TrevorCarpenter.com

Today was my very first official portrait session. I shot an interior designer and her team for about an hour and a half. (The interior designer is my mom. Shhhh!)

We had selected an old church in the old town part of Camarillo. The church’s building is loaded with great large doors and a beautiful courtyard. I knew we’d have many opportunities for a variety of scenes to shoot.

I had 3 people to shoot in a group photo, then each one needed a headshot. Of course, I did the group shot in several places, so that I’d have many to pick from for final selection.

For my gear, I used my Nikon D40 and my favorite lens, the Sigma 30mm f/1.4. This set up rocks for portraits, and gave me great clarity in my final images. I did make a small error in my depth of field selection, making some of the group shots not clear for everyone’s face.

I rented a couple of Nikon SB-800’s, Pocket Wizards, and stands. I already had a couple umbrellas for diffusion. This set up was perfect. I could have used one more light, for one shot, but I’m not dwelling on it.

Over all, I’m very proud of the final work, and I’m excited for future opportunities to shoot portraits like this.

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So, back in December my pal Brian Auer, of Epic Edits, tossed out a sweet project for photo-bloggers to shoot themselves. That is, take a self portrait. The results are below, pretty cool, don’t you think?

It’s pretty cool to see all the great work done, below. Take some time and check out some really awesome photographers. You know, what’s unique about this project is that so many photo-bloggers tend to hide behind their camera. This project got us out in front, sorta. Here’s Brian’s recap post. Here’s the original post.

BLOGGERS

PHOTO-SHARERS

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Make sure you’re subscribed to this blog and the new PhotoChallenge.org!

So friends, we’ve come to the end of the December Challenge. How did we do? For those who joined me, how many did you shoot? For those who followed, which were your favorites?

The December Challenge was a project to expand our own portraiture. Our goal was to shoot a portrait a day, all month long. For those who made serious attempts to shoot daily, I can say that we all grew and improved throughout the month.

I know for myself, I can see my own improvements as I look back at portraits I took before the Challenge. When I began to consider how I’d want to wrap up this great challenge, I had a few ideas, but I wasn’t sure which to tackle. I consulted with a blogging friend for some advice and he had several great ideas. I decided to compile a list of each participant, and choose my favorite of their portraits. So, below you’ll find a very long list.

For the few who choose the more conservative privacy settings, I’ve linked below to their contributions, without including the photograph.

• PatriciaPix
• Russ G
• BrianLarter
• hitkaiser
• Phill Price

So, thank you to all who joined me for this great challenge. Not only did it take me to a new level of portraiture, but I discovered that many photographers just need a reason to commit to disciplined photography. I’m proud to have participated with you all. Make sure you check out my new 2008 Challenge, and all future photography challenges at my new blog, PhotoChallenge.

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Andy

My step-father-in-law. Andy is my wife’s step-dad. He’s a great guy who is a middle school teacher. Over the years we’ve done some great stuff together. He’s taken me to his local shooting club. Much fun there. Years ago he taught me how to fly fish. That was great! I love fly fishing with him.

The photo was taken with the flash bouncing off the far right wall. I asked Andy to just lay there and watch the TV, as he was already doing. On New Years Eve, there’s not more to do than that.

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Uncle Harold

This was taken back at the family Christmas party. I bounced the oncamera flash off the wall to the left. I like that his face isn’t lit too well. Dramatic.

Extended family Christmas celebration. This is just one of several from a fun party. The grandkids and greatgrandkids look forward to this every year.

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Thomas Hawk

Photowalking with Thomas and many others on the day after Christmas, I captured this one. This is a good representation of Thomas.

Ambient light, with no other considerations. The photo was quite dark, and once opened I immediately saw this as a high contrast B&W.

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Wyatt, the nephew.

Taken at another great family Christmas celebration. Our extended family knows how to celebrate a holiday. Here, Wyatt is demonstrating his need for sleep. It’s a look only a parent can interpret.

I took this with all available light. No flash/strobe or reflector. You can tell, since his eyes aren’t popping too well. No problem though, I’m pleased with this one.

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Megan

My sister. Ain’t she crazy! I love her.

I took this at one of may Christmas celebrations this season. I turned my flash around and bounced off the wall(s) behind, for a decent diffusion.

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Derek Rogers

Today’s portrait was taken after church. When the worship service finishes we migrate to a nice covered patio area. Because we have several services, this allows us to interact and visit without holding up the progress of the next worship service.

I’ve known Derek for about 7 years. We worked together at Pacific Camps years ago. He’s a great guy, who loves his family, all children, and God, very much. Derek’s passion for the things of God is evident by observing him for just a short time.

This photo was taken under an overhang at almost noon. I tried for an edgy, direct light shot, but I couldn’t get good settings in short time. So we moved to the shade. It proved to be a good decision. I like the soft light in the shade. I also desaturated this a bit.

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Genaro

After work, especially when we’re on night shift, Genaro likes to hit the beach for some surf fishing. We work together. On many mornings, I’ll see him climbing down the embankment across from La Conchita.

This image was a bit difficult to get good lighting. With the sunrise behind me, I was able to get all the available light to light his face.

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Carlos

Another coworker, Carlos is in my carpool. This guy was a career sailor in the US Navy!

I took advantage of the sunlight, setting over my right shoulder. And the building behind Carlos has a light shining down behind him. That provided a nice backlight.

Let’s go, let’s go!

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Justin Bell

Justin is the Worship Pastor at my church. He’s a great guy with a very caring heart. His character is matched by his talent, he is a tremendous musician.

This photo proved to have too much light coming from above. I had my daughter hold a reflector below, adding some light to help balance it all out. This helped clear up any reflection in his glasses.

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