The Lift Restaurant
On the edge of Jackson City, Wyoming, there’s a new restaurant called the Lift. It overlooks a mountainside and is appropriately themed with old ski left chairs and recycled whiskey bottles. My photography class visited the Lift at the end of our last photo excursion to photograph (and eat!) their beautifully plated food. You can find my Lift restaurant food photography here. The place was so neat I couldn’t resist snapping a few shots of the restaurant itself, as well!
Exterior:
Interior:
Here’s a shot of my photography class on the upper deck of the Lift! This was taken by my classmate and friend, Rex Warner.
Wright Family
Not long ago my cousin Kimmy Wright contacted me to ask about taking some photos for her daughter Bethani, who just turned two. Over the course of the discussion we decided it would be way more fun to do a full family shoot. We couldn’t have been more, well, Wright! *rimshot!* Daymon (five), Cori (four) and little Nini certainly gave me a run for my money as they scampered all over the BYU-gardens. I loved capturing candid moments of these cuties exploring.
Our main man, Daymon:
Our little princess, Cori:
Nini, cute as a button:
Exploring:
Mom and Dad:
Fun with Dad:
All together, now!
Five years old and Daymon’s already working the GQ pout.
“Auuuuugh! MOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!”
The Lift – Dishes
My favorite shoot on the third Professional Imaging Excursion was definitely our stop at the Lift restaurant in Jackson, Wyoming. The restaurant had a rustic ski-lift theme, but the food was elegant and gorgeously plated. To top it all off, we were blessed with stunning natural lighting on the upper deck. If you’d like to see shots from the restaurant itself, look here!
Appetizers
Entrees:
Dessert:
Baked Goods Shootout
In addition to making food look delicious, Sis. Esplin instructed us to practice HDR. Apparently HDR is very trendy right now even in food photography. I think it’s pretty odd looking, but the technique certainly brings out interesting textures, especially in bread. I used Photomatix for my HDR composite shots.
Assorted Product Shootout
Destiny and I had to hurry to photograph as many products as fast as we could to the best of our abilities at the latest shootout. Our product options ranged from perfumes to pepper shakers to party favors. Once again, I found lighting makes or breaks a shoot. I had the opportunity to experiment with lots of different lighting set ups.
For the shootout each participant had to bring a product. I brought these adorable salt and pepper shakers. My roommate has a set just like this, and I thought they were so cute that I had to get my own. The little owls also have a matching spoon rest, but I couldn’t figure out how to work it into this shot.
Apparently this stuff is a Bostonian favorite. I was introduced to Fluff on our last excursion, but this was the first time I’d seen it in strawberry flavor.
Tacky shiny stuff.
In retrospect I should have been more careful to put better lighting on the logo and I would have loved to make the can look dewy with condensation, but I kinda like this shot anyway.
This is my favorite photo from the shoot-out. I like to think it would look like a real ad with the right text and logos on it.
The lighting on this shot was particularly tricky. I think we had too many flashes, because most of the photos were drastically overexposed even though they were in such a dark container. This is what the set-up looked like.
Visual Media Group Shoot
If getting good portraits of one or two people is challenging, getting a good group photo is astronomically more difficult. As part of my third and final Professional Imaging excursion, I participated in a group portrait shoot-out. My group and I were allotted fifteen minutes to organize our class for one full shoot and four smaller sub-group shots, which were arranged in advance. If these photos are any indication, I still have a lot to learn about staging and shooting group portraits, especially when cooperating with other photographers.
Sticks and Stones
As practice for photo-journalistic style headshots and portraiture Kenna Gurel headed over to Sticks and Stones bike shop to meet with the owner. We only spent a few minutes with him since we had to run off to our photoexcursion right afterward but I think we got some great shots! Here are a few of my favorites. Props to Kenna for helping with the lighting.
Take my Breath Away – Evan and Aubree Fashion
Evan and Aubree Perez are a beautiful couple. I wish I would have had more time to shoot them together! I loved their subtle displays of affection and sweetness. Evan’s classy beige suit paired wonderfully with Aubree’s dressy summer wear.
Shape and Shade – Zoe Fashion
As the daughter of my professor, Caryn Esplin, I’m rather certain young Zoe knows more about photography than I do. She certainly taught me a lot about modeling in the few moments I spent with her! She was a complete natural and adorable to boot. I was sorely tempted to let her do all of her own posing and just set my camera in continuous mode, but I knew I needed to at least try (laughs). We found what I assume to be a piece of an old wagon wheel leaning up against a barn and we experimented on a few poses with it.
Summer Daze – Leishman Family Fashion
Nick, Tina, Oz and Mac Leishman were a delight to work with. The sun broke with perfect timing, bringing their beautifully coordinated outfits of navy and yellows to life. The little boys were rambunctious and far more interested in throwing rocks into the stream, playing with sticks, and otherwise being boys, but I still managed to get a few sweet shots of them. Nick was reserved and dignified, and his wife Tina was so sweet.
