Getting Your Client To Relax And Be Themselves.

When I start a session I like to just start slow.  I need time to feel out the client and see what their personality is like.  
Are they outgoing?  Are they shy?  Are they spontaneous or more reserved?  It helps me to know how to bring out the best photos that I can if I know how to get them to respond to the camera. 

A couple of weekends ago I did a session for a beautiful girl named Maggie Bray.  When I met her, she very sweet and lovely.  She had an elegant look about her, which told me right from the start that she cared about how her photos came out. 

Her mom and grandmother came along for the day and we started shooting photos at a fountain, which was in front of a large hotel on Lake Lanier. 

As the photos progressed, I wasn't getting what I wanted.  It just seemed staged.  To perfect, to planned.  I hate perfect, and I really hate planned. 

The best pictures I have ever taken are always when the client is most comfortable.  

Now, I will privy the following statement by saying that I know Maggie and her mother have a great relationship, but non the less I needed her mom and grandmother to disappear.  I kindly asked them to stay in the shade, out of view and let me take Maggie out by herself. 

It was night and day.  There is something about a teenager that can't help but wonder what mom and grand mom are thinking and I knew it.  She may not have realized it but the moment that they were not around it was a totally different shoot and a completely relaxed girl.  She instantly changed her demeanor and the way she carried herself.  The photos just came out better and the shoot was a great success.  

Check them out. 

Alex Aleman
"capturing life perfectly"

Phone: 678-697-2049
www.alexaleman.com
www.facebook.com/alexalemanphotography
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US Open Decor Photo Shoot

The US Open Chalet Decor Photo Shoot. 

A few months ago the Director of Sports and Entertainment from Barton G, contacted me.  If you have even been to any of the golfing tournaments, you have seen the decor that this company puts together and it’s nothing short of amazing.  

This was the second time that the director had reached out to me, concerning photographs of decor in the tournament chalets.  I had taken photos for them at the PGA in Atlanta last year and this second conversation confirmed for me that they really like the photographs that they had received.  

The director ask if I would be interested in flying to San Francisco, California to shoot the decor for the US Open.  Are kidding me.... of course I was interested.

On June 9th I flew out of Atlanta and after a short layover, I landed in San Francisco.  I met him at the Olympic Golf Club and we got to work.  He took me around and showed me the layout of the course and where all the chalets were located.  I have to admit that I was a little stunned at the amount of tents that were on site.  There were over 40 different chalets that would have to be photographed the following day and I needed to be sure that I know where they were all located as they were spread out all over the course.  

I went to the hotel that evening and got some rest and prepared myself for what would truly be a difficult shoot the next day.  

On Sunday I met with one of the sales reps from Barton G who took me to all the different tents to point out certain things that she wanted to be sure I photographed.  We spent about 2 hour together and I took notes at every tent.  I started shooting around 11 am and the real task began.  
I went tent-by-tent, dragging a 6 foot ladder, my D300s with a 12-24 mm lens, my flash and a monopod.  Need I tell you that when the day was over my back was KILLING me?  But non-the less I photographed every single tent they had on site. 

The point of these photos was not to try to be artistic, yet to capture the tent in such a way as to be able to compare them with the artistic rendering that was presented to the client who purchased the tent decor.  They want to be able to show their customers the end product as it compares to the rendering. 

With that in mind, I began taking photos dead center from the door, and then from corners, singling out "high boy's" and custom made furniture.  The bars in these chalets were beautiful and photos were taken of those as well.  There were large, backlit pictures on the walls, and some of the most amazing woodworking that I have ever seen.   I got it all!

There were some tents that stood out from others and I took photos in such a manner as to present the director with panoramic images of those tents.  They loved them.  

I finished up with the shoot around 7:30 pm and went back to the hotel to relax in the Jacuzzi and eat dinner.  I was beat.  

Below are some images from the shoot.  Enjoy a look inside chalets from the 2012 US Open.  It was a great shoot and experience.


Alex Aleman
"capturing life perfectly"

Phone: 678-697-2049
www.alexaleman.com
www.facebook.com/alexalemanphotography
http://pinterest.com/alexaleman/
http://alexalemanphotography.blogspot.com/

US Open.  All photos copyright by Alex Aleman Photography