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Finalizing my personal style photography project

For my personal style photography project, I wanted to create a lookbook of my work. My idea changed quite a few times, but I finally decided that I want to start marketing myself as a portrait photographer. In my lookbook, I have examples from different portrait shoots. I wanted this lookbook to be something I could hand to potential clients for them to see my work on the go. That’s why I printed it smaller rather than larger. I’ve realized that I specifically love graduation, headshots and engagement shoots. That is why I did a new engagement shoot and studio headshot shoot to have additional work to highlight in this book.

Headshots

The first photoshoot I captured for this project was three new studio headshots. I had my models stand in front of a black sheet with a main light and a hair light. I did this photoshoot because I don’t have many examples of my indoor portrait photography and wanted to show it off.

Engagements

The next photoshoot I did was an engagement shoot. I have a few engagement shoot examples that I captured back home in California, but nothing I could show in the mountainside. Since that is my new market up here, I figured it would be beneficial to add three new engagement photos to my portfolio and lookbook.

Here was my plan for my personal style photography project.

I’m grateful for this opportunity to learn and grow. I know that without setting aside this project to define my personal style, I wouldn’t be able to have my branding as consistent as it has become.

If you have liked seeing my work throughout the last few months, I ask you to follow my social media.

Instagram: @juleenphoto

Facebook: Juleen Mathias Design and Photo

I would love to capture your portraits. Please check out my calendar to check my availability.

The creation of a student photography portfolio throughout the semester.

This semester in COMM 316 has definitely not been an easy one, but it has been a semester full of growth and success. I’m astounded to see all my hard work pay off in this student photography portfolio. Starting this semester, I was fairly confident behind the camera, but this class has further instilled in my mind that you never stop learning. No matter if you may be a master or a novice, there is always something new to learn.

If you were to show me some of these pictures at the beginning of the semester and tell me that I would be capturing such beauty, I would not have believed you. I’m proud of how much I have learned throughout 4 short months. I cannot wait to continue refining my photography skills.

For now, I hope you will click through these images in my portfolio to dig deeper into my process for each of these photos. Here is some of my best work that I captured throughout the course of this semester to add to my student photography portfolio:

Displaying my photography skill of a studio headshot.

Studio headshots are the first impression any employer or client will notice about you. Finding the right lighting for everyone is not an easy task, especially when you don’t have a professional studio. I wanted to be able to display my skill of a studio headshot, but how could I do it without a studio? Simple: Black sheet backdrop. For this photoshoot, I hung up a black sheet on my wall and placed my subjects in front of it. You would’ve never guessed these gorgeous photos are taken in a drab apartment. I specifically chose this project because I don’t have very many studio headshot examples in my portfolio, so this project allowed me to expand that section of my portfolio.

For this photo, I had two lights on my subject: one primary light and one hair light. I wanted this photo to have intense highlights and shadows so I did some dodge and burn. My original photo had a shutter speed of 1/60, with an aperture of f/10 and ISO 800.

This photo, I moved the primary light to the model’s side to create a split lighting. I kept the hair light on her as well. My shutter speed was at 1/60, with an aperture of f/10 and ISO 800.

For this last photo, I used a similar lighting as the previous photo, but with the primary light slightly more in front. This helped to get that sliver of light on the other eye and cheek. My shutter speed was at 1/60, with an aperture of f/13 and ISO 800.

I’m so grateful that I had a chance to photograph these models and capture a studio headshot for them. I look forward to highlighting my headshot work in my lookbook.

Here is my plan for the lookbook for my personal style project:

Photographing a beautiful engagement shoot for a personal style project.

Capturing these beautiful engagement shoots has turned into an art. Engagement shoots have become very important to the bride and groom to send announcements for their wedding. Though I have not yet dabbled in wedding photography, engagement shoots have been something I love to capture. Since I am working on a personal style project to promote my portrait photography, I figured capturing a new engagement shoot would be perfect to include in my lookbook. I scheduled an engagement shoot with this cute couple and we took to Taylor Mountain near Idaho Falls.

For this photoshoot, we found a nice pullout in Taylor Mountain where the trees split perfectly to reveal a part of the mountain in the background. To capture this shot, I asked the couple to do a dip and look at each other. I had a 50mm lens on with a shutter speed of 1/400, an aperture of f/1.8 and ISO 100.

This was in the same location as the prior image, but this time, I wanted to capture a close up of the couple kissing. I moved in closer with my 50mm lens with a shutter speed of 1/1000, an aperture of f/1.8 and ISO 100.

This final image was also taken in the same location. I had the couple start from further away and slowly walk towards me. I would give directions as they walked such as “Look at me,” and “Look at each other.” I moved with the couple slightly with my 50mm lens and shutter speed at 1/640, with an aperture of f/1.8 and ISO 100.

I’m so proud of how this shoot came out and how gorgeous the location and lighting was. I’m excited to include this beautiful engagement shoot in my personal style lookbook.

Here is my plan for the lookbook for my personal style project:

Capturing beautiful cabin interior architecture at Riverfront Retreat.

Cabin interior architecture can differ much between cabins and locations. It is a delicate art to match the interior with the cozy exterior. These photos were taken at Riverfront Retreat in Island Park.

This shot was taken on a tripod very low to the ground. I had a wide angle lens on to capture as much of the room as possible. My shutter speed was at 3.2 seconds, with an aperture of f/22 and ISO 100.

For this photo, I wanted to capture the dining table and the kitchen combined. I think this shot also let in a lot of natrual light that highlighted the wood well. My shutter speed was at 5 seconds, with an aperture of f/22 and ISO 100.

This photo was taken upstairs in a loft area. I wanted to capture the chandelier with the living room beneath it. My shutter speed was at 0.8 seconds, with an aperture of f/22 and ISO 100.

For this photo, I wanted to capture the dining and kitchen area, along with the long hallway to show how massive the area was. I had a wide angle lens to help me be able to capture it all. My shutter speed was at 4 seconds, with an aperture of f/22 and ISO 100.

This photo was taken in one of the bedrooms. I bracketed the images together to be  My shutter speed was at 5 seconds, with an aperture of f/22 and ISO 100.

Photographing cabin retreat architecture in Island Park.

Cabin retreat architecture has grown through the years. From tiny homes to beautiful cabins, architecture can make or break the overall design of a cabin.

For this photo, I had my camera on a tripod and a wide angle lens. I bracketed three images together to capture the dramatic clouds and the highlights in the cabin. The original shutter speed was at 4 seconds, with an aperture of f/22 and ISO 100.

This photo was taken during the same time as the first one, using the tripod and wide angle lens again. I wanted to get a strain on shot of the cabin. My original shutter speed of the bracketed images was at 3.2 seconds, with an aperture of f/22 and ISO 100.

Similar to the first two photos, this photo was taken a bit later in the day than the other two. Because of this, I had to have a longer exposure. My shutter speed was at 10 seconds, with an aperture of f.22 and ISO 100.

This photo was taken the next day a bit earlier to get a different lighting. It is the same setup as another photo, just with different lighting. My shutter speed was at 1/5, with an aperture of f/22 and ISO 100.

This last photo was taken during the same time as the first photo. I wanted to get more of a closer side view than the first shot. My shutter speed was at 4 seconds, with an aperture of f/22 and ISO 100.

With photos like this, cabin retreat architecture will continue to be an art!