Title: Pouring It On.One of my favorite shots from a recent city profile done on J. Gardella’s Tavern, located in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. I owe a lot to knowing my settings, timing, light via an off camera flash, and good karma from the camera karma Gods… as this one came out on the first try!

Title: Pouring It On.

One of my favorite shots from a recent city profile done on J. Gardella’s Tavern, located in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan.

I owe a lot to knowing my settings, timing, light via an off camera flash, and good karma from the camera karma Gods… as this one came out on the first try!

Title: Ellen Lenhart.Portrait of J. Gardella’s Tavern’s own Ellen Lenhart. Profile shot for the Grand Rapids Downtown Alliance. Shot with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III, EF 24-70mm f/2.8L, and off-camera flash via a 580 EX II Speedlite.

Title: Ellen Lenhart.

Portrait of J. Gardella’s Tavern’s own Ellen Lenhart. Profile shot for the Grand Rapids Downtown Alliance. Shot with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III, EF 24-70mm f/2.8L, and off-camera flash via a 580 EX II Speedlite.

Title: Blowing One’s Horn.I’ve been really into my portraits being to either a far left or far right of the composition… if I had to guess why I’d say it’s probably due to the amount of portraits I’ve done lately for design/print/ad publications.Having said that… I kinda like how it looks.

Title: Blowing One’s Horn.

I’ve been really into my portraits being to either a far left or far right of the composition… if I had to guess why I’d say it’s probably due to the amount of portraits I’ve done lately for design/print/ad publications.

Having said that… I kinda like how it looks.

Title: Open Dialog.Portrait of TEDxGrandRapids speaker Greg Galle. 

Title: Open Dialog.

Portrait of TEDxGrandRapids speaker Greg Galle. 

Title: Karisa Wilson.Stage portrait of singer/songwriter Karisa Wilson. Not only is she an amazing musician, but she is a beautiful person inside and out.Haven’t heard of Karisa? Check her out online:http://karisawilson.comShot with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III and a EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens.

Title: Karisa Wilson.

Stage portrait of singer/songwriter Karisa Wilson. 

Not only is she an amazing musician, but she is a beautiful person inside and out.

Haven’t heard of Karisa? Check her out online:
http://karisawilson.com

Shot with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III and a EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens.

Title: Eric Daigh.I guess you could say that Eric Daigh’s TEDxGrandRapids speech was a touch controversial… but hello, what do you expect when you ask a creative to talk to an audience. Having said that - I for one ENJOYED what he had to say, and pretty much agreed with everything that came out of his mouth to the visual “FUCK YOU” that graced overhead screen. At the end of the day… I enjoyed it.

Title: Eric Daigh.

I guess you could say that Eric Daigh’s TEDxGrandRapids speech was a touch controversial… but hello, what do you expect when you ask a creative to talk to an audience. 

Having said that - I for one ENJOYED what he had to say, and pretty much agreed with everything that came out of his mouth to the visual “FUCK YOU” that graced overhead screen. 

At the end of the day… I enjoyed it.

Title: Fred Keller.Part of my involvement in TEDxGrandRapids is capturing the speakers when they are on stage. So today I thought I’d share a portrait of Fred Keller from TEDxGrandRapids 2013… his speech was met with a standing ovation and his words hit home.Fred is a man of words, action and compassion and leads GR with a strong focus on philanthropy. He rocked the house and is such an amazing person, way to represent Mr. Keller!

Title: Fred Keller.

Part of my involvement in TEDxGrandRapids is capturing the speakers when they are on stage. So today I thought I’d share a portrait of Fred Keller from TEDxGrandRapids 2013… his speech was met with a standing ovation and his words hit home.

Fred is a man of words, action and compassion and leads GR with a strong focus on philanthropy. He rocked the house and is such an amazing person, way to represent Mr. Keller!

Title: 1977 PUCH MAXI. What does one do to offset a pending Mid-Life Crisis? Well in Terryland we join a moped gang (the Grand Rapids Ghost Riders) and buy a 1977 PUCH MAXI that will be fully pimped out and customized! She might be red now… but soon she will be transformed with the powers of pink powder coat, a excessive amount of chrome, white/black bits of accents, longer seat and 5-star spoke wheels. So yeah, this ‘mo went all out… and yes, there will be photos of the entire process!

Title: 1977 PUCH MAXI.

What does one do to offset a pending Mid-Life Crisis? Well in Terryland we join a moped gang (the Grand Rapids Ghost Riders) and buy a 1977 PUCH MAXI that will be fully pimped out and customized! She might be red now… but soon she will be transformed with the powers of pink powder coat, a excessive amount of chrome, white/black bits of accents, longer seat and 5-star spoke wheels.

So yeah, this ‘mo went all out… and yes, there will be photos of the entire process!

Title: PUCH.1977 PUCH MAXI with a whole lot of bokeh. Shot with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III and a EF 35mm f/1.4L lens.

Title: PUCH.

1977 PUCH MAXI with a whole lot of bokeh. Shot with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III and a EF 35mm f/1.4L lens.

Title: Sweet Rewards.We all love taking photos of food, right? Here are some tips on getting the most out of your foodie shots!5 Tips on Being a Photo-Foodie1. FRESH. Don’t photograph old food… colors fade, sauces start to blend in, and the longer you take - the less attractive the food becomes. If you are shooting for a client you may need to re-plate items or even have 2-3 backup plates waiting for you. Also, keep the hot food hot and cold food cold.2. FINE DETAILS. Like all photography, the minor details make your photos interesting. Think of ingredients, the patterns drawn out by the chef, and even items and how they sit on the plate.3. NATURAL LIGHT. I’ve touched on this before, but will say it again. Flash/strobes kills food shots. It takes away your savory flavors and colors. Not to mention it tends to make your food look flat. Use open windows and tables near those windows as your set up location.4. Depth of Field. At the end of the day you are selling food and presenting images that need to look clutter free. Depth of field helps with things in the background that you want to mask out from the overall shot, not to mention it also helps bring the focus in on the food. Having said that, don’t go too extreme with depth of field. I tend to shoot around f/2 - f/3.2 for food shots as I’ve learned f/1.2, 1.4 and 1.8 are too much depth of field and take away from the details that you need to capture.5. Work Smart. Keep in mind that most professional food photographers are working with food stylists and creative directors. Take a few test shots and look at them, if items need to be moved - move them! The key is to think about the big picture and set up your food shots for success in camera. Yes, you can process at home… but do you really want to spend the time moving a salt and pepper shaker out of your shot that you could have easily moved before taking the photo? Time is money and your time is valuable… remember that!

Title: Sweet Rewards.

We all love taking photos of food, right? Here are some tips on getting the most out of your foodie shots!

5 Tips on Being a Photo-Foodie

1. FRESH. Don’t photograph old food… colors fade, sauces start to blend in, and the longer you take - the less attractive the food becomes. If you are shooting for a client you may need to re-plate items or even have 2-3 backup plates waiting for you. Also, keep the hot food hot and cold food cold.

2. FINE DETAILS. Like all photography, the minor details make your photos interesting. Think of ingredients, the patterns drawn out by the chef, and even items and how they sit on the plate.

3. NATURAL LIGHT. I’ve touched on this before, but will say it again. Flash/strobes kills food shots. It takes away your savory flavors and colors. Not to mention it tends to make your food look flat. Use open windows and tables near those windows as your set up location.

4. Depth of Field. At the end of the day you are selling food and presenting images that need to look clutter free. Depth of field helps with things in the background that you want to mask out from the overall shot, not to mention it also helps bring the focus in on the food. Having said that, don’t go too extreme with depth of field. I tend to shoot around f/2 - f/3.2 for food shots as I’ve learned f/1.2, 1.4 and 1.8 are too much depth of field and take away from the details that you need to capture.

5. Work Smart. Keep in mind that most professional food photographers are working with food stylists and creative directors. Take a few test shots and look at them, if items need to be moved - move them! The key is to think about the big picture and set up your food shots for success in camera. Yes, you can process at home… but do you really want to spend the time moving a salt and pepper shaker out of your shot that you could have easily moved before taking the photo? Time is money and your time is valuable… remember that!