Issue 2 by Laura McPhail

The Fort

where imagination happens!

A Pirateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Life for Me Argh!!! Nichole Burnett Photography & Chikadeez Photography

Image Showcase & Interview Dana Pugh

Business Spotlight Krysta Manthe

How did we come up with “The Fort?”

Well . . . it’s a bit of an unexpected treasure!

The Fort

where imagination happens!

Nichole and I (Laura) have been friends for over 10 years now, and we’ve been photographers for the past few years. Although our photography style is different, it is somewhat similar. One of the things we have in common is we love photographing our sons in their element. Awhile back we were reminiscing over some of our older sessions. We noticed that we only had a few sessions featuring boys, yet some of our most treasured images came from those sessions. That got us thinking that sometimes it’s hard to come up with creative ideas for boy sessions. It seems like a lot of the inspiration out there, in the world of photography, tends to be girlie. That realization compelled us to create a photography magazine that focuses solely on boy themed sessions. We want to show you that photographing boys is an amazing experience filled with imagination and adventure. We wanted to create an inspirational magazine that documents how we organize a session from conception to completion. Each issue will contain notes, sketches, storyboards, vendor information, scene creation, behind the scenes images and final images. We will even write about obstacles that arise and tell you what we do to overcome them. This is a quarterly publication, so please feel free to pass it along to all of your creative friends. We hope that you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed putting it together for you.

TREASURES FOUND WITHIN, Issue # 2 June 2012 MATEY! ... e r e h t r a t S

2 Who are we?

Get to know Nichole & Laura

76-85

Business Spotlight

Post Processing Tips & Interview with

Krysta Manthe

8-10 Planning Phase

Turning creative thoughts into actual sessions

12-73

A Pirateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life for me

Session & behind the scenes images

75 Vendor Spotlight

Amazing people that do amazing work!

86-97 Seasoned Pro

Image Showcase & Interview with

Dana Pugh

? t t e n r u B e l o h c i N Who is Nichole Burnett Photography

ÂŠ Hello Miss Lovely

She Be Swe et

Go to Website

A little bit of work . . . How long have you been a professional photographer? “I have technically been in business for around four years now, but didn’t really push myself for the first two years because I was busy having babies.”

What type of photography do you specialize in? “Children’s portraiture. The images I have of my children are priceless. Having the opportunity to provide something priceless to other families is incredibly fulfilling.”

Pick three words that best describe your style. “Dreamy. Sweet. Soft.”

Team Nikon or Team Canon? “I’m such an oddball. I am team Nikon with a newly purchased Canon 5D MarkII.”

A little bit of play . . . What’s the most played song in your iTunes library? “I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite, but it’s catchy and has been stuck in my head for weeks now. So I’ve had to listen to it. It’s called ‘Home’ by Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros. The downside is I can’t shake the southern drawl once I’ve listened to it.”

What other Hobby (not photography related) do you enjoy? “I really enjoy baking. I wouldn’t consider myself a wonderful baker, but it’s fun and yummy! Who wouldn’t love it?!”

If you could be any superhero, who would you be?

“I‘m not sure if she is a superhero or not . . . if she isn’t she should be! I would love to be Cinderella’s Fairy God-mother. She has a wand!”

What is the one item/product that you couldn’t live without?

“My iphone. It’s got a camera, great music, and allows me to stay in touch with friends and family.”

A little bit of work . . . How long have you been a professional photographer? “I started photography as a hobby about four years ago, but I didn’t start really pursuing it as a business until two years ago.”

What type of photography do you specialize in? “There’s nothing that I love more than photographing kids being kids. Doing silly things & absolutely loving life! That’s pure bliss to me.”

Pick three words that best describe your style. “Hmm . . . playful, vibrant, imaginative.”

Team Nikon or Team Canon? “I am team Nikon, but I LOVE my Canon 7D (that I use for video).”

A little bit of play . . . What’s the most played song in your iTunes library? “I go through phases with favorite songs, and this one is always near or at #1, ‘My Muse’ by Sarah Jarosz”

What other Hobby (not photography related) do you enjoy? “I recently started playing clarinet again (in our church orchestra); it feels so good getting back into music.”

If you could be any superhero, who would you be?

“I think I’d actually rather be a villain (like Mother Gothel from ‘Tangled’). She had some great songs in the movie. (muwahahahaha)”

What is the one item/product that you couldn’t live without?

“It was a close call between Lysol Wipes and lotion. In the end, I think that lotion wins out because my morning regimen just isn’t complete until I lather myself in lotion.”

? l i a h P c M a r u a Who is L

ÂŠ Paul Johnson

Chikadeez Photography

She Be Cray-Cray 7 Go to Website

Brainstorming As you know, we each have a son. When we first came up with the idea of creating a magazine that solely features boy themed sessions, we each made a list of our boysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; current interests. One of the items on each of our lists was Pirates. For this session, we asked ourselves: what does a Pirate need to set sail around the world in hunt for amazing treasures? We immediately started to scour the web for pirate inspiration. Right now, Pirates are the in thing, so there was a plethora of pirate paraphernalia. That being said, we knew that the Pirate theme had been done a million times, so we had to figure out how our session would stand out from the rest. We just had to narrow everything down to the particular style that we were trying to achieve.

Hmm . . . what to do, what to do?? Here are some questions we asked ourselves during the brainstorming sessions. #1

Where is a secluded location that will look like the middle of nowhere?

#2 What kind of activities can he do that will produce natural (unposed) photographs? #3 Should his look be modern or original? #4

How can we make him stand out from his surroundings?

How can we style this so that it looks authentic?

#6 Where can we find a pirate ship?????

(this was the toughest part of the session)

Lists

We created a list of items that any “TRUE” pirate would need on a voyage for buried treasure.

Storyboards Where ideas start coming to life! We find it helpful to organize our thoughts and work through different style ideas by creating storyboards. This allows us to see all of the pieces together. It’s fun to see how the session starts to take shape.

: e t a r i P a r o f g n i Styl Since this session took place in Destin, Fla., we decided that it would be easier to style it ourselves. We weren’t worried about finding costume props, but we knew that finding a pirate ship was going to be extremely difficult. After searching Craigslist in our areas and surrounding areas, we FINALLY found a boat. It was a small green row boat, but with determination and imagination, we knew that it could become something great!!! Nichole and her husband (Steve) worked night and day painting it and creating a mast. In our images, you’ll see wood grain on the boat, it was not like that. Nichole and Steve hand painted it to look that way. The mast was created with 3 pieces of PVC piping (spray painted brown). A cream curtain was purchased from a local store and we used that for the sail. After the ship was complete, finding the rest of the props was a breeze. The rest of the accessories were ordered online from various retailers. The costume was donated to us by Cindy, a wonderful Etsy retailer. She is an excellent costume designer. When we found her store, we knew her costume was the perfect fit for our pirate session. If you need a costume for an upcoming session, or if your children just want to play dress up, please be sure to check her store fwcreations4All out. Although this session was a bit pricey to put together, we didn’t mind because both of our sons are crazy for all things pirate, so we knew these items wouldn’t go to waste.

Tips from a stylist:

And, now presenting...

! e M r o f e f i L ’s e A Pirat

X voyage with boundless opportunities. You must be brave enough to venture out!

Life is a

For there, you will find the lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s true

treasure!!!

ÂŠ Nichole Burnett Photography

ÂŠ Chikadeez Photography

double dog dare you to be unexpected . . . And (gasp) . . . Even a bit crazy!

ÂŠ Nichole Burnett Photography

ÂŠ Chikadeez Photography

X 37

Where is life

38 ÂŠÂŠNichole Chikadeez Photography Burnett

directing you?

Are you following your

heart?

ÂŠ Chikadeez Photography

ÂŠ Nichole Burnett Photography

ÂŠ Chikadeez Photography

ÂŠ Nichole Burnett Photography

ÂŠ Chikadeez Photography

ÂŠ Nichole Burnett Photography

ÂŠ Chikadeez Photography

ÂŠ Nichole Burnett Photography

Take a peek at what happened behind the scenes . . .

Vendor Spotlight Illustration Erin Vaughan was born in Los Angeles, California and grew up in a small suburban town outside the city. She still resides in the town she grew up in. Erin is currently in the process of working towards a BFA in Studio Arts (concentrating on illustration) from BIOLA University. She will complete her undergrad this Spring. Erin is fascinated by the Great Outdoors, and findâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot of inspiration by spending time outdoors. Her influences come from listening to folk music, childhood memories, going on road-trips, OR when sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actually physically camping, and building things.

Website - Blog - Etsy

t h g i l t o p S s s e n i s u B Post Processing Tips & Interview After the release of the first issue, we decided to move the Rising Star piece to The Fort blog. We want to make sure that The Fort facilitates learning in all areas of the photography business, so we came up with a feature that would allow that. The Business Spotlight will focus on the various facets of photography. When we first started dabbling in photography, our post processing was all over the place. In fact, we often go back through our images and crack up over some of the post processing that we thought looked great (at that time). There’s nothing wrong with that, because growth is all about experimenting and learning. With that being said, we wanted our first Business Spotlight to touch on how a well known photographer found her style of editing. Over the past couple of years, we have developed a deep love for all things Krysta Manthe. One of the things that drew us to her most was the way she edits her images. As you’re about to see, Krysta’s work is absolutely breathtaking. Her post processing technique is soft and airy, yet it has a bit of urban edge to it.

with

Krysta Manthe

©Tara Whitney

Check out more of her work at:

www.krystamanthe.com

What do you want to know?? If there’s something you’d like to know more about, please submit your business questions to info@thefortmag.com.

ÂŠ Krysta Manthe

“I think if I had to define my

style I would describe it as

whimsy and

vibrant with a little bit of

quirky thrown in here and there.”

Before

After

ÂŠ Krysta Manthe

A peek at Krysta Manthe’s post processing techniques #1

I first ran my action, Soft Pop, over the image which brightens a touch, intensifies color, and adds a slight touch of contrast to an image.

I then ran my own action called Summer Days. Summer Days is an action that brings a bit of warmth to an image while adding a little bit of a dreamy glow.

I masked back the sky and water so that those areas weren’t blown.

I then finished off the image by running my action called Gleam. It adds a dreamlike quality to an image.

I masked back detail areas such as the nose, mouth, and verbiage on his shirt.

A final sharpen and viola!

Click here to attend Krysta’s w o r k s h o p

ÂŠ Krysta Manthe

1. At what point did you discover that you had a particular style, and what made you realize that? “I think from the moment I picked up a camera I knew what really made me happy to photograph. I’m very much the girl who lays awake at night dreaming up shoots and spends hours scouting locations. I don’t feel true to myself or my work if I’m not doing something creative. I often push my clients to go outside the box a bit as I want them to have something original and I want to feel like I’ve conceived something fresh and new while staying in tune with my own personal expression.” 2. Your work is known for vibrant colors, and dreamy esthetic. How do you stay true to your processing style when editing a masculine session? “This is a hard question for me to answer as I just don’t know how to process any other way. I process in a way that makes me happy. I love slight pops of color along with a softer, dreamy feel and I think that speaks to any kind of session. There are times I’ll add an urban twist or cross process a bit, but at the end of the day there’s always a dynamic dreamlike quality to my images.” 3. Do you ever use actions, or do you create your own? “Both! I have actions that I love to use - Eye Candy Actions and Childs Play Actions are at the top of my list. However, I have my own action set that I mainly use and will be releasing it soon!” 4. When looking back at some of the first images you ever processed, what would you go back and change? “I would pay closer attention to detail. I’m a complete control freak about my images now. In the very beginning, I would run an action over an image and call it a day. I’ve obviously since learned the fine art of layer masks and it has made all the difference in the world. What works for one part of the image doesn’t mean it works for other parts of the image. Live and learn. :)”

5. What do you look for when you cull your images? How do you decide what to keep and what to toss? “First and foremost I look for exposure. I don’t want to spend my time trying to save an image that’s too dark or almost blown out. I shoot on manual all of the time which means I do get images that aren’t perfect in terms of exposure. They get tossed right away. I also toss out any images where eyes are closed, not everyone is looking, etc. After that I look for images that are different yet cohesive and will make a beautiful gallery. I don’t like all shots to be straight on. I like to give my clients diversity, but I want the images to look good together if they were hanging on their walls as a grouping. I like quirky crops and unplanned moments. Those images always stay.” 6. What has been the most eye opening experience (positive or negative) in your career? “The most eye opening experience for me has been that being a full time photographer means you spend more time running a business than you do actually being a photographer. I get a lot of e-mails from people asking how to get started and I always respond by telling them to be ready to run a business. There’s so much more to it than standing behind a lens and pushing a button. People see pretty pictures and think it’s a simple gig. I spend more time responding to e-mails, filling out expense reports, logging travel mileage, meeting with my accountant, etc than actually taking photographs. I’d say the second most eye opening experience, though, is the people I’ve met. I never dreamed clients of mine would end up being such great friends. I’m having coffee dates and play dates with people who started out as clients. I think that’s a pretty special thing.” 7. What’s one piece of knowledge that you wished you’d known when you were just starting out? “Ha! I wished I had know the art of “batch processing!” It would have saved me many hours 85 and prevented a sore back and tush! :)”

h g u P a n a D : o r Seasoned P

ÂŠ Dana Pugh

Sewell

ÂŠ Dana Pugh

ÂŠShannon Sewell Clothing by Knuckleheads Clothing

ÂŠ Dana Pugh

ewell

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I love that mom really special. When you re for it to happen at every get those butterflies in my stomach telling m

ÂŠ Dana Pugh

ment when you know you captured something elease the shutter and you can almost hear the image sing. I aim y session -- sometimes I probably push too hard, but if I can me that we got something great, I know Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be happy with the session.â&#x20AC;?

ÂŠ Dana Pugh

1. What equipment do you use? “I am a Canon girl. My primary body is a 5D Mark II. My primary lens is the 2470mm 2.8L. I also have a 50mm, a 15mm fisheye, and the 70-200mm.” 2. What is the one lens you couldn’t live without? “It has been for the longest time my 24-70mm 2.8. If I go out with just one lens, that is the one I pick. I have recently been budgeting for the move to primes, but I’m not there yet :)”

3. When did you decide to become a photographer? “I don’ t know that I made a real conscious decision until a couple of years ago. I’ve been shooting for 6 years or so, but it is something that I truly fell into. I was documenting my own kids and blogging it...and, then quite by accident, it grew from there. Isn’t that the story of every mom who evolves into a photographer? But, in the last couple of years, I have made the conscious decision to really push myself to be the very best photographer I can be. The wonderful thing about that is that there are truly so many things to learn that you can tackle them one by one until the years pass by in sweet photographic bliss.”

4. Is there anything that you haven’t done in your career due to a fear of failure? “I think that it is incredibly natural for any creative to have a constant fear of failure. For me, it kind of fuels my competitive edge. Failing is the only way to know that you are truly pushing yourself to your limits. I think once you fail big time, you realize that failing isn’t all that bad so the fear kind of dissipates. I also think that so many creatives haven’t defined for themselves what ‘success’ would be. If you have firm definitions of success, then once you meet them you can move forward and when you fail you are able to look back and see the success that came first. When I first picked up my camera and consid ered creating a career out of it, I really wanted to do work in developing countries. Work that would make a difference. Of course, I had a huge amount of fear when facing that idea--being a woman, being a mom--having to spend time away from my family...that kind of fear, as well as the fear of just plain sucking at it. Recently, I faced that fear head on and went to India to work with NGO’s. And, now I am looking forward to doing it more often and getting better and better at it.” 5. If you could work with any photographer who would it be and why? “Good question. There are so many photographers I admire and I have been lucky to meet most of them and have even developed great relationships with them that have become invaluable to my own experience as a creative, but...the only photographer I have ever dreamed of going and volunteering my services to so that I could sponge up all sorts of knowledge and good stuff is Stephanie Rausser. So, I’ll have to say her. But, I dream of doing creative projects with my friends as well.” 6. Do you direct your subjects, or do you like to see their natural movements first? “I direct, but in a way to get them to show me their natural movements. Sometimes it is a slow process and other times, it happens more quickly. Just depends on the kids. I would have to say that, if your goal is to get natural photographs of your children, using the same photographer year after year truly helps

with that. The kids that I see on an annual basis are the easiest to direct because we have a built up level of trust between us.” 7. When working with a male subject, how do you get him to open up and be himself? “First and foremost, I try to create an environment that encourages friendship and fun. I honestly want to know whatever it is he wants to tell me. Kids are not that different from adults...they just want someone to listen to what they have to say. But, with kids, your interest has to be genuine. They can smell a ‘faker’ a million miles away. I genuinely want to know how to kill that zombie on that video game or all about their favourite sport. And, if a boy is particularly shy or reserved, I will set my camera aside and just play checkers with him or build some lego creation...It’s great because then you become their friend and they see that the session is more about play than about perfection.” 8. When you are feeling uninspired, where do you look for creative inspiration? “ First, I truly do look to the people I am photographing for inspiration. I ask questions...and I dig. Sometimes you hit pay dirt. Sometimes you don’t. Secondly, I enjoy looking at street photography--new and old. I try to stay away from the portrait world. I look at commercial work and movies. Cinematographers are fantastic at framing images. Great movies can really inspire you to see in a wonderful way.”

9. If you could only listen to one record for the rest of your life, what would it be? “I can only pick one? hmmm...that is tough because I am a moody music listener, but I always go back to Bon Iver’s ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’, so I will pick that one.” 10. What is your guilty pleasure (not photography related)? “Coffee. In our house, we have a coffee obsession. My husband has recently started acquiring different types of makers. I think we now have three that we use regularly. And, he will travel quite far to get his favourite beans. So, I have become spoiled and fully enjoy my coffee every day.”

join us on our journey...

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