A Family Lifestyle session with Michelle & Amir categories: portraits

Michelle and I stood in the her beautiful living room and chatted while Amir was upstairs getting ready. Michelle mentioned being Filipino, which immediately lead to a long conversation about our shared past. While we chatted, I slowly flipped through their wedding album. It would be an understatement to say Michelle, Amir and I share similarities. We are the same age and we all live in the same small corner of Cleveland. We share an appreciation for good food, travel and new experiences. We are even dog lovers. Eventually everyone was ready and we started the family session.

Due winter stretching late into the spring, we decided to simply capture their family session at their home in Lakewood. After all, it’s a gorgeous place filled with light and color. No need to go outside into the cold, especially with their new son Michael. Instead, we kept to the warmth of their home, which I honestly preferred. Staying inside allowed us to captured portraits in a relaxed, comfortable and warm environment. No need to rush due to the cold winter outside.

My favorite part of the entire family session had to be Michael. Being only 8 months old, you would expect a restless boy. The exact opposite was true. He was calm and relaxed the entire time. He wasn’t spooked by the odd events. If anything, he was a ham. I think you can see how relaxed he was in the photos below. Each photo turned out so loving and warm and I’m excited to share just a few highlights below.

Family lifestyle photography session with the Teleron-Khorshad family Family lifestyle photography session with the Teleron-Khorshad family Family lifestyle photography session with the Teleron-Khorshad family Family lifestyle photography session with the Teleron-Khorshad family Family lifestyle photography session with the Teleron-Khorshad family Family lifestyle photography session with the Teleron-Khorshad family Family lifestyle photography session with the Teleron-Khorshad family Family lifestyle photography session with the Teleron-Khorshad family Family lifestyle photography session with the Teleron-Khorshad family Family lifestyle photography session with the Teleron-Khorshad family Family lifestyle photography session with the Teleron-Khorshad family Family lifestyle photography session with the Teleron-Khorshad family Family lifestyle photography session with the Teleron-Khorshad family

It was really hard to choose some favorites. Between Amir’s loving embrace of Michael and Michelle’s radiant smile, it was tough to narrow down the photos. One of my favorites is Michael’s faux-hawk seen just above. I’m still blown away by how well the film turned out. Like just about every session I shoot, this one was captured on film as well. I love how the colors and light came out so…ethereal. And for Michelle and Amir – thank you so much for having me into your home. It’s a treasure I won’t soon forget.

A Styled Maternity Session Captured on Film categories: portraits

Back today with more from January. It almost seems like I will never get caught up on my blogging, but I am nearing the finish line. As you may recall from early posts, I visited California in January for a very special photography workshop. I joined in with ten other photographers as part of Caroline Tran’s Propel Workshop series. All of us lived, ate and shot together for three straight days. Part of the shooting included the gorgeous styled maternity session you see below.

Kym, the mom-to-be, is also an amazing photographer. She was kind enough to donate her time for us, and she was a dream to work with. I love that you can see her tattoos below, which really help to make the photos personal. Also, huge thanks to WilmaRose from Lovely Jubilee for the perfect styling and Ngoc from Skybox Events for helping to organize then entire week. Simply put, their help was priceless.

Like all of the photos I shot in California, these too were captured on film. Film and California light are like eggs and bacon – they just go together perfectly. So, here are a few highlights to enjoy -

Styled maternity photography session in CaliforniaStyled maternity photography session in CaliforniaStyled maternity photography session in CaliforniaStyled maternity photography session in CaliforniaStyled maternity photography session in CaliforniaStyled maternity photography session in California

I was also fortunate enough to get some of these photos published. The series, including work from other workshop attendees, was recently featured by On To Baby! Happy camper = me.

Elise – Real Film vs. VSCO Film categories: for photographers

[UPDATE -  I have published a detailed video review of VSCO here]

As many of you may know from my prior post, I happen to shoot both film and digital. I have also been playing around with VSCO Film lately, a new preset package designed to make digital photos mirror their film counterpart. I’m definitely not a fan of preset packages because the results can often times look unnatural. However, the idea behind VSCO Film seemed to be entirely different.

So different in fact that directly comparing film to a digital photo processed with VSCO Film makes sense. So below are two photos shot in my Cleveland studio within minutes of each other. One is definitely film and one is definitely digital (no tricks, I promise). The setup and lighting is nearly identical for both, although I did move a reflector further away for the one on the left.

So a simple question – which one is film?

Elise's senior high school portraits captured by Hunter Photographic, a Cleveland portrait photographer

Feel free to sound off in the comments. I’m really curious to see how the guesses shake out. I’ll clear up which one is which after Thanksgiving. I will also be adding another post with some VSCO Film recipes that I have been experimenting with. For now, have a great Thanksgiving!

Update – the film image is number 2 (on the right). It seems that was what most people guessed. I am continuing to experiment with VSCO Film and it really is producing some great results. I will have more to share soon.

P.S. – In case someone is curious, the film photo is Kodak Tmax 400 shot at 200 and processed in Rodinal 1+50 for 10 minutes. I love this combination!