Miami Portrait Photographer Archives - Kate Benson Photography

Celebrity Portrait Photographer Miami Kate Benson | New York Mets’ Jacob deGrom

by Kristin Stickels | Mar 26, 2015 | Miami Portrait Photogr...

Last week I had a photo shoot with Jacob deGrom, the New York Mets pitcher who was the National League’s Rookie of The Year in 2014. We drove up to Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie where the Mets have their spring training to meet with Jacob. The photos were to be used for the New York Observer and they wanted two different looks: one in his Mets uniform, and one in his regular street clothes. We had access to the field, the stands and the locker room, so we had to decide where we could best capture Jacob’s personality.
We arrived at the site about two hours before Jacob was to arrive because we wanted to check out the location and lighting options. It is difficult to plan for outdoor lighting at 9 in the morning when you will be shooting at 11 because the angle of the sun changes drastically, but we did the best we could. We only had 20 minutes to shoot Jacob, so we didn’t want to waste any time at all configuring lighting or finding perfect angles while he was on set. Instead, I used my assistant as the stand-in and spent about two hours testing everything so we would be one-hundred percent ready to go the minute Jacob arrived for the shoot.

Jacob walked out on the field at 11:00 on the dot. All 6’4″ of him. First off, let me say that he was incredibly nice and personable. None of his recent accolades have gone to his head. He chatted amicably, and even shared some of his hog-hunting stories with us.

We got down to business and ended up with some great shots.

Follow this link for more work by Miami Portrait Photographer Kate Benson.

Follow this link to read the article in the New York Observer about Jacob deGrom.

Miami Portrait Photographer | Musical Artist Thiago de Melo

by Kristin Stickels | Jan 29, 2015 | Fashion, Miami Portrait Photogr...

On January 20, I had the opportunity to shoot Brazilian singer/songwriter Thiago de Melo while he was in town from New York. He was looking for some natural photos that would convey his fun, relaxed personality and also needed short video clips of him discussing his new album (in both English and Brazilian). Both the photos and the video were to be used on his new website. It was a lot of fun to work with Thiago, as his individualism and charisma came out easily while in front of the camera. Being both silly and serious for the shoot was no problem at all for him, as you can see in the following photos:

Thiago’s music is a wonderful mix of soothing and vibrant tones, combined with his gentle yet spirited voice. If you follow him on Twitter or “like” him Facebook, you can download a copy of his latest album, “Home, Family & Roots” for free.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThiagoDeMeloMusic

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thiagomusic

Thiago’s website: http://thiagodemelo.bandcamp.com/releases

E-commerce Photographer Miami | How to Produce a Professional Photo shoot, aka “What the heck do I do now?”

by Kristin Stickels | Jan 27, 2015 | Advice, Planning a Photoshoot

Everyone has to start somewhere. Chances are good that if you are reading this blog, you are wondering what the heck do I need to do to produce a photo shoot? It’s OK! No one will tell! In fact you can message me with any questions you might have. My goal is to help my clients or anyone who finds themselves needing to produce a photo shoot. Ready? Here goes!
When planning a shoot, there are a multitude of things to consider in order to make your shoot successful. As the saying goes, “The devil is in the details.” Here are ways to plan out those details to make for a successful shoot. While this is a list of important items to keep in mind, the descriptions are purposely broad with some specific examples given; your distinct needs for your shoot will require you to refine, add and/or subtract items as necessary.

Some of the very first things to take into account are your budget, due dates, the shot list, and usage. Identify the budget for the shoot, and determine how rigid it is. This will help shape the decisions you make regarding the entire production. How much flexibility do you have if unexpected costs come up? Due dates are crucial to keep in mind. When are the images needed? Understanding your time frame will allow you to work backwards in creating a schedule. A shot list is also imperative. Brainstorm what photos you will need. Does your product need to be shot on-model and/or still life? Do you need various angles of each item? How many total images do you need of your product(s)? And don’t forget to keep in mind the usage. How will your photos be used? For advertising? Internally? On the web?

The next thing to plan is the art direction. This is something that can be done in-house or outsourced, but is a significant aspect of your production. Art direction involves sourcing inspiration for your photos (I suggest collecting visual examples for this), making sure the photos line up with your company’s image, and ensuring that the photos convey the mood and environment that you want your product(s) to have. And, of course, this all dictates the type of photographer that you will use. You wouldn’t choose a nature photographer for an action shot of a model, for example. Which leads us to the casting…

Your next step involves casting and determining the details of the actual shoot. Your casting may include hiring models, stylists, hairstylists, makeup artists, and, of course, the photographer (to name a few). You may also need to hire a professional retoucher for post-production. Some photographers can do their own retouching, but it is important to determine whether they can do it well. You then need to ascertain whether you will be using a studio or a location for the shoot. If you plan to shoot on location, you will need to obtain permits or permission to use the site, and you should have a back-up plan in case of weather issues. You also need to consider your set. What inanimate objects will you need to complete the shot? What wardrobe or accessories might you need for the models? Is a manicure necessary due to close-up shots of a model’s hands?

Within the location details (whether on location or in studio) it is essential to plan food and beverages for everyone at the shoot and possibly transportation to and from the site. You may even need to provide lodging for the clients, models and/or the crew, depending on the location.

Image selection is an important part of the process. This can occur either on set or after the shoot. If the photographer shoots tethered to a computer, you can see the images immediately as they are shot. This gives you the opportunity to select your images while on set, and it also allows you to confirm that you have everything you need before the shoot is done.

After the shoot has taken place, there is still work to be done. The post-production work includes file management (naming, re-sizing, and delivering the images as digital files), as well as any retouching that may be required. When budgeting for your shoot, it is important to determine whether these costs are built into the photographer’s fee or will be charged additionally.

After taking all of this into account, the big question is can this all fit into your budget? If the answer is no, it is time to re-evaluate some aspects of your plan. Can you get a higher budget? Can you be more specific in your usage? Can you reduce your shot list? What can be done in-house?

And lastly, don’t forget about payment. When are people expecting to be paid? How long will it take your company to pay?

So, here is a quick checklist to help you plan your shoot:

budget
due dates
shot list
usage
art direction
casting
shoot details
location details
image selection
post-production work
payment

Just remember, this is a list of important items to keep in mind, but the descriptions are broad. You will need to tweak the list depending on your own needs for your shoot.

Here is a handy flowchart for your reference:

E-commerce Photographer South Florida | The Picture Sells the Product

by kate benson | Nov 4, 2014 | Advice, e-commerce photographer, Ecommerce Photographer

Sometimes it’s hard to justify the cost of e-commerce photography, especially when the product will be photographed on a model. Instead of just paying for the photography, the client will need a whole team to produce photography that will sell products. That means (in some cases): photographer, model, hair & makeup (not always one person for both), stylist, assistants, location, catering (if the shoot is going to be a full day), etc., etc., etc. It’s hard to imagine getting all that on the budget that most startups have. So, how can you make the photo shoot worth it? Considering that a startup has a smaller budget, the goal would be to shoot less product perfectly, rather than shooting all of your product in a mediocre fashion. Think quality, not quantity. It certainly isn’t worth wasting the budget on sub-par shots. In the world of e-commerce photography, if you can’t do it right, don’t do it.

Recently, I came across a photograph of a swimsuit I liked. The still life shot looked really good and it was selling to me.

So I decided to follow the link to the website where I could buy it. Once there, I saw more shots of the swimsuit, including some that were on model and I really, really liked the swimsuit!

But, unfortunately, it was sold out. Lucky for me the company had put the designer’s name on the swimsuit so I did a quick search to see if I could buy the swimsuit directly from the designer’s website. And that, my readers, is when I did a double-take. I could not believe it was the same swimsuit. The designer had different colors but I had NO desire to buy this product in any color. It looked terrible in the still life; all the various colored swimsuits were shot differently. On model it was unflattering as well.

As you can imagine based on these photos, I’m not sold for a lot of reasons. Let’s look at this on model first. The suit isn’t showing me the side details at all, her pose is awkward and not relaxed which makes me wonder if that is because the swimsuit isn’t comfortable. This isn’t clear to me that the swimsuit is reversible here. I can’t figure out why I’m not seeing the back of the light blue swimsuit (it takes me a while to figure out that the dark blue is the outside of the light blue swimsuit and that is what I’m seeing).

The still life images vary quite a bit. One shot makes the bottom look uncomfortably small. The straps are all different on the tops and it just looks messy. The description on the image tells us the color of one side and the bungee but not the reversible side which makes me wonder if they are all reversible , especially for those whose color is closer to skin color. Or, in the case of the palm print suit, I have no idea if it is even reversible.

I can only imagene the return on investment (ROI) for the first images was astronomically higher than the ROI of the second set of images. I’m sure the budget for the first set of images was also much higher. So to be fair, this is a “you-get-what-you-can-pay-for” situation.

Now, here’s what I would have done. If the client didn’t have the budget for great shots in all colors, I would have recommended that we shoot one swimsuit perfectly, then shoot color swatches of the details for each alternative colored swimsuit. If the budget allowed for it, I would say shoot that swimsuit on a model because the ROI will be bigger. If the budget didn’t allow for it then shoot one perfect still life and, if possible, one group shot with each swimsuit stacked showing the detail of each swimsuit displaying the bungee, the color inside and the color outside.

This would save time (and hence, money) by not having to style the whole swimsuit.

So there you have it. My two cents, from an e-commerce photographer’s perspective on what to do to optimize your e-commerce photography ROI.

Still Life Photographer Miami | but before I give these back, let me just shoot one more thing…

by kate benson | Oct 23, 2014 | e-commerce photographer, Product

One of my clients is the fan-freaking-tastic eyewear designer Christian Roth. I adove (adore + love = adove) the stylish sunglasses and eyewear they create and the team, Christian Roth and Eric Domége, as well. I’ve enjoyed photographing their product and even been able to capture Christian and Eric in front of my camera for Miami Modern Luxury Magazine.

They have flattered me using the images I shot for them on their blog and Instagram:

Used my other portraits of them in other publications and blog:

And of course, their catalog and product shots on their website:

So I’ve had my hands on their product to photograph quite a few times now and I fall more and more in love with it each time. Yesterday, I found myself with a few free moments. October has been my busiest month to date. ever. So I was shocked I had a minute. Naturally, I used this moment to shoot! I am returning product to the boys tomorrow so if I didn’t get these beauties in front of my lens one more time I would cry.

Here are some of my shots where I just enjoyed my freedoms to shoot what I saw, how I styled and lit. Completely sans art direction. Enjoy…. (and please forgive that I haven’t retouched these at all, there wasn’t THAT much extra time!)