Jason Scott Photography: August 2013
Jason Scott Photography
Sarasota Wedding Photographer - Siesta Key Beach Portraits


Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Siesta Key Beach Portraits - Leyden Family - What was in the box???

When we met the Leyden Family at the Surf and Racquet Club on Wednesday night, we were a little confused when dad approached us with a big cardboard box. He told us what was inside and told us that his wife didn't know about it yet...

With three teenage girls, dad's idea could have been a real disaster, but these girls were game for anything and were a lot of fun throughout the session.

Curious yet? Want to know what was in the box? Check out these photos from the Leyden family's beach portrait session and you'll see the surprise towards the end!



 

 











Like what you see here? Contact us today to book YOUR beach portrait session on Siesta Key, Longboat Key, Englewood Beach, Venice Beach, or Anna Maria Island today! Read more about our beach portrait collection here.

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Sunday, August 11, 2013

Jason Talks Gear - Color Film Photography

This is part of a series of blog entries written by Jason about the more technical side of Jason Scott Photography. 

I have been developing a lot of black and white film lately, and so far, no one seems too interested.  If my black and white endeavors come up, people always ask about color.  The question is always the same:

“Can you develop color?” 

Until yesterday, the answer was “No.”  

Last week, I ordered the C-41 Press Kit for Color Negatives from B&H Photo.  It was only $23.50, but I added about $75 bucks worth of “extras,” including inspection gloves, a glass thermometer (which I broke already), a larger tank, and some plastic bottles.  

I was very excited about this stuff coming in the mail, and it came one day early.  This was great for me, but  Allyson was not too excited.  She was expecting to go to the beach and test some off camera flash techniques for beach portraits last night - blah.  Sometimes I think she cares more about the business than my hobbies (and I think she secretly hates film)!

So, I took my wife, dog, and Mamiya RZ67 in the backyard and blew a roll  of Kodak Portra 400 (120 medium format) film.  I took ten photos - Badger was being very cooperative and showing some personality. We thought we had some great shots!

At this point,  I had my exposed roll of film and I was ready to develop.  So, I went out in the garage and started mixing the chemicals.  The chemicals need to be 110 degrees, EXACTLY!!! This is not exactly difficult, it’s just boring; extremely boring.   

By now, I had wrecked the kitchen and the garage (maybe this is why Allyson doesn’t like film), but the chemicals were the perfect temperature; I was ready to start. 

Here’s the process:

1 min pre soak (hot water)
3:30 developer
6:30 blix (bleach and fixer)
2:00 rinse
1 min stabilizer 

I hung up the film and gave it a good squeegee.  The film came detached from the hanging mechanism  and fell on the garage floor! (Dust!)  So, it went back in the wash, then into the bathroom to dry.  

After scanning the negatives (I dropped a couple of them again trying to get them in the scanner - more dust), we discovered they were all very overexposed, because I used the light meter app on Allyson’s iPhone.  This is a fine app if, and only if, you take the time to calibrate it. Unfortunately, I didn’t. (I’ve been using this app for quite a while. Now I know why my black and white photos haven’t been coming out quite right either!)

It was a learning process, but we still had some winners (although the colors, especially skin tones, were a little “off” due to the overexposure problem).



Today, once we figured out what was going on with the light meter, we went outside again to try another roll of film. When I developed this roll, I could immediately tell that the photos were better because I could see more color and detail on the negatives.

Unfortunately, Badger was not being very cooperative today (I don’t think he likes film either). Apparently, he wanted a belly rub. So even though these photos are technically better, in some ways they are not as nice. (They are sort of funny, though.)

 

 

The skin tones were better in these photos, but still not 100%. With both sets of photos, we had to do a lot of tinkering in Lightroom and Photoshop to achieve these colors. But the second set was definitely better than the first. I'm looking forward to working more with color film to see what else "develops."


To find out more about the professional gear we use when we photograph Sarasota Weddings and Siesta Key Beach Portraits, click here.

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Saturday, August 10, 2013

Siesta Key Beach Portraits - Munson Family

The weather on Thursday night was looking a little iffy! Two hours before we were supposed to meet the Munson Family at our favorite spot on Siesta Key, it was pouring rain and thundering! We decided to "wait and see," and an hour later, everything cleared up! The storm passed and caused some of the most beautiful colors we've ever seen to appear in the sky throughout the night! Pinks, purples, oranges - absolutely gorgeous! 

The Munsons were a LOT of fun and their three kids clearly get along really well and genuinely like each other! We had a great time capturing their family portraits on the beach!

Here are a few of our favorites:




  






Like what you see here? Contact us today to book YOUR beach portrait session on Siesta Key, Longboat Key, Englewood Beach, Venice Beach, or Anna Maria Island today! Read more about our beach portrait collection here.

PS - Don't forget, you can also follow this blog on FacebookTwitterGoogle+, or through your favorite feed reader

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Venice Beach Portraits on Casperson Beach - Shaffer Family

We've lived in the Sarasota area for a loooooong time, and we're a little embarrassed to say that when the Shaffer Family suggested Casperson Beach for their family beach portrait session on Thursday night, we had no idea where it was and had never been there before! (In our defense - When we visit the beach in Venice, we never make it past Brohard Beach/Paw Park with Badger!)

We were happy to discover this secluded beach - very different from others we've been to before!

The Shaffers were one of our first customers waaaaay back when - we shot their engagement photos on Siesta Key in 2006! This time around things were a little different with their two young kids added to the photos!

Here are a few of our favorite photos from their session:






 



Like what you see here? Contact us today to book YOUR beach portrait session on Siesta Key, Longboat Key, Englewood Beach, Venice Beach, or Anna Maria Island today! Read more about our beach portrait collection here.

PS - Don't forget, you can also follow this blog on FacebookTwitterGoogle+, or through your favorite feed reader

Thursday, August 1, 2013

The "New" Jason Scott Photography

Our photo host, SmugMug, introduced a completely updated design and interface a couple days ago.


As a result, we've completely changed the look and feel of our site, and we're working hard to make sure everything is working the way it should. If you find anything that isn't working right, please let us know or leave a comment below!

Stay tuned to our blog for updated help pages and how-to tutorials in the coming weeks!

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