Bellydancing at our Studio Portraits workshop

As part of our recent Studio Portraits workshop, we had the pleasure of photographing the gorgeous Tais, who is a performer and teacher of Bellydance.

Winners of the Simply Colors Competition!

We have just drawn the lucky winners of our Simply Colors Clothing competition.

Helen Kilding of Takapuna has won a personalised short sleeved bodysuit, and Veronica McLaughlin of Titirangi has won a personalised long sleeved t-shirt.

Congratulations!

If you didn't win, there is still time to order for Christmas, and receive our exclusive 20% discount, by clicking this link.

Photography Tip: Lens Length and Portraits

Your choice of lens length (wide angle, normal or telephoto) has a big effect on the way a person's face looks when you photograph them.

Take a look at these two images of my son Zachary. The only significant difference between them is lens length, coupled with the distance between the subject and the camera.

The first photo was taken with a 70mm lens (on a camera with a full frame sensor). This is quite a standard lens length choice for a portrait.

For the second photo, I came much closer to Zac and photographed him with the lens at 38mm. This is unusually short for a portrait, and the result is quirky. When you stand this close to a person, their nose and chin loom towards you, their eyes look big, and their ears and shoulders look small. Overall, their face looks slimmer.

It's not actually a distortion caused by the lens - you can see this effect with your very own eyes if you look carefully. Perspective is emphasised when you stand close to your subject.

I believe that every person has their own 'ideal viewing distance'. A person with a slim or long face will benefit from being photographed with a long lens from a distance (try 120mm or even longer). The flattening effect will suit them well.

A person with a round face will look more attractive when photographed from closer range, with a shorter lens (try 50mm).

A short lens length is also great when you want your portrait to have a slightly ridiculous feel to it. That's how comedians get those fun, quirky portraits of themselves!

Competition and Special Offer from Simply Colors

Simply Colors is a baby and kids clothes brand that originated in Europe in 2005. The New Zealand online shop opened in 2006, and is run by North Shore local Cathey Broughton. Simply Colors offers a range of stunning super-soft clothes in vibrant colours, which can be personalised with text and images.

Simply Colors has generously given us the following gorgeous prizes:

Prize #1 A voucher for a personalised short sleeved bodysuit - any size or colour

Prize #2 A voucher for a personalised long sleeved t-shirt - any size or colour
To enter, email lisa@imageme.co.nz with 'Simply Colors Competition' in the subject line, and the following information in the body of the email: your name, address, phone, email, and an answer to this question: on the Simply Colors home page, what is written on the pink messenger bag? Visit http://www.simplycolors.co.nz/ to answer this question.

Your entry must reach my inbox by 5pm on Tuesday 14 December.

Plus, I have negotiated with Simply Colors an exclusive 20% discount for all clients and friends of ImageMe. To take advantage of this special discount, visit:

www.simplycolors.co.nz/imageme

and enter 'photography' as the code.

There is still time to order for Christmas, the cut-off date for Christmas orders is Sunday 19 December.

Enjoy! :-)

Master of Photography attained

In September I attained my Master of Photography with the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography.

It really is fantastic to have the quality of my work recognised in this way by my peers.

And the winner is....

We had a lovely time meeting people at the Takapuna Christmas Carnival yesterday. We got lots of entries for our competition, and the lucky winner is...

Karen Edmonds of Totara Vale, North Shore.

Congratulations Karen!

Karen has won a portrait session and an A2 canvas print, total value $1150.