More Farms.

I made it out to a couple more farms at the end of last week and the beginning of this week to get the a few more images in the series I'm shooting for Northland College on local food producers (see a couple posts down for some of the earlier shoots in the series). Above are Steve and Landis at Hermit Creek Farm and below are two shots of their beautiful produce. Below that are the McCutchens at Angle Acres Farm and some of their heritage breed livestock. Thanks again to all the farmers who have taken time out of their busy schedules during a critical part of the growing season to help me get these photos. You folks are all amazing. Keep up the great work.

Update on 2012-09-26 14:38 by Bob Gross

Okay, I couldn't resist: one more cow photo. I shot this right before she blew a big snot rocket all over the camera. Turns out that stuff is a lot harder to get off of a camera than I thought. So it goes.

And now, back by popular demand, actual photography.

The staff at Sun Printing isn't just any old staff, so theyre not getting just any old staff photos. I love companies that have the stones to do something a little different. Here's a little peek at a couple of the portraits coming out of the photo-shoot today in beautiful Wausau, Wisconsin. These are for their new website, which let me tell you is going to be sweet (they showed me the top secret files, I can't say more or they'd have to kill me). Needless to say, it's going to be a little more light hearted than the previous version. It's been awesome to work with the folks in their creative department to plan and pull off this shoot. Lots of great ideas bouncing around the room. Watch for more in the next couple days.

Senior Portraits? Book Now.

Listen up people: if you're interested in booking a senior portrait session (or any portrait session for that matter) with Hired Lens Photography, contact us soon because the calendar is getting pretty darn full. July has been packed, August is almost all booked (I only have two openings left towards the end of the month), and September is already filling up fast. And for anyone interested in doing something really different, I've got a couple new locations in the old bag of tricks for this season. Where are they? I'm not going to ruin the surprise, but trust me when I say that they're cool. Call 262.305.9187 or go to the contact page to book your shoot.

P.S. Last year, we had a couple people who went for the underwater senior portrait challenge but due to some bad weather, some bad luck, and some super cloudy water, we had to scrap the idea. So it goes. But I haven't given up. I'm reissuing the challenge and offering a 15% discount again for anyone that uses one of their portrait settings to do an underwater photo. If we have to abandon the plan because of bad conditions, you still get the discount. Any takers?

Family Portrait.

First let me say thanks to the Sandor Family. They were great to work with for this shoot at the beach in Cornucopia, Wisconsin. Super relaxed and flexible, even if not everyone was quite up for pictures. Thanks also for letting me use you as an example.

Okay. Family portraits can be tough. I think they're one of the hardest genres of photography to do really well. Especially with little kids. It's a lot of factors to deal with all at once. Sometimes you get lucky and everyone looks the same way at the exact same moment and smiles their biggest, happiest smile and you get the photo and you're all set. But sometimes, no matter what you do, not everyone is on the same page. It happens. We all have those days (in fact, I might be having one right now, but that's a different story). That doesn't have to mean the shoot is a loss though; you can still come away with some great images. It just means you need to re-imagine the photos you planned to get. And that's the biggest challenge. Once you have a concept mapped out in your head it's hard to walk away from it, but sometimes it's necessary. Sometimes you have to step back and find another route to the same destination: great photos. For the shoot with the Sandor's that meant abandoning the formal family photo and changing to a less formal arrangement like the more candid images below. It's different, but in the end I think everyone was happier. Watch for more.

Winter Senior Portraits or "How to be cooler than everyone else in your senior class."

Okay, everyone knows that you get your senior portraits shot during the summer (or maybe the fall, if you put it off all summer and then need to squeeze it in last minute before the photo deadline). But why? Is summer everyone's favorite season? Probably not. There must be a current high school junior out there somewhere who loves winter. Then why not get your senior portrait taken in winter? Are you a skier, a snowboarder, a snowmobiler? Do you just have a totally kick-ass winter wardrobe that makes you look awesome in the snow? Whatever the reason give me a call. I've been eye-balling some great places to shoot portraits in the winter, all I need is a few subjects. Book a shoot before February 28, and get 10% off the package price. This is the perfect way to set yourself apart. Do something different. Isn't that the whole idea anyway?

Okay, I lied. One more senior portrait.

 I thought the portrait season was all over, but I ended up having one more senior portrait session Monday evening with Brooke. Again we got really lucky with weather. We started with a few shots in Prentice Park and then went down to the lake front right before sunset and got some great shots with a little bit of color in the sky. It was a beautiful evening; warm with just a whisper of breeze. Honestly, I think this was the last senior portrait of the season. It looks like I'll be on the road for most of the rest of the month, one round of shoots in California and another in the Pacific Northwest. Should be a fun, stay tuned. (If there's anyone else out there who still needs portraits, give me a call. If we're really sneaky we might still be able to fit you in.)

More Portraits and Even More Mosquitoes.

Here are a few of my favorites from Tatiana's senior portrait shoot on Sunday. We started out inside for some shots on white seamless, and then moved outside as the afternoon light got nicer. Another day with great weather, but the mosquitoes were absolutley epic. Seriously, I need to get an industrial fogger for these shoots or something. Tatiana got eaten alive. In a couple of the photos you can actually see mosquitoes hovering around her. It was ridiculous, but she managed to keep smiling through all of it.

Day Two.

A few more photos from day two of the senior portrait shoot with Andrea and Allison. This time we hit some locations in Ashland, and then headed up to a section of the Souix River near Washburn. It was another beautiful afternoon for photos and not nearly as buggy. These two were supposed to be my guinea pigs for the underwater portrait experiment, but we had to bail out on that plan because the bay is too full of silt from all the rain we've been getting. Not to mention, really freakin' cold. Such is life. We may give it a shot on another warm afternoon in early fall if mother nature cooperates. Plan B was using the local pool, but I just found out that it's closed until mid-October for repairs. That leaves us with Plan C...and once I figure out what Plan C actually is, I'll let you know...In the mean time, more shoots this weekend. Busy busy.

Bright Sunshiny Day.

We had beautiful weather yesterday evening for a senior portrait shoot with Allison and Andrea. Instead of booking each of their sessions separately, these two decided to do their shoots together split over two days, so we have more photos tonight too. Yesterday, we drove down to Mason, Wisconsin, to find some locations out in the country. It was a bit of a haul, but we found some great spots and the sunlight was perfect. Aside from a new hatch of mosquitoes it was a great shoot. Keep your eyes peeled for more in the next few days.

The Underwater Senior Portrait Challenge.

I had some time this weekend to experiment more with an underwater camera housing I got a while back. The photo above is one of many lovely self portraits that I made while playing with it. Obviously, the subject leaves a lot to be desired, but all in all I think the picture is pretty cool: interesting background, good color, nice light, and most importantly, a rockin' perspective that you don't get to see every day. That of course got me to thinking (always a dangerous thing), how can I use this to do something cooler than just taking pictures of me holding my breath. So here it is folks, Hired Lens Photography announces the The Underwater Senior Portrait Challenge.

You think I'm kidding. I'm not. I'm looking for some brave high school student (or two) in the Chequamegon Bay Area that wants to take their senior portrait underwater. I'm offering a 15% discount to anyone that will use one of the poses from their portrait package to do an underwater shoot. The rest of the session can be normal terrestrial-based photography. Why do I want to do this so bad? Because its different, because it's a fun challenge for me as a photographer, and because I think it will look really cool when it's all done. And  that's always the goal: great photographs. So who's with me? Worst-case scenario, you choose one of the other, more standard photos from our shoot for the year book and you still have a good story to tell. Think about it, and contact me if you're the bold aquatic subject I'm looking for. This is the chance to do something really different.