Alexis at the Beach | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Portrait Photographer

Ahh summer. There is something so comforting about the salty air and feeling of sand between my toes.  Nothing says summer quite like an early morning walk along the beach.  But I can one up that- what about a photo shoot with this beauty?

 Alexis and I were up bright and early to catch the Tybee Island sunrise for this shoot.  She's an aspiring model who is building her portfolio, and a total natural.  She rocked this shoot!  But don't take my word for it: See for yourself!

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Eryn | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Lifestyle Photographer

It can be hard to get anything done with a new baby, but last week I was determined to get back behind the camera taking something other than baby pictures. So with my little man tied on to my back, I made my way to Forsyth Park to meet up with a gorgeous model named Eryn.

Eryn posses one of my favorite qualities in a model- she's up for anything.  She showed up with a smile on her face and a perfect outfit, despite the fact that I had only given her a day's notice.  More impressively, she was unphased by my little helper, laughing as he tried to flirt with her.

Since it was such an impromptu shoot (I seem to be developing a habit here), we decided to keep it carefree with a more candid feel.  These are my favorite types of shots because they really showcase the personality of the model.  When I think of Eryn I think of vintage glamour, and I feel like that's what we captured here.

You can find the rest of the photos from this shoot here.

Two For One Photo Shoot | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Lifestyle Photographer

Whenever I shoot with Sam (one of my best friends and my favorite model) we have a tendency to get a bit carried away. We get an idea in our heads, and then we get three more and then we spend most of a day shooting photos.

For that reason my portfolio has more images of Sam than anyone else and they are all a strange mismatch of different genres.

But we always have fun!

This shoot started out early in the morning with a very glam look (pictured above).  She put on a red dress and some makeup and we ventured out into the morning light for some portraits.

And then we got into the black paint and shadows.

This was where both of us got to really play with our creativity.  We worked together to make photos that really evoked emotion and were a step away from my normal type of work to add variety to both of our portfolios.

How did we do?

Lighting, Lenses, and the Power of Photoshop | Mikaela Joy: Savannah Lifestyle Photographer

Last Friday I scheduled my first model shoot with someone from model mayhem.  I was pretty excited for the shoot because it was going to give me a chance to really test out the 55-200mm lens for portraits and also to work with someone who wasn't shy in front of the camera and who already had a good idea of posing.  I scheduled the shoot for early morning which meant I'd be able to try some backlit shots and see what I could do with my new reflector.  This model had been working with several different photographers in the area and had some really nice pictures to show for it.  Needless to say, I was looking forward to the shoot.

Well Thursday night she cancelled on me.  That left me with all that gear ready and nobody to take pictures up.  I put out a callout to my Facebook friends in hopes that someone would pose for me and Erika and Aubry stepped up.  We had a lot of fun and now I'm quite glad that I ended up working with them instead of my original model.

It turns out that these two had a lot of the qualities I was hoping for in my model.  It may have taken them a little bit, but by the end of the shoot they seemed very comfortable in front of the camera.  Erika was full of ideas for concepts and poses the photos turned out great because of it.  Aubry was the perfect candidate for close up portraits with her strong facial features and striking eyes.

As this shoot went on I really felt like something clicked for me as a photographer.  I was noticing small details that I haven't in past shoots, I was getting my exposures spot on and I was seeing the lighting situations in a way that I haven't before.  I was able to find the best places in the park to take certain pictures and then get them right within one or two shots.  Of course I had my reflector this time, so that helped a lot too.

When I started editing the pictures, I decided that it was probably time to start figuring out photoshop.  The photos looked good with some basic tweaks in camera raw, but I wanted to be able to make them really pop.  I did some online research and learned about actions, textures, brushes, and where to get them online for free.  Suddenly I have a folder full of 3 gigs of photoshop stuff, and a lot longer editing process on my pictures.  But I've got to say learning about these things really did improve my work.  I learned how to smooth skin (not too much) and really make the eyes pop in portraits as well as how to do some more specialized edits of photos.  I spent about two days editing these photos, but I think I ended up with quite a bit of good stuff for my portfolio.

Tomorrow I have a new 50mm f/1.8 lens coming in the mail and a bunch of ideas for my next shoot. Who wants to be my model?