High School Grad Portraits

Hi, my name is Alex. I am a student at Westdale High School currently in grade eleven. In the US, I know that High School Grad Portraits (or Senior Portraits as they known there) are very popular. After doing some research, and getting excited about the potential outcome, I decided I wanted High School Grad Portraits as well. I have never had my photos taken before and I was very excited to see how it would go.  At first I was a little nervous, but when I was ready to begin my photo shoot, Marta made me feel right at home. We talked about my school interests and extra curricular activities as well as any general interests I had. Marta understood me very well and quickly came up with an idea of what she wanted the pictures to portray based on my interests. I love outdoor activities as well as photography, animals, shopping and music. We decided it was best to do some outdoor photographs as well as indoor. After we decided on locations we looked at the clothing I brought. Some of my favorite items were chosen to wear for the shoot. I had my makeup and hair done professionally at the studio. Our first location was set outside. Along side with me I brought my dog, Kaiser and my mother Liz to help out. Marta started photographing my dog and I outside in various places around her studio. I love her studio because it is in an industrial area with lots of cool factories with brick walls and old wooden doors. We took advantage of the scenery and got some great shots. After  the first set of shots, my mother took my dog home so we could finish the rest of the photo shoot. After a long and hard day of posing and looking pretty, I realized that I had a lot of fun. Marta is an amazing photographer. She made it a very pleasant experience and I would love to do it again! I would defiantly recommend Marta Hewson! 

- Alex, High School Student 

 

Snowball - A social media social, by kitestring

The awesome crew of Kitestring Creative, my favorite marketing company, put on a 'super social' event to teach people about using social media for business and for pleasure. Needless to say, it was a huge success, lots of fun... and because of it, now I'm officially a twitterer...or tweeter? And of course I took pictures! It took place at the 'Staircase Theater' in Hamilton. There was fun and games, lots of learning (4 pages of notes!), tea and cookies and the most absolutely delicious scones (I had 2 with jam and cream - great for my diet...) and so much socializing... I met a ton of new people! THANKS KITESTRING! p.s. where can I get me some more of those scones?

And the family ROCKS ON!

It's always a real treat to photograph interesting people, and twins that are as cute as these make it even more fun. Nothing is more natural than a child just being a child, and capturing those moments always brings a smile to my face. The beauty of this shoot was working with the differences in age. Obviously the lollypop wouldn't work for the older brother, so when he pulled out his bass guitar I knew I needed a new location to match the setting to the sitter. Paring your subjects with the right background is paramount to a great photo so i'm never afraid to move around and work with my environment. In the end everyone is happy with the results.

Baby Audrey

Remember back in November we did some maternity portraits of Magda for the class. We focused on lighting and posing, and I have to say, I was really impressed with the results everyone was able to produce. Well as nature would have it, Magda gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Audrey. This gave us yet again another photo opportunity to conduct a class. If any of you have tried to photograph newborns before, you know how challenging it can be. I think the most challenging part was the fact that Audrey was just so adorable that no one could leave her alone, and so shooting and learning took the back seat as we couldn't help ourselves around baby Audrey. Here are some samples of that shoot. Don't you just want to squeeze her?

Charity Portrait Day was a SUCCESS!

I just wanted to thank everyone who participated in this event to help make this happen!

We were very busy on December 12, 2009, we had over 35 bookings and were able to raise almost $1000 that we donated to The Good Shepherd's Hamilton Foodbank in the form of Metro Gift Cards. All the participants went home with a beautiful 8x12 portrait and a grocery bag full of goodies! This event was photographed by myself and the 2 other wonderful photographers that I share a studio with, Geoff Carruthers (who planned the event) and Julie Thompson. I would also like to thank the people that volunteered to help out with organizing, assisting, ushering, etc... Thank you to all the business that donated their food. I know it was a tiring day for everyone, but what a great experience. Hope you all had as much fun as I did! Here are just a few samples from December 12...

Charity Portrait Day

Everyone deserves something special.

  

Its time to help.... we are a group of Hamilton based photographers with studios that are being opened to the public for a charitable fundraiser on December 12th. Each photographer has volunteered their time to shoot some great portraits of you and your family and friends.

 

The concept is simple:

On December 12th, for a small donation $30, you and your family can come in for a 20 minute mini session. The money  raised is being donated to a local Hamilton Charity for people in need.

What's included:

From the session we will provide you with one (1) 8x12 portrait which you will receive shortly after the 12th.

You can choose to purchase additional prints if you wish. 25% of all print profits will also be donated to the same Hamilton charity.

There's a Bonus....

Each family will receive a gift bag that contains a variety of products from Canada's leading consumer packaged goods producers... Things you need around your house. The retail value will exceed the donation fee. This is a "Thank You" for your participation.

Details:

You should arrive 15 minutes prior to your session.

You will receive a confirmation for your session via email with the time you are required to be at the studio for your shoot, directions and other related information.

Next Steps:

Call or email me to book your session time and set it aside in your calendar.

Tell your friends and family to book their session.

No excuses... its time to Help.

Bookings for Dec 12th are first call, first booked. Starting @ 9:30 am and extending into the late evening.

As some of you may know, I have a class of 6 wonderful girls that I teach photography to a few times a month. Our topic last week was "Studio Lighting", and since one of our girls has a little bun in the oven, we thought it would be awesome if she could be our model for this class. Here are just a few of the portraits we did that evening of Magda and her perfect belly.

Can't wait to see the little person!

Pumpkin Patch!

I didn't realize that shooting in a pumpkin patch was so much fun! Well, it helps when your "model" is gorgeous and always in a good mood. 

This is Lucas, I photographed him for his 1st birthday this weekend at Dyment's Farm. I've know Lucas' parents since I photographed their wedding a few years back and have since been documenting Lucas' 1st year. He is such a sweet baby, with the cutest blue eyes!