Preping for a big one
Donald J. Pliner shoot tomorrow. Our beautiful model is going to put those legs to good use!
Here’s hoping to another amazing shoot!
XOXO
Model Casting
Wouldn’t you want to shoot these legs? I do! I think we have a winner here for the Donald J. Pliner Fall 2011 Marketing shots! We looked at over a hundred models who are in Miami right now, but Elite stepped up to the plate sending us the top two choice. Kinda crazy that she is a size 10. We usually draw the line at size 9 for models but because we are using actually merchandise to shoot with, instead of samples, we can pull them in any size. Which makes everyone really happy because she is amazing!
Abby Lynn
Shame on me. Instead of being a good blogger and posting when I wasn’t working, I was playing. Provincetown…..Maine….. Bimini…. jealous? Sorry, being that summer is the slow season in Miami I feel like I have to rub in that when I haven’t been working I was playing and traveling. It’s only fair that I get to brag once in a while, I host gaggles of friends and family in the winter months so that obligates them to return the favor and host me when the weather is rotten where I live.
But it hasn’t been all play. Quite the opposite. I booked all these fun trips thinking I would be board out of my mind with summer here. Instead it has been pure madness. The photography business is booming (which is always good), so goodbye weekends, goodbye running to the beach before dinner. The penance for my playing is that I get no breaks. Even Sam has felt the wrath of my insane summer (if you promise me you’ll help stack my photographs in Photoshop, you better deliver, that’s all I’m saying). Seriously, Matt, are you listening to this? Hope your having fun in NYC…. (teasing, only teasing).
So here’s the proof I’m alive because when you don’t even see me on Facebook you know it’s bad. A couple of shots from the stunning Abby Lynn’s photo shoot. She’s a talented singer and incredibly fun girl. Not to hard to photograph either 
a complete natural in front of the camera. The photography is for multiple uses, hopefully a new website (we all want to see more of you Abby!), CD cover art, etc.
Of course, her hit song “No More Tears” is the video.
Adam for Forbes
Adam came to the studio last week for a headshot. He owns a great company IRA Financial Group and was in a pinch because Forbes wanted the headshot later the same day. So we did two looks, smiling and serious. He’s got the best beard and if you think he’s a great model, I hear his 11 month old puts him to shame! Thanks for coming by Adam!
The beautiful Ayla
This was Ayla’s first model test. Clearly she rocked it well! We had a great team working together, a group of girls I hope to work again with soon! Thanks for being our muse Ayla, thanks for rocking with makeup Susana and thanks to the amazing styling Waina!
I can’t pick a favorite! Which one do you like?
Why you should buy a stamp with your logo on it.
See where we're going with this?
Caution, the ink runs a bit.
Friends are great marketing
Is that a tattoo? No, it’s my logo stamp, but it won’t wash off so, yes, it kinda is a tattoo.
How long does it take to break set?
After photographing 13 pieces of jewelry and 2 designer shoes, the studio takes exactly…
and
to clean up.
Now it’s time to retouch…..
Epic postcard for Kate Benson Portraits
If you a member of Femfessionals Miami you’ll be seeing these next June when I am the guest speaker for the monthly luncheon. These events are so much fun and a great way for women to network with each other. I’ll be speaking about how to pose and not to pose when being photographed.
Mr. Man
While retouching this shot of Manny Machado from MGSCOMM I couldn’t help myself but to indulge and play a little in Photoshop. Love the retro look this has. Think my client will appreciate my artsy interpretation? Hm… maybe I should just play it safe and keep this on the blog.
Every now and again, we all work on Sundays.
Although shooting on a Sunday afternoon with impending storms approaching is not usually my first choice, it turned out well last weekend. I let our subject (this time she’s a 14 year old girl) send me images that inspired her so we could match what she wants with my style. We came out with some incredibly different images. From a tribute to Herb Ritz on the beach to an Anthropologie catalog it’s hard to believe these photos were shot within 1.5 hours of each other.
More to come! Check back, as there was also a quick shoot in the studio before we left and another 2 location looks.
Puff Dragon Boat Team, Miami Photoshoot
A bit back, I had the pleasure of photographing people I spend lots of time with (some would say too much). My dragon boat paddling team, Puff. Much like you, I had never heard of the sport until it was right in front me. A quick overview: what do you get when you have 1 long skinny boat, 20 paddlers, 1 drummer, 1 helmsman steering, and a whole lot of muscles? A dragon boat. Let images of viking war ships come into your mind….. now make it Chinese.
My friend-client-friend has an inventor for a father and he made this great natural product sports gel (like Icy-Hot or Biofreeze, something Dragon Boaters slather all over them because you can’t even move after a good practice). So in talking about new pictures for the website and how they wanted a good mix of different people to be in the photographs, images of my amazing teammates kept popping into my head. A golden opportunity presented it’s face and Puff headed on their way to a great new sponsor for the team and maybe a career in modeling…. I’ll let you decided that last part.
For my friends who are not on Puff, enjoy! For my friends who are on Puff, don’t be mad but these are unretouched (said while ducking as objects go wizzing past me). Oh, one last thing, all my teammates who escaped the photo shoot…. get your butts over here and have your picture taken!
Interested in more? Puff welcomes new paddlers, visit their meetup site to find out when the next “newbie” practice is.
Fine art commission for Búccan in Palm Beach
On the wall at Búccan
The original proposal was a triptych to fill the space the fourth image was intended to hang elsewhere in the restaurant however putting all four shots together just fit so perfectly on the wall. The VIP opening was great and being able to sit just off to the side allowed Sam and I to really get to watch unnoticed as the VIPs stopped and admired. Of course this camera phone photo doesn’t do the images justice so attached are the shots. Thank you to Piper, Clay & Sam at Búccan for the opportunity and the amazing dinner! If you find yourself up in Palm Beach, you have to go, go, GO!!! I highly recommend the tuna tartar…. mmm… I could eat only that for the rest of my life and still be happy! Check them out here.
Búccan commission shot 1
Búccan commission shot 2
Búccan commission shot 3
Búccan commission shot 4
Abstract Photography
In Key West, I tried shooting in a very different way to create some abstract photography pairings. These are a few of my favorites.
Key West (part III)
Day two: After breakfast, and goodbyes to our friends who had to head North, my sister and I rented bikes and scouted more locations (with a few stops on the beach).
-
Break from Scouting
We formed a game plan of where to shoot and then starred in horror as the thickest fog in 10 years rolled in and covered Mallory Square. So much for that shot of the street performers and tourists at sunset. But reminding myself that this is about intentions and recognizing that because the expect shot was impossible it opened the door for an opportunity, we saw potential in foggy Mallory square. So disappointment turned into a pleasant surprise and we caught some more great shots.
Mallory Square in the Fog
Perfecting the art of riding a bike while balancing a tripod in it’s front basket enabled us to travel a lot further and shoot off Duval Street. The Green Parrot was beautiful along with a few deserted foggy street corners. Into the night we shot and had a great dinner with our friend and host Doug at Pepe’s. Knowing we would have to head out early we opted to finish shooting and call it a night, bringing CF cards of amazing images back home with us.
Key West (part II)
Day one: After a detour in Islamorada to make arrangements to meet our friend Kara later in the night and an amazing lunch at a little place called Castaways in Marathon (just before the 7 mile bridge and after about 5 U-turns because it’s impossible to find) my sister and I found ourselves riding around in the back of a 1953 Ford Pickup Truck with our friend and Key West local Doug, scouting locations.
Doug
My sister and I
People taking our picture in my picture of Sloppy Joes
Scouting Duval
Getting as far from snow as possible (in the USA)
An hour later we were shooting sunsets from a boat graveyard one key up from Key West with Kara and our new friend Jason (this shot is for you Jason!).
The night progressed by dodging intoxicated tourists along Duval Street, suspending my Canon 5D Mark II off the edge of rooftops, and eventually exploring the abstract. Once I filled up my cards I took it as a sign to relax and join my friends who had already meet up with the Mayor of Islamorada for a much needed glass of wine at The Grand Vino. We had a great time, I made some more new friends from Louis Backyard and introduced them to the Vignette demo app for the Sprint HTC EVO phone. Their sunset photo’s will get even cooler now. By now my friends who agreed to have a drink at every bar I needed to shoot from were feeling great and it was time to head back to Doug’s house on Love Lane.
To be continued….
Fine Art Photography Commision | Key West (part 1)
This week started with a three and a half hour drive over blue oceans, through chains of islands and finishing in Key West. My little sister has been visiting me and hasn’t been there since we were kids. With a furious snow storm heading to her home of New Hampshire we decided to get as far south as possible to end her trip with an adventure. But, January is a very busy month for photographers in Miami and inevitably work was booked to be shot during our adventure.
A fine art commission is always a blast. It gives me a chance to think outside the box and creates opportunity for intentions (and hopefully not expectations which are artistic suicide). So we knew we wanted night photography, and we new we wanted architectural & time-laps elements. Other than that it was open for interpretation.
The results did not disappoint. Getting home and editing the images left me impressed over and over. Now the exciting part starts as the commissioner selects which images will be printed between 3-4 feet and hung as a triptych all hopefully within the next week and half before the restaurant opens. I’ll keep you posted!
At work~
Didn’t make the cut
Re-shoots happen. It’s part of the publishing industry. Chef Clay is an awesome guy, totally laid back and has a good sense of humor. I’m sure when Ocean Drive set up the shoot for him in a farmers market everything was thinking the same thing, white stalls, fresh fruits & veggies displayed beautifully in front of charismatic vendors. So upon showing up to the farmers market in Coconut Grove we were a bit surprised.
It was a photographers nightmare. A blue and white circus tent sitting under a tree so almost no light is available to shoot with and you can’t bounce because it’s a color shot and there’s blue on top. Decaying boxes of fruits and vegetables that are sitting on top of white buckets. Although the product looked gorgeous, it’s a far cry from the streets of Paris.
So we worked with what we could and despite the obstacles came away with a great shot that seemed to capture Clay’s easygoing nature perfectly. Although Ocean Drive couldn’t make it work, word has it this shot divided the office down the middle, half being able to appreciate it despite the third world characteristics and the other half unable to get past them. XOXO ~Kate Benson
Chef Clay
Cheesiest post ever.
Budapest models the neck brace
Budapest models the tummy band-aid
Budapest hiding the edge of my nasty paper background.
Drool and all, Budapest coming to get some food.
I have a problem (admitting this is the first step). I am already a crazy lady who love her pets like children. How could I possibly not post some shots when I was asked to have my dog model? Really? How? Naturally I am not quite crazy enough to think that these are worthy of printing, framing and nailing to the wall of a gallery. But I can’t resist a little pet photography when the model is so cute!
The Anglers Boutique Resort South Beach
As the holiday season approaches things pick up here in Miami. A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of shooting some new shots of The Anglers Boutique Resort in South Beach. The night was beautiful and I am sure I’ll be visiting 660 for a dinner outside soon! Here’s a little shot from our photo shoot, the full photo and in action on their website.
-
- On the Anglers website
-
- The Anglers and 660
Kate Benson Photography shoots Metis Tarta of Esvedra Designs
Despite the gloom yesterday’s shoot with Metis Tarta of Esvedra Designs went beautifully. The beautiful Metis will be in Ocean Drive Magazine in the Beach Patrol section. She was shooting off the back of the camera to share the photo’s throughout the afternoon, and peeking over her shoulder I was surprised by how cool they looked. This is my tribute.
Metis Tarta
Metis Tarta
Metis Tarta
Metis Tarta
Gina Choe and America’s Next Top Model like Kate Benson Photography
While checking out myself on Google this morning (don’t lie, you do it too) I came across this,
Who knew! I guess America’s Next Top Model liked Gina and I’s photoshoot at Little Palm Island, they’ve got the whole shoot up on the website. See all the fun things you find when you’ve got an hour before your first photoshoot!
Check out the full article here.
Romero Britto by Kate Benson
A couple of month ago, I had the privilege to again photograph one of my favorite people, Romero Britto. For those of you not familiar with Britto, we’ll assume you live under a rock (teasing you). He’s easily the most well known pop artist of our time and fortunately for me, lives in Miami. Romero is such a fun guy and so happy to try new things proving to be as creative a model as he is with his art. Here are a few of my favorites from that day!
-
- Romero Britto
-
- Romero Britto
-
- Romero Britto
-
- Romero Britto
-
- Romero Britto
-
- Romero Britto
Great Camera App for smartphones.
This is geeky. Aren’t photographers supposed to be though? I don’t have an iPhone, I don’t even like the iPhone. But it’s because I LOVE Google Voice (so if you ever call me and are prompted to say your name you are calling my Google Voice number) and the iPhone doesn’t support Google Voice. So I will never buy an iPhone. That’s okay though, because in June Sprint released the HTC EVO and everyday my husband or I find something new and fun that this phone does. But I’m not trying to sell you the phone, I want you to check out this app and whether you like the iPhone, the HTC EVO, or any other smartphone this app is too much fun not to recommend!
http://www.appstorehq.com/retrocamera-android-240837/app it’s a free app that applies filters to your photographs so that they look like different types of Polaroids, a pinhole camera exposure onto film, or other really cool effects. I’m in love with it. My only negative thought is that the images produced are teeny weeny tiny files and my phone has an 8 megapixel camera on it. So while these images will never do anything more than live in cyberspace, I will keep using this app because it is so neat.
Here’s a few to check out, there will be many more Retro Camera App posts… oh yes, this is way too fun.
Retro Camera photograph of I95 somewhere between Orlando and Miami
Retro Camera photography of powerlines at sunset off the highway
Retro Camera photography using the pinhole camera in b&w
Retro Camera photography using the polaroid camera, buildings on I95