You Like Me. You Really Like Me.

This photo simply makes me laugh.

I've recently joined Facebook and am awed by the quick interest and followers of my page. Alyssa Fortin Photography has over 100 FANS! As a thank you, and in an effort to gently encourage those who like me to tell their friends about AFP, I'm hosting a contest. Now through the end of October, each time you comment on one of my photos, post on my wall or tag yourself in one of my photos you will be entered in the contest. The winner (selected by random.org) receives a free mini session, that includes one (1) roll of film, for a photo shoot at a mutually agreeable South Shore location. Don't forget you have to "like" Alyssa Fortin Photography to participate. I'll announce the lucky winner on November 1, 2011.

Let the games begin!

The Idea Behind Concept Shoots

Now that the Weir River Farm shoots are over, I want to promote something different for the next few months: concept shoots.

The idea is a planned out shoot using particular props such as a boat or vintage car, at a particular location like Castle Hill, or an activity the children might be acting out. I have been doing these kinds of shoots for several years now with clients who I know are up for it. On my many outings prop hunting, I've come across fun items like antique dresses, an old sprinkler and a vintage baby doll crib that I would love to use in pictures. I have lots of ideas swimming around in my head right now. Little boys playing wildly in a sprinkler. Children and their horses. Kids all bundled up building a snowman or pictures after a snowfall.  Problem is, the chances of having your shoot scheduled for the day after a perfect storm are slim to none. Or at a regular shoot, if I used a sprinkler, the kids would be all wet and the shoot would be over.

 For this shoot, I found someone to loan us their vintage car.

I have presented the idea of the play ironing with a toy iron and ironing board to two clients recently as a part of their regular shoot and, both times, this was not what they were looking for.  I understand this from the clients perspective as well as the photographer's perspective. At the end of the day, those shoots are about you, your child. As an artist though, to keep growing and continue providing my clients with a certain level of skill, I'm finding I'm becoming increasingly passionate about concept shoots. That is why I think this idea will work better as just fun, extra shoots for people to enjoy. 

This is where being a fan of my Facebook page will come in handy.

What I plan to offer through Facebook is a particular concept. I'll post some details of the shoot with the ages and number of children I am looking for. Then interested clients can respond. These shoots will last about 30 minutes and I will most likely only take one roll of film. Your cost is only $50 per roll - just to make sure I cover my costs. But what you will get out of it are fun creative images. The prints will be available at my standard rate starting at $55 for a 5x7 print.

My first concept shoot for fall will be Make Believe Mommy. I am looking for 2-4 little girls between the ages of 3 and 5 years old to participate in a shoot one day next week (exact date to be determined). If you miss out on one of these shoots, not to worry. I hope to offer these types of opportunities in between regular bookings, so please stay tuned to my Facebook page.

Below you can see some of my favorite shots from past concept shoots.

Some ideas can be more simple than others. For this shot, the idea was just two young boys without shirts and hanging on each other, looking directly at me.

Another example of a past concept shoot is this image of four girls in dresses made from vintage linens with two puppies in an antique crib in a field.  We set it up and I took a full roll of this concept to achieve the "perfect" shot.

 At this shoot we brought a canoe over to World's End as a prop.

I love photographing horses. I think this is a particularly beautiful image.

This shot included a long, vintage cream skirt in a wheat field with an antique, beat-up armchair.

Why I Prefer Film Photography

People are usually surprised when I tell them that I still use a 35mm film SLR as my main work camera.  I went to a conference about 8 years ago by a very well known children's portrait photographer who is passionate about film.  Before I went, I told myself I was either going to come home and buy a digital camera or commit to using my film camera as my medium.  After that weekend, I knew film photography was right for me.  As an artist, it is the medium necessary to achieve the outcome that inspires me. My passion in my work comes from the results that film photography produces.  To me photography is about creating the best product I can - not about the highest profit margin. 

When clients really want some color images I will shoot with both digital for color and film for black and white.  I find I approach both cameras a little differently.  There isn't the cost factor in the back of my mind while shoot with my digital camera.  I know I can just shoot away and delete any unwanted images.  Although this sound enticing, it actually works as a disadvantage.  I find that I might not take the necessary time to compose the shot and might not carefully wait for that perfect shot with digital.  I can just over shoot and assume that there are some good ones.  With film I tell myself with each shot, to slow down, to take my time, to make sure it is the right, perfect shot.  When I am shooting both film and digital for clients, I shoot away with the digital; then when I pick up the film camera I hear me telling myself, and the subject, make it count.  

After I make sure I have captured the perfect expressions of your children, I have the images processed and printed by a highly skilled craftsmen who has more than forty years of printing experience in the same print-making process as one hundred years ago. Film is individually hand-processed and treated to the highest archival standards.  Negatives are custom printed in a dark room. The result is a much richer image with more tonal depth and detail than anything created by a digital file. The final print has a timeless quality to it and, with proper care, looks the same as the images we see in art museums or our grandmother's attic. Even if your children's portraits don't end up on a museum wall, aren't they worth it? Your perfect child. The perfect shot. It's the perfect moment captured in time. 


Prints made from film last forever.

Nona's Ice Cream

Such a great shoot. It makes me proud to live in a perfect little town like Hingham with Nona's homemade only two blocks away for my house. This little boy doesn't like messes and was just as clean coming out of the shoot as going into it. His sister, on the other hand, couldn't get enough! My favorite shot is of the inside of Nona's with the little boy getting his ice cream - the chalk board in the background is classic. 

Modern American Family

I was traveling to meet this modern American family and scout their lovely home as a possible location for the shoot. But just a short distance from their house I tripped upon this cool, old industrial building and it inspired me to schedule the shoot there.  I had to tell her that her beautifully renovated home was not the vision I saw for her shoot! Sometimes things that are a little different are the most beautiful things. This family was really fun to work with and were naturals in front of the camera.  

AFP on FB

Thank you for visiting Alyssa Fortin Photography THE BLOG. This is the best place to see a more in-depth look at my most recent work. Throughout the month I will post my thoughts on timely shoots and share some of my favorite images.

I realize, however, more and more people are on Facebook, so I recently joined and added Alyssa Fortin Photography. There, I will post more favorite photos, a brief update or two, links to THE BLOG, but also special offers that are only available to my Facebook friends.

If you are on Facebook, I hope you will take the time to "Like" my business page, Alyssa Fortin Photography. And if you see an image of your child, do "tag" the photo as your own. I am proud of my work and hope you will want to share my page with your friends and family.

Boats in New England

People call me all the time asking for pictures at a local beach and I try to give them more than just the beach. Being on the South Shore and having access to boats adds an interesting component and another layer to the portrait. I've had the privilege to capture some of my client's on their personal boats.  I love the personal aspect to include an activity that is a special part of their lives.  These are some of my favorite "beach" pictures using boats.   

Baby Catherine

Most of my clients are on the South Shore, but this young family traveled down from the city for baby Catherine's first photo shoot. I only schedule one shoot a day and it makes sense - especially when photographing newborns. Baby Catherine didn't allow me to take the first photo for about one hour. I wasn't really sure if she was ever going to fall asleep, but when she finally did we had a very successful hour of shooting.

Beautiful Baby Oliver

It was only a short time ago, it seems, that I took the engagement pictures for baby Oliver's parents. I think his mother is beautiful and so natural in front of the camera. I told them call me when you have your first child and was happy to hear from them recently to photograph their beautiful baby boy. Because newborn shoots can take anywhere from 2 - 4 hours, it was a plus for me that I knew Oliver's parents from their previous shoot. We were all very comfortable with each other. Oliver was so comfortable, in fact, he slept through the entire shoot and that made it easy to mold him into many different poses to capture these beautiful images.

Marleen

What a beautiful family! This is my first maternity shoot as well as my first shoot at two new locations. Marleen and her family are moving back to Colorado and wanted to capture her pregnancy as well as her time in New England. My goal was to create natural maternity images of Marleen and her three beautiful girls in a location that depicts the beauty of the South Shore. I created the first image with a zoom lens so that Marleen could be standing on the wall of the fort and I was about 30 feet away. I love how the boats blur in the background to give a suggestion of nautical without distracting from the subject.

Quintessential New England Summer

A family who is moving to New York asked me to capture some of the charm of living in Hingham. This shoot was a take off on the ice cream social fundraiser for the Hingham Community Center. We reserved some of the big waffle cones and set up shop at Nona's Homemade. It was a quick shoot - about an hour from start to finish - starting when the family entered the ice cream shop to when the ice cream was eaten! I took pictures of everything: from the kids standing on the ledge peeking at the variety of flavors, in the store, outside of the store, on the sidewalk. Eventually we ended up at the steps of the antique movie theatre down the street.

I absolutely loved capturing the nostalgia of Hingham. It was perfect. Kids eating ice cream in a quintessential New England town. It doesn't get much better than this.

fathers and their children

In honor of Father's Day coming up, I thought I would share a few of my favorite images of dads interacting with their children.