Ada Ruiz, Boston Hip Hop Artist | Boston Hip Hop Artist Photographer

Ada Ruiz reached out to me to create some press & promo images. The entire shoot took place in her apartment on a very cold, snowy Boston winter day.

Here are some favorites:

Shot in Ada's living room.

Shot on the balcony porch.

Shot in the basement.

Shot in the basement.

Shot in the basement.

Towards the end of the shoot, we had some time to play and experiment...and this is what happened: 

Shot in the basement.

Best wishes in all of your endeavors, Ada!

And many thanks to Cinthia Espinal for the amazing makeup and hair. 

Smoking in the Bathroom...With the Fujifilm X-E2 | Boston Fuji X Series Photographer

I'm testing the capabilities of my Fuji X-E2 and brand new 23mm 1.4 lens! I absolutely love the feel of this camera in my hands. It's compact and lightweight and the image files are beautiful. There is definitely a significant shutter lag, however. Not a huge problem - it'll just take some getting used to, is all.

The 23mm (35mm equivalent) lens is superb. Sharp and fast. I almost bought the 35mm due to budget constraints, but I knew I would start to feel limited with that focal length after a short time. I tend to shoot portraits at either very wide or telephoto focal lengths; I use my Canon 24mm or my 85mm much more then I use my 50mm. So, I went with the 23mm and I'm glad I did. It will be a versatile focal length for me. 

The following image was shot in RAW, using only available light (the quality of which was pretty awful) in an old, dingy bathroom, using the shower curtain as a background. The ISO was cranked all the way up to 6400 and I was somewhere around f/2.5 and 1/180th. I've been keeping the in-camera noise reduction turned down to -2. Otherwise, it's a tad bit heavy for my liking, as I prefer to have more control in post.

I processed this image in Lightroom and Photoshop...and, yes, I did add some noise reduction back to this image in post. 

I am really digging my X-E2 and 23mm. I just cannot get over how small and light this camera is and the high quality images files it produces! I definitely plan on testing this Fuji system with some studio lights in the near future. I have a feeling I won't be disappointed. 

Scott Mahoney, Singer-songwriter | Boston Music Photographer

Singer-songwriter Scott Mahoney reached out to me to create a variety of fresh, new promotional images for his upcoming album release.  

Here are some favorites from the shoot:

Scott was wonderful to work with. Good-natured and up for anything I asked him to do. He put his trust in me, and for that I am thankful. Making compelling portraits is a collaboration between subject and photographer. When the subject is willing, the possibilities are nearly endless, the work is incredibly satisfying, and everyone is happy with the final product.

Thank you for choosing me to create your new promo images, Scott. It was a pleasure.

A big thank you to Kasidy Kersey for assisting me on this shoot. 

 And, of course, huge thanks to the owners of The Castlebar for letting us do the shoot there!

The Dads, Part Two | Boston Portrait Photographer

I'm finally getting around to sharing more images from 'The Dads' project, in which I make portraits of my father-in-law and my dad. Check out Part One to see the portraits of my father-in-law. I also expound a bit on how I went about creating these portraits, in Part One. 

And here, finally, is Part Two:  my Dad.