Andy the giraffe.

Andy (as pictured below) came over this morning and we took some photos.

You're probably thinking "dang SR! All your friends are so good looking!"

And you're right. 

These were taken, again, in my living room.  It worked out that the colour of Andy's tie lined up with my wallpaper. Tada! That sort of thing happens a lot in my life. I love colour!

These photos were taken using a Canon 5d, an assortment of Canon L lenses, and window light (for the green back-grounded shots) and a ProPhoto umbrella (for the other ones).

f2.8

ISO200

1/20-1/60

Also, these vignettes are natural shadows from the curtains. Not a post-production touch.

This last one is a behind the scenes shot. Not really anything crazy. I just like it. 

Listen:

I have this thing about fingernails. I really like having short fingernails. As in, I do not let them grow past my fingertips. Long fingernails are weird to have (although it does feel great to shampoo my head with longer nails). But a friend at school asked me to grow them out for a photo he wants to do. As I type this, my nails are clicking the keys.; and it is weirding me out. 

If I could walk around with a camera to my eye, framing different things and comparing compositions- I would be a happy girl. Well, I am a happy girl now.

Good-night world!

SRtheGreat

Teachers, friends, and good humans.

I would like to introduce Peter (who goes by "Jimmy") and Gabe (who goes by "Gabe").

They are teachers at my illustrious educational institution and they are some of my favourites.


(Click on the photos to see them in their full, large glory).


Jimmy is a graphic designer and teaches Photoshop and InDesign. He is soft-spoken and patient.



Gabe is a computer whiz and fixes all our computers and hard-drives. Everyone is intimidated by his beard, but he is a a baby bear. His middle name is Freedom.




My teachers are so cool.

Grey backgrounds are good for girls.

I prefer grey backgrounds for photographing girls in the studio.


This is Raye, from NYC.
She's wicked fun, and reminds me of a songbird.


This was shot with a Mamiya645, digital back.
150mm Mamiya lens.
ISO 50.
1/60th at f13

I lit her combining hard and soft light (beauty dish main and softbox fill).
Before I came to school I was not into studio shots at all...not at all all all.
And now, they can be so much fun! Also, it's way too cold and icy to go outside and shoot...ha!

New England living room

This shot was taken in my Victorian style living room.
My apartment is quite photogenic.



Photo taken at 1/60th at f 16.
ISO 50
Canon 5d, Canon 50mm f1.2 lens.
One battery operated, ProPhoto umbrella was used.

The curtains came with my apartment, and the coat was my Papa's.

About the "sararenee.com" logo on the photo...
The site will be up soon! I am still working on it.

Let's talk about Lightroom for a second...I used to be hesitant about trusting it (because let's face it, we all fear what we do not know) so I stuck to using Photoshop exclusively. It's safe to say I have made a complete turn around and I love Lightroom. Fact!
If you don't own it, I recommend trying out the trial version. It is the best way to do basic edits, keep your files organized and catalogued, and export different file types.

Good day world.

Greetings!

This is a new blog, so allow me to give some introduction:
My name is Sara Renee Murray and I make photographs.

This week was a week of almost non-stop shooting. My half-sister was here for a visit and she just so happens to be a great model. I also happen to have constant access to an amazingly well-equipped studio...it just made sense to shoot a lot.

Exhibit A:


This was shot with the Mamiya645 (digital back), tethered to a Mac G5, and lit with a grid lighting the background, and one large softbox and one strip softbox.

This week I had the opportunity to meet and photograph two new people: Hannah and Ray. After taking portraits, we did a series of group shots, which were WICKED fun. There's something about timing a jumping shot at the precise moment when the self-timer releases...

Exhibit B:





Living the life, almost every day.