Commercial & Editorial
Last summer, my friend Annie of Enderle Photography and I had a really fun opportunity: we were asked to photograph the owners and employees of local North Pole garage Stray Kat Kustoms for a commercial project that is, as of this writing, still under wraps, so I can't say too much about it. But it was a boatload of fun. It wasn't too much of a stretch to set them up like rockstars. I mean, how great would they look on an album cover?...
Working with other creatives is kind of like having your cake and eating it too, in the best sense of the expression. In other words, I had SO MUCH FUN working with Jen Gunderson of 590 Designs documenting her graphic design portfolio for her spiffy new website.
Do you have commercial photography needs? No matter how big or small the scale of your project, odds are I'd love to work on it with you. Give me a holler and let's find out!
Last winter, Alaska Parent Magazine held a cute kid contest. The prize: the cover of the winter 2016 issue! As luck would have it, the Cutest Kid in Alaska was deemed to be Isadora of Fairbanks, and Alaska Life Publishing asked me to photograph her.
And boy, is she a cutie!
You can grab copies of Alaska Parent at many spots in Fairbanks - you can find a list of locations here!
This past summer I had the pleasure of working with several local businesses, one of which was Charcoal Supply Co.. Let me tell you guys - I learned SO MUCH about barbecue while working with Dan. I had no idea barbecue was so intricate, so nuanced - its own art form. Dan pursues it with the passion and enjoyment you see on the most dedicated chefs, and I can only hope that a little of his prowess sunk in via osmosis. Because after photographing all these goods, I'm ready to hit the grill.
My middle-little, Norah, scored a spot in Kinderwoods Forest School this fall, and I'm so happy it's been her first preschool experience. The whole thing is just so neat I feel like pinching myself. Twice a week I drop her off and watch her and her small heard of 3 - 6 year-olds hike off into the wilderness (in the mildest sense of the word, haha!) for a few hours of adventuring, snacking, tea-drinking, and learning.
Kinderwoods is "designed to encourage creative play, problem solving skills, adventure, movement, and love of the natural world. The outdoors holds the potential to support these goals as well as promote healthy emotional, physical, social and cognitive development in a way that indoor environments cannot. Children thrive out of doors and their bodies and minds need to be there." {From the Kinderwoods website.}
And truly, the story of how it all began is just as fantastic. Beth, the founder (and current teacher), wanted to enroll her little one in a Forest School-type program. When she found there wasn't anything like it here in Fairbanks...she opened one herself. Needless to say, I'm pretty psyched that she's one of my daughter's first role models.
Beth was kind enough to let me tag along with the class one day near the end of the fall session to make a photo essay on the Day in the Life of a Forest School. It was so. much. fun. to watch my daughter be her own little adventuring person among all her classmates. All these tiny kids were absolutely dwarfed by this gigantic forest, and yet each and every one was eminently at home there - completely comfortable playing, eating, drinking (and even peeing!) there.
Simply adorable.
Your LinkedIn profile.
Your Facebook Business Page.
Friday Introductions on Instagram.
Your blog byline.
When your essay or blog post is featured on another platform and you're asked for a bio.
The back of your First Friday postcards.
When you're asked speak or present at a conference and need to submit a picture.
The 'About Me' page of your website.
....When your grandmother calls and says your holiday card was wonderful, the kids are so cute, but she'd also like to see what YOU look like these days.
These are all real-life, real-time examples of why you need a killer headshot in your pocket (and off your to-do list). Especially for women, especially for small business owners, we're all about putting the best foot forward - but it can be too easy to neglect putting the best FACE forward.
A selfie doesn't cut it. A snapshot from a vacation you took ten years ago doesn't cut it. And ANYTHING taken with a smartphone doesn't cut it. You need a professional image.
It's no fun to be in front of the camera, I know, but as I've written before, I feel strongly that it's important to take yourself and your business seriously and to emanate the confidence you bring to it - whether your field is artistic, leadership, scientific, or humanitarian.
And on the subject of confidence (and confidence in front of the camera, and self-esteem): this is one instance where faking it till you make it really works. You may be reticent to step in front of the lens, but do it anyway, and be confident that you're going to love how you look. The Perfect Headshot events have been designed from the ground up to make something kind of unappealing (am I the only one who has flashbacks to school picture day whenever someone says 'headshot'?) into something fun, relaxing, and even a little bit luxe. I love having a skilled makeup artist take over the prep work, and I love working with clients to achieve natural, poised, FLATTERING and authentic portraits.
I'm pretty pleased with the results of these headshots, which feature Brenda Riley, the executive director of the Fairbanks Children's Museum (and local hero!). What do you think?
Give me a shout if you want a heads up (...had to do it!) before the next round of headshots - I'd love to see you there!
Last month, I was asked to photograph Chef Ivan of The Crepery and Eastern Treats restaurants for a profile in Alaska HOME Magazine. You're definitely going to want to check it out (click here) - he shares his recipe for The Crepery's smoked salmon salad, which is dynamite when served in a crepe - or on a bed of greens, or - pro tip - inside a halved avocado. Trust me, people. Try it.
I also have to mention that the Crepery can and will make GLUTEN-FREE CREPES. Ivan said just give them a 15-minute heads up to make up the batter, and you'll be in gluten-free culinary bliss in short order.
In April, I was able to complete a project that was a long time coming: a day-long event of headshots. But not just any headshots. PERFECT headshots. In which the subject is polished, poised, put together, personable, and eminently professional.
See, when I say "perfect," I'm not tooting my own horn insofar as photography skills, I promise. I'm referring more to the considerations taken to ensure a spot-on outcome. This whole project actually came out of a wayside thought from a conversation I was having with a commercial photographer in Anchorage, as I was asking him for tips on how to break into the commercial and editorial markets. He said something along the lines of, "I don't have any great advice, but I can tell you Alaska businesses sure need it - all you have to do is look at the number of HORRIBLE Linked-In profile pictures to see how much."
This 1) really made me laugh, and 2) made me resolve to fix it. Because I knew exactly what he was talking about. We're all guilty of it, especially women, especially in the small-business world: shifting the focus, neglecting self-promotion, avoiding things that make us uncomfortable (not many people love facing the camera!). It's a harsh awakening when you realize that in doing so, you're often doing your business and/or professional reputation a disservice. It's a measure of confidence to take yourself, your business, and your professional persona seriously enough to represent your brand, and to do it well.
Truth be told, I wanted to make this special. I wanted clients to walk in confident that they would walk away with portraits that were natural, professional, and above-all-else flattering. I invited my attendees to come in ready to relax for an hour, asking them to consider it a tiny exercise in self-care: indulge in a bit of pampering while also crossing a mammoth of an item of your to-do list. Clients arrived clean-faced and enjoyed a beverage while a makeup artist worked her magic and helped touch-up hair; and then we settled in for a half-hour of portraits.
And I cannot tell you how happy I am with the results.
One of my subjects was Amy Komar, artiste extraordinaire (whom I've had the pleasure of photographing before), and she was kind enough to share with me how she used one of her headshots. Would it be bad form to moon over this postcard for her First Friday show? Because I love it.
The next round of Perfect Headshots is coming up on Saturday, October 1 with makeup artist Diana Voorhees. If you'd like more information or would like to book your spot, please give me a holler!
Amy has long been one of my favorite local artists (Amy Komar Art) - I love how original and fueled by passion her work is. In addition to her invaluable contribution to the Fairbanks art scene, she's a pretty rad woman and an amazing mama to boot.
This shoot was actually several years in the making - we first talked about it aaaages ago, before our now-two-year-olds were even a thing. :) It took us a while to actually make it happen, but perhaps it was fated - because I just love the blend of lifestyle family and editorial/commercial photography that we got from this shoot. We needed to stock her website, and they were also long overdue for family photos... two birds, one stone. As Amy noted, she does her work at home, surrounded by her family, and her husband and daughter are both participants in the process - from Lola's help selecting the perfect Katchemak Bay stones, to the frames Matt builds to house each of Amy's wall art pieces. It was important to her that we capture something that LOOKED like her actual process - her actual life, workspace, surroundings, and inspirations.
This is some of what we came up with. Love.
Serenity Grows is a remarkable business run by a remarkable woman, Maranda Bowers. Though based in the Palmer area, it sits poised to serve the entire state (and beyond) through pregnancy, postpartum, and women's retreats; an active blog; the published volume Birthing in Alaska and another volume in the works; and an online store full of herbal and self-care goodness. Large-scale, Serenity Grows exists to empower women in pregnancy, birth, and motherhood. There's so much more to say about the scope of her business, but instead of butchering it myself, I strongly encourage you to check out her blog or join her online communities on Facebook or Instagram for a dose of community and long-overdue reminders of affirmation and self-care.
Almost two years ago (!), I was invited to photograph her very first retreat, for pregnancy and birth workers, in Anchorage, and it was a really touching experience I was grateful to be a part of. Over the past few years, we've been fortunate enough to have Maranda bring several Serenity Grows retreats all the way up to Fairbanks, and I've been able to attend and photograph them as well. This post contains a sampling of images from all three retreats I've attended, and you can see more on the Serenity Grows site as well.
Talk about commercial work right up my alley! Being a part of Serenity Grows' growth has been an amazing experience that I'm excited to continue. If you need a photographic relationship for your business, please don't hesitate to contact me - I'd love to work with you.
