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. 18

Seeing as today is Mother's Day, I had to include my mom in this project. She has supported me through every crazy idea I have had... from my long haired, punk rock guitar days, to dropping out of college to travel across the country, to starting my own business and getting married, she has been believed in me the whole time. Thanks mom! Much love, and I wouldn't be who I am without you.

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. 16

Tim, pre hair cut. Someone once told him he could be a Hollister model... or so he says. Sorry for the late posting. Its been a pretty hectic couple of weeks, and just realized I hadnt been posting these!

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. 13

Brittany is literally always smiling, and its pretty infectious. She's a great producer, and when things get chaotic, you can always count on her to be positive and keeping things moving forward. Aside from being an awesome producer, she has created her own fashion line called 22|44 you should check out. Thanks for being part of the project Brit! 

52 Portraits, No. 11

My Uncle Ned is this weeks subject for the 52 Portraits project. We spent a lot of family get togethers jamming in his basement on one of the coolest guitar collections you could imagine. A couple of years ago he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Instead of letting it define his future in a negative way, he has decided to use it as a tool to both strengthen others with Parkinson's, and educate people on the topic. A series of events led him to join a program called Rock Steady Boxing, where boxing is used a tool to literally fight back against Parkinson’s. You can read more about the boxing program, and my Uncle’s story here.

52 Portraits, No. 8

"You know that huge fish hanging on the wall in your basement?"

"Yeah..."

"Think about the moment you landed that thing."

"You know I caught a bigger one once, but I let it go... man it was huge."

-My Grandpa

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!