Studio Photography is on of my great passions. You can find my professional website at http:/www.softfocusstudio.com.
My love of photography started in the late 90's after searching many years for a creative outlet I could enjoy and stick with. I had tried a lot of other things; drawing, piano, guitar, and programming to name a few. Though I could become proficient with any of these they never really thrilled me. Then one day I was looking at some pictures I had taken of my kids and realized that they could be much better, so I started researching how professionals get such great results. I went to a camera shop and bought a a camera that was probably a little to expensive for what I wanted (it was a used Nikon F100), and started experimenting.
It was probably a year and 500 pictures later (It was film back then, so 500 pictures was a LOT), that I realized I had found the creative outlet I was looking for. I photographed everything in those beginning years; landscapes, flowers, animals, people, and general shots from around New York City. I was also playing with a digital point and shoot camera at the time but the quality was really low back in those days. In 2001 played around in a real photo studio for the first time and in 2002 got my first digital SLR, a Nikon D100.
It only took one studio shoot for me to decide that was my favorite type of photography. People had always been my favorite subjects by far, but in a studio I could control every part of the shoot. The lighting, the background and forground elements, everything. Over the next year I took over 10,000 images, thanks to the digital camera and a lot of willing subjects in the form of aspiring actors and models in NYC. In 2002 I started doing portraits professionally and have been doing it ever since.
In the past few years I have also discovered wedding photography. I wasn't sure I would like this when I first decided to offer the service but it quickly became something I enjoy. Despite the bad wrap they have, I really enjoy working with brides :). The happiness and joy they feel during their wedding day really comes through in photos and truely phenomenal photos can be captured. It's also a great feeling to capture and preserve for someone what may be one of the best days of their life.
Here are justt a few of my favorite photos from over the years that aren't on my professional site. (more will be added when I have time to look through my archives, probably after the New Year.)
