A "Northern Neck" Morning

Here's another shot from our day with Candidate for Virginia State Senate, Richard Stuart. We started out at the farm of Woody Hynson (who's also serves on the Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors.) Woody's farm is picturesque with shady fishin' banks along the Rappahannock River. He was planting soy beans that morning and needed a hand with the 50lb bags of seed. That's Richard in the blue shirt helping out. The body of water behind the men is a creek that runs into the river just a few hundred yards away. Wood's retriever puppy, George, is quite a jumper, and managed to get his muddy paws on all of us, including Richard. Fortunately, we had another shirt handy and got this shot of George the waiting for Richard to toss the stick into the river. Oh, if you're not familiar with the term "Northern Neck", it's the peninsula that is bounded by the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers as they flow in to the Chesapeake Bay.

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

Summer Reading

Earlier this summer, my assistant Beth and I followed candidate for Virginia State Sentate, Richard Stuart. We photographed him talking with voters and visiting all kinds of folks throughout the 28th district. At the end of day-one, we stopped by his home to meet the family. Our job was to capture relaxed, everyday images of dad just hanging out with the kids. This image, with his eldest daughter, Katie, is one of my favorites. We just asked them to sit on the porch and read one of her favorite books. After a few poems, a tickle-giggle fest ensued and well, that's when the really fun pictures happened. Special thanks to all the folks we met those two days in Westmoreland and Stafford Counties...and vote for Richard!

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

Beautiful Baby Boy

This little guy came ready to have fun (mom & dad get all the credit). We made this image between wardrobe changes (he had some cute grandma-given outfits that got drooled on.) He's about 6 months old, so sitting up is still new to him...but as you can see, he's proud of his new "stature". This stage of a child's development can yield particularly rewarding photographs. Most babies are reacting well to parents (just to my left, so the infant can focus on his/her two favorite people in the world.) Also, babies this age are strong enough to sit up, but not quite ready to crawl away from the set. Perfect timing for our subject. This was our first shoot with the new "Desert Sands" backdrop, it has flesh tones, pinks and blues. Nice for youngsters.

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

Virginia GrandDriver Location Photoshoot

Last week we got lucky with the weather and had a wonderful time with these three spokeswomen for the Virginia Department for the Aging program known as GrandDriver http://www.granddriver.net
This is an unretouched image from the shoot. What makes this shot work for me is the lighting...and of course the energy of our talented subjects. Sunset shoots are thrilling because of the quality of light known as "the golden hour". That day, I worked with two terrific assistants: Danny Spry and Beth Furgeson. They're both young photographers and together we made a nice team. Look for this image (or a similar shot) in media later this spring and summer.

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

Richmond Canal Cruise Wedding

Get married on a boat? Why not? On Saturday, April 7, 2007, Kori and Valdez took their vows standing in the bow of canal boat. Before and after, they toured Richmond's historic downtown canal just off the James River. It was a chilly, breezy day, but as you can see, they were oh-so happy. I love this picture of them, captured right after they said "I do".

Headshots and Clothing Choice

While we're on the subject of clothing choice for photography...let's consider this fellow. This is a local architectural designer, Perry DesJardins. He came to the studio the other day (and this image has not been retouched...so forgive the few flaws we've yet to clean up). He intentionally chose the black turtle neck and suit jacket. So what do you look at first? His face, his smile, his eyes, right?

Perry will use this image on his website with his bio. On his site, he'll also have lots of images of the residences he's designed. And those residences are really the star of the show. That's another reason why he kept his clothing simple and "basic black".

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

Mother and Son Portrait.

Here's a perfect example of how to keep the focus on the subjects of any group portrait by keeping the clothing simple. Notice the white shirts on both the mom and her son (Winifred ad Peter). Also notice the miminal jewelry and simple hairstyle. All that "simplicity" was planned and acheives a wonderful result. Instead of your eyes wandering around looking at distracting bling-bling or clothing patterns, you look at their faces and into their eyes.

Another thing we like to do with family members is let them show their love by making physical contact. That's why Peter's head is resting atop his mom's. I love seeing his little hands on her shoulders. Kinda says "family members lean on each other" doesn't it. But of course, families are all different, and what works for one, may not work for another...so we're very observant on shoots with folks' body language and physicallity. Always trying to get what feels comfortable for them considering their relationships and personalities.

Leslie's Great Red Dress

It's been said that every woman needs a "great red dress." Especially for Valentine's Day. This is Leslie Strickler in her favorite red dress. A former magazine publisher (Kleos Magazine), Leslie is a founder of Richmond's new Center of Integrative Medicine. As you can see, she's in great shape, a working mom with two kids. During the shoot, I learned about the yoga classes she's been taking. Later in the week when I caught a cold, she gave me all sorts of advice about how to get better without prescription drugs. She's a good spokesperson holistic for wellness. You can learn more about the center at http://centerofintegrativemedicine.com

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.