Hi, Guys! 

This time of year is SO busy! Summer coming to an end, and preparing for football season. Add being a photographer on top of that, and we are approaching the craziest time of year at light speed! Most of my weekends are taken by family or wedding shoots, or travel plans (I turn 30 this year, best friend from childhood is getting married, and visiting family and friends in NM and AZ! WHEW!) So, it was pretty cool when Matt reached out to me and wanted to talk about doing some head shots. I was a little nervous how we would find time, but a hot and humid Wednesday morning worked so well for both of us!

Matt and I met in 2003, just before I graduated High School. A forever friendship started immediately. The typical strong friendship comment -- we've been through a lot together and it's been awesome. His newest adventure that he has decided to conquer is acting. Let me tell you... he's definitely a natural. Chris and I were able to see a play he was most recently in... he was perfect at that role where you find yourself rooting for the bad guy? Kind of like Dexter... just with a British accent, a bad hair piece, a larger costume and character was not as attractive (sorry, Matt! haha).

This was a first for both of us. I have never done posed solo shots of anyone, let alone a guy who just decided to make this a career path. No pressure. On his end, he had never had anyone take shots that were meant to make him look he knew what he was doing. Goofing off, sure! Rocking out in a band on stage, absolutely! One on one, no audience and no laughter as a direct result of a pose... this was weird. Thankful we have been friends for so long, this was a learning experience for the both of us... and an extreme confidence booster. 

We wanted to try shots with some aviators, which we agreed ahead of time we would use on the office I work for. Our social media #FunFrameFriday posts. So, we borrowed the frame from the office and crossed our fingers! Those tattoos go nicely, don't you think?

The very first shot we took, I was just testing light and he was just thinking of what he wanted to do... we got this:

Seriously. This was retouched in the slightest... We looked at it and both of us responded "Hm! This is actually pretty decent!"

We thought, it was just a fluke. Cloud was passing over at the right moment and there's no way I grabbed that right off the bat, and he just posed at the right time. Let's try again. Why don't you move over here...

Not bad, but a little dark and that dang writing on the boards! Come on Dewight and Paige! hahaha (Remember, I am not a pro at digitally editing just yet, I studied film, I can paint with light, but completely altering an image... I'm still working on that!) 
How about we move over this way!

JEESH! I think we are doing pretty dang good here sir, we should have a few options to choose from after this! He just knew exactly how he wanted to pose, and made it extremely easy for me to just focus on composition. Did I mention, he's a natural?!

I wanted to grab some full body shots with a little depth of field, and you know how I love my black and white!

OH MAN. LOVE this shot. The contrast, the lines, the light. The depth of field wasn't as dramatic as I had originally planned but I fell in love with this photo before I turned it black and white, and even more once that process was completed!

After about an hour, we were getting so excited about the results we were getting, but the humidity kept rising! It was ridiculously hot. We grabbed a few more -

Let's try a few with that leather jacket of yours... who knows how this will go! IT'S SO HOT! LET'S HURRY!

Let's take a break, so you don't pass out of heat exhaustion! Hahaha

Not too shabby for a bunch of first timers, eh? The best part of this almost hour and a half shoot was that the editing was so minimal. We did this on a Wednesday morning and I had them to him by that night. My weekend was free for other clients, and contract signing/editing. 

Finally, the photo we ended up agreeing on for the post for the office - the girls I work with had a hand in choosing as well - displayed the frame so nicely, and you can see that little pop of leather that Bottega Veneta so nicely placed on the frame. 

It's so wonderful to have friends that support me with this crazy dream of mine, and it's awesome that I can use it to help them further their dreams as well. I look forward to more shoots like this, and know Matt will go far. Next on the list - a shoot without the sunglasses :D