Rain, Cold, and Beautiful Portraits part 2

We kept Viola dry for the first part of her portraits by using overhangs and shelters to stay out of the rain. It looks as bright and sunny here as it would on any summer day but it was actually dark, cloudy and cold.

One thing that Viola especially wanted to do was to get some uniqe portraits in rain in the waterfall. Normally it is a tad bit warmer when anyone braves the water but Viola wanted something a little different than everyone else and she definitely got that. If you look close you can see the streaks of rain falling through the images and the raindrops splashing in the water around her.

Rain, Cold, and Beautiful Portraits

Thursday and Friday were cold windy rainy fall days. I think the temperature was a high of 50 degrees and it rained all day both days.

For some people that means time to call and reschedule their senior portraits. But not for Haley, Emily or Viola. They all braved the rain and cold to get some unique senior portraits. I actually think Haley was hoping for rain, she had a great accessories all ready to go for the rain.

With a few camera and lighting tricks I can make it look bright and sunny or dark and stormy.

Emily brought a fun sundress and high heels to play around with in the rain.

Even if it is dark and rainy it doesn't have to look like it. Colors are actually more vibrant on a cloudy day.

Summer Weddings!

I love late summer weddings! The yellow orange light from the late August sun - wow what amazing colors! Lisa and Jared were married in Waverly on the golf course - about a 2 hour drive from here but it was definitely worth it.

Jared surprised Lisa at their wedding with an amazing canvas gallery wrap of one of their engagement portraits that we took earlier this year.

Busy loving life

Wow! Just a little busy these days. Everyday I have a million things I want to post on here but I'm also itching to process the last session and see everything I've just done. Every time I shoot I learn something new, have a ton of fun and get better. Sometimes I don't even like to go to sleep because I am so anxious to process that next session and see the great images that came from it.

Lately I've been busy with creative business portraits for Salon Incognito and Biker Britches, shooting magazine ads for a few Iowa City Magazines, weddings, families, children, and seniors-seniors-seniors!

Here are just a few of my favorite images from Carolynn & Scott's wedding. They are both from military families and their wedding party and guests flew in from all over the United States to be at their wedding. It was a beautiful day and everything was perfect. Congratulations Carolynn & Scott!!

Sneek Peak at Kiffany & Scott's Wedding

Just a few of my favorite images from Kiffany & Scott's wedding. Their wedding was an absolute blast and I was glad I had the opportunity to be there. We spent almost 16 hours together that day, I was there with Kiffany at the salon in the morning and the party didn't stop till after midnight. What a fun day!

Awesome Graphic Artist Opportunity

Thanks to our amazing clients & all of their referrals... things are going great for Shirk Photography! Our schedule is filling up faster than we ever imagined... seniors, families, babies, weddings... the list goes on! Ben is currently spending 80 hours/week creating portrait art & Sara is working hard to keep the business running smooth. It's definitely a good thing that photography is our passion!

We've decided that we're going to need some assistance if we want to continue to accept new clients! We're looking for a graphic artist. Probably starting off as part-time, but at the rate things are going, there's a good chance that it will turn out to be a full time position. There will be lots of designing... promotional materials, website, packaging, collages, albums, dvd slideshows...

We know there are very few job openings out there for graphic artists so this is an AWESOME opportunity for someone that wants to use their creativity & design skills to their fullest potential! The artist must have a taste & design style that matches ours. They must be detail oriented & be willing to have their work critiqued by a perfectionist (need her name be mentioned?). They must take pride in their work and share our goal to exceed client expectations and that everything will look amazing when it leaves our studio.

We're very excited to get some additional help so that Ben can continue doing what he loves - creating portrait art! If you know of anyone that would be interested please have them send a resume and some samples of their work to info@shirkphotography.com.

Precious Little Emily

As you have probably noticed I haven't blogged for quite a while. Things continue to be very busy here but I recently took a little time out for some very special portraits. Jill contacted me a few weeks ago and invited me up to the University of Iowa NICU to capture some unique portraits of her daughter Emily who was born 13 weeks premature.

It was a moving experience to see Emily hooked up to the many monitors and tubes. She is absolutely beautiful and perfectly proportioned. I am happy to say that Emily seems to be doing very well. I am glad that Jill took the time to contact me and and I am very thankful for the opportunity to capture such precious moments. I look forward to capturing more images of Emily as she grows.

Jill found my name on the ACPCG website which is a volunteer organization of child photographers that are willing to donate their time to critically ill or extremely premature newborns. If you are a parent or if you know a parent that is in need of my services please contact me.