Artist Feature

Artist Feature – Michelle Flowers Photography, Deltona Florida Photographer

One of the things I really enjoy about the social media side of being a photographer is getting to interact and be in community with all of the other talented artists that use a camera as well.  In one of the groups I am in, I ran in to Michelle and I am thrilled to be doing a Artist Feature of her and her work!  She shoots a lot of weddings but she is in love with newborn and child photography.  I had the opportunity to ask her a few questions and I am thrilled to share her answers with you!!!
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Where did the love of photography begin?
About ten years ago I was heavily involved in dog and cat shows, since I was a member of the club someone had to walk around and take pictures for the Club that was sponsoring the event. I purchased my first Nikon D70 and  I have to admit I was in “automatic” back then however the pictures were great for what I was doing. I have now graduated to a Nikon D700 and D300 and I shoot in Manual mode.  I have taken classes and workshops to better my photography skills and I continue to learn something new everyday!
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What is my dream session?
To be honest I have not done a newborn twin session and I can honestly say I cant wait til then….. I will continue to practice so I will be very prepared for that special day!
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How would I describe my style? and How does that style reflect me as a artist?
My style can be describe as light and airy with a lot of natural texture to it. On occasions I do push for a classic touch of formal with today’s twist to my photography. And this is so very much like me. I love the very natural light colors and now moving to the white’s, creams and very light pastel colors but again every once in while I will throw a rich color in to add some variety.
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What are my personal goals for 2014?
My first goal is  to “lock ” newborn photography ….. to create some of the newborn poses and have a system or flow about what I am doing during a session. I like to be consistent with everything I do so that you get great at it and then you can add more to your process.
My second goal was to “lock” in my reception lighting. As a second shooter for two wedding photographer’s, I really need to perfect my flash photography , and after completing a one on one with a very experienced wedding photographer , I feel I have a great grip on what I am doing in the category now!
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My favorite photography gear Nikon or Canon??  
Nikon of course, since it happened to be the brand I purchased ten years ago. I have used a Canon in the past and love the images just the same as my own gear!  My favorite lens of choice is the Nikon 28-70 mm 2.8 lens. Of course I would love to own the 24-70 lens but that is still out of my price range for the moment.
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What is my favorite place to seek inspiration as an artist?
I have several places where I go to seek inspiration as a artist.  First… I love pinterest! I can spend all day just looking at all of the beautiful photo’s posted. I also use Creative Live for inspiration as there are tons of great photographer instructors on the site that have such great video’s and tools!
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What are my favorite images right now?? 
A far as my newborn images I have taken to a couple of images that I recently shot of a newborn, and what I love about these pictures is that they are completely natural and portraits. Just beautiful and simple.
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To view more of Michelle’s beautiful images head on over to her website Michelle Flowers Photography.
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You can also find Michelle on Facebook, Google+ or Email her at michelleflowersphotography@yahoo.com
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Artist Feature – MerryFields Photography

 

I had the WONDERFUL experience of interviewing a very talented photographer!  Effie Lissitsas specializes in newborn photography and her work is simply beautiful.  She works under the name MerryFields Photography and is based out of Toronto Canada.  If you get an opportunity to click over and take a look at her work she has some wonderful examples of how to photograph newborns the safe way :-)  I had a number of questions for her and here is what she had to say :-)

Where did your love of photography begin?

My love of photography began when my mother brought home one of those large Polaroid cameras! I thought how amazing that this machine can take a photo and you instantly have a print of a moment that just passed! I just loved the feel of looking through old photographs and seeing my parents, my grandparents at a younger age…and even myself. I honestly thought that it was quite wonderful to be able to literally go back in time looking at these.

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What is your dream photography session?

Ha! I think that most would agree with me, that any dream photography session would  have an unlimited budget! My ultimate dream session would be recreating some concepts that I have floating around in my head…but barring that, it would be quite amazing to be able to shadow Georges Antoni, fashion photographer. The man tells stories with his photography, is an expert at lighting and I feel that his images are very evocative. I’d learn a lot from someone like him!

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How would you describe your style and how does that style reflect you as an artist?

I think that my style is fairly simple, clean and focuses on the subject that I am photographing. For example, when I photograph newborns, while I will remove blemishes and scratches, I’m not into the fad of the overly smooth porcelain doll look. It’s not me. There are some who carry it off well, but it’s not to my taste.  I try to keep everything true to form.

I do feel that this style reflects me as an artist, at least at this time. As a portraitist, I’m finding that I am constantly evolving, and constantly on the look out to do something different, from what I regularly do. I find that for myself at least, while I love photographing babies and families and newborns, I need to be able to do something totally outside ‘my’ box so I don’t become stagnant.

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What are some of your personal goals for 2014?

Personal goals for 2014 are quite a few actually, so where to start?! First and foremost spend more time with my family. Not many people realize how much time is actually involved in the work that we do. From setting up, to taking the photograph, to editing, to presenting etc. I became somewhat over loaded in 2013, and missed quite a lot of quality time with my family. So I decided to limit the sessions per month that I have. That is my main goal.

I also want to evolve with my lighting. I want to learn different styles of lighting, with different light set ups.  I want to be able to take my portraits to the next level. I’m also working on some projects that I am hoping once I have tweaked them that I will be able to offer these to clients. Mini goal is to get better organized. I somewhat like my chaotic order, so that too is a work in progress!

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What is some of your favorite photography gear? Nikon or Cannon? Favorite lens? Favorite accessory?

I am a Canon girl through and through! My favorite glass was my 50mm f/1.4 but I have to say that lately I have been using my 100mm f/2.8 for portraits and I am just in love with this lens! So it;s quite difficult for me to choose at this time as I am having fun with both!

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What is your favorite place to find inspiration as an artist?

I find inspiration everywhere. If I walk the streets and look at the people, the relationships going on in front of us. When I watch my kids getting all creative together to draw something imaginary. On the internet artistaday.com has some really cool stuff to look at. Other inspirations run the gamut from learning about various art periods to various photographers through out history.  So I have a pretty wide spectrum that I can pull from I think.

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What are some of your favorite images right now?
That is hard. One of my all time favorite images right now is one from Kirsty Mitchell’s ‘Wonderland’ series called ‘Spirited Away’. It’s vibrant, simple yet tells a complex story and it allows the viewer to wonder what that story is, and create a bit of your own. Kirsty Mitchell is quite phenomenal in her images.
http://www.kirstymitchellphotography.com/collection.php?album=5
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If you would like to connect with Effie here are a few ways to do that :-)
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