playing over the speaker system, then I asked Sammy where her new boyfriend was ( I hadn't met him at that point), she pointed to a little stage area where Jesse was playing guitar and singing. I was blown away. Mad skills. He even played during his shoot while we were doing shots of him with his guitar. He started playing a song by The Format that I love and I caught myself just standing there listening to him not even taking pictures. Ya, and I get paid to do this. *grin*

Alright, I guess I'll stop there. If you had a shoot with me this year and don't see your pic here, don't worry. You'll be up soon. I just have to get back to work on the 4 seniors I have staring at me through my editing screen!

On another note, if you are looking at this thinking of booking me for a shoot in the Spring, give me a call or send me an email as soon as possible. I've already started talking with a few people about sessions once it gets warm. And I have a couple weddings that will take up a couple of my weekends. It's never to soon to drop me a line, because once my weekends are full, I have to stop booking. The downside of working another job Mon-Fri. =(

Hope to hear from you soon! Oh, and feel free to comment on any of these posts. I don't think you have to even register or anything, you can just drop me a line to let me know you were here checking things out!

One Love.

Joshua

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Some More 2010 Seniors


Ok, I've been meaning to put some pics up of the seniors I've been shooting lately, so, I decided to take a break from editing photos to make it happen. The seniors I've had the pleasure of shooting this year have been a blast! I have 4 more sessions that I've already shot that are currently being edited, so I'm staying rather busy! If you are reading this, THANK YOU! Because in some way or another, YOU have helped me get to where I am today. Whether you are a client, a friend, a family member, or another local photographer looking for ideas/locations to use (*grin*), you have inspired me to be better!

This is Amy. Yes, she is palming that basketball. No Photoshop tricks there. Now, if we could've just set them on fire... Isn't that what all the cool kids are doing? =P


This is Taylor. Taylor was by far the most organized senior I've ever shot. LOL She picked her own locations, had all of her outfits coordinated with each spot, and even had her accessories individually packed for each outfit. Thank you for making my job so easy, Taylor. Now, if I could've just taught your mom to use my camera, I could've slept in the car. =P


This is Josh. I have battle wounds from this shoot. No joke. If I remember correctly, we were shooting in the middle of a rain forest that was roughly a 17 mile walk carrying all of my equipment. Ok, ok. That's a bit of a stretch. It was probably only about 15 miles. =P Besides sweating profusely, being mauled by mosquitos, and having to stop to search the wilderness for natural water springs to keep from dehydrating during the voyage, we had a good time. Seriously though, I loved the images we turned out from the day.


And then there was Rachel. She was impossible to work with. No matter how hard I tried, she just wasn't getting it. *grin* Ok, enough sarcasm. This girl had a serious look that actually sent chills down my spine. Any girl that has had her senior pics done knows that it's hard to be "serious" on demand. I had to actually tell HER to remind ME to make her smile for some of the pictures, or I would've sat there taking serious expressions all day. Ya, that good. Great sense of humor, many different expressions, and a good fashion sense. What more could a photographer ask for?


Oh, almost forgot. Rachel managed to wow me enough to make it on to the front side of my new business cards (along with Niki from earlier this year) with this image.


Ok, enough about Rachel... Well, after I embarass her. *grin*


Feel free to drop me a line, or leave a comment here. I don't think you have to sign up for an account to comment, you can just leave it as anonymous if you'd like. That way you can say all kinds of hateful, ugly things... I can moderate them before they actually get posted on the site... Then I can delete them, resulting in a complete waste of both of our time. Oh, unless you have something nice to say. That actually might get posted. *grin*

One Love,
Joshua

Thursday, August 6, 2009

More Niki


After finishing up Niki's proofs today, I realized I had to share this photo.

This is the very moment I knew Niki was sick of me and my camera. I thought she was just being her goofy self again, but before I even had the camera lowered, she was in striking distance. You thought the video clips of lions taking down zebras were bad? Try being mauled by a 90 pound girl in skinny jeans. Brutal.

*grin*

Niki, you can hate me now.


Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Senior Time

Well, the senior rush is upon me, and I am soooooo ready after the shoot I had Saturday. Niki was my first senior of the year, and if that shoot was any indication of how the rest of my year will go, it's going to be crazy fun.

Niki was such a trooper. I made her wear her fanciest dress that she brought, and I put her in the filthiest place I could find....literally. I wanted to take a shower after we left. Ahhh, the things we do for art. Here's one of the shots from "dirty alley"...


And here's another from a cleaner spot. This is one of my favorite senior pics I think I've ever taken...


And then there's the real Niki...


Niki has already sent me another senior to shoot later this month. Andee... hopefully this hasn't scared you off. =P

Monday, July 27, 2009

Another Mascot


Another shot of our softball mascot...



And the latest edition to the squad... Our new volleyball mascot.

Rock Band


Almost forgot to put some pics up from the Rock Band jam. Ya, I managed to grab some nice shots all while putting the smack down on everyone with my fierce drum skills. =)

There's innocent Zac, and then there's the real Zac...



There's the Liz (aka Maguire) that always knows where the camera is, and then there's rock star Liz...


And here she is joining in on our crew's latest craze... photobombing. If you aren't aware of what photobombing is, here's a brief explanation. Find that one person in your group (or a stranger in public if you have the guts) that always has a camera out, and right at the moment they take a pic, jump behind the subject or somewhere in the frame, and do something completely off the wall. It works especially well with people taking pictures of themselves (for say, MySpace) because they can't see what is behind them while taking the picture. Nice devilhorns. Well played, Maguire.





And here is Casey. I swear, I've never seen a grown man this happy in my life. It's like he's seven years old all over again. If you're reading this Casey, I apologize for exploiting your enjoyment in front of the world. It was too good to let pass. =)