The Beauty of Breastfeeding
I find breastfeeding photography sessions to be an empowering way to celebrate motherhood. These beautiful images hopefully help reduce the stigma around the personal choice of breastfeeding.
This summer I sat with Gypsy and her son and captured some lifelong memories. I have had many people tell me they wish they had captured these moments from their past, and I often hear “if I had another baby I would do a nursing shoot.” I find breastfeeding photography sessions to be an empowering way to celebrate motherhood. These beautiful images hopefully help reduce the stigma around the personal choice of breastfeeding.
The natural outdoor lighting was perfect for this day, and baby was very cooperative. Breastfeeding photography sessions need to be done on the baby’s schedule, and I find I have the most luck right after the baby has napped and wakes up hungry. That way the baby doesn’t get too sleepy during the shoot.
I have done breastfeeding shoots in the studio, but most have been done in more natural settings that are more comfortable for mom and baby. For these last two shots we found an abandoned farmhouse down the road.
Contact me if you are in central Massachusetts and interested in a breastfeeding photoshoot.
Glitter Maternity with Gypsy
A studio maternity glitter shoot with Gypsy
I worked with my friend Gypsy on an outdoor maternity shoot in 2018. The images came out amazing and I use them all over my portfolio and social media pages (see a few examples below). So when Gypsy became pregnant in 2020 I knew I wanted to work with her again.
Promotional material (refrigerator magnet)
I had been working on an idea for a glitter maternity shoot before the pandemic, and I had seen a few examples online that I liked and wanted to try. I read a few blog posts about making your own body glitter (sorry I don’t remember which ones now) so I knew I needed to find good quality glitter and something to help apply it. This was going to be a lot cheaper than buying it premade. It was my wife who came across baby oil gel, which is not only the perfect consistency, but also hypoallergenic and usually enriched with shea and cocoa butter.
Gypsy and I worked together on updating our research and the types of images we wanted to try. This was an obvious choice for doing in the studio as she would probably be mostly nude and I wanted to control the shine on the glitter. I mixed up the glitter and gel in a Tupperware container and we applied it with a brand new kitchen sponge. We quickly realized we needed a lot of glitter.
I used a gray seamless paper backdrop (I almost exclusively use paper in the studio) and put most of the light on Gypsy to give her shape plenty of depth and contrast. I also wanted to make sure that your eyes go to her eyes first, and then the belly, in at least a few shots.
It’s very important to me to get as many different looks with the same model setup as possible, especially with maternity shoots. In these profile shots the viewer’s focus goes right to the glitter and then zooms out to see the whole frame.
Abundance Family Farm
I spent a morning with the family who runs Abundance Family Farm as they harvested vegetables for their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share in nearby Charlton Massachusetts. They were discussing the state of their farm with our mutual friend Rachel and I was providing some photos for an upcoming piece for their website.
Family Portraits during COVID-19
Schedule an outdoor family portrait session with Gentle Grace Photography while still keeping up social distancing
Family portraits are expanding as restrictions around COVID-19 are being reduced. Though in studio photo shoots are not advised due to close quarters, outdoor photo shoots in close proximity to your home are relatively safe. I have been practicing social distancing and take precautions including mask wearing, washing of hands, and cleaning of my gear. I live in Dudley and can easily travel to your home or a nearby park while still keeping up social distancing.
Outdoor family photo shoots and personal portraits are a favorite of mine, being able to capture a loving family group photo and also candid photos as everyone interacts. See below for my reduced rates.
My family portrait sessions are $150 and include at least 10 high resolution digital edits.
Personal portraits, including senior photos, are $75 and include at least 5 high resolution digital edits.
Maternity sessions are $150 and include the mother to be and immediate family.
Fill out my web form to get more information or to start the booking process.
Flashback - Wedding on Martha's Vineyard
Commentary and images from my first wedding, shot on Martha’s Vineyard.
I’ve learned a lot about photography from photographing weddings and from my dad who used to shoot weddings. I even assisted him once when he photographed his brother’s wedding when I was a kid. Those days it was all on film, and stress levels were high, especially when your client was also your family.
So in October of 2011 when our friends were getting married during a small family ceremony on Martha’s Vineyard I was happy to photograph for them, but also a little anxious.
I had recently purchased my first Canon EOS 5D Mark II, after only having a Rebel in my camera bag for a few years. The weather was perfect, especially warm and sunny for October on the Vineyard, the perfect opportunity for my first wedding shoot.
The Gay Head Lighthouse was made available for after the ceremony, and the view was amazing. I was happy to have purchased the Canon EF 24-77mm F2.8 lens to be able to go wide when I needed, especially in the confines of the lighthouse, yet quickly go back to 50mm-75mm.
Being friends of the bride and groom also meant I was spending time with them before and after the wedding. One of my all time favorite captures is this one of the bride, sipping on wine on the porch of the bed and breakfast, the evening after the wedding.
The next day was unseasonably warm for October - nice enough to go swimming in the ocean. The bride and groom were excited about doing a Wreck The Dress style shoot and they didn’t disappoint. Being an impromptu shoot I didn’t have any lighting equipment or reflectors. It was bright and sunny and we used the beach across the street from the Bed and Breakfast. Now I wish I had paid more attention to shadows and maybe used a strobe to fill in their faces a little.
I will always be grateful to my friends for trusting me to shoot their wedding and be a part of the experience. I have since then done many more shoots with them including two maternity shoots. I think for their 10 year anniversary they should recreate the Wreck the Dress shoot, though it sometimes snows on the Vineyard in October.
Worcester Project - Chelsea Michelle
This is the first set in a planned series of public space photographs taken around Worcester, Massachusetts. This series contains a few interesting backdrops around the Shrewsbury Street neighborhood with model Chelsea Michelle.
This is the first set in a planned series of public space photographs taken around Worcester, Massachusetts. This series contains a few interesting backdrops around the Shrewsbury Street neighborhood with model Chelsea Michelle.
Flashback - Big Bang Boston 2012
In 2012 I participated in a group shoot fashion show in Boston called “Big Bang Boston.” As far as I know it was the only one they did. I met a few models there that I was fortunate enough to work with again in the future including Aimee Stamler and Morgana Allen.
The location was a club on Tremont Street. I had done a few events for the producer, but this was the first one I did in a club. I used a flash during the runway show, but not very effectively, and didn’t get any shots worth keeping. I did, as usual, get a few descent shots from backstage and from the crowd.
This group shot of the models, designer, and MUAs received many likes and comments on Facebook due to how many people were tagged. I would attempt a group shot at my future group shoot events specifically for social media purposes.
Aimee Stamler stood out as one of the models; you can see her in the group shot above in center. I remember how vibrant her cool peacock tattoo on her inner arm was and of course her red hair.
We kept up on social media, and this year I was fortunate to do a maternity shoot with Aimee, 8 years after our first shoot at Big Bang Boston.
Morgana Allen also stood out. Not just because she’s very tall but she also came off down to earth, cool, and confident. The outfit she’s wearing is her street clothes I believe.
A few years ago I photographed Morgana in her Jessica Rabbit costume, which she made herself. She designs and builds custom wedding and formal dresses through her business HOVEY Couture.
Flashback - Holy Ghosts at Berklee College of Music (2009)
I photographed my first opera 11 years ago at the Berklee College of Music in Boston Massachusetts. It was the world premier of Larry Bell’s Holy Ghosts and was being directed by my wife Eve Summer.
Eve Summer, Opera Director
I photographed my first opera 11 years ago at the Berklee College of Music in Boston Massachusetts. It was the world premier of Larry Bell’s Holy Ghosts and was being directed by my wife Eve Summer.
The camera I used was a Canon EOS Digital Rebel, also known as the 300D. It was the first DSLR offered for less than $1000. Capable of a whopping 6.3 megapixels (3,072 x 2048) I used the kit 18-55mm lens. As usual for opera photography I shot the dress rehearsal with no flash. I was pleased with the images I captured, though I definitely see the limits of the camera and the resolution. The iPhone 11 has 12 megapixels by comparison, and these days I shoot with a Canon 5D with 21 megapixels and much better lenses.
I knew a bit about the opera since it was one of my wife’s productions and I saw it evolve during the design process, and got feedback from her during the staging process. I didn’t know any of the opera singers at the time, but now I recognize many familiar faces.
SYNOPSIS
Southerner Coleman Shedman demands a divorce from his wife, Nancy, who he thinks has left him for a preacher–Oby. Coleman, Nancy, and Oby each recollect the couple’s last night together quite differently. It turns out Coleman is mistaken about Oby: Nancy has left him for Oby’s elderly father, Obediah Buckhorn. Reverend Buckhorn leads a group of desperate misfits whose worship includes singing four traditional hymns (in the first act) and a literal belief in an obscure verse from the Book of Mark. The act concludes with Coleman’s horrified realization he is in the midst of a cult of Pentecostal snake handlers.
In Act II Coleman witnesses a series of religious-conversion testimonials. These worshippers include a woman dying of cancer; a suicidal, roughneck, gay couple; a teenaged couple unprepared for sudden parenthood; a middle-aged woman defying her family to try to find meaning in her life; and a woman accused of killing her sister with poisonous snakes. As the testimonials become more intense and six other hymn tunes appear, the service climaxes with the ecstatic handling of snakes. The only skeptic, Coleman is nevertheless moved to handle a serpent, and, in a blinding flash, finds salvation. Nancy, on the other hand, becomes disillusioned with Buckhorn and leaves the church. All the remaining parishioners embrace their renewed victory over death and celebrate the unchanging love of God.
PHOTOGRAPHY
What’s great about photographing opera is that there is so much work put in by the designers (lighting, scenic, costumes, wig, makeup) and the stage director that there are so many great moments to capture. With Holy Ghosts I learned to anticipate key moments, especially if I was unfamiliar with the work, and to speak with the director or watch another run-thru rehearsal before the dress rehearsal.
Another lesson I learned was with regard to filling the frame. That’s my style, and it comes from doing many black and white film portraits during my high school years for yearbook. We were told to fill the frame to make for more compelling yearbook photos and to not waste film. There are certainly many fill the frame moments in opera, but it’s also important to capture wide shots. These shots may have less focus on a particular emotional moment, but they provide better documentation on the scale of the production. These photographs are used by the artists in their portfolios, including the designers.
One interesting aspect of this production was the use of rubber snakes for the snake handling scenes. The props that were selected were well selected and obviously well rehearsed by the singers to add as much realism as possible. The results were photographs that show the emotion without pulling focus on the fact the snakes are props and not members of the cast.