Professional and social media headshots
- At May 31, 2018
- By Johnny Stevens
- In headshots, professional, protrait
- 0
Here is a review from Christian who needed some new professional as well as social media head shots. We went to Zilker Park for a round of images as well as the more formal backdrop with two lights and a bounce card.
Johnny was very friendly and flexible throughout the process and let us choose our locations where we wanted our photos taken. We took professional head shots with his setup and some casual shots outside. His equipment is top notch, and he produces the highest quality of photos. I’m very satisfied with the results!
Calming Professionalism
This is a nice review from Diana for whom I shot her wedding – something I normally do not do.
“My husband and I chose Johnny Stevens as our wedding photographer. To sum up Johnny at our wedding in two words: calming professionalism. This being our first experience with weddings, we felt overwhelmed with managing the never-ending minutiae. All of our friends told us to expect disastrous last-minute catastrophes. While some aspects of the wedding were chaotic, Johnny was a calming presence in the midst of the storm. He delicately balanced between knowing which shots would look good (he’s the professional after all) and asking for our input (it was nice to feel like our opinion was valued). He shot our rehearsal dinner, ceremony, and reception, and we couldn’t be more thrilled with the pictures he captured, which he turned around to us within a week. The pictures ranged from the standard family and wedding party shots, to fun candids of all of our friends dancing and celebrating. We were so happy to share them with all of our guests. Most importantly, he made us feel completely at ease on our special night. To demonstrate Johnny’s professionalism and personalized level of care, I would like to share an anecdote: we had told him that we wanted to get shots of the wedding party before the ceremony at a nearby park. The day of the ceremony was unusually hot for the time of the year, so we panicked and decided to switch to an interior location at the last minute. The staff at our hotel told us that there were no locations which we could use for our photos. Unbeknownst to us, however, Johnny had befriended the hotel management on the previous day, and they were able to open up a beautiful space in which to take the pictures. You will not find that level of service with any other photographer.”
Hobbit Huts in Austin
Hobbit Huts in Austin.
This is a different sort of architectural photography project. Patrick Dougherty is an sculptor who builds these huts out of sticks. When I read about these he was building at Pease Park in Austin, I just had to go do some photographic spot lighting and see if I could get that glowing Hobbit Hut feel out of them. This is what I got after masking 40 layers in Photoshop. Patrick’s home is near Chapel Hill, NC. He installs these all over the country.
Fusion – abstract photography
It is not often that I print my Rust Rapture pieces on paper – normally I print on canvas because they print up so well in large formats like 2 x 3 feet. This client asked for a large format print on epson luster paper so they could frame it for their front foyer. This piece is called Fusion. It is from a 1940 Buick Rat Rod. These abstract photographs are all derived from the exteriors of old vintage hot rods whose exteriors have been left to the demise of mother nature – the heat, rain, sun and belt sanders. The resulting patinas are spectacular. Often these print can be hung in any direction but on Fusion, there is a door knob – yep that is a door knob in the top left which sort of need to be in the right place.
Shooting formal portrait of Charlotte
Shooting formal portrait of Charlotte
Charlotte Dalton is 102. I met her a year ago when she called me to ask me about an abstract photography print I had on display at the Flatbed Press Art Gallery here in Austin. Charlotte is an accomplished painter and artist. I thought it was time to shoot a formal portrait of her, so I enlisted my sweet wife Samantha to help with makeup. I love enlisting Samantha as my assistant to help me shoot, because it is the only time I can tell her what to do.
Buck Moore Feed and Pet Supply Composite Portraiture
As my architectural photography work slows in the winter, it lets me enjoy my next favorite passion – composite portraiture. When I saw the Austin American Statesman article about Buck Moore Feed and Pet Supply closing after 72 years in business, I was inspired to ask the owners, John and Ken Bushong, if I could shoot their portrait for posterity. The shop was ideal for a photo shoot since it has iconic items like a 1920’s cash register:
a 1930’s adding machine, and scales that are over 50 years old. I knew this setting would be perfect for a composite portrait where I light and capture the people first, then remove them and the lights from the scene, and then go around the room and pop a light on different areas and paint in those spot lit areas layer by layer in Photoshop.
I love the drama that spot lighting gives you because each light pop comes from a different direction.
Portrait session and making a composite portrait
For Nolan’s final training session of the semester for the Independent Study Course for which I am a mentor, I had Nolan conduct a Portrait session and making a composite portrait with my friend Lane Orsak. Lane is an author, artist, collector and marketing consultant. We wanted to create an image that would represent him as an author – maybe even to use in his most recent book. We lit Lane with a key light with umbrella and a kicker light behind him with a Westcott softbox. Then I went around the room behind him and lit several angles on the couch and painting on the wall and we layered all of those spot lit scenes into the master Lane image.
Architectural photo shoot at the new Austin Public Library
As a photography exercise and as part of the curriculum for my mentee from the Westlake High School Independent study course, I decided on an Architectural photo shoot at the new Austin Public Library. Nolan and I spent the day there and I taught him my methods of shooting real estate architectural interiors. You can find no better photo ops than the new Public Library. It is a spectacular feat of contemporary architecture. Nolan shot 5 brackets of a top image and the same for a bottom image and then we photo-merged the two together to get a portrait aspect ratio and then we painted in the exposures we wanted from each bracketed image. Here are the 2 images that make up the final master image.
Additional architectural images Nolan shot on location at the library:
She is shooting me shooting two guys shooting the moon rise
Shooting others while shooting the moon rise
While at Hilton Head last week, while we were on the beach the moon began to rise over the ocean. We braved the sand fleas and hung out to watch. While I was shooting my brother and friend shoot the moon rise, though you cannot see her, there was someone behind me and she is shooting me shooting two guys shooting the moon rise. Sort of surreal.
In The News
- At May 23, 2015
- By Johnny Stevens
- In abstract, Aerial photography, aerial video, architectural photos, areial video, art for sale, austin architectural photographer, Austin photographer, canvas prints for sale, Drone photography, Drone Video, Fine Art, HDR, hot rods, landscape, light painting, Photography, Photoshop, portrait, portrait photography, professional, protrait, real estate photography, rust rapture
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Johnny’s work has recently been featured in the following publications. Click on any image to view each article!