Last year I make the decision to go back to school to study editorial photography. While I still love (and will always love) to photograph portraits and weddings, I want to also venture into the world of editorial photography, hopefully shooting for Food & Wine, Budget Travel, or Martha Stewart Magazine one day.
This past year has been tough, but amazing. I have learned more than you can ever imagine, and I’m only half way through the program. Not only have I grown as a photographer, but I have had the amazing opportunity to befriend and carry on critiques with some truly amazing photogaphers. If you have contacted me for a shoot this year when I am unavailable, I’ve already introduced you to some of these people, because I sent you their way. I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of such a wonderful network of photographers.
I’m now on summer break, happily busy with summer portrait sessions and weddings. Now that I have more time, I’m going to post more of my sessions to the blog. To kick it off, I’m going to share a portrait I shot that I feel really shows off what I’ve learned this past year.
Carrie was a great person to explore a less traditional, more editorial style with, since she herself is cutting edge and not so traditional. We spent a relaxing afternoon shooting, trying with all our might to work her timid, skittish greyhound Tabitha into the shoot. Only when I backed up nearly two rooms away did she make an appearance. It worked out wonderfully and got us the best shot of the day, a shot I could see just as much in the pages of a magazine as hanging on a wall in their home. And that is exactly what I went back to school to achieve.
Tags: arlington, baby, Baby Photographer, Boston, Child Photographer, Dog, Editorial, Environmental Portrait, Kara Stokes Photography, Maternity Photographer, Maternity Portraits, new england, Pregnancy Portraits, Pregnant
Dali Restaurant & Tapas bar, located on the Cambridge/Somerville line, serves quite possibly the best sangria in all of Boston. Once upon a time the owner of Dali was interviewed by the Globe and shared a slightly modified version of the recipe, which has been tweaked and reposted by amateur mixologists across the web. Today, over delicious plates of fried spanish cheese with honey, tortilla espanola, and garlic shrimp, I was able to confirm the true ingredients of the sangria with our bartender, while sipping a glass of the delicious libation, of course.
Dali Sangria
3 bottles of Spanish Red Wine
1 cup of brandy
1 cup triple sec
1 cup of sugar
1/2 gallon of orange juice
Mix all the ingredients and let sit overnight. Add sliced fruit before serving.
It goes without saying, the wine you use makes all the difference in the world. That’s why you must head across the street to The Wine & Cheese Cask, whose staff is always ready to help you find the wine you need. Mention that you are looking for a wine with which to make sangria and they will counter with, “Do you want to see what they use across the street at Dali?” They will lead you to the back room full of Italian & Spanish wines, and point you in the direction of Vina Borgia.
And there you have it. All it takes is two wonderful, friendly local businesses to improve your quality of life by improving the quality of your sangria. I urge you not only to try this recipe with vina borgia and to pass it on to your friends, but to also visit both the Wine & Cheese Cask and Dali Restaurant & Tapas Bar. I promise, you’ll be glad you did.
Having worked in Copley Square for quite a few years, I have seen my fair share of brides and grooms on the steps of the BPL, having their wedding portraits done. You would think that would have inspired me to wander around and test the light in and around the library, but no. I didn’t go shoot there until just yesterday, when my friends and I were wandering around the city looking for beautiful windows to use as a main light for portraits. Something just clicked between the light from the window, the beautiful colors and textures of the surrounding walls, and the short depth of field I was shooting with, which made my friend look like a painting or a sculpture herself. I think I’m going to try to incorporate this painterly look into more of my portraits, in the near future.
I have been so behind on posting to my blog, but I’ve been busy. I shot a gorgeous wedding in Atlanta (blog post to follow soon) and lots of adorable little ones. Finally, I’m back here. And I’m so excited to introduce my new niece, Caleigh. She was born a couple weeks early, is the tiniest thing ever, and coo’s like a little baby monkey. Yesterday we did our first official shoot together, turning her big sister Isabelle’s room into a makeshift studio. I love that I made it out to the Berkshires in time to get these portraits of her at only a few days old. There is something so beautiful to me about newborns in their first few days, the calm look on their face as they sleep the hours away.
I kicked off a shockingly warm and sunny halloween morning shooting portraits of 1 year old Avery at Norris Reservation, a great little park that her parents had been coming to for years. Not only was its super dog friendly, but it was so photo friendly too, with benches and picnic tables placed in spots with fantastic backdrops.
Even though Avery missed her morning nap and therefore wasn’t in a Top Model mood, she still managed to look completely adorable in her rainbow striped tights and adorable knit cap. And don’t even get me started on the dog costume, it’s cute overload! Here are some of my favorite shots from the session.
Yesterday I had a very cool photographic first. I had my first experience shooting multiple mini-portrait sessions at once. I have heard of photographers who set this sort of thing up and just announce a day and time they will be at a certain park. I am not quite at the point of organizing portrait events yet, so I was thrilled when Sarah from Itzy Bitzy Childcare approached me to do a series of mini-portrait sessions for the toddlers at the daycare. We decided to do our session at Arnold Arboretum, which was full of beautiful fall foliage.
I’m pretty sure someone upstairs was looking down on us, because it was a stunning warm fall day, with the perfect amount of sun to give a little sparkle to their eyes. You would never have believed that it snowed just days before! I’m pretty sure the kids had a lot of fun, both picnicking and playing with Sarah and Aisha and then running around with me when it was their turn for their closeup.
As you can imagine, there were so many photos of the kids that I loved and would love to share on the blog. But because there were 11 kids photographed, I have to limit what I share in the sneak peek. Here is just a small taste of the photos from our day.
A big thank you to Sarah and Aisha for this experience. I hope we can do it again in the future!
This past Monday I headed down to Mansfield to photograph newborn Nathan, who surprised his parents by arriving a good two weeks earlier than scheduled. He was a perfect subject, opening his eyes more than any newborn I’ve seen in recent years. I even managed to capture some sparkly catch lights in those brand new little eyes.
I would say this was their first child, but as you can see below, they also have a child of the furry kind. Dexter proved to be a perfect stand-in for Nathan while he was being fed, even posing for me on the boppy that we set up for Nathan to lie on.
Here is a sneak peek of some of my favorite shots from the session.
Friday, October 16, 2009 Posted in Weddings
Leah and Jeffrey were married in the clubroom at Veronique which was exciting for me, because it was the site of my best friend’s wedding three years ago. It was amazing to return and instead of being in the wedding party, to be there to do everything I could to record it as accurately and as beautifully as possible. It was also exciting to see how much the venue has changed in three years. Now they have a gorgeous upper level garden, which allowed for some beautiful portraits of the Leah and Jeff, far from all the buzz and activity of the party. I really think you can sense the quiet calm they got to experience for their outdoor photos.
Leah and Jeff were a dream to shoot, completely relaxed and happy on their big day. And I can safely say that Leah was the anti-bridezilla, which I first realized when I heard her telling a friend that she didn’t want her sister to alter her manic-panic hair for the wedding, that she wanted her sister to look like herself.
There were over fifty images that I initially pulled to post as a sneak peek to my blog. Fifty! I managed to edit it down to thirty, after a lot of hemming and hawing. I hope you all love them as much as I do.
Sunday, October 4, 2009 Posted in Weddings
Despite precarious weather predictions for this past Friday, Olga and Steve ended up with absolutely perfect weather for their beautiful and intimate ceremony in the Italian Garden at Elm Bank. This wedding was unique in that they made it as eco-friendly as possible, from the invitations sent on recycled paper, to the organic and local food served, to small pots of local honey given out as wedding favors. This completely appealed to me and my own personal sensibilities, so I was that much more honored to be able to record this special day for them. And as you can see, throwing an eco-friendly wedding doesn’t have to look crunchy or casual. Their wedding was just as stylish and glamorous, if not more so, as any other.
I also loved the generations of family and love that I witnessed, from Olga catching up with her Ukrainian grandmothers to Steve dancing his adorable daughter around the dance floor. It truly was a special night.
When four year old Sami’s mom showed her the princess portraits I took of my nieces, she told her about my magic camera that photographs fairies and fairy dust. Obviously, Sami wanted princess fairy dust portraits of her own. So this Saturday we headed to the truly magical Borderland State Park for our shoot. Sami and her sister Caleigh donned their favorite princess dresses, and their brother Matthew joined them for a fun day of running around, collecting pine cones, and exploring the secret corners and hidden water fountains around the castle.
Here are photos that the fairies did not show up in. Check back in a few days for the photos where my magic camera caught trails of fairy dust surrounding Sami and her siblings.
Tags: borderland state park, castle, child, children, fairies, fairy dust, fun, kara stokes, Kara Stokes Photography, mansfield, massachusetts, natural light, new england, outdoors, photography, portrait, Portraits, princesses, smiling, summer, sunshine
by Kara
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