Paula & Manuel : Quad City Engagement Pictures

Engagement pictures have always baffled me....

I always fall back into providing that nice clean standard image for the couples newspaper engagement, but I'm so bored with that shot. I feel like sometimes when I've doing engagement shoots it's the same images with different people. As a photographer, I want to push the envelope. I want to be creative. I want to make people stop and say "DANG, did you do that? How, where?..." I'm still new in my career but I'm already bored with providing the same photography everyone else does. I want clients to choose me because my style stands out and no one else would take the same shot at the same location as I would.

I've always got these ideas I wanna try but never have time to put the shoots together. I'm also worried that people won't like the images if I do something different.Before a shoot I go back and forth in my head going over what I can talk about with my clients to make them more comfortable; what locations we are going to shoot and what angles and lighting I'm going to try to hit. I always have 1 or 2 shots that I want to try that are a little different but they usually end up getting scratched due to time constraints.

I finally said enough was enough and I had to try something different. Over the year I've started to sway more towards an "editorial" look vs. the portrait look. I've always wanted to experiment with this and I finally got my chance.

I could tell when I first sat down with Manuel and Paula that they would be a fun couple to work with. I have the pleasure of shooting their wedding next year but knew after meeting them they would be great subjects for some shots I've been thinking about lately. I brought up the subject of doing an engagement shoot and they were so so with the idea. I told them an idea I had for a mountain bike picture and it intrigued them a little. I explained a little more what I had in mind and they were all in. I told them I would give them a break on pricing if I could dictate the whole shoot, and well, here are the shots....











As photographers, we should always be progressing. I'm very pleased I was able to pull off some of the images I have here. (BTW - There is no way I could have done this shoot without my awesome assistant Louis. Thanks for lugging all my crap that night and wrestling a 60" umbrella in high winds... :) ). I am happy with these images and it just encourages me to step out of my comfort zone and try something new again. New ideas are already  stirring up. Any takes?...... :)

Check out some more of their images on my Facebook page here.

Lee & Kevin : Quad Cities Wedding

For this last wedding I had the great pleasure of working with Jeff Wros from Photo Uncommon.

I was the "second shooter" for the wedding. Basically, I get to hang out, shoot what I see and don't have to carry the stress of having to get "the shot". It allows me to experiment a little and try some new angles and techniques and see if they work and then incorporate them into my own wedding shoots (if they work). It's not often that I get to second shoot a wedding anymore. Now a days I'm ordering my assistant around and freaking out that all the pressure isn't on my shoulders for the day (and what a relief because of what happened with this wedding)!

I had just purchased some new equipment and been sitting on bench for a month due to the birth of my little girl. Jeff said he had a fun wedding and that I was more than welcome to tag along with for the day and get some time on the new camera body. Before any of my equipment rolls into a wedding with me, it's put through the paces and I shoot the heck out of it so I know it inside and out.

The freaking thing died! Plain out stopped working and turned into a really expensive paper weight before my eyes!

I don't know if I was more mad (really expensive bum camera), freaking out (bride is walking in the room in 10 minutes) or relieved (I had a backup camera and once again, this was Jeff's wedding not mine..:) ). Any working professional should walk on site with at least 1 backup camera, sometimes you never know whats gonna happen, even with new equipment.

Anyway, even with all the frustrations of the day, I was still able to pull out some good shots for Jeff to deliver to the bride along with his usual. Thanks for letting me tag along Jeff!

Leah's Newborn Pictures

I now have a very new found respect for newborn and baby photographers.....

I took some time today to do some newborn / baby pictures of my little girl. I'm learning all kinds of new things about babies (screaming, crying, smells, ect). They could really care less that you are taking their picture, little lone smile and be an easy client....

It was a little tricky but I think I finally figured it out towards the end. It was much harder than I thought but I'm really happy with the results and it's made me ponder opening up a new branch of Inskeep Photography to focus on baby portraits... but I'm not sure I want the added stress right now....

Here are a few of my favorites below...