Well… Maybe being in FRONT of the camera isn’t the dark side, but…

It could be, right? Especially if you underexpose the image! Haha.

Let’s Learn Something Photography!

Other than just wanting to share these beautiful shots of Alexandra with the world, I wanted to make sure to incorporate this video — and photos — along with a quick and easy photography 101 lesson for you beginners who are checking the blog.

About the Session

As most of you may notice, this isn’t our normal “dramatic” style of photography with 20 strobes firing off and someone hanging off a cliff with their head in a lion’s mouth. This is different. This is simplistic and raw.

What I’m saying is, it isn’t necessary to have tons of equipment to make great photos. After all, most of you probably have a photo shot with an iPhone saved as your profile photo and there isn’t anything wrong with that.

In this quick photo session of Alexandra, we only traveled (by foot) less than 1 city block of our apartment in Atlanta. Now I know what you’re thinking, “Wow! These guys live in an awesome spot for photos!” But the truth is, outside of our apartment is no more special than outside of your home. It’s what you do with the angles, compositions, lighting, and so-on that makes for interesting photos.

The images you are about to see were done in less than 45 minutes with no flashes, no reflectors, and only a cheap Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 lens and a small led light (only used for fill in a few photos).

Also, none of these photos even hit Photoshop. Only slight adjustments to contrast, colors, etc, and black & white conversion were made after the fact which anyone could do — probably even a monkey. Everything else is as natural and as simple as it gets.

In conclusion, my point is not to brag about how awesome we are. (Although… We are pretty awesome…) For real, though, the point I’m trying to stress is to get out there and photograph. Use your technical skills to make something out of nothing, and create some beautiful portraits. Look for lighting. Use your gear — even if it’s cheap gear — to get the most out of it. Spring is here so you have no more excuses!

Enjoy the Video!

(Make sure to play in 1080p or 720p for best results.)