Girl Photography » Portraits

Explore New Paths | Explorations in Film Photography

Nicole — Wed, 08 May 2013 18:45:41 +0000

If you follow the blog you know I have been dappling in film for the past year and have been sporadically sharing my successes and frustrations with the medium. I have been doing a lot of reflecting on my business and my photography, and I realized that to be energized and to keep my self passionate about this art I need to challenge myself, push myself beyond what I think I can do. I have been cheating myself and throwing out all the excuses of why I haven’t shot more film - there is no time, I already carry around enough gear, it will slow me down. But that was all just a smoke screen, lies I told myself. The real reason was fear. Fear of failure. Fear of judgement. What if I just can’t do it.

Well a couple of weeks ago I put out an open call for a willing participant to assist me in being a model. My plan was to shoot the entire session with film. This past weekend I did it. After hitting an initial roadblock I took the bull by the horns and faced fear head on. And IT WAS HARD! It was like learning to shoot all over again. I shot with Nikon F100 and for the first time with my new Mamiya 645E, which is manual focus and manual film advancement. I shot SLOW. I was awkward, trying to get a rhythm of taking meter readings, changing my settings, and focusing. But out of all the awkwardness and uncomfortableness I got a sense of relief and calm afterwards. And to quote Ashley (my lovely and gracious model) it was refreshingly organic to shoot in a slow deliberate way, being more in tune with the art you were creating.

I shot 5 rolls – 3 rolls of 35mm and 2 rolls of 120. A total of 138 frames. I packaged up my film Monday and shipped it off to the lab with a little note saying “don’t laugh it’s my first roll of medium format” and now I wait.

Below is a little preview of the session I shot with my D700 and my Nikkor 85mm shot on f1.4. I shot just a few frames digital to have a baseline comparison once the film gets back. (And no it wasn’t cheating!)

Sneak Peek D Family | Longwood Gardens

Nicole — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 22:49:39 +0000

Preview of another lovely morning with the D Family at Longwood Gardens this past weekend.

More to come

D Family Session | Longwood Gardens | Kennett Square, PA

Nicole — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 19:40:18 +0000

I absolutely adore Jacqui’s family and am so happy that I have had the opportunity to shoot them on multiple occasions. And it has been amazing to see their little family go from three to four with the addition of little Tessa.

Here are some images from our time together at Longwood Gardens right before the holidays.

Enjoy.

W Family Session | Art Museum Parkway | Philadelphia, PA

Nicole — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 17:16:34 +0000

Prepare to oohhh and ahhh at the cuteness of this little girl. I was able to capture this family session right before we got hit with hurricane Sandy last month with the pretty back drop of the Rodin and Barnes Museum.

Thanks to Michaela for entrusting me with documenting her beautiful family.

Gear used:

Nikon D700

Nikon 35mm 1.4

Nikon 50mm 1.4

Owen at the Apple Orchard | Family Session | Kennett Square, PA

Nicole — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 13:23:57 +0000

Well this has been quite the week of family sessions on the blog here And I am happy to share this one with you because you can’t help but think this little guy is the cutest thing EVAH!

I was so thrilled when Megan contacted me to shoot Owen again.

He is just as cute and as adorable as ever and I enjoyed our time out picking apples in the orchard. (And as you can tell from the pictures Owen hasn’t lost his love of eating them).

Gear used:

Nikon D700

Nikon 35mm 1.4

Nikon 50mm 1.4

Courtney Maternity

Nicole — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 12:29:16 +0000

I met Courtney through her husband Marcus and we bonded while planning our weddings. Not only is Courtney one of the prettiest girls I have ever met but has a pure and generous heart. Often the first words out of her mouth is “how can I help”. I feel incredibly blessed to call her my friend and I am over the moon excited for the arrival of her new baby. I can’t think of luckier baby in the world to get such a wonderful mom that I know Courtney will be.

So here a couple of frames where Courtney and I sat quietly in her livingroom and chatted about the arrival of the new baby marriage, life, and just stuff in general.

Love you Court

Sneak Peek of Apple Picking with Owen | Kennett Square, PA

Nicole — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:52:44 +0000

You may remeber this little guy from last year.

Well he now has a head full of hair and is walking and talking, but he still has the sweet adorable face and his inquisitive nature.

More to come I promise

Day After Session – Nina and Kyle | Philadelphia Pa

Nicole — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 21:50:22 +0000

After viewing this session you can probably see why I love Nina and Kyle so much.

Though our original plans got changed due to a threat of rain we were still able to incorporate Nina and Kyle’s love of their scooter Buddy and their passion for bowling. And I must say these two WORKED it as we frantically scrambled down Broad Street trying to get to the car before the rain came.

I want to give a big thanks to my friend Isabel for coming as my lighting assistant and doing an awesome job seconding.

Seema and Justin Maternity Session | Boothwyn, PA

Nicole — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 14:16:51 +0000

Seema and Justin were in from the west coast visiting family, here to celebrate not only their impending arrival but also the arrival of Jessica and Sheil’s baby as well. Seema is Sheil’s sister and you may remember her and Justin from their wedding last year. In fact their babies are only 3 weeks apart!

Well it is always a pleasure to reconnect with past clients but this was especially nice since I really enjoyed my time with Sheil’s family.

After a couple of location changes due to the extreme heat we finally just took photos around Seema’s parent home. In near 100 degree heat Seema and Justin looked cool and calm. With breaks for water and a couple of times going inside the house or car under the AC we got through the session.

Seema and Justin, congrats and many blessings to your new arrival.

In every photo of them I can’t get over how beautiful the two of them are together radiating with joy and love .

Seema is just beautiful!

How cool is the henna?!!!!!!

Justin was anxiously waiting doing this the whole session. Best shots of the day in my book

Gear used:

Nikon D700

Nikon 50mm 1.4

Nikon 35mm 1.4

Nikon 85mm 1.4