Category Archives: Portraiture

Portraiture

Jennifer

Posted on by
Jennifer balancing her sword

Jennifer's Sword © 2011, Matt Vanecek

Mother. Wife. Daughter. Business Owner. Dancer. Jennifer.

I had opportunity to create some photographs of Jennifer at her studio. Jennifer is the proprietress of Sole Groove Dance Studio in Flower Mound, TX. Jennifer was a real pleasure to work with. She’s intelligent, has an easy sense of humor, and is pretty laid back.

Jennifer in her burnt orange costume

Jennifer on Green © 2011, Matt Vanecek

Jennifer had a couple of costumes that she wanted to have pictures in . We started out with the blue outfit, and worked in a couple of shots with her sword. Then we moved on to an orange outfit that really went very well with her hair color. It was pretty easy to move Jennifer into different poses and positions to emphasize her elegance and that bit of playfulness. It didn’t take her any time at all to pick up on such obscure posing terms as “dancers’ hands.” Which was actually pretty impressive, since not only was that posing term obscure, it was also made up on the spot. By me. :)


Jennifer's headshot in black and white

Jennifer in Black-and-White © 2011, Matt Vanecek

Jennifer’s infectious smile and collaborative spirit helped make this session very fun. With my lovely assistant (AKA my wife!) we were able to get in and set up quickly. After that, we made some wonderful images with Jennifer, and got everything packed up and loaded just in time to see a rather spectacular sunset and lightning show.


I’m truly looking forward to the next opportunity I get to photograph Jennifer! :)
Take a look at my Portrait portfolio, that includes the above images of Jennifer and some others not shown here.

Sirens at Sunrise in June

Posted on by
Sirens at Sunrise

© 2011, Matt Vanecek

Every once in a while, a few photographers will gather at an agreed-upon location. There may be found some women (and the occasional man) who are willing to get up while Ra yet journeys through the underwold, apply makeup and lashes, and dress up in costumes (or not, as the case may be). On a hot, sticky, humid, partly-cloudy morning in June a group of us held such an outing. My wife, our dear friend Michelle, and the lovely Lisha (who is also a good friend, but that doesn’t sounds as good as “lovely Lisha!” :) ), consented to be our models for the morning.

I do like some good close-ups! My lovely bride doesn’t have any Steampunk accoutrement, which was the optional theme for today’s shoot. But she does clean up pretty nice, as you can see here. This was taken at the Irving Convention Center shortly after Ra got his chariot moving. There was also a nice cloud cover that softened up the light very nicely.


Sirens at Sunrise 0032 by Matt Vanecek (mevanecek) on 500px.com

© 2011, Matt Vanecek

The lovely Lisha sported some pretty nifty costuming. You can find her out at Scarborough Renaissance Festival in Waxahachie when it’s in season. I love taking pictures of her, because she is so expressive. It doesn’t hurt that she’s pretty, either. But the most beautiful person in the world without an expression is just a mannequin. About all you can do with a mannequin is hang clothes on it. So when I get an opportunity to shoot somebody like Lisha, I am quite ecstatic. I know I’ll get some good shots!


Sirens at Sunrise 0257 by Matt Vanecek (mevanecek) on 500px.com

© 2011, Matt Vanecek

Michelle is a bellydance and Romani dance instructor. She also makes hats and hair accessories. Because of her dance and the hair accessories, she does have a nice assortment of costuming. I’ve done a few shoots with Michelle, and those have always been fun. This was no exception. We needed to get some photographs of Michelle in her latest dance costume, which she wore in the annual dance recital for the dance studio she teaches at. I think there are a couple she’ll like!


The ones I think are the best from this shoot are over at 500px.com. The full set of processed images is in my Irving Convention Center set on Flickr. Go take a look, and then leave me a comment here about which ones are your favorites!


Sean and Laura

Posted on by
Laura contemplating her little miracle

Laura © 2011, Matt Vanecek

I recently asked Sean and Laura if they had had any pregnancy photographs made. They had arranged for some, but something came up. Lucky for me! I offered to photograph Laura, and throw Sean in a couple poses for good measure. You know, the husband being an afterthought and all during pregnancy. :) The only condition was Laura still needed to be pregnant. That condition was actually set by Laura, as “early” delivery was definitely a possibility.

We arranged for me to take pictures on a Saturday at Sean and Laura’s house. They were very patient, and we went through a few different poses and setups. I think we got some pretty good shots. I really tried to make it a more professional type of shoot, and to make everyone comfortable but move through the shoot pretty quick. Of course, Sean and Laura are friends, and my wife was my assistant. So, we probably took a little bit longer because we were enjoying ourselves. Overall, I think it was a really good experience for me, with respect to working with potential clients. Planning and directing poses, trying to get something that would bring good memories years down the road.

Sean and Laura are two of the nicest people I know. I mean, truly nice people. Less than 12 hours after the photo session, they brought another nice person into the world. I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to photograph Laura during her pregnancy. Congratulations, Sean and Laura! Y’all are going to make GREAT parents!