First, it goes without saying all of the technical things have to be in correct.  Color has to be perfect.  Focus has to be crisp.  There should be no obvious flaws.

But there’s more.  Look at the eyes in the attached portrait of Carolyn.  They are crisp and expressive.  The eyes should “pop” and are almost always the focal point of the portrait.  That is usually created with great lighting, weather inside or out.

Finally (well for this blog post) is the expression. I like nice smiles and pleasant expressions. That’s not to say that great portraits can’t happen without a smile because they often do. The photographer has to create a rapport with the subject to coax the desired expression. That takes practice.

More about getting great senior portraits in a future post.

The eyes often make or break a great portrait.

That said, here are a few photos from yesterday.  I spent about a half hour wandering in my yard with the little camera set in close-up mode.  Photographing nature in the rain is almost easier than photographing it on a beautiful sunny day.  The light is soft and the colors tend to be richer.  I got three favorites, so this will be “Photo Diem Cubed”

This week Dixie and I ventured to West Chester to attend a two day conference on Event and Church Directory Photography.  Event photography is and industry term that covers almost any type of photography that happens outside of the studio.  It includes pictures of sports leagues, pre-schools, scouts, parties, and about a billion other things.  We’ve been doing that stuff for a long time, but it is always nice to pick up tips so that we can do it better

Church directory photography is an area where we are looking to get some experience.  I’m sure we can do a better job than the big chains.  It’s just a matter of getting into a  small to medium church and getting started.  If your church hasn’t had a new directory in several years, feel free to contact us!

We also photographed Angela Taldone, a senior model from PV this week.  Angela is a great girl and did a great job modeling.  We captured her in several outfits.  I put a teaser shot up here.  We will have more on the senior models in a future post.

That’s all for today… Now let’s see if I can format this blog so that it looks half decent…

On the Photo Diem front (that’s the personal project that I’ve been doing since, my favorite image for the week was the one of the dandelion (posted previously). Last evening we did take a ride to Big Pocono State Park where I captured an image of the forsythia in bloom.

One of the better photo diem images is now a poster. Dave Danowitz, better known as Tie Dye Dave had posters made from the image that I created at his store. You can get your copy to decorate your crib at Dave’s Unique Gifts in Tannersville.

Forsythia at Big Pocono

I liked the black and white contrasts in this image

We delivered this poster to Dave this week! Dave is a happy camper!

I decided to photograph a dandelion.  Dandelions are probably the lowliest of flowers.  In fact, they were the only ones I was allowed to pick when I was a kid.  I wanted to make it look interesting and different. This is the image I got.

As I mentioned, we are gearing up for senior picture season.  We photographed some senior models from Stroudsburg High School the other day.  When we photograph high school seniors we like to create images that are interesting and different, too.

It is important to note that high school seniors don’t fall in the same category as dandelions.  But like everything, they have sides and facets that are beautiful and interesting.  My job is to find those features and record them with a camera.

I take pictures every day.  Mostly because I like creating interesting images, but also because I continually need images to practice on.

This image, taken off of route 447 in East Stroudsburg is actually the reflection in the water of the pond.  I turned it upside down because it makes it look like a painting.

An image of the reflection, turned upside down.

In a nutshell, here is what it is about.  I like taking photos and I take a picture every day of something that I find interesting.  Usually the following morning I work on the image and post it on the internet.  Initially the whole project was done in my personal Facebook profile, but I’ve moved it to the Bender Photography blog.  That will allow others to see my personal work and hopefully learn a bit about my photo process.

This is an evolving project.  I have no idea where it will lead and that’s what is pretty cool about it.  Certain themes have evolved and will continue to grow.

My feeling is that if you are an artist, or are in a creative field, you need to continually work on your art and craft.  Photo Diem is a way for me to practice my artistry and improve my imaging techniques.

I like playing with unique lighting techniques.  This image was lit with a deer spotting light that was shining up from below.  I switched the white balance to “tungsten” (the light bulb) to get a whiter light.  Despite that, I still had to adjust the white balance in ACR (Adobe Camera Raw).

If you are wondering how this pertains to portrait photography, you may be surprised.  I’ve already used spotting lights to create a unique portrait look!  In fact, today I am shooting a few senior models different schools.  Maybe I’ll use that light for some of those shots!

Hunlock Creek Post Office

Hunlock Creek Train Station

Today I stumbled across a ghost town in Luzerne County.  Initially I saw an old abandoned train station and made it a point to photograph it on my return trip.  When I stopped to create my daily image, I noticed the abandoned post office across the highway.

It was pouring out, so I didn’t make many exposures.  But I think that the two that are attached to this blog are the strongest.  I purposely didn’t add any frilly special effects ~~ just made the best “straight” images I could make in Adobe Camera Raw.

The images suggest more questions than answers, at least for me.  What was this town ~~ Hunlock Creek, Pa?  When did it exist?  Why?  What did people do when they lived here?  The train station appeared to be pretty ornate in it’s day.  Why did they build it that way?

Anyway, it was cool to create a few images in this ghost town in the rain.