photo shoot
Last week I had a shoot with my friend Sydney Dauter on Grosse Ile in Michigan. This is my first real shoot in a month or so and it felt great. I was feeling very uninspired the last few months and decided to do a shoot just for me. I wanted it to feel “dreamlike”.
This shoot has inspired a project called Dream Sequence which I will continue throughout the next year.
I have been traveling a lot... I mean a lot. Between Michigan, Richmond, vacation, and all work trips I have barely spent more than 10 days in one spot. Between weddings and engagement shoots I have barely have had time to do some fashion blogger/content creating shoots. Not to mention that this constant travel has caused me to be a under the weather. Oh yeah, and I'm moving. What a fun time!
Thankfully I mustarded up the strength to go out and shoot with Tori Radday on Sunday. I fly back to Michigan on Wednesday so I wanted to make sure to shoot with her before I leave. I had her meet me at the new place off of Cary. We shot two different outfits around Carytown.
Below are photos of her second outfit.
I finally took a break from editing all of my weddings and engagement images to do a shoot with Tori Radday. Tori and I have been working together for a while now and she is always one of my favorite people to photograph. As a blogger, you really should know the importance of good photography. If you want to make your blog look profession, it has to have quality images.
Tori and I work together once or twice a month doing about 2 or 3 outfits every time. This is a great way to optimize time and your money with a photographer. She also switches out different glasses for looks which really creates a nice diversity in her Instagram posts while wearing the same outfit.
This is one of my favorite looks she has done. It is such a retro and frankly, a much more sexy look, than I am used to shooting. She rocks it too. I always say my job would be too shoot for Free People or Urban... or really any female-based brand. I think these last few images really show that off.
Model/Stylist - Tori Radday
Photographer - Me! Rachel Dwyer
After my trip to Georgia and Michigan, I got together with Richmond's own Tori Radday. When she first sent me a picture of this dress, I immediately thought of this pink... I want to say barn door? but that's not right.. this big pink door, whatever its nature may be. After taking some full length shots at this location we just walked around Church Hill, RVA.
Pro tip for bloggers: Same outfit, different glasses or accessories. This can go a long way in creating diversity throughout your shoot, especially if you only get one outfit with the photographer. Photos are expensive, so make all of them count! This little bit of variety is great for Instagram feeds. They change just enough to make the photos new and interesting. Another great tip is to scout out a few different locations within walking distance. Changing the background and accessories can make it look like a whole new outfit or a completely different day in which you shot this "new" look.
Model: Tori Radday
Photographer: Me! Rachel Dwyer
On Memorial Day weekend I went home to visit my parents on Grosse Ile. I reached out to Alba (Instagram - @albaslyf) via Instagram to see if she wanted to collaborate on a shoot while I was there. She was down and we decided to meet up at my old high school. Lately I've been feeling very uninspired and feeling like my shoots have been very similar. The only images that I could find that I found interesting were at a tennis court. I'm not usually one for chainlink fences, but I'm very happy with the results.
I graduated from this high school in 2008 and I really haven't been to the property since. I'm happy to see that not much has changed and that I was able to remember where to go for these separate locations. With such a sporty location, we wanted to go for more a relaxed look. We did not want to use gym clothes, but we wanted the attire to look appropriate in the location. Alba woke up early and ran to Target and bought the clothes. She kept the tags on so she could return them after. LOL
I had originally planned the shoot to be around 9:30am, but it didn't start until about 11:00am. This made it extremely difficult to shoot. The light was almost directly above us so I had to make sure she was turned away from the light in a lot of the photos to get the right lighting. Always shoot in the morning or at night. Even 11:00am in late May is too harsh. (Yeah, I know, I can put the model in the shadows, but it's way more fun to play with the light)
DIA engagement photos.
Read MoreI am in love with Instagram and having the "look away" photos is a must. However, when you're having a professional photographer take photos of you, how do you tell them what you are looking for? What do you wear?
Read MoreLauren is a cheerleader for the Detroit Tiger's and wanted a unique Detroit photoshoot. We went on the top of a parking structure for the first part of the day and then moved to the colorful wall mural. Lastly, we headed to Hammtramck for a few more shots.
I have known Heather since high school and when she asked me to do her engagement photos, I was so excited. Heather always had unique style and I used to love the photos she took back in high school. She inspired me to venture further into photography, so it was quite the honor when she asked me to take these photos.
We took the photos at Centennial Farm on Grosse Ile, MI. I grew up riding horses here and it is also the park right behind Heather's house.
The were married just a few weeks ago with a small ceremony at a Zingerman Farm.
