52 Portraits, No. 21

Bearded, buff, tattoo artist, and dapper dresser.... basically the All American Hipster. 

52 Portraits, No. 20

Ben has been around since I first attempted to make a full time living at photography. We were roommates together in Denver, and I will never forget the adventures we had. Both of us moved out there on a whim without really knowing each other, and it is a season of my life that has really shaped me into who I am today, both creatively and personally. We have seen each other at our best and worse, been on awkward double dates together, and both tried out for Ninja warrior together... (seriously, scroll back through my facebook videos!)

52 Portraits, No. 19

Super thankful for my friendship with guy. He is a top notch photographer, and I love all of our conversations. It's great to have someone to be vulnerable with, and to challenge each other. I've also photographed all of the portraits from this series in his studio. Thanks Shane!  

52 Portraits, No. 17

Ive added a new assistant to the SLP team, and thought I would intro him via the 52 Portraits project... Everyone, meet Jack! He is headed to film school in the fall, but will be working with me in the mean time. He's been a huge help so far, and its nice having another trust worth set of hands around when things get hectic. 

52 Portraits, No. 15

Of course I would include my dog in this project (Not sure how he beat my wife!). He's a pretty good dude, and got a weeks worth of snacks to make this picture happen. Thanks for not peeing on the seamless paper buddy.

52 Portraits, No. 6

I admire John immensely. There are few people on this earth who selflessly care about others at the capacity that he does. He is in amazing leader, father, grandfather, mentor, and pastor, that always has a newfound energy and passion for every person he meets or talks with. Thanks for letting me photograph you!

52 Portraits, No. 4

Mike has become such a good friend and mentor to me over the past couple of years, so I knew I needed to photograph him for this project. I don't think I know anyone who can simultaneously work so hard while also leading an awesome family the way that he does.  If man cards were a real thing, your face would probably be on them Mike.

52 Portraits, No. 3

"I can't be serious very well."

"Thats ok, this is just about showing off who you are."

"What should I do?"

"Why don't you look over at your husband..."

Kacy Lehman, for week number 3 of my 52 Portraits project.

Making Portraits

I think one of the hardest parts of being a photographer is having to connect with complete strangers in very short amounts of time. Sure, some people are easier to talk with than others, but it can definitely be challenge to gain the trust and attention of someone while also guiding them towards what I am trying to accomplish with a photo. When I shoot someones portrait, I like to get them as involved in the creative (and sometimes technical) process as they are interested in. It helps them feel like they are partnering with me towards achieving a goal, rather than just being directed towards an end result they may envision differently than I. When the subject feels like they are part of the process, they often bring ideas up that I may not have thought of that make the image that much better. Collaboration is almost always better than a single persons vision, so why not include the person you're photographing?

I wouldn't at all claim to be a street photographer, but that said, I don't shy away from asking to take a portrait of someone I find interesting. Its a great way to keep exercising my communication skills on the fly in random situations, while trying to develop a story and get a good photo. I grabbed this one while on the 5th Ave bus in NYC a couple years ago, and its one of my favorites. Ask people to be a part of your creative process, see what you learn, and how your work improve because of it.

52 Portraits, No. 2

For my second portrait of this series, I thought my friend Lizzy would be great a subject. She had never been photographed in a studio situation before, so it was fun to direct her and work together to get an image we both really liked. We shot for about 15 minutes, and ended up with the image below that I really loved.  Thanks Lizzy!

Photo 52 Portrait Project

A few years ago I did a photo 365 project, and was really amazed at how much I grew through the project, as well as how much fun I had. I love shooting portraits, but most of my work and personal projects have always been location assignments where I am lighting people in natural backgrounds. As much fun as those are, I want to push myself to shoot more portraits in the studio on a background. Its a different way and challenge to capturing someone and tell a story. For the rest of the year I'll be shooting a black and white portrait of someone every week, and sharing on  my blog and instagram.  I couldn't think of a better person to start off with than my good friend Austin, who is actually moving out west this weekend. Can't wait to see the collection of images as a whole one year from now, or who I will meet and photograph through it.

Thanks, and have a good weekend!

Seth