Mark ... Business Portraits

Mark is the 3rd in our series of posts on "Business Portraits".
And while we are very happy with the different poses on all of the three portraits, I am most pleased with the expressions.
Why you might ask?
It's because they all are believable, natural, and real.
Posing, lighting, backgrounds and props can all add to a portrait, but without the expressions that show us who the subject is, it's all just pieces of an incomplete puzzle.
And how do we get these realistic expressions?
Time!
Time before the session to chat, and time during the session, not rushed, but relaxed for relaxed expressions.
Enough about this.
Mark, "thank you" for your kind words on facebook, you are too nice!

Jim ... Business Portraits

Branding, it's what we can help a local business with.
Coca Cola does it.
Honda does it.
Every huge business does it.
Don't let that intimidate you and your business.
Last month we posted "Richard", this is another portrait for them.
See how the background, props, lighting, retouching is all the same.
But the pose is different.
Because all of us are unique.

Jim, thanks for a great portrait.

Be sure to watch Enid's Willis Johnston from "Viva Elvis" 7:00 tonight, CBS Daytime Emmys

Four Generations of Cooks ... and Shepards

The Granddaughter and Grandmother on our left are dressed alike.
The Grandmother and Granddaughter on our right are dressed alike.
And the client and her mother are next to each other.
All of this, clothing and color, props, pose, background were all thought out in advance, planned. Therefore, the session itself was relaxed, fun, and calm.
And it shows, an heirloom portrait and work of art for their homes.

the Smiths ... Perfect New Parents

I love the energy of this couple.
And their smiles.
Plus the pose!
Isn't this the kind of parents every child would want?
I know they will be wonderful parents!

Jonah ... Portrait #7 for his parents

One of the most truthful statements of all times came from John Lennon, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans".
We hear so often that parents "wish they had taken more portraits of their children".
And of course, it makes us think "what could we have done to have helped them do this"?
But then, we run across people who make this commitment to have their children photographed in a timely manner.
Jonah's parent are those people. We started photographing his sister at three months, then 6 months, then 9 months, followed at one year, then eighteen months.
This is Jonah's six month portrait, the first was at three months.
We know that his parents will be thrilled with the collection of portraits they are building.
A memory that can't re-create later.
It's now or never!
Call us now, let's start making plans to photograph your children.

Zach ... Senior Portrait

Zach with Katie and Chloe, what a story.
It has love,
wildness,
tenderness,
and restraint.
It does sound like a story, a story with a happy ending!

CLASS OF 2012

We are looking for 6 seniors to photograph in June for potential marketing and display images beginning in July.  We would photograph you in the studio and our outdoor garden (at no charge for these sittings). If you are interested, email us at thegrays@wessgray.com and tell us why you would like to be photographed by The Grays . 
Be sure to include a weekday daytime phone number where we can easily reach you and let us know what high school you attend.   Also, please share with your friends! Thanks.

Curtis ... "That Sneaker Dude"

Curtis Tucker, the "Evolution of the croMac man".
It starts with and iPhone, then you add an  iPad, and end it with a MacBook Air.
If you don't know of Curtis, google his name or "Enid Buzz".
Curtis was the first "E Entrepreneur" we met years ago when it all was beginning.

Thanks for having some fun with us on our "Enid Arts" project!

Megan ... EHS Senior

Miss Megan came in with an idea.
"Swimming pool with the crosses in the background".
Beautiful black dress.
Simple, clean and not dated.
It was my pleasure!
All of this made sense, of course she is a swimmer, and she even won an athletic scholarship to Missouri State in Springfield.
Congratulations to her (and to her parents checkbook)!
'

Conor

Conor's portrait is another in our series that compliments a sibling. His brother Dylan, from Dr. Fagan's New Display was previously posted a few weeks ago.
Every thing I wrote about in my previous post applies here.
Except, we photographed each boy for two different portraits, an extreme close-up in "Black & White",
and then a "Story Telling" portrait.
And Conor was quite the martial arts practitioner. I knew when I photographed this move, it was the one, sometimes you can just tell. This was not posed, he just gave us this move, and I snapped.
WOW!