Jill Dyson opens Concert for Mark Schultz

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . This is my friend Jill Dyson at www.jilldyson.com. Jill is a talented singer songwriter and recently opened for Mark Schultz www.markschultzmusic.com at the summer concert series at www.hopepres.com. Jill has recently written several new songs for her upcoming CD, and is being mentored by Bruce Carroll at www.brucecarroll.com in the studio at Hope. Jill and her husband Shannon are great friends & neighbors, we hang out with the family when we get a chance, and I've been helping her develop her business. Here are a few photos of Jill taken in the studio, and around the corner from my house in old town Cordova. Keep and eye on her career, she has tremendous talent. www.megapixel.bz

Memphis Wedding Photography Southern Bride Magazine

In between everything else I do, I've had the great opportunity over the years to work as a contributing artist to several magazines, the experience and rewards are great. This past year I've been working for http://www.southernbride.com/ and I wanted to post a few photographs from the recent issue that just hit the magazine stands. Some of the photos are pretty simple and straight forward, for the in-studio shots of the models, used 2 low 50 watt voltage halogens just to see what would happen, I've used much larger 1 k fresnels in the past, but I wanted to see how the new Canon 5D would handle this situation. I added the bubbles in photoshop just for kicks...For the cakes, http://www.thattakesthecake.net/ I used natural light with a reflector, for the candy I used a reflector overhead with a Canon strobe pointed straight up, and the outdoor shot had just a tiny bit of fill flash, just enough to let the colors of the clothes pop a bit. I also had the opportunity to work with a couple friends (also photographers) http://www.ramblinrosephotography.com/ and http://www.bellphotoart.com/ along with my wife Janice at http://www.estonsalon.com/ and Julie the Aveda Color Director for ESTON. Also, thanks goes to the editors at Southern Bride, Alyssa and Lyndsay and the http://www.brooksmuseum.com/ for the location.

My little girl Amelia loves to help me with sessions. Her she helped me with the new
"Ballerina Session" that I offer in the studio. For this session I used a halogen softbox, and a small light on the backdrop for a little dimension. Each photo has a bit of photoshop work just to add a bit of softness. From these sessions I create a mini album, and a framed print or gallery wrap for the clients. This is a favorite with most moms that have little ballerinas at home. I used my Canon 5D with the 24-105 4.0 IS lense.

Last Month I had the opportunity to shoot some concerts at Hope for their summer concert series. Here are a few shots from two of the concerts, I'll try to post
a few more photos later. Most of you are familiar with the song Via De La Rosa, it was written by Billy Sprague who performed with his friends Bruce Carroll and Bob Bennett. Photographing concerts give me a lot of time to try new techniques, shoot
in some impossible lighting situations, and stretch my creativity by catching the artist in just the right moment. I also had the opportunity to photograph another well known christian artist, Nicole Mullen, www.nicolecmullen.com who has written many of todays most popular songs. She is a powerhouse of energy, and catching her was quite a job, I was able to get several dozen action shots using my Canon 5D with a 70-200 2.8 IS lense.

Bridal Portfolio's are the hottest thing in weddings right now, I love to work with new brides in creating a session that brings out their beauty in a romantic way. For Mandy's session, the backdrop set the mood at the historic Nineteenth Century Club in Downtown Memphis. I encourage every bride to include a bridal session at the top of her wedding photography priority list. Every bridal portrait becomes a cherished part of the brides memories. I get many brides calling me wishing that they had done a session for their wedding years ago.

A lot of my bridal sessions take a lot of planning, and some sessions I do several months after the wedding day, and some brides give them a surprise gifts to their husbands, so it's well worth the time and expense.I tend to shoot the bridal session as I would a fashion models session, using special locations, extra studio lighting, and special attention to the hair and makeup. I also want to stretch the bride a bit from her wedding poses, and direct her in the style of the session. I want the bride to walk away from the session having fun, and a lot of choices from her session. More than one portrait, but a complete portfolio with photographs she can use for years. She also let me do her engagement session, and that's posted below as well.Mandy did an incredible job in her session, and she's been very gracious to let me share some of her portfolio on my blog and on my website. Thanks Mandy!