Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Little one.

 Baby photos are so rewarding. And so many of us neglect to invest the time or money into these short lived moments of our lives. I am guilty of this too. But at least I was taking photos of my own kids... Newborns are the most precious. The time seriously goes by so fast and the baby changes almost literally each day. For me to take these photos is a real honor as i know they will be looked back on for years and years.
 Over the past few weeks I've really been concentrating on what I can do to improve my photos. I know everyone has heard the saying that "You are your own worst critic." and it's true. Lately I have not invested money into camera gear, as temped as I have been! My eBay "watched item" list and shopping cart at B&H Photo are testament to my weakness... Instead I have researching and practicing what I want to achieve in my photos. And to be quite honest, my camera, lighting equipment and all the other stuff is working just fine.
 I did spend a little on props for the studio as i had some shots in mind that required a little shopping. I was amazed that I found everything I needed in Duncan, in just a couple hours and I didn't have to break the bank either. One shop owner asked what sort of photos I was doing and then offered to lend me anything I needed should I need a prop in the future. How cool is that? And this is after just meeting the guy and chatting for about 5 minutes.
 So with a vision in mind, some new props and a very cute subject to take photos of, I was off to the Matraea Studio for little Brooklyn's first photo shoot.
 I was really happy with how the photos turned out. What you see here are all straight from the camera shots, other than converting most to black and white and adding the watermark. I have kept the originals in colour as well since they look good too. I just was in the mood to show off some B&W... And yes, that is a birthmark on her leg which I wanted to show as it is part of who this little one is.
 One thing I cannot stress enough for any other folks who like to take pictures but may not be getting the results they are after is learn how to use your camera! I have gotten to the point where I rarely need to use photo shop since I have the camera set up the way I want it and I'm getting the lighting set up before the subject steps in for the shoot. Being prepared saves sooo much time it is incredible.
 Being the one to take photos of a couple's first baby is even more incredible!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

In the middle of nowhere.

You never know what you'll run into next as a photographer. I love all the great people I get to meet and the cool things I get to see. Shai Thompson is another one of those great people.
I met her a little while back and then I was out to do photos of her at her studio (Chez Shai) for the Island Style section of the Leader/Pictorial. Shai is a fashion consultant and has a really cool property and studio just a few minutes west of Duncan, set amongst the rolling hills and farms.
As Eliza interviewed Shai, I looked around the studio and was looking for interesting things to take pics of and thinking of how to arrange the staged photos I was going to do once the interview was over.

I set up some lighting when Eliza and Shai were finished chatting and grabbed a couple shots of Shai.


These photos are unedited small files, just for this blog. I did do some colour adjustments on the full size files since the fluorescent lighting and my lights didn't exactly agree with each other. Other than that, I didn't do any photo shopping and that's pretty much in keeping with how I roll these days. I try to get it right when I shoot the photo. It takes way less time to set up the shot correctly than it does to manipulate it later in post production.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Kidding Around

Those of you with children are likely familiar with 4Cats art studios. They offer a great learning environment for little ones to experiment with every imaginable form of art medium.
I came by the Duncan studio to do some photos for their Magazine, showcasing a new portrait painting class they are offering.
One thing I had to keep in mind was this was a group of energetic kids with paint. I kept my camera gear to the minimum, meaning no additional lighting. I didn't want my lighting stands to get in the way of what was going on. Not to mention, the more gear you have set up, the less natural the kids are likely to interact. I wanted this to be as candid as possible.

After the kids had all packed up and their works of art were set away to dry, I brought out my lights and set up to do a portrait of Katie, one of the owners of the Duncan location.
Yes, art is good!

kurtknock.com

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Serious Business


Bruce Cafferky of RBC Dominion Securities had me out doing some photos a while back.
He was looking for some photos that would stand out when used for his ads in some business publications. I had a vision of what I wanted to do and Bruce was keen. Even the weather was on our side.
The photos were taken over the course of a couple days. The first day was devoted to location shots of Bruce alone. I had scouted some locations that I thought would work for the assignment and since it wasn't raining, it all worked out.
Lugging around camera and lighting gear when using multiple locations is just becoming second nature now. But I have learned to trim as much from my gear bags as possible and just take what I might need. Unfortunately, this time of year there is often a good breeze so that means I have to carry sand bag weights for the light stands. No way around that...
 This photo above was just an experiment. I like the moodiness of it but it's probably not suitable for advertising.
Bruce also needed a group shot of himself with his team (first photo on page) and headshots. Above is Amelia, below is Bruce.


There were many more great photos from this shoot but they were kind of similar to some of these or others that I've posted in the past. I think I have actually left some of the best ones out. Oh well. You'll just have to check out my website to see them :)