Behind the Image - Fashion Victim

I thought I would share with you the story behind some of my award-winning photos. I first imagined this image back in the year 2000, when I was working with a photographer doing fashion shoots in San Francisco. I wanted to create an image that said something about the dangers of body image pressures on young women.

I finally shot the image in 2008 with Kate, our lovely babysitter who gallantly agreed to lie on our kitchen floor while I took photo after photo and asked her to place her limbs in some pretty uncomfortable positions!

This is the original capture. It took many many hours of Photoshopping to create the final tortured fashion victim that I had pre-visualised.

I added back in the make-up brushes that had been in an earlier shot and added a cool tone.

Then I changed the colour of the hairdryer and thinned my model, who, I am happy to say, was a healthy slim build rather than the emaciated girl I needed.

Finally, I decided to throw her head back further, and intensify the blue.

I see Photoshop as a powerful creative tool to help me communicate my message effectively. This image won silver at the NZIPP Iris Awards 2008, silver with distinction at the Australian APPA awards 2009, and was published in Her Magazine, Prodesign and the North Shore Times.

PS The nail polish did leave a nasty stain on the aged linoleum - but it was worth it.

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Quirky Characters

Sunday's Photo Frenzy was a blast - lots of kids and grown-ups were willing to embrace their inner quirkiness, which made for a lot of fun!

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A blissful afternoon

I had so much fun photographing gorgeous sisters Cata (10), Sofi (8) and Vicky (1) and their family on Tuesday. The girls have come with their parents from Buenos Aires to visit their Auntie in Auckland. A perfect moment to capture with a beach portrait session!

We had a chilled out, fun afternoon enjoying the sunshine and the beach. The older girls showed off their hopscotch skills while little Vicki played peek-a-boo over her Dad's shoulder.

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Erica and Russell's romantic wedding

Megan and I had a wonderful day on Saturday photographing Erica and Russell's romantic wedding at Lover's Cove, North Head.

Erica's adorable little sister Jessica made a very cute flowergirl, and Erica looked stunning in her full-length gown.

On the walk down to the beach the bride and her party were accompanied by a paraglider.

Thanks Erica and Russell for inviting us to capture the special moments of your wonderful day!

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Photography Tip - Slow Synch

I want to share with you a really cool photographic technique using flash. It's one of my absolute favourites. It can be used for any kind of flash, whether it's a camera-mounted speedlight or a studio flash.

The technique is called slow synch or dragging the shutter. You may know that your camera has a maximum shutter speed that you can use when firing a flash. This is the 'synch speed' and is commonly between 1/125 and 1/250 of a second. You cannot use a faster shutter speed than this (unless you use a special feature called 'high speed synch' - we won't go into that here).

You can, however, go slower!

There are two really great reasons for using a slower shutter speed with flash. The first is that you can combine a frozen image with blurred movement. You can get a nice sharp portrait of a person, created by the pulse of light from the flash, and show motion blur as well. Perfect for the greedy photographer - it's like having your cake and eating it too!

Try it with the camera mounted on a tripod for a sharp background or handhold the camera to blur the background.

The second reason to drag the shutter is to balance ambient and flash. Basically, by using a longer shutter speed, you give the light in the environment (which is probably less intense than your flash) time to register on your sensor. This means that you can take a photo on top of One Tree Hill at night with your friend lit by the flash, and show the beautiful city lights behind as well.

If you would like to find out more about ImageMe photography workshops, please contact me on lisa@imageme.co.nz

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Frenzy on Sunday!

After the success of our first Photo Frenzy, we can't wait for the next one this Sunday 17 January. It will be held at the studio, from 10am until 1pm.

This month's theme is Quirky Characters. Megan and I will photograph you in a way that looks a little... strange! Through the distortion created by perspective and the lens, heads get huge and feet become tiny! Check out this 'family portrait' of me with my husband John and our children, Jasmine and Zachary.

The Photo Frenzy is free and open to everyone, and we would love you to come. Feel free to bring your friends and family, and a silly hat or a fun costume, if you wish.

Gold coin donations will be accepted for The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ - helping to restore sight in the Pacific region.

For more information visit the Photo Frenzy website.

See you at the Frenzy!

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"The basic attribute of mankind"

Happy New Year everyone! May 2010 bring peace and happiness to us all.

I thought that the following quote from Fred Hollows, the founder of The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ, would make a nice start to the year:

"I believe that the basic attribute of mankind is to look after each other."

Let's all do our best to look after each other in 2010.

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Not as warm as Brissy

I had fun photographing the glamorous Stretton Family a few days before Christmas.

Even cute little doggie Holly seemed to smile for the camera!

Most of the family live in Brisbane and they found the weather freezing - I have to admit, it was an unseasonably chilly afternoon! Luckily it warmed up in time for Christmas Day.

ImageMe - Auckland portrait photography