Or Not So Much

I haven't been here in a long time... After I finished up retouching all the high res photos for my portfolios and sent them off to Niche with LV, I started doing graphic design out the wazoo. There was a lot more freelance design to be done than freelance photography. I had one more assignment for LG Mobile (well, two more days of shooting around the Feburary fashion week), and then pretty much took a break from everything because I was pregnant and no one had any money left to spend on freelance budgets. Really, I didn't go back to work until the very end of pregnancy—right before the end of the fiscal year (when there was leftover money for freelancers again). In between, I started painting, did some illustrations, waited to be paid for those illustrations, and wondered how I had become such a couch potato. I'll fill in the gaps. But that's where I've been. Now I'm accountable. ;0)

Playing with Light

I was thinking about watching that episode of Chuck I had on DVR when I realized that I should probably continue to get my money's worth out of the rentals. I had wanted to see what the difference was between the reflectors and the diffusers included with the umbrellas, but decided instead to use my softbox and ring light. Why catalog lighting I don't own? The white board (and positioning of the slippers) is my catalog for future reference...

One Big Bag

I wanted a bigger backpack to take to Boston so that I could fit everything and carry fewer bags. When trying to decide if I should get this back, I tried it on and the salesman suggested I'd be better off getting an assistant. I couldn't really see how big the bag was or that it might way more than a third grader. It's hard to say which would have been more difficult to carry around for 12 hours...

Props and Sets

I can't post the pictures I took earlier in the day, but this the family enjoying the new studio prop.

A Lot of Shoting...

...means a lot of iced coffee and bruises.

The best part of shooting so much in one week? Always having iced coffee ready in the fridge. The worst part of shooting so much in one week? Carrying so much equipment every day. I have bruises all down my every limb and big crazy bruise on my hip from lugging a 30-pound strobe kit.

Super Cute, Super Fast

More art direction from LV...

This is me and the designer, Alison from Project Runway Season 3, hustling to get through 14 looks. Without her knowing exactly what she likes and having two great models from Race Management, I'm not sure how long this shoot might have taken. Our call time was 10 a.m. and just about everyone got lost. So we started around 11 a.m. and still finished by 4:30 p.m.

Then, completely unprecedented, people stayed to hang out after the shoot.

It was a good shoot.

Sweet

I've nearly paid for the macro lens with all the work I've spent illustrating for these pet food labels. LV comped up cans with the final versions of every design, and then I shot them for the presentation. (A good time to have that macro lens on hand...) LV took this picture of me (under the umbrella) struggling to figure out how to light shiny cans. I'd like to think it didn't take me *that* long to pull out an old milk jug and turn it into a reflective tent. Not quite the pretty blown out white backgrounds I had with my models.

Road Trip: Part 2

You could say this is how we felt about the Christening:

But that wouldn't be right... This time the process seemed more formal than the previous Christening we'd been to at that church. Although, this time we also thought the cleric was going to die from a heat stroke.

The proud parents with LV's goddaughter. (read: reason to drive halfway across the country for a Christening) Me and my goddaughter... because it's nice to have your photo taken after you drive halfway across the country in one night and get three hours of sleep.

We lucked into being in town to celebrate my grandmother's birthday as well as the Christening. My grandmother's birthday was on Friday and I hadn't sent a bouquet of flowers like usual, so I thought we would at least drop by to say hello. Well, lucky us, my dad's family was there to cut a cake with her. So, I got to see my own godmother that day, too. She joked about how I was able to take the cake photo upside and backwards with no problem. I just call it being too lazy to walk around the table to get a proper angle.

Road Trip: Part 1

The cheapest way for two people to get from New York to Chicago, I decided, was to drive. Supposing that LV had to be in an office on Friday, we would have to drive overnight and hope to get there in time for the Christening at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

Traffic sucks, to say the least, when you are traveling at 16 mph or less in a 60 mph zone.

In picture on the left, you can see the entire construction zone. That concrete slab on the right slowed traffic to a standstill for miles and miles... (I slowed it down some more to stop and get the picture.) At least the delay gave us plenty time to take pictures of LV's reflection.

Swimwear

These are three of the looks from the swimwear shoot. I had wanted to set up a beauty shoot, but the model I was able to get comes from an agency that prefers to send models to fashion test shoots. So I brought in a wardrobe stylist to make it a fashion shoot.

But I still spent plenty of time getting my beauty shots.

This is the picture LV took of me taking the previous picture.

Our dining room gets really great light. I hate to waste it, so I shot a few without the flash. This look is courtesy of LV saying I needed one with her hair pulled back and my last-minute bikini purchase.

The swimsuits didn't immediately get packed up. I left them out for my shoot the following day. This meant lots of yelling at the cats to stay away from all the dangling strings.

Fixed Position

I basically had the chance to hone my blown-out white background skills immediately. The beauty was only with two models, but we stuck with the happy bright white background to make it more commercial.

March Madness

Why just color hard boiled eggs when you can really say something...?

Scrappy storms through coloring her eggs. Basketball games and intricate designs do not distract her.

How LV keeps an eye on his standings...

How Cupid keeps an eye on what we're doing...

How Titi Julie's egg looked after Scrappy dropped it on the floor and then ate it...

How we discovered I can sing "More than Words"...

Post Surgery

Here is a picture of Streaky not licking his incisions. He tended to do that a lot after surgery on Friday.

So much licking in fact that I had to take him to the emergency clinic Saturday night. When I cam home and wanted a picture, he wouldn't pose. I posed for him. LV said it was mean, but I feel the opposite. If I have to wrap the cats in towels and get them to swallow antibiotics twice a day, then I can take all the funny pictures I want. I'm sure that's flawed logic and totally lacking in compassion, but all my compassion went into getting two cats to swallow two teaspoons of medicine twice a day.

I only fed Streaky like this twice. Then I realized he wasn't going to stop in the middle of eating to lick his wounds. (Photo by LV)

And now for a photo of me taking a photo

This is a picture LV took of me and Shannon on Wednesday. I'm the one with the camera...

Pictures from this shoot to follow soon. A little too much freelancing and unfulfilled invoices to follow up on. Blech.

Attempt at Fashion

So, this model from Colorado, one of the many many models on Model Mayhem who was coming to New York for a winter recess, wanted me to shoot with her between Jan 5 and Jan 9. I set aside the 7th, she said great, let's shoot my friend, too, and then I never heard from her again.

After telling wardrobe, hair and makeup that the shoot was off, I decided I would use myself for a shoot. It was embarrassingly lame. But here is the last frame--me, defeated on the floor. (Ten-second timer.) I should have paid attention to where I set those lights. It's the closest I've had to a blown out white background.

Reflection of Me

The point was to get a picture of all the flour on Scrappy's face, but I noticed in editing that I actually finally got a reflection of myself in my muse's eye like Gilles. Not as nice, but I don't think he was using an Elph that's hit the floor a few times...

Porous

Just in case I ever forget how uneven and hairy the surface of my face really is, or for that day down the road when I yearn for less wrinkly skin, I used myself for a beauty test shoot today.

Halloween

I had these grand plans to go around Manhattan, getting pictures of people in costume. Then go assist the French photographer I found on craigslist. Then go to work at Tavern on the Green. So far today I've taken pictures from the couch and blogged. Lots and lots of catching up happiestpuppies and starting this blog. Not really what I had hoped to accomplish. Though, I was up until 2 a.m. with headshots...

The New Camera

So, I was heading off to the Tavern on the Green that morning, bracing myself for a retarded construction-filled commute, when I remembered that I didn't have my Metro card. Hurrying back to the apartment, I saw a mailman ringing the downstairs neighbor's door. He had a big box. I was late. But he had a big box.

"Can I help you?" I ask the mailman.

Why, yes, I can because he's holding a big box for me. My e-Bay seller and the USPS had rushed the 1DS I'd just paid for on Thursday. As I run up the stairs to drop off the camera and get my Metro card, I contemplate taking the box with me so I can play with it on the train.

I left it behind to open that night. This is one of the first pictures I took while testing out the functions. While switching the camera straps (the new one wasn't as good as the one on my Rebel), the Rebel fell all of 6 inches and battery door broke on it. The Rebel now sports a fancy rubber band to hold the battery in place. Hot.