Noni's Blog

Portfolio for Cheston McElhaney, my nephew actor

Noni — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 20:40:00 +0000

Well just as I need a model to test out my new settings in my studio, my nephew calls. “Noni, can you help me out? I need some head shots.”

www.photoartbynoni.com

Portraiture Photography

Noni — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 02:50:34 +0000

I’ve signed up to do photography for an online dating organization that provides photography. I’ve done a bit but when they asked me to build a portfolio of my work, the Universe delivers my friend Clay wanting photography for his online dating portfolio. Life is just too cool!! I’m metaphysically spiritual so my photography is based on showing the spirit of the person. Here is a few of my good friend Clay:

www.photoartbynoni.com

Art Anyone?

Noni — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 23:12:55 +0000

There just comes a time when all that photography taking and organizing has to get processed. It seems I have a mountain of fun stuff to play with. Maybe I will just keep adding here when I get something worth looking at.

www.PhotoArtbyNoni.com

Architecture Photography

Noni — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 18:20:18 +0000

I have this friend named Mike that knows downtown Dallas as if he should be a guide. So off we went on a photography hunt one Saturday. We wound up in Plaza of the Americas and I photographed all over the place. There was one with the beautiful giant prisms in their windows that I wanted to do over so I went back with a tripod and guess what? You cannot photograph at the Plaza of the Americas! The security guards asked me to stop. Even if you search on the travel forums there are all kinds of tales of their nasty security concerning photography. I have a bunch of it. Sneaky sneaky!

Architecture photography can be just the documentary type with all the whites perfect or it can get very artsy or a tad artsy. Twilight photography done late in the evening with the beautiful Maxfield Parrish colors and windows lit like Thomas Kinkade art does cause one to stop and admire. It is not unlike wandering around in a forest looking for the right angles and lighting. So here is some of my playing around and some of the Real Estate work I have done recently.

www.photoartbynoni.com

Alexander Antonio Dry Hair Sculpting

Noni — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 05:58:31 +0000

Ok, so Antonio says, “Noni, I’ve got these models coming in for hair styling. Can you photograph?” “Sure”, I say. Little did I know it would be a complete symphony in graceful hand movements? I told Antonio it was like watching pure love making in hair styling. I think I made him blush.

Antonio is a master in his art of dry hair sculpting. The two days I was there, 3 stylists came in just to watch and learn. He has been videoed but it is too fast. I had to put my camera on a speed for sports photography to catch his hand movements. And the face expressions! Pure creative art all done on hair that is washed, prep the hair (dried making it straight and smooth) and then sculpted. Beautiful!

I got over 300 photos with many of them just his hand movements. I think he could use them to demonstrate the art. Antonio can be found at http://www.alexanderantoniohaircraft.com/

www.photoartbynoni.com

Pregnancy Photography

Noni — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 05:35:10 +0000

A bit of dabbling in pregnancy photos lead to my niece stating, “Noni stop it. You are talking to a woman with raging hormones and I’m going to start crying!” I was asking her to imagine looking into the eyes of her future daughter when she looked at the camera. Josh and Stacey are so looking forward to their daughter, Juniper to be called “Juni”.

This was too much fun! She was just radiating beauty with that full belly and Josh just so in love with it all.

www.photoartbynoni.com

Real Estate Seminar

Noni — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 18:13:23 +0000

I am proud to be a photographer for Real Estate Imaging Solutions powered by Jen (Jenifer) and John Copes. Jen launched her real estate photography business at a Real Estate seminar on April 15th. I have been in training along with several others for the last 3-4 weeks. You think you know photography? Just try interiors with a wide angle with the intention to not blow out the windows and light up in the interior all at the same time. No, we do not cut and paste windows! Ok, now finish it in Lightroom and Photoshop with several other tools. I have to say it has knocked me for a loop. I know sports, I know portraiture, I know nature but interiors? Well I have to say at this time, I almost have it.

Anyway, Jen is a spit fire Cajun that is well liked by the realtors that use her beautiful and very reasonably priced photography. I know, I have gone into Realty offices with her. They stop everything, and come hug her. She is treated like the best thing that every happened to them. I can understand why. Together with several others, we have been in mostly very high end mansions, in our sock feet crawling around to get photos that will sell the house. Jen knows the market and she knows what grabs a potential buyer.

Can you tell that Jen has been up for 2 days? Her printer and web site guy had his computer crash. But she rallied and still came through for this seminar. Jen is in the left photo on the left side with the dark hair and red shoes. The blonde very sweet person is Julie.

www.photoartbynoni.com

Real Estate Photography with Real Estate Imaging Solutions

Noni — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 01:17:18 +0000

Here are a few photos taken from my trainings with Jen & John Copes. Indoor residential photography is a bugger to get. Try getting those windows to show true to the outside without blowing out. Even the best of cameras will blow out a window and/or make the inside room dark. Most photographers will cut and paste in the windows but not Jen and John.

So for the last several weeks I have trained in camera settings, adding flash and sometimes 2 extra slave flashes to get everything bright and right. You really don’t appreciate what the human eyes can do until you try to recreate it with a camera. So it is about a third staging and shooting and then, two thirds post process on the computer. Why? Because the camera will not always shoot the right color balance. Our eyes will also color balance a room but the camera needs lots of help.

So what are you looking at here? The lines have to be straightened up, the color has to be corrected, junk I didn’t see before photographing has to be removed, corners and shading brightened up. After Jen and John are done the photos are going to be used to sell the homes. They sometimes end up in magazines. A musical walk-through is produced and they are a hit. It didn’t end there. There are twilights that look like something between Thomas Kinkade and Maxwell Parrish prints.

So what have I been doing lately? I’ll tell you: I’ve been running around in my sock feet in mansions rearranging rooms and having the time of my life photographing. The outside set ups for sunset photography to get the twilights are a delight. They are usually around some very fancy pools and down right gorgeous landscaping. Once it is all set, I usually have my lawn chair and punch the remote. Mean while I’m just enjoying the night air and some lively chit chat with a crazy Cajun woman (Jen) and her sweet husband (John).

Note: These photos were taken by me and processed by me. I’m still waiting for approval from Jen and John to see if they are to their standards. Too they are the before as shot and the after post processing.

www.photoartbynoni.com

Shooting Sports for Brightroom.com

Noni — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 19:15:05 +0000

Thought I would put out a few of my sports photos that I have shot for Brightroom.com. I’ve enjoyed shooting for them. Besides marathon’s they also shoot office portfolios and team shots. Hope they are OK with me putting these out and that is why I put up the watermark.

They are sending me to Oklahoma City later this month. This Sunday I get to do some of their candid awards shots which means I will be on my feet for most of the day. FYI to self: Wear backbrace and be sure to be in my Z-Coil shoes.

The photos here were shot from my lawn chair using a 70-200 lens sitting right beside the street. Don’t worry, I had a tazer in one drink pocket and pepper spray in the other. It turned out to be a very busy area. I shot for 4 hours and was just about to have to find a bush.

www.photoartbynoni.com

Online Portrait Portfolio and Studio shots

Noni — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 17:35:27 +0000

Hay, this blog is for the people that want to see what I have done portrait wise and what my studio looks like. It is a private studio by appointment only.

My studio is a 16 x 24 separate building setting in my backyard. It has a gambrel roof with a 9×5′ stain glass window and a gray painted cement floor. It has a speckled gray canvas background along with paper backgrounds. The main lights are the Elincrom 500Ri with a Versalight 360 and a Fotiox D-200 for background and/or hair lights, etc.

The surrounding backyard is nestled inside a secluded 8′ cedar fence which is board on board which gives good privacy. The yard is shaded with trees and landscaped. So the possibility of nature portraiture is an option. It is a very peaceful place with water fountains and wind chimes.

My office is in my main house where I manage the digital photo files using Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom in addition to using portrait software by Imagenomic Portraiture or Portrait Professional. My setup includes DSL connections for any FTP transfers or the photos can be placed on an online print lab.

Along with this description are a handful of my portraits. I’ve found that every person has something enduring about them and it really is easy to capture in a picture.