rainy monday morning

mary + brad + lily

last week i got the chance to work with and photograph one of the most fun-loving families i've ever been around. i met up with mary, brad, and lily downtown by the water on a saturday evening shortly before sunset... great location, great timing... LOTS of tourists in the way! this group was so flexible and easy to work with and i was excited to capture the excitement and joy they had just simply being around each other :)

 

internship solo shoot number one

courtney

kickstand events

wilmington, nc

internship, day twenty-six

a.very.long.day.!.

(and lots to write)

i got to assist susie during a day of boudoir mini sessions, followed by second shooting for an engagement session that evening. during my time with her, susie has been great about letting me shoot during any and all sessions to get in the practice, but for the mini sessions, i have to say i learned so much more as her assistant - i didn't even take my camera out of the bag for those shoots! as a second shooter, it's difficult to always watch the boss and walk away with tips and tricks while you're busy shooting the scene. as her assistant, i was able to see how she works with the clients to make them so comfortable, how she approaches the scene, how she poses the clients...basically how she does what she does.

we set up shop at an inn by the river in downtown wilmington and worked with clients one by one on shorter boudoir sessions - these sessions give the ladies a taste of boudoir, with fewer outfit changes and less shooting time... but more times than not, the ladies end up coming back for a full session. these mini sessions are also great if you've got a group of girls together for a party, girls night or just because :)

after the mini sessions, susie and i grabbed a quick (and very delicious) bite to eat at the eat spot before meeting our next clients...

engagement session #4: stephanie and kelly

this couple loves the beach so much they drove all the way from chapel hill and fayetteville for their session! (which they'll also be doing for their wedding)

we started on front street in downtown wilmington, then made our way to wrightsville beach to catch the sunset. as always, i had a really great time shooting these portraits. one thing that's definitely been confirmed during this internship is my love for shooting (pictures of) people.

despite the fact that these photos were both shot with the sun setting in the background, i decided to post them in black and white because the moment was more important to me than the vibrant colors behind them. 

in addition to shooting with susie for this couple, i also got to do some editing for her, as well. i'm always amazed by how much i know in photoshop now that i'm outside the bubble of school. it's very exciting!

internship, day twenty-four

big day today! 

ashlea kosikowski and local news station WECT worked with susie to set up a boudoir shoot and interview for the evening news to promote susie's boudoir business. this type of photography is something susie is beyond passionate about, so it's fantastic that her work was highlighted in such a major way...

erin, our model, was a great sport, dressing down for the cameras and the photo shoot. i don't think i'd ever have the nerve to do what she did - she did a great job!

susie worked her magic to put erin at ease in front of the camera, and ashlea did the same to put everyone else at ease in front of the video camera.

here are a few behind the scenes photos from the day...

click here to see the video piece featured on WECT.

[one of the finished images from susie]

internship, day twenty

my first boudoir shoot with susie, as well as the first day of susie using a lighting set up for her boudoir photos.

there is an inn located in downtown wilmington where susie shoots the majority of her boudoir sessions - it's a great location/studio space and has amazing window light. the only problem is a certain room doesn't quite get the light she needs when it's not a bright, sunny, cloudless day. one of my first tasks as her intern... figure out how to light the room. the requirements are that it must be easy to use, continuous, and portable. enter RCC photo education. because of my studio lighting classes with kevin and my on location lighting classes with jay, i was able to mix the two together to come up with a light-weight umbrella kit.

it's far from rocket science, but was exciting to know where to start looking... as well as having susie say to me "it's very apparent you went to school for photography." - that comment alone makes all those student loans worth it!

once we got the lighting set up and tested, susie gave me the chance to watch her work for a bit before jumping in to shoot, as well. this experience was very, very different from shooting engagement sessions - even very different from close up portraits shot in the studio at school. but jody, our client, was so sweet and fun to work with, and getting to see susie go into her happy place during this session was great to witness as a student.

i didn't take too many photos during this session, as i was taking it in and digesting as much info as i could from susie. but i was able to get a few with the new light set up...

internship, day fifteen

third engagement shoot with susie - up til now, i've only had a 70-300mm 5.6 lens to use... but now i've got a new (to me) 80-200mm 2.8 and couldn't be more excited! it still amazes me to see the difference it makes with wide open aperture and how the subject can really pop right off the screen.

this couple was SO FUN to work with... we were cracking up the entire time at the soon-to-be groom's comments, which made the shoot a blast, but it flew by and i found myself wishing we had another two or three hours to work with them.

in other intern related news, i helped susie create a new lighting set up for her boudoir photography. 

i was very happy to see my studio lighting education paying off (thank you, kevin!) 

we get to test it out on monday - more details on that later...

internship, day one

school is done and it's time to get out in the world!

for the second half of the semester i am interning with Susie Linquist in wilmington, nc. 

what started as a meeting a few days early to get organized for the following eight weeks turned into a full day of work and doing some second shooting for an engagement session she had that evening. i had a blast! susie is a fantastic photographer, woman, and boss and it was so great to get out of the department and see how it really works. and i couldn't have asked for a better couple to get my feet wet shooting engagement photos - this is jenn and carr. they are getting married this summer and are so freaking adorable.

ray

acme at night

white street landfill protest

     

    

south loop, chicago

where has the time gone?

assignment: up close and personal

my small format class is all about approaching strangers to get a photo. i don't mind meeting new people, but when i have a camera in my hand it is the absolute last thing i want to do (mostly because i assume everyone i'd meet on the street hates having their picture taken as much as i do). for one of our major assignments we had to get up close and personal with thirty-six strangers in three different settings: inside with flash, outside with fill flash and outside with natural sunlight. the idea of asking that many people to pose for a picture made my stomach hurt - thank goodness for mimosas to ease the pain! turned out more people were happy to help with the impromptu shoot than i expected. and now i have a whole new set of friends from the experience. big thanks to everyone in salisbury who helped me out with this!

san francisco

assignment: digital layout

this morning we were given an an hour and a half to go out and shoot 3 photos telling a story of our choice, return to class and place the images in a photoshop layout (one of these days i may understand this software). we were also instructed to keep negative space and the rule of thirds in mind.   

thank you, kat adams, for suffering through the 150 degree weather and almost getting run over by a train. the real tears were well worth it!!

asheville