Bridal Shoot at Luxury Home

We did a fun bridal shoot recently at a luxury home in the Superstition Mountains private community.  Not only did the house itself make for a spectacular environment, but the sunset at the end was the icing on the cake.  The living room in particular had such incredible light coming in, it was impossible to take a bad shot (the gorgeous bride didn't hurt, either).  Here are several shots from the day, and a behind the scenes video at the end.

Light Painting

Light painting is a very cool photography technique that can produce truly astounding images.  There are so many tools and methods of applying these tools that the creative artist is presented with a vast array of different effects and moods.

The basic tool is a flashlight.  We used mag lights.   Then, turn your camera on bulb (i.e. leave the shutter open), set it to ISO 400 or so, f/8, and start painting.  Take your flashlight and literally paint in the portions of the image you want exposed in the final portrait.  You'll need to use a tripod and a shutter release, and it takes some practice, but if you get good at it you can really make some fantastically interesting portraits.

Here are a few from a recent shoot in which we used light painting exclusively throughout the entire shoot.









Hint: want softer light?  Put a piece of toilet paper on the end of your mag light...really!

Pitching for the Major Leagues

That's what Ben does for a living - he's a pitcher for the Texas Rangers.  We photographed him and his fiance a few weeks ago at a local golf resort.  Awesome people, both of them.  Down to earth and really easy to work with.  Here are a few photos, including behind the scenes, and a link to a video interview with Ben at the bottom (this is from a few years ago, when he was with the Giants).

And here's the link I promised

Also, be sure to enter our competition for DM Photo's FREE premium portrait package, including a custom frame and large print through our Pro Lab!

Behind the Scenes Martial Arts Shoot

We shot a slew of awesome kids at the East West Mixed Martial Arts school in Mesa yesterday. I was impressed not only with how well the instructors related to the kids, but with how much they stressed the importance of respecting and helping one another as they learned. If any of you parents out there are looking for a positive environment for your kids, you might want to give East West MMA a call. Greg Silva is the owner and the head instructor's name is Kelly; tell them DM Photo sent you!

We've recently been discussing how it might be interesting for folks to get a behind the scenes look at some of our shoots, just to understand how we work with lights and such. So, we snapped a few shots of our lighting setup and the overall layout. Enjoy:

...and a few of the final edits...