TRUE NORTH PARENTING MAG ASSIGNMENT

Last month I was contacted by the artistic director of True North Parenting Magazine to do an assignment for a story they were cooking up for their Mother's Day-themed May issue.  Basically, it was a feature article on mothers who are working in the craft brewing industry here in Bend.  Bend is a big-time beer city with a large number of breweries and fans of breweries.  It sounded like a great opportunity to do more editorial portrait work (which I love) and to get some more publications into my client list. Sign me up!!



I was given the contact information for the four women they had selected to feature and thus began the task of scheduling, planning, and completing four shoots.  Some were with the children of the subjects, some not.  My vision was inspired by a lot of other magazine photography I've seen that focuses on an individual or small group.  In short, a well-lit portrait with a "story-telling" environment.
  


 Here are the results...

I met with Veronica on a Saturday morning as she was coming into work. I was able to wander a bit and choose some locations.  A giant brewery is incredible for  variation and I could've made portraits all day in there...so much cool stuff.  We did three main areas, shooting in front of some giant vats with a bunch of hoses on the floor, back in the bottling area, and at one of her workstations to show the precise science of what she does in helping to create awesome beer for Deschutes.

I took at as some sort of positive sign that this pallet of Mirror Pond was right where we wanted to shoot and had a single case removed...a perfect spot for Veronica to sit.  Lit with a "shoot-thru" umbrella and speedlight and a second speedlight clamped to a beam to bring up the background and bottle line in the first image.

Amanda was next, again at Deschutes.  She works in the Quality Assurance department and I was able to meet with her on a weeknight about 30 minutes before a big event she was in charge of.  I chose the taproom/tasting area and souvenir shop as a nice background after doing some "safe" shots outdoors by the sign.  It got a little crazy as the event started with the Central Oregon Beer Angels showing up and filling the room.  Had to get a few more shots and wrap up quick.  My new "light-truck" came in handy here as it holds a studio light and battery source and I can roll it around to new positions pretty quick.

Melodee owns Boneyard Beer 
with her husband, Clay.  
I showed up on a Friday afternoon at 3 PM...bit of a mistake there as it is strangely busy at a brewery on a Friday afternoon.  She had her cute daughters with her and we wanted to get a nice family shot with all of them.  Boneyard had some perfect backdrops and the look was consistent with their edgy branding.  Melodee and the kids were comfortable and looked fantastic so I took some extra time to experiment and get some shots that potentially could be used as a cover for the publication, or at least a larger "feature" image for the article.

All of these images were shot using a combo of ambient lighting and additional flashes, both speedlights and studio strobes.  The image below is my favorite-- again with the intention to create a "cover option" for the magazine.  I used a softboxed studio strobe and a gridded speedlight behind the girls to give some rim light separation.  

Finally, a Sunday morning at 9 AM at Bend Brewing Company to meet with Wendi and her family.  Again, the schedule was tight as the younger daughter had a soccer match, so I had about 45 minutes tops.  They did a great job getting ready and being color coordinated, but not all in matching outfits.  A good natural-looking portrait.  We took a standard shot at the end of the bar and then moved outside to mix it up a bit and add the kids.  The sun was pretty harsh on the background I wanted to use so I was likely to be forced to do something different when Wendi's husband volunteered to hold one of the patio umbrellas like a giant scrim--instant assistant!! 

This gave some nice shade to shoot in and I filled it back in with a speedlight and a shoot-thru umbrella.

This was a great assignment, I had a lot of fun, and was able to make some fantastic new connections throughout this process.  Editorial, on-location portrait work is extremely useful as it challenges me to think quickly and really know the gear I have (how it works and what it can do).  I need to be able to conceptualize a shot, help the subjects understand my vision and quickly create relationship and comfort in order to actually make the vision take form.  These are the same set of skills that I use in my wedding photography, which is also a fast-moving and unpredictable time.  It's a fascinating process and one that I hope to continue.  Thanks to True North for thinking of me and thanks to all these great women who volunteered their time. Oh and thanks for the beer!


Here's a link to the online version of the article.