Get the Job Done: Shooting the first annual Rocky Mountain Early Childhood Conference

It's confirmed! I will be shooting the first ever Rocky Mountain Early Childhood conference
running April 15, 2011. I'm crazy excited about this opportunity because it's so much fun to be involved in the kinetic energy attached to a new event. But this is also the first time I put in a bid for a photography contract, competed against other photographers and won the gig!

The conference is a two-day session featuring events on Friday and Saturday including receptions, lunches, general workshop shots, and a vendor/exhibitor hall. Specifically the preschool program has requested that I be creative about my shots and use some depth of field and other photographic techniques so the imagery doesn't look like snapshots. I'm more than happy that I've been given a little more freedom to try some unconventional shots as well as shoot the necessary posed shots the organization needs as well. Thanks to my four years of consecutive coverage of the National Brotherhood of Skiers annual summits, the Council on Foundations event as well as numerous other smaller dinners and receptions I've shot locally, I have no doubt I can give the preschool program what they want in just about any lighting situation I might encounter.

It's purely coincidence, by the early childhood conference's featured speaker is Geoffrey Canada, CEO of Harlem Children’s Zone -- a guest speaker that I shot last year during the Council on Foundations annual conference held in Denver. Out of all the esteemed foundation guests (including Former Vice President Al Gore), I remember feeling more connected to Canada because a good education has been the basics for why I've been successful.

Here's one of my shots of Canada that appeared on the Council on Foundations 2010 event wrap-up page:



I'm beginning to think that I should try to specialize in special event coverage since they have been the bulk of my assignments recently. I would never give up shooting portraits because I love focusing on people, but maybe it's time I start to consider a specialization. I'll chew on this and get back with you later! :)

Get the Job Done: My 5280 Ad Campaign for Ignite Matchmatching Services

My first ad campaign photography will be appearing in 5280 Magazine in May!

Last month I shot photos of several of Ignite Matchmaking Service's real clients so they could appear in the company's new advertisements. I worked along side Ignite's executive director Sheryl Williams and ad director Chris Faria of Ad Genie Creative.

Chris took this photo I shot of Mary:


and used it to create this great ad:


Chris specifically said he wanted it to look like the sun was shining down on Mary' right side, hence I would need some strong specular highlights to simulate sun rays. So I used two Alien Bees, one for the main light and one for the "sunlight," only that one was set several stops higher than the main light. Chris had a great idea in mind, and I simply had to follow his direction to achieve the shot he wanted for the ad, and I think it worked out well.

More advertisements will appear in 5280 issues throughout the year!