College of William and Mary Shoot

The College of William and Mary relies upon the generous contributions of donors' time, talent and money. There are so many interesting stories behind the folks who get involved with the college. The W&M School of Education asked me to help tell the story of Peg Harmon (the woman in the blue sweater) alumn and friend of the college. She's a retired teacher and has a lifetime of practical experience to share. Now she mentors graduate school students as they prepare for their own careers after college.
I shot this job with assistant and terrific young photographer, Jake Lyle. We set up in the a student lounge/commons area. The idea was to capture Pat and her two student mentorees just having a casual conversation. Jake did a great job of keeping all the lights standing and taping down cords. We didn't lose any equipment and thankfully, no one tripped on any cords...we're really serious about safety on shoots, especially in high-traffic areas. I used a long telephoto lens and crouched way across the room (next to the xerox machine) to get this shot. I love the spontaneity of it.

All images and text copyright 2007, Elaine Odell, Church Hill Photography, LLC. All rights reserved.

Homework and the Internet

A trade magazine called "Cable in the Classroom" asked us to go on location to the Boys & Girls Club in Newport News, Virginia. Cox Cable helped fund and install a technology center for children who otherwise would have difficulty accessing the Internet when doing their homework. Because the Boys & Girls Clubs sponsor popular after-school programs in low-income neighborhoods Cox found a "perfect fit" for their outreach program. The adult in the foreground is Steve Kast, the director of Boys & Girls Clubs in the Tidewater area. My assistant this day, Stephanie Garr, did a great job helping with the lights...fyi, the room really isn't blue. We walked into a windowless concrete block room, lit with standard overhead fluorescent lights (yucky yellowish-green). We turned off all the ambient lights, and lit the back wall with a blue gelled-strobe. A very slow shutter speed exposed the monitors. We lit Steve with a partially collapsed umbrella and narrowly focused "kicker". We're happy with the end results.

All images and text copyright 2007, Elaine Odell, Church Hill Photography, LLC. All rights reserved.

Not a model, but looks like one.

This is Carter Ritchie. He's a real estate agent in Virginia and his group has been coming to our studio for a little over a year for their business portraits. I love the "casual confidence" of this image...aided by a brand new suit (custom tailored by Franco's here in Richmond.) This day in the studio, he wanted something a "little different" than his usual headshot. James Bond, look out.

All images and text copyright 2007, Elaine Odell, Church Hill Photography, LLC. All rights reserved.

Federal Credit Union Shoot

Before the Christmas holidays, we spent a day on location at the headquarters of the Henrico (County) Federal Credit Union.
The marketing department wanted to create a library of images which they could use for ongoing communications (brochures, print ads, posters, etc.). Previously, they had been using stock imagery...and while the image were technically ok, they weren't the real-life members of the local credit union.
So, a few weeks before the shoot, the clients contacted about 30 credit union members. Regular folks, with real-life jobs, families, hobbies, etc. We set up a high-key studio on location and had a great time making pictures.
Dave Miller, photo assistant, and Winifred Halliday, stylist, joined me for this shoot. Great team effort, we worked hard but had lots of fun, too.
We're now in the post-production stage of the shoot; retouching and color-correcting images the clients have selected. This image is of a mom and her daughter.

All images and text copyright 2007, Elaine Odell, Church Hill Photography, LLC. All rights reserved.

Press Conference, Mayor Douglas L. Wilder

Yesterday, I covered a press conference for Leisure Business Advisors http://www.leisure-business.com The Martin Agency graciously hosted the gathering of reporters, camera people, arts supporters and civic leaders in it's downtown Richmond headquarters . The focus is on Mayor Douglas L. Wilder. He's pledging $25 million dollars to help renovate and re-open a beautiful theatre known as the Carpenter Center. The funds will also help expand the performance space to create Richmond Center Stage. If you want to know more about the project, see the "Current Headlines" on the city's website at http://www.ci.richmond.va.us

Outtake, Executive Headshot

Our stylist, Winifred, use to be a hand model in NYC. This image was captured unintentionally. She reached in to fix something I didn't notice...and well, you can see for yourself how we try to get everything perfect in front of the camera. Even so, this handsome fellow needed very little adjusting. He just sat down and looked terrific from the git-go. This image is an outtake from a recent day of shooting for Suntrust Bank.

Playground Overhead Shot

Here's what the Play and Park structure looks like from about 25 feet in the air. The camera & I were atop a construction scissor-lift. This was a real teamwork shoot with parents helping the client get the kids spread-out across the structure. The client even went up into the scissor lift ahead of me and drove it to just where she wanted the camera to be. Fearless! The graphic designer will eventually retouch-out the house and fence you can see at the top of the frame...perhaps leaving in the split-rail fence. What a great place for a kid to grow up...right next to an awesome playground like this.

Playground Manufacturer Shoot

We've had a suprisingly mild fall and winter here in Virginia, so we were able to do some work for Play & Park Structures, a playground equipment manufacturer based in Chatanooga, TN. My assistant, Jake, and I went to a couple new playgrounds in Virginia Beach, and made pictures of kids having fun on super-duper jungle gym installations. After an hour or so of wild play, these two boys took a break to recharge their batteries.